| Jesus calls us to practice our faith with others in community, not as a solitary spirituality that is turned inwards towards ourselves. He sends disciples out together to love God and neighbor. At the end of the Book of Matthew, he gives a directive to his disciples called the Great Commission. This commission forms the foundation for and the mission of the church. The United Methodist Church’s mission is a summary of this commission: “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” It is well and good to know our mission as a community of Christ. But more important still is our awareness of how to make a disciple and how to be a disciple of Christ. Integral to discipleship is centering our life upon Christ in the Spirit. Living out our faith and growing in our Christian journey is a continuous call. We reach our destination while here on earth. When Simon and Andrew start following Jesus, the instruction he gives to them is: “Come and see.” Come and see what life with Christ is all about. Come and see. The process of making and becoming a disciple of Christ recalls these words to Simon and Andrew. “Come and see.” We might also say, “Come and ‘C’” because some words beginning with the letter “C” describe discipleship. These words also are remind us of another “C” word, Christ. Connect. Connect describes something integral to discipleship. We connect with God through spiritual practices. We connect with people in outreach, mission, invitation, hospitality, worship, and small groups. Connection is key to a person wanting to become part of the community of Christ and wanting to remain in community. We are called to connect through love in action. It is the first step in discipleship but continues woven throughout our journey. Celebrate. Celebrating our life in Christ allows us to express our love of God in tangible ways. It also sustains us as we are filled with the joy of Christ even when going through tough times. We are filled with this joy through our connection with God’s Spirit. We celebrate during worship in our community. Celebrating the sacraments of baptism and communion are means of receiving special grace and gifts of Christ. We celebrate as a community when we feast and share our life together. Cultivate. We cultivate our discipleship when we learn and come to know more about God. But more important to our cultivation is our knowing God through the Spirit. This relationship with God comes through our spending time with God, focused upon God. We cultivate our spiritual maturity and life in Christ through Bible study, retreats, prayer, meditation, listening, and serving. We do this individually and in groups. Contribute. As we mature in our faith and discipleship, we give more. We contribute more of ourselves: our time, our money, our gifts and talents. We humbly serve Christ through our humble service for others. Contributing brings us fullness of life and meaning as our response to Christ’s call connects with every aspect of our lives. Come and see. Live life in discipleship to Christ. With Christ at the center: Connect, Celebrate, Cultivate, Contribute. Does your Christian journey involve all of these aspects of discipleship? What is missing? Ask God to reveal how to involve each facet of life in Christ into your life. |
Living Centered on Christ
Spiritual Resolution
| It seems like most of us begin each new year with good intentions. We are resolved to change ourselves for the better. Some of us make specific resolutions on how to do this. Many times these are related to our physical appearance and health. So we dedicate ourselves to a new diet or exercise regimen. Other times we focus either upon growing intellectually, like planning to learn a new language, or changing our behavior, like spending less time working and more time with friends and family or saving more money for the future. Too often to our dismay, we have failed in keeping our new year’s resolution by the end of January. How can we prevent ourselves from repeating this same pattern in 2011? I think the key is our understanding what we’re doing wrong. I believe our problem is we’re trying to go it alone. The answer to our commitment and transformation lies in our reliance upon Christ within us in the Spirit. Paul says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” It is Christ in the Spirit that inspires and empowers our transformation into our new improved selves. First, through prayer and discernment we gain spiritual wisdom and understanding so we set the right resolution. If our resolution reflects God’s will for us, it will more accurately reflect God’s vision of who we are meant to be. Once we’ve set the correct resolution, the patience and endurance required to persist in the struggle comes through daily interaction with the Spirit. Spiritual disciplines like prayer, listening and meditation, Christian companionship, and scripture reading empower us to persevere. Our spiritual growth and formation then permeates and impacts other aspects of our life. Though it may seem counterintuitive, by taking the time to mature spiritually, we are empowered to live more fruitfully, more freely, more joyously, and more lovingly in this world. At yearend, when we reflect back upon 2011, I think a new thing will have transpired. I believe we not only will have kept more of our resolutions, but also we will have lived more faithfully into our promise as children of God. I pray that you join us in focusing on spiritual formation as an individual and in community in 2011. I look forward to a blessed year! |
I Need a Vacation!?
| We all too often spend our vacations with every moment filled with a new or exciting activity. Perhaps because our normal everyday life consists of responsibilities and the routine, we want to get the most out of our vacations as possible. So we seize every moment doing this, doing that, seeing people, places, and things. Sometimes as it turns out, we’re more tired when we return home than when we left. We’re not rejuvenated. Rest and relaxation--they weren’t even in the picture. Something has gone wrong with our vacation plans! As some of you know, I’ve just returned from vacationing in Michigan. While there, I visit those nearest and dearest to me. I get back to my roots. For me, this place will always be home. The forested dunes and sandy beaches along Lake Michigan call out to my soul, and walking the Lake’s shores at sunset never ceases to connect me with God. The cool breeze coming off the waters enlivens my very being. My heart wells with gratitude for the dazzling beauty before me. I feel deeply grounded as I walk upon the firm, wet sand at the water’s edge. The rhythmic sound and touch of the lapping waves as they reach for shore and recede back out to sea create a contemplative quiet within me. For me, this is a place that reveals the glory of the Divine. This is not because God’s Spirit is more present there than other places. It’s because I am more present there to God. It is in those moments strolling in an in-between place of sand and sea that I truly open my spirit to the One who is the Source of all things. I am refreshed, restored, encouraged, and inspired. As I watch the orange sphere slip from the sky into the horizon, I am reminded that elsewhere the sun is rising. A new day is dawning. I remember the secret to true renewal is not filling calendars, but taking time resting with God, being filled with the Spirit. Truth be told, we don’t need to go away to do that. Do we? |
Risky Business
| One of my dogs is quite a character! She often engages in what I consider to be quite risky behavior — behavior that could result in her death or injury. Her opening up herself to harm’s way is a result of one of two potential reasons: 1) focus that creates abandonment of self-concern and 2) extreme trust in my providential care. I’ll give you an example of each. My dog’s breed is one that historically served as a farm ratter. Soft, furry squeaky toys are among her favorites, along with bones. She is a hunter and a chaser, even if her pack doesn’t need rats to survive. And her instinct isn’t restricted to rodents, as she has gracefully extended it to cats. I believe it is actually the challenge and thrill of the chase that appeals to her in this case. Well, when she is focused on catching one of these critters, she forgets all else — and the harm’s way part enters the picture. If in the backyard, she’ll dig and burrow between wood fence slats to escape her confinement and continue her pursuit. Other times, she spies a cat outside while looking out a window. To get a better view, she will climb atop the back of a stuffed chair and balance while barking the entire time. Perhaps she thinks she is like a cat and will always land on all fours. Her behavior reminds me of us humans at times. You know the times when we’re so focused on having our way that we disregard for what is right, prudent, or safe. We want to have a fun. We want to reach our goal. We want to go along with the crowd. We fear the ridicule of our peers. It is times like these that getting in tune with the Holy Spirit, seeking guidance and strength, would certainly help us out. My dog’s second source of potential trouble is her unfailing trust in me. She seems to think I’m omnipresent, always there to save her from disaster. She loves to roll around on the couch, roll over on her back and have her tummy rubbed. The trouble is she appears unaware of the couch’s edge and often hangs her head and the upper half of her body precariously over it. If I let gravity have its way, she’d break her neck. It’s as if she knows I will catch her if she starts to fall. Oh, if only we humans had such trust in God. Not that we should take stupid risks for no reason at all. But so we would fear not and take risks for God. Do something new, something different — something daring for God. Go someplace that’s outside of our comfort zone, for God. Say something that needs to be said, for God. That’s what Jesus did. If we truly trusted that we are not alone and that all is well. That nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. If we really trusted…. Something to think about. |
Spirit Filled
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If we choose to open our hearts and lives to God, we live energized and guided by the Spirit. The Spirit’s way and direction become our way of living. The Spirit may lead us to places we never envisioned. The Spirit may recreate us into a person able to do what we never dreamed possible. But we become the person that God originally created us to be, and our life becomes our gift back to God.
The Spirit gifts us with the love of God that gives us this life anew. Its rushing gusts energize and strengthen us for a discipleship of action. Its soothing, calm breeze provides us healing, comfort, and peace. Its steady force teaches and guides us on our journey. Its meandering wisps fill us with joy and hope. Through the Spirit, we can pass along God’s love to the world. As you begin each day, receive and let the Wind of the Spirit energize and recreate you for your life in Christ. Make it your ritual to invite the Spirit to journey with you by saying, “Come, Holy Spirit, come.”
Photo Credit: |
Earth Day 2010
During my daily commute into Petaluma, I am struck by the scenic vistas along the way. These expanses of pastoral fields with grazing livestock and rolling, vineyard-lined hills seem ripe for capture by an artist’s paints or a photographer’s lens. I believe these landscapes offer us glimpses of God’s love for us. Though the how of creation may be debated among people, the why is evident: Earth’s diverse creation happens because of God’s generous care, beauty, and love. Sometimes though, it is so easy to take the gift of Earth and its creation for granted. We often fail to recognize the blessings revealed in Earth’s beauty and in the joy and fruits it offers us. We ignore our God-given responsibility for its care and sustenance.
As I write this on Earth Day, the fortieth anniversary of the original, I am reminded of the inspiration behind that first Earth Day: a literally, a flame-ravaged river in Ohio. It seemed rather than using a burning bush to get our attention, God used a burning river. Well, it got my teacher’s, and she gave her young students an assignment that ensured we got the message. My classmates and I (yes, I’m dating myself) spent the day rotating from classroom to classroom teaching younger students about Earth Day and showing them practical ways to save the Earth. The lesson I learned that day long ago sticks with me today. And though, we have made progress in our care for the environment, we have a ways to go. And here’s where we look back to God for the answer.
God didn’t give us a solitary life. We are meant to love and share life in community, not only with other human beings, but also with the plants and animals that also rely upon Earth’s fragile resources. We are made in God’s image, which gives us the ability to discern good from evil, and right actions from wrong actions. We can choose to live responsibly and creatively.
First, with awareness, as intelligent beings, we can become empowered through environmental education to live in sustainable ways. We can use our intelligence to create new green technologies and to solve the complex dilemmas like scarcity of resources and conservation, or deforestation, extinction of species, and economic viability in a third world country.
Second, with mindfulness, we can be mindful of the impact our decisions and actions have on Earth and creation not only today, but for future generations. We can live in the moment and not thoughtlessly do something that is harmful. Each one of us can make difference in small ways.
And, with faithfulness, we can be faithful to God’s call to be good stewards of the Earth and to love. As God’s children, we live in concert with God when our actions are God centered, outward looking, creative, and life giving rather than self-seeking and destructive. Just as Jesus lifted up the lowly and powerless, we can advocate for those parts of creation that have no voice and no power.
All is not well in creation. All is not beautiful and pristine. All is not cared for, as it should be. This reminds me that God’s reign is already here, but not yet fulfilled. But we, as Christ’s disciples, are called to live as though it is. May it be so.
