Today, let Paul’s words to the Ephesians be a charge to us for the week:
So then, putting away falsehood,
let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors,
for we are members of one another.
Be angry but do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and do not make room for the devil.
Thieves must give up stealing;
rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands,
so as to have something to share with the needy.
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is useful for building up, as there is need,
so that your words may give grace to those who hear.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were marked with a seal
for the day of redemption.
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath
and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,
and be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,
and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
One by one, Paul lists the struggles that confronted those
he loved in Ephesus, his sisters and brothers.
He had his struggles, too, after all.
So for each temptation he gives a practice
that stands in opposition, practices which do not
attempt to make weaknesses into strengths, but
which cover weaknesses with existing strengths.
He does not try to shut the mouth of the extrovert,
but to have them become talkative about the truth.
He does not try to quench the feelings of the emotional,
but to have them focus on the emotions that bring
peace and healing to relationships.
All of this is done to help us become more like Jesus,
not so that we will be worthy of being chosen,
because we have already been chosen.
We are already children of God.
We do this so that we can “live in love,” so we can:
be easy for our sisters and brothers to work alongside,
be attractive for strangers to come alongside,
be aware of the movement of God and stay by his side.
May God help us use our strengths today
to work around our weaknesses,
not to deny them, but to disempower them.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Showing posts with label emotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label emotion. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Up or down, in or out ...
Today’s thoughts are from Julia:
Of the devotionals Jason led, I was most impacted by the one where we put our hands face up or face down. I had done this sort of thing before, and had forgotten how quickly the Spirit moved in me to rid me of negative emotions and thoughts and fill me with positive ones. It was good to have a kind of refresher course on one of the practices I could have been using for years, but had simply forgotten about. Since that devotional I have used that method again and it has been very good for me.
I was also highly impacted by the quote he put on the page about being lost in pride or emptiness, depending upon whether one spends too much time with people or alone:
“Let him who cannot be alone beware of community…. Let him who is not in community beware of being alone….Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I feel like I have experienced these two extremes and the emptiness that comes with them. It is a fine line to walk, the line of being in community in a healthy way. But it is essential to our spiritual well-being. This, too, was a good reminder. I tend towards solitude, but, in excess, it does seem to lead directly to pride (and mental illness, really). So I thank God that He used Jason to remind me of these things.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
Jason
Of the devotionals Jason led, I was most impacted by the one where we put our hands face up or face down. I had done this sort of thing before, and had forgotten how quickly the Spirit moved in me to rid me of negative emotions and thoughts and fill me with positive ones. It was good to have a kind of refresher course on one of the practices I could have been using for years, but had simply forgotten about. Since that devotional I have used that method again and it has been very good for me.
I was also highly impacted by the quote he put on the page about being lost in pride or emptiness, depending upon whether one spends too much time with people or alone:
“Let him who cannot be alone beware of community…. Let him who is not in community beware of being alone….Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I feel like I have experienced these two extremes and the emptiness that comes with them. It is a fine line to walk, the line of being in community in a healthy way. But it is essential to our spiritual well-being. This, too, was a good reminder. I tend towards solitude, but, in excess, it does seem to lead directly to pride (and mental illness, really). So I thank God that He used Jason to remind me of these things.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
Jason
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Welcoming gifts ...
Today’s devotional thought is wrapped up in a story. Be patient until the end; this story is not about parsing Hebrew, but about an important practice for all of us.
By 2003, I had finished one graduate degree at OC, and had what I needed to maintain my position at the Home, and at most other ministries. I was still hungry to learn, though, and sought to keep growing as a person, even as a soul that was nearly twice as old as most of my peers. So I decided to do work on an MDiv.
Abilene has a larger campus than OC, and its Graduate School of Theology is much larger as well. In my first class on campus, on the very first day, there are thirty to forty graduate students present. Dr. Douglas Foster is the professor, and the class is titled “Advanced Restoration History.” For an introvert being around forty people, none of whom you know, is a stressful experience. Being at a new university is stressful. Starting a new enterprise is stressful. Being nearly fifty years old doesn’t help as much as you might think. That’s because you’re much closer to the age of the professor than any of the other students, than even the “non-traditional” students. Probably 80% of these other students have done bachelors or masters work together. I am an outsider, and, because of the knowledge of these realities, and the emotions percolating inside of me, I feel it. I don't yet feel that this is a safe place for me.
The first day is not unusual in many ways. Dr. Foster takes the class members through a series of brief self-introductions. He walks us through the syllabus. He talks about his expectations for our conduct and our work. He gives an overview of the content of the class. And he instructs us to have a proposal for our research paper ready for him by the next class meeting. A full day one.
Because of my long-term interest in children and youth, I already have an idea for my paper. At the end of class, I approach Dr. Foster to discuss my proposal. He greets me and then listens intently, ignoring the chaos of the other departing students. He then responds, “I’d like to talk with you about this further; can you walk with me? I need to put something in my office before graduate chapel.”
Surprised at his warmth, I answer, “Sure,” and we walk and talk all the way up to his office. As we work our way through the Hall of Servants, we discuss the possibilities of my idea, and, without my having to ask, he gives two or three leads on sources that might be useful for my work. Then he accompanies me through the door where we enter into the “inner sanctum” of the graduate professors to finish our talk.
“Come to graduate chapel with me,” Dr. Foster invites. And I go, because he asked.
As we enter the chapel, he introduces me to a few people, and we sit down to worship God together. Not as professor and student, but as brothers in Christ. In this beautiful space, there is a strong call to worship. One feels drawn into the singing by its beauty and power. Jack Reese then issues a wise call to the students and faculty to glorify God and serve the church through their scholarship, instead of glorifying or serving anyone or anything else, including their own egos. From that day forward, I will never miss the opportunity to be a part of that worshipping community if at all possible, even on the days when it might be good to read one more chapter, or to memorize one more conjugation.
This is the way that hospitality works.
Making people feel welcome is more than a cup of coffee, more even than a meal. It is a collection of small moments, apparently insignificant in logical terms at the time, but huge emotionally nonetheless. These moments are pivotal because the feelings of safety or danger, of warmth or coolness, or of closeness or distance, start to frame the emotional aspects of the relationship from the very first moment two people, or a person and a community meet. People immediately sense through the hospitality of a person whether the door is open or closed. The momentum of attraction to, or repulsion from, that relationship accumulates instantaneously.
What are the verbs that describe the nature of hospitality in this ten-minute window one Wednesday morning? Greeting, listening, walking, conversing, giving, accompanying, entering, inviting, introducing, worshipping.
What are the gifts enacted by those verbs of hospitality? Welcome, voice, time, dialogue, knowledge, companionship, entrée, acceptance, relationship, community. The bonus gift, perhaps the sum of them, is the feeling of safety found in this environment.
A very brief slice of time. Powerful hospitality. Reshaping a small part of a person’s view of the world, forming an enduring relationship between two people, and connecting an outsider to a community. Not a thing to do with food or drink. Yet not all refreshment enters one’s stomach. When hospitality is done well, it refreshes both the body and spirit of the host and guest (John 4).
Today, move through your world aware of your roles as guest and host; be a blessing to outsiders and community however that is possible for you.
Blessings,
Ron
By 2003, I had finished one graduate degree at OC, and had what I needed to maintain my position at the Home, and at most other ministries. I was still hungry to learn, though, and sought to keep growing as a person, even as a soul that was nearly twice as old as most of my peers. So I decided to do work on an MDiv.
Abilene has a larger campus than OC, and its Graduate School of Theology is much larger as well. In my first class on campus, on the very first day, there are thirty to forty graduate students present. Dr. Douglas Foster is the professor, and the class is titled “Advanced Restoration History.” For an introvert being around forty people, none of whom you know, is a stressful experience. Being at a new university is stressful. Starting a new enterprise is stressful. Being nearly fifty years old doesn’t help as much as you might think. That’s because you’re much closer to the age of the professor than any of the other students, than even the “non-traditional” students. Probably 80% of these other students have done bachelors or masters work together. I am an outsider, and, because of the knowledge of these realities, and the emotions percolating inside of me, I feel it. I don't yet feel that this is a safe place for me.
The first day is not unusual in many ways. Dr. Foster takes the class members through a series of brief self-introductions. He walks us through the syllabus. He talks about his expectations for our conduct and our work. He gives an overview of the content of the class. And he instructs us to have a proposal for our research paper ready for him by the next class meeting. A full day one.
Because of my long-term interest in children and youth, I already have an idea for my paper. At the end of class, I approach Dr. Foster to discuss my proposal. He greets me and then listens intently, ignoring the chaos of the other departing students. He then responds, “I’d like to talk with you about this further; can you walk with me? I need to put something in my office before graduate chapel.”
Surprised at his warmth, I answer, “Sure,” and we walk and talk all the way up to his office. As we work our way through the Hall of Servants, we discuss the possibilities of my idea, and, without my having to ask, he gives two or three leads on sources that might be useful for my work. Then he accompanies me through the door where we enter into the “inner sanctum” of the graduate professors to finish our talk.
“Come to graduate chapel with me,” Dr. Foster invites. And I go, because he asked.
As we enter the chapel, he introduces me to a few people, and we sit down to worship God together. Not as professor and student, but as brothers in Christ. In this beautiful space, there is a strong call to worship. One feels drawn into the singing by its beauty and power. Jack Reese then issues a wise call to the students and faculty to glorify God and serve the church through their scholarship, instead of glorifying or serving anyone or anything else, including their own egos. From that day forward, I will never miss the opportunity to be a part of that worshipping community if at all possible, even on the days when it might be good to read one more chapter, or to memorize one more conjugation.
This is the way that hospitality works.
Making people feel welcome is more than a cup of coffee, more even than a meal. It is a collection of small moments, apparently insignificant in logical terms at the time, but huge emotionally nonetheless. These moments are pivotal because the feelings of safety or danger, of warmth or coolness, or of closeness or distance, start to frame the emotional aspects of the relationship from the very first moment two people, or a person and a community meet. People immediately sense through the hospitality of a person whether the door is open or closed. The momentum of attraction to, or repulsion from, that relationship accumulates instantaneously.
What are the verbs that describe the nature of hospitality in this ten-minute window one Wednesday morning? Greeting, listening, walking, conversing, giving, accompanying, entering, inviting, introducing, worshipping.
What are the gifts enacted by those verbs of hospitality? Welcome, voice, time, dialogue, knowledge, companionship, entrée, acceptance, relationship, community. The bonus gift, perhaps the sum of them, is the feeling of safety found in this environment.
A very brief slice of time. Powerful hospitality. Reshaping a small part of a person’s view of the world, forming an enduring relationship between two people, and connecting an outsider to a community. Not a thing to do with food or drink. Yet not all refreshment enters one’s stomach. When hospitality is done well, it refreshes both the body and spirit of the host and guest (John 4).
Today, move through your world aware of your roles as guest and host; be a blessing to outsiders and community however that is possible for you.
Blessings,
Ron
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Loss, lament, and leadership
But the Israelites broke faith in regard to the devoted things: Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; and the anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites.
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the land." And the men went up and spied out Ai. Then they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Not all the people need go up; about two or three thousand men should go up and attack Ai. Since they are so few, do not make the whole people toil up there." So about three thousand of the people went up there; and they fled before the men of Ai. The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing them from outside the gate as far as Shebarim and killing them on the slope. The hearts of the people melted and turned to water.
Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Joshua said, "Ah, Lord God! Why have you brought this people across the Jordan at all, to hand us over to the Amorites so as to destroy us? Would that we had been content to settle beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned their backs to their enemies! The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will you do for your great name?"
Joshua 7:1-9 NRSV
About six years ago, I started using Michael Carotta's model of spiritual formation as one way to understand spiritual growth. In his view, spiritual growth happens in three areas (frequently unequally): spiritual growth, moral living, and emotional intelligence. Obviously, when we first encounter a disaster as Joshua and the Israelites did, our first response tends to be neither spiritual nor moral/intellectual, but rather emotional. Fear. Hurt. Grief. Uncertainty. Remorse. God wired us to be emotional beings. Somewhere along the line we have to acknowledge that, and stop denying or disconnecting from our emotions and passions as I believe that we have been falsely taught to do in the past.
But after we have a moment to consider the crisis from more of a temporal (or geographic) distance, then we naturally begin to try to figure out whether what happened did so as a result of our behavior (moral living) or God's plan (spiritual faith) or something else. Many things happen in this world that don't correspond to our view of God and what we believe he ought to allow. And so yes, you would be so right if you were to say that this has more to do with us (and our mental and emotional adjustments) than it really does with God. But at the same time, God is not a disinterested observer in this process. Who knows but this adversary or adversity has been placed before us to strengthen or test us. It is not given us to know. But God made us beings who would consider these questions.
Joshua's attitude toward God (and that of the elders) is one of lament. Is he confused? No doubt, because Joshua is obviously blind-sided by all of this. A possible reason that God asked him to stand was to let him know that no amount of lament or worship was going to make this right; other action would be required and that action is consecration. In this situation, God tells Joshua exactly went wrong and devises a process by which not only is it possible to define who is responsible, but it is possible to make the people ready to continue their faithful obedience to God.
To feel emotions is a part of being human. And what they tell us is important, but before we make them the final analysis, we need to remember that they are only a part of the evidence. We need to weigh the emotion, the moral, and the spiritual whenever we are working our way through any situation. This may take time, if for nothing else than to make sure that we have brought them into balance. May God help us find balance in our lives.
Grace and peace,
Ron
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