Jumping Right Into It!

Dear Faith Family,  

We are all familiar with "origin stories." Whether President Snows' or a more jolly man with a white beard, whether arriving from a galaxy far, far away, or from the multiverse, focused on Poseidon's son or one of Xavier’s kids, origin stories have been a staple of entertainment production. And while there is always action in these stories, much, if not most, of the story, concentrates on retracing the interactions and events that have birthed the eventual hero or villain. Almost always, these stories, told with an eye to the future, are a set-up for more films to come.
 
Generally speaking, Deedra hates these types of movies! It's not the fact that they happen to be superhero, sci-fi, or fantasy stories so much, as it is the dragging out of the fanciful details before the short-lived climax. The background, which may be interesting for comic geeks like myself, can’t hold her attention. She doesn’t need to be told that superheroes or evil empires or mutants exist or how they exist; she wants to see what will happen since they exist, what the conflict will be, and how they will overcome it.

But, movies like the X-Men’s Days of Future Past, which assume you already know much of what is happening and jump directly into the action-packed plot, she’s all for. No background, just a few lines of text on the screen for context and then immediate conflict. The story is set, the plot is underway, and she is in!

If you are like Deedra and prefer to jump directly into the action of stories or films, Mark is your gospel!

Mark wastes no time. No detailed lineage, no foreshadowing monologue, no “how’d we get here” details of characters all too quickly forgotten. Instead, one simple introductory sentence to give us a bit of context, “The good news of Jesus Christ—the Message!—begins here…,” then wham: God’s arrival, the action underway! 

John the baptizer, in step with the prophets of old, preparing us for the immediate entrance of Jesus into the story of salvation. Jesus baptized and affirmed. Jesus tested and proven. John silenced, Jesus amplified. All in 15 verses!

Mark—via Peter—does what takes Matthew 65 verses and Luke 185 verses to accomplish. In fifteen short verses, God is right here with us, alive and at work in His story, in the story of humanity. The movement of plot in the 39 prequels presumed and culminated in Jesus’ declaration,

“Times up!
God’s kingdom is here.
Change your life
and believe the Message,
the good news.”
(Mark 1:15)

The plot is set, and you and I are drawn into the action instantly! Jesus calling disciples, casting out demons, healing the sick, the lame, the leper, and proclaiming in word to all who will listen that God is here and He is for you! Halfway through chapter two, and already Jesus is doing the things we think of when we think of His work. But that's when the real conflict begins becoming evident.

The conflict isn't with "the enemy" or ills of this world, but Jesus inviting a tax collector to become an apprentice and not having his disciples follow the same procedures as the established insiders. Chapter three clarifies the conflict even as it intensifies. And by the time chapter four begins, the primary conflict is front and center, a conflict of imagination, of perception of life with God and God with us that shapes how we live that life. 

In Mark 4, Jesus begins to take a slightly different approach to proclaiming and demonstrating God's Kingdom's arrival. He begins to tell stories, everyday, earthy stories that pack a punch. Stories we call parables. 

With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them,
as they were able to hear it.
Jesus did not speak to them without a parable...
(Mark 4:33-34) 

 
Now, here is the thing about parables: they don’t define, diagram, or systematize; they describe something, usually something more real than the familiar elements of the short stories themselves: things like our souls, our hearts, our relation to the world, how God relates to us, and the kingdom of God. In other words, parables don’t do the work for us; they require us to put in work, imaginative, or meditative if you prefer, work, the work of faith. They train us to hear the voice of the Lord and see with the eyes of the Spirit.

“Parables trust our imaginations, which is to say, our faith.
They don’t herd us paternalistically into a classroom
where we get things explained and diagrammed.
They don’t bully us into regiments where
we find ourselves marching in [moral, unthinking conformity].”
(Eugene Peterson )

Parables invite us into a relationship, a courtship of faith, requiring the use of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength as we mature in Kingdom living. This is why our faith family begins each new year in these enlightening stories, the stories Jesus tells that confront and conform our vision of the days ahead through the vision of God with us and God for us and neighbor and enemy.  

If you missed our first parables of the new year, no worries! You can listen and imagine while listening to them here. And better, we've put together a guide to help us mediate our way into our upcoming parables here. 

I hope you'll take advantage of this season and Jesus' stories. And I pray we'll experience Kingdom Epiphanies that give shape to our year ahead! 

Love you, faith family! God bless. 

Ring Out The Old...Ring In the New!

Dear Faith Family,  

Well, we made it! It is the first day of the new year. And so it is time to turn the calendar for 2024 is officially here!

And yet, as is often the case, the calendar's turning is no guarantee that change is coming or for good. Indeed, many wondrous and beautiful things in the year behind us were worth celebrating and praising. Still, we cannot deny that there has also been loss, sickness, strife, and all the ills plaguing our human condition. I suspect the same can be said for many past years and will be repeated in years ahead.

So what are we to do? Well, as this year's prophetic Advent stories encouraged, rather than judge the past and predict the future by the tally of wins and losses, we are to be caught up in "a living hope."  We are to make our lives through peace amid the mixture of praises and laments—knowing that at the turn of each year, of each day truly, we awake afresh into the certainty of sin and death's final days. We are, in the end, 's beginning, to give ourselves in joy because we are loved.

So, with humble confidence and empowered courage, we can ring out the old that is passing away and ring in the new that will be forever. 

And so, that is what we will do, ring out the old and ring in the new! And will do so through what has become a tradition for our faith family, praying together this poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. A poem that can be prayed over and over until the new that is Christ in us, through us, and for us and neighbor is all that is left. 

Love you, faith family! Happy New Year and God bless. 

In Memoriam CVI | Alfred Lord Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, 
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night; 
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. 

Ring out the old, ring in the new, 
Ring, happy bells, across the snow: 
The year is going, let him go; 
Ring out the false, ring in the true. 

Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more; 
Ring out the feud of rich and poor, 
Ring in redress to all mankind. 

Ring out a slowly dying cause, 
And ancient forms of party strife; 
Ring in the nobler modes of life, 
With sweeter manners, purer laws. 

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times; 
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes 
But ring the fuller minstrel in. 

Ring out false pride in place and blood, 
The civic slander and the spite; 
Ring in the love of truth and right, 
Ring in the common love of good. 

Ring out old shapes of foul disease; 
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; 
Ring out the thousand wars of old; 
Ring in the thousand years of peace. 

Ring in the valiant man and free, 
The larger heart, the kindlier hand; 
Ring out the darkness of the land, 
Ring in the Christ that is to be. 

Extending The Holiday!

Dear Faith Family,  

I hope you had a truly wonderful day yesterday, that first day of Christmas! That's right; yesterday was just the start, the beginning of "counting up" the abundance of what our True Love gives. On Christmas day, we begin unwrapping all those gifts for which we spent the previous days "counting down" their arrival. Gifts that add up exponentially, from 1 to 78 in just twelve days! 

If you haven't picked up on my less-than-subtle clues, what I'm saying is that we've entered the "Twelve Days of Christmas." That's right, the twelve days start on Christmas, not lead up to it! 

The process of connecting the feast of Christmas (December 25th) to the feast of Epiphany (January 6th) began in the fourth century and eventually, all the days between the two special days on the church calendar were "proclaimed sacred and festive." That means the celebration doesn't stop after the presents are opened! 

While culturally, in the words of Gabe Huck, "We take our Christmas with lots of sugar. And we take it in a day," the Church over the last fifteen-hundred-plus years has extended the holiday well into the New Year! Christmas really is a beginning! 

So why not join in?! Why not keep your tree and decorations up a bit longer, until the end of the twelve days, January 6th? Why not plan a couple more special activities with friends, family, and kids? Why not keep the Christmas carols ringing and Christmas prayers praying for a few more days? 

That last one, keeping the Christmas prayers praying, I can help you with! 

Starting with the sonnet below, I'll share a poem to pray each of the Twelve Days of Christmas via our Collective Prayers.  You might recognize the poems. They are responses to our Advent O Antiphons. Now, rather than praying with longing for what we need, we pray with (for) the perfection of what we've received.

I won't send a push notification every day, but just a few times to remind you to extend the holiday! After all, as Bobby Gross contends, "If Advent is a season of waiting, Christmas is a season of wonder"! 

May our wonder grow exponentially as we take the time to behold the gift of Christmas and are drawn into His marvelous mystery! 

Love you, faith family! God bless! 

O Sapientia | Malcolm Guite 

I cannot think unless I have been thought, 
Nor can I speak unless I have been spoken; 
I cannot teach except as I am taught, 
Or break the bread except as I am broken. 
O Mind behind the mind through which I seek, 
O Light within the light by which I see, 
O Word beneath the words with which I speak, 
O founding, unfound Wisdom, finding me, 
O sounding Song whose depth is sounding me, 
O Memory of time, reminding me, 
My Ground of Being, always grounding me, 
My Maker's bounding line, defining me: 
You've Come, hidden Wisdom, come with all you bring, 
You've Come to me now, disguised as everything. 

Arriving At The End

Dear Faith Family,  

Our Advent journey this year has taken us not only through the familiar stories leading to the first Noel but also through some less-than-familiar stories! Stories told to help awaken our attention to the end's beginning. An ending that begins by mending, restoring anew what once was and will forever be.


Four stories calling us to:

• HOPE: Seeing through The Little Match Girl, a story that, in the end, life is something for which we long, something more, better, and comfortingly familiar...

• PEACE: Seeing through The First Christmas Tree, a story of a life saved into a new way of living...

• JOY: Seeing through The Three Skaters, a story of the energy in new life that spills over into abundance for others, and...

• LOVE: Seeing through Christmas Day In The Morning, a storied reminder to reawaken into action what is missed and made mild in our daily duties and seasonal routines. 

Woven together, these stories give us a complete vision of life, true life. Life with God and one another as it will be, as it can be, as it is because of the One whose once, future, and continuous arrival "moves hope, peace, joy, and love into the neighborhood" and declared, "It is finished."  Having nearly completed our Advent journey, might we open our ears and our hearts to one last prophetic charge to find our end in the end's beginning: 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God,
and whoever loves has been born of God
(begun of God)
and knows God. 
Anyone who does not love does not know God,
because God is love. 

In this the love of God was made manifest among us 
(moved into the neighborhood),
that God sent his only Son into the world,
so that we might live through him. 

In this is love, not that we loved God
but that he loved us
and sent his Son
to be the propitiation for our sins. 

Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also ought to love one another. 

No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another, God abides in us
and his love is perfected
(completed, brought to its end)
in us. 

(1 John 4:7-12)

May we see in this season's stories, symbols, and spirit a vision of the life we are (re)born into because Jesus was born, died, and lives forever. And, as the prophets of old dared to dream, may such vision compel us to live the life we see in Him until all can see what we've received. 


Love you, faith family! Praying you have a truly Merry Christmas!

God bless! 

Completing Joy

Dear Faith Family,  

The energy of Advent's destination is beginning to fill the air. Can you feel the excitement? I certainly can. But that's primarily because Cohen and Lily's ability to keep their hands off the gifts awaiting them is waning! 

From poking and shaking to prodding for clues and even attempts at brokering deals for (at least!) one pre-Christmas morning unwrapping, the energy of anticipating the countdown's end is filling up and spilling out in the Pace house! The closer we get to "the Day," the harder it is to pass by the lighted tree without stopping to check, comment on, or haggle for the thing that awaits them! The presence of presents has that energetic effect, doesn't it? And here is the thing: the energy is not all self-oriented.

Believe it or not, the twins don't just want what is marked for them; they want everyone who has a gift under the tree to end their waiting, too. Whether cousins or grandparents or even ole mom and dad, they want everyone in their little world in on the end! Almost instinctually, they know that only when everyone joins in will their excitement be satisfied, completely theirs to enjoy. 

Of course, this energy empowering the excitement that arrives in full view on Christmas morning has a name, doesn't it? Joy! 

Joy is an energy as much as an attitude. And as a living energy, it cannot be contained. Joy quite naturally spills over and out. Yet its outflow is not merely a sloshing of extra emotion and good wishes onto whoever's around. No, the energy of joy is more like a drive to completeness, to fullness. Joy is energy incomplete until others are brought into it, until what we have is shared by all. 

Joy is the energy that moves us to share what is ours for the joy of others. At least, that's how we discovered joy being described on Sunday in Isaiah's vision, the joy of the Lord spilling over into His people's salvation, and His people's joy filling the land, drawing others into what is theirs—life with God now and forever. And, if he had any doubt what compelled the sharing for our salvation, we're reminded of joy's energy in the action of Jesus: 

...Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross...
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:2) 

Joy as energy incomplete until others are brought into it, is also the testimony of John the beloved: 

That which was from the beginning...
the life made manifest...
which we have seen and heard
we proclaim also to you,
so that you to may have fellowship with us;
and indeed our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.
And we are writing these things
so that our joy may be complete.
(1 John 1:3-4)

Which makes sense after all, considering what John learned and was brought into by Jesus: 

Abide in me, and I in you...
These things I have spoken to you,
that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be full.
(John 15:4, 11) 

As we said on Sunday, all prophetic visions, including visions of joy, compel us to action. Yet the question, 'How can my joy be complete?' is not satisfied from any wish list. Your, my, joy is complete only when we share, invite others into, our joy, into our life with Jesus.

I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all people.
For unto you is born…
a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
(Luke 2:10-11) 

With all the giving we are doing this season, would you pray with me for the courage and opportunity to complete our joy?

In so doing, may you be adorned with joy and gladness, my friends.

Love you, faith family! Happy Advent & Merry Christmas! 

Double Bonus!

Dear Faith Family,  

On Sunday, we lit the second purple candle on our Advent Wreath, the "Candle of Peace." Moments before, we told the story of the "tree of peace," better known as "the Christmas Tree." The theme of the day was hard to miss! Yet, the sign and symbol, coupled with our scriptures and songs, were meant to help us pay attention to the arrival of the "Prince of Peace" and how His arrival restored "peacemaking" to our daily vocations. 

This Advent season, we are looking at the apocalyptical (revelatory) visions of anticipation and arrival from prophets young and old, ancient and modern. Prophets who paint pictures of an end that is no ending but rather a mending of all that is bent and fractured in us and our world. 

In Zechariah's vision, for instance, we hear the proclamation of peace at Jesus' arrival, 

"Your king is coming!
A good king who makes all things right,

a humble king riding a donkey, a mere colt...
I’ve had it with war—
no more chariots...
no more war horses...
no more swords and spears,
bows and arrows.

He will offer peace to the nations,
a peaceful rule worldwide..."
(Zechariah 9:9-10) 

But the image is not complete until we see that peace is a double restoration, a freedom from the bonds of our temporal prisons, whether in body or mind or soul, and freedom into our purpose in peace, 

"because of my blood covenant with you,
I’ll release your prisoners from their hopeless cells.
Come home, hope-filled prisoners!
This very day I'm declaring a double bonus...
From now on people are my swords.”
(Zechariah 9:11-13)

You and I, as swords of peace, may sound a bit ironic, especially since Zechariah's vision already included the ending of weapons of war. Yet, perhaps that's the point of such revelations: to help us see things differently. Much like in The Revelation, we hear the longing for the Lion of Judah in anticipation of peace, yet see the Lamb slain as the restorer of peace and purpose (see Rev. 5:5-10). Similarly, we hear "peace" as an end, the goal for which we strive, when in truth, we come to see peace is the way of mending, ours and our enemies.

Peace, as Jesus' arrival, life, and conquering end attest, and as we mentioned on Sunday, is not an end to battles but a means of battling that is utterly and forever different. 

"‘Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me,
even so I am sending you.’
And when Jesus had said this,
he breathed on them and said,
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’"
(John 20:21-22)

Becoming the peacemakers we are freed to be may bring up visions of mission and ministry some place or some way different than in our daily occupations, but it is not! In fact, that's the intent of our apocalyptic advent visions, not so much to give us a future picture in some other place, but to see in the present the future's arrival, and our place in it. 

One reason we've partnered with the Made To Flourish Network is our shared desire to connect faith and work, to see our everyday role and relationships as the primary place for our maturation and ministry. If you want a practical approach to the "double bonus" of peace in your place of labor, I'd encourage you to put into practice this article. 

And in so doing, may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard and guide our hearts, hands, and minds as we live in Christ Jesus. 


Love you, faith family! Happy Advent & Merry Christmas! 

Beginnings of the End

Dear Faith Family,  

Sunday officially sparked the beginning of the Advent season! It's here once more, a special time of the year in which the anticipation of something wonderful and new fills our hearts, catches our sight, echoes in our ears, and swims in our dreams. It is truly one of my favorite seasons, and I don't think I'm alone in that sentiment!

One of the things that makes Advent so refreshing for my faith is that it is a journey, not an event—a marked movement, day by day, that is taking us somewhere. And while the destination is the thing we are most excited about, it is the getting there that is the most revelatory.

For all that Advent is and can be, it is most pointedly a season for paying attention. And this year, our attention is set on the visions of anticipation and arrival from prophets young and old, ancient and modern. From Isaiah's pictures to Van Gogh's portrait to stories like the one we read on Sunday.

As we've learned over these past months, Prophets herald ends that are really beginnings and beginnings of the end for which we long. They awaken our imagination and our faith with visions of ends to what we know and beginnings of a different, deeper end to which we live now, all because what has been--Christ has come!--and what will be--Christ will come again!--ensures Christ is with us!

Like no other time of year, we are reminded of the truth that Jesus has come, born of woman, swaddled under the expanse of angels singing. And that he will return, as the Lamb slain and risen, King of kings, arriving once more to complete what he started in us and the world. All the while calling our attention to the truth that he has never once left us, and we can expect that he never will.

Little advents, Jesus arrivals, continue to occur all around us if only we pay attention! Advent, in the prophetic tradition, helps us pay attention through the daily and weekly rhythms amid all the signs of the season.

Advent draws our attention and our faith to the world ending and re-creating reality of life with Jesus. For Advent "calls us to a posture of alertness...watchful and ready...for the signs of hope," that the end comes in the beginning.

So, this Advent, let us join together in asking our Father for eyes to see in the signs of the season, the faithfulness of His presence, and the beginnings of the end. 

"May the God of great hope fill us up with joy,
fill us up with peace,
so that our believing lives,
filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit,
will brim over with hope!"
(Romans 15:13)

Love you, faith family! God bless. 

A Grateful Charge

Dear Faith Family,  

Tomorrow, you'll likely find yourself around a meal with friends, family, or both. Whether a meal labored over in traditional preparations or arriving via APP, whether as a part of a larger day of activities or not, there will be a moment tomorrow where you're encouraged to remember with gratitude the actions and relationships that brought about your living, here and now. And, in remembering with gratitude, feeling the charge to carry on similar actions and relationships for those who will dine together long after we are gone.

While tomorrow is the day of Thanksgiving, let's get the giving thanks started a few hours early! 

Rather than giving you a bunch of commentary or guidelines, I just want to simply say that as you let Paul's words lead your heart to gratitude and as a charge for tomorrow, do so with our Orbiting Jesus Together conversations in mind. 

Thinking of, and thankful for you today. Love you, faith family!

Rise to the heights! Live full lives,
full in the fullness of God.

God can do anything, you know—
far more than you could ever imagine
or guess
or request in your wildest dreams!
He does it not by pushing us around
but by working within us,
his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

 

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do...
I want you to get out there and walk
—better yet, run!—
on the road God called you to travel.

I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands.
I don’t want anyone strolling off,
down some path that goes nowhere.
And mark that you do this with humility and discipline
—not in fits and starts, but steadily,
pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love,
alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

 

You were all called to travel on the same road
and in the same direction,
so stay together,
both outwardly and inwardly.

You have one Master, one faith,
one baptism,
one God and Father of all,
who rules over all,
works through all,
and is present in all.
Everything you are and think and do
is permeated with Oneness.

 

But that doesn’t mean you should all look
and speak and act the same.
Out of the generosity of Christ,
each of us is given his own gift...

He handed out gifts above and below,
filled heaven with his gifts,
filled earth with his gifts.

He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet,
evangelist, and pastor-teacher
to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work,
working within Christ’s body, the church,
until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other,
efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son,
fully mature adults,
fully developed within and without,
fully alive like Christ.

 

No prolonged infancies among us, please.
We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods,
small children who are easy prey for predators.
God wants us to grow up,
to know the whole truth
and tell it in love—like Christ in everything.

We take our lead from Christ,
who is the source of everything we do.
He keeps us in step with each other.
His very breath and blood flow through us,
nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God,
robust in love.
(Ephesians 3:19-4:16)

Remembering The Call

Dear Faith Family,  

Whether offering a structured center as it does in Van Gogh's painting above or a series of activities and ambitions around which to organize our lives as it does in our part of the world, "church'" plays a significant role in our life of faith. There is no arguing it. Yet, perhaps because of its significance, even conscientious attempts to examine the proper place and purpose of "church" feel like an affront to our history or the experiences of our sisters and brothers in the faith, a criticism of something sacred. But isn't that our habit as humans to idolize the means over the end? After all, our scriptures exhort us to grow up into Jesus, not church: 

"we are to grow up in every way into Him
who is the head [of the body], into Christ"
(Ephesians 4:15) 

While, as we've said the last couple of weeks, the church is neither the goal of our faith nor even the primary "place" where our faith matures, that doesn't mean our being a part of the community of faith, the part we play in the body, isn't a necessary means of maturation. As we said on Sunday, our life together orbiting Jesus is meant to cultivate the root of our faith: awe and response to God with us. 

At its fullest, our life together in Jesus, structured or otherwise, draws one another's attention to the marvelous wonder of life in, through, and for Jesus in which we exist at this very moment (Col. 1:15-23). That was Van Gogh's message, and that is the message of church bells too. 

For a period in history, in particular parts of the world at least, the church's placement and physical construct within a town or village allowed the church structure to fulfill this function practically. Accompanying every spire was a bell or set of bells that rang out to signal the commencement of various sacred occasions. Whether singing out in celebration of a new beginning in marriage or baptism, tolling in hope of life again and different in a burial, or a beckoning welcome to worship; whenever a church bell rung, the attention of the community was caught, called to awareness of something significant at that moment. Yet the bells didn't just ring at exceptionally sacred moments, but in ordinary sacred moments too. 

Sometimes randomly, sometimes regularly, the church bells would ring out even when the building itself was intentionally empty. The purposed sounding was a recollect. The sound calling to mind that wherever you are, in that very moment, God is with you. And that whatever you were doing in that very moment is in response to God with you.

Whether laboring in the field or the home, crafting with metal, wood, or words, conversing with a neighbor, arguing with an employee, or mindlessly about routine tasks; when the bells rang your attention was called to the significance of that very moment. It became custom that at the sounding of the bell, those with ears attuned would pray a brief prayer in awareness of the sacred ordinary. These prayers became known as "recollected prayers." And it is a recollected prayer that I'd encourage you to pray this week. 

While we might not have church bells, we do have chimes on our phones! So...

• Start by setting two alarms on your phone. For example, Jewish tradition contains a similar habit of prayer at 9 am, Noon, and 3 pm. Pick two times that will sound during "ordinary" activities. 

• When your alarm goes off, recite the verses below, remembering the story from which it was first prayed (Lk. 23:39-42).

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

• Recite it once more, briefly acknowledging that wherever you are and whatever you are doing at that moment is in, through, and for Jesus. 

May we live by faith today, in awe and response to God with us in even the most unanticipated places. 

Love you, faith family!

Prophetic Pictures

Dear Faith Family,  

"The Bible is an answer to the question, What does God require of man?" 

We might rephrase Rabbi Heschel's observation of the ultimate question our scriptures answer: What is required to live: truly, wholly, and free? At least, that's been the question wrestling with us over the last seven or so months since Easter. 

From the resurrected rhythm to the simple basics, and most recently, looking into the depths to flourish, we've spent what on the Church calendar is called "Ordinary Time" getting into all the everyday, foundational, and granular contexts in which life is made whole and holy, free and flourishing, or something less. Well, almost all the contexts. 

Before the "Cycle of Light" (Advent...Christmas...Epiphany) begins anew, there is one last place our scriptures would have us look to see, hear, and feel what God requires for Life: Church. The fact that this place is a place we go in and for faith, makes it all the more difficult to discern what's off in our orientation to it, which is why we need prophets to help us see clearly what is easily missed.

The prophet's role throughout our faith's history has been through words, performances, and their own lives, to call our awareness to the way, the work, and the with-ness of God in hopes that we might be attentive and live; truly, wholly, and free. Prophets like Isaiah and Van Gogh (yes, you didn't misread that!), which, as we learned Sunday, paint wonderous pictures of real Life, helping us see what we might be overlooking in our church-centered orbits. 

If you missed Sunday, I'd encourage you to listen to the sermon or read through the notes and gaze at a Starry Night. But even if you don't, at least allow the prayer below to provide you a glimpse of the prophetic picture of Life and Light from, through, for whom we live, today. 

Love you, faith family!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

St. Patrick's Prayer Adapted 

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, entreating the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of the Rock.

I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
From every knowledge that corrupts body and soul;

For I arise today
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, entreating the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Put Away the Pretense

Dear Faith Family,  

What if I told you the thing that keeps us (re) building our lives in the shallow sandiness of unawareness instead of standing firm on the deep foundation is our pretense in our faith practices? If we want to flourish from the depths of our life in God's life, then we can't hide behind false portrayals, ideals, or self-assumptions. 

In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (I know you thought we were done with that!), Jesus warns,

“practicing our righteousness
(or “practices of relating rightly with God's commands and heart")
before other people in order to be seen by them…
will have no reward from our Father who is in heaven.”
(Matthew 6:1)

Jesus goes on to urge us not to put on a show for others, ourselves, or even God, for that is what hypocrites do (6:2,5, 16). Hypocrites are concerned with what is seen rather than what is secret (hidden behind the actor's mask). Instead, Jesus says, whether in generosity, prayer, or fasting to do so,

“in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret
will reward you.”
(Matthew 6:4, 6, 18)

Now, what does the Father, who sees in secret, see? Surely, it’s not just our right religious actions, our faith practices, but what the psalmist has recognized that God knows,

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me
(hiding who I truly am),
and the light about me
(what’s good and true and knowable),
be night,’
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as day the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb…
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being formed in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them…

I praise you,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully
set apart for purpose.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.

(Psalm 139:1,11-13, 15-16, 14)

 
What Jesus invites us into is a genuineness in our relating to God, not a posturing that keeps God at a distance and us living in the shallow. Jesus invites us into being fully known, and the reward of being fully known is, as the psalmist found, a soul content—fully aware of who and whose and for what it is. 

While we spent several hours Sunday responding to Jesus' invitation by going deeper through Solitude and Silence, which our Eighth Practice walks you through, might I encourage you to take 20 minutes today to be yourself with God? The exercise below will guide you through moving from the shallows into the depths. In doing so, may you find what our Father sees and its reward. 

Love you, faith family!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Being Yourself With God*

1. Acknowledge that you are here at the invitation of God, who has searched and known you. There is nothing to hide and no expectation to be hidden.

2. Set a 5-minute timer, which you'll reset after each movement. Then, take note of the following as you move from the surface into the depths of yourself with God.

   BODY (5 mins) What is your physical condition lately? Are you tired, energized, satisfied with your level of health and fitness, eating well or not, caring for health issues, and so on?

 Talk with God about these things and listen for His response.

MIND (5 mins) What concerns or questions have occupied your thoughts recently? How has your mind been working on these questions, and what is the result?

Let your questions sit in silence with God. Don’t grasp for answers; just let them settle in what God sees.

HEART (5 mins) What emotions have been most prevalent recently? What feelings are you living on or pop up most often? What are your persistent longings?

Let your questions sit in silence with God. Don’t grasp for answers; just let them settle in the presence of God with you and take note of what happens emotionally, physically, spiritually.

SOUL (5 mins) What is the condition of your soul these days? What concerns are weighing on you? What joys or successes are you celebrating? Where do you hurt? Where do you feel whole?

Bring these to God as a child would bring squeals of delight or tears of sadness or frustration to a loving parent. Allow yourself to experience everything you are feeling right now
without censoring anything. Speak to God directly about what you are experiencing, recognizing He knows and is with you in this place.

When the last timer sounds, enter the day formed for you, doing the work for which you were formed. 

*This exercise is an adaption from Ruth Haley Barton's "Invitation Into Solitude & Silence," pages 136-139. 

Perpetuating The Problem

Dear Faith Family,  

I doubt we are unfamiliar with the "Golden Rule." Whether from family members, Sesame Street, or teachers, some version of  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" has found its way into our ears and expectations. This reciprocal ethic is espoused across generations as well as socioeconomic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Nearly every people and place has an adaptation of this treasured precept. And while the acculturation of this "rule" gives credence to its universal truthfulness, it is also a source of our relational frustration. 

Think about it. When floating out there on its own, the rule is, as Chaz mentioned on Sunday, a little egocentric. Detached from something other than "you" (or me!), how we relate (what we "do unto others") becomes preferential and dogmatic. "I" becomes the central evaluator of what is desired (i.e., "best") for not only myself but for others as well. And so, when "I" don't get what "I" want from "you," that means it is a "you" problem. Is there any wonder then why we are prone to judgmentalism and easily offended?! 

But here is the thing: even though my translation of the Bible has the heading "The Golden Rule" above Matthew 7:12, dividing it from the verses before, Jesus grounds the valued wisdom in the foundation on which he has been building, keeping our preferences or perspectives from perpetuating the problems: 

"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." 

Jesus uses the same phrase here as he did in Matthew 5:17, connecting the "do unto others" to the revelations of our unease and restlessness which he's made us aware of between them, and closing the loop on his reoriented image of a "Blessed" life already and forever. A good and purposeful life experienced in greater depth as we grow in being present to the Presence in us and with others in the granular interactions of our day.

Our Sixth Practice is designed to ground "The Golden Rule" in these most intimate, ordinary, and often anxiety-riddled relations, so that we and those we share life with might truly flourish. So, as you take time this week to do the work to be a differentiated presence, may you come to see,

"how much more will your Father who is in heaven
give good things to those who ask him!"
(Matthew 7:11)

Love you, faith family!

OH the Drama!

Dear Faith Family,  

We are a funny people. On the one hand, we are obsessed with making life easier. From the technology we buy to the fads we buy into, we are always on the lookout for means and methods of de-stressing the labors of living. On the other hand, we are addicted to drama. From Stranger Things to Survivor, from Serial to Spare, look at the bestsellers to the most watched and top listened. You'll find we consume an amalgamation of dramas, good and bad, compelling and corny, tragic and triumphant. We may want to avoid trouble in our lives, but we sure are gluttons for it in others! 

While there is nothing wrong with tackling real troubles nor even the energy, emotion, and entertainment of a good story, our diet sheds light on why unease and restlessness are near-constant companions for most of us. As we discussed on Sunday, if we want to make peace in the troubles, we must step out of the drama (our own and others). 

We're drawn to dramas because they are representations of real life, but only partially so. All dramas read, watched, listened to, or narrated in our souls are scripted to tell a story from a particular angle to draw others into the depiction's conflict, often with a sympathetic perspective to the author. And while that is all good and well for entertainment purposes, in real life, when we dramatize our troubles, we cultivate anxiousness in us and others. 

Anxious, at least the term Jesus used for it in Matthew 6:25-34, describes unsettledness as "a part as opposed to the whole" or "going to pieces." The term describes both how we feel and why. So, whether in an interaction at the office, at a moment of opportunity, or in the middle of a conversation, when we experience the physical symptoms of anxiousness, an elevated heart rate, a racing mind, and a tightening stomach; we should ask not just what's wrong, but, what's missing? What's the story I'm telling or being told, and is there something missing, a perspective not seen or left out that's creating a drama and drawing me in? 

Our Fifth Practice is meant to help us learn to identify and step out of the drama and, as Jesus encourages, clearly see and thoroughly grasp the whole story in which we are caught up. And while we may miss the drama, we'll find a deeper satisfaction. 

Wonderful are your works; 
my soul knows it very well. 
(Psalm 139:14) 

Love you, faith family!

Taking A Closer Look

Dear Faith Family,  

Where do you look to get a bead on where you are? When you feel unsettled (physically, emotionally, spiritually), where do you look to know if you're in our Father's kingdom come and will done, or not quite there at the moment? 

If you're like me, you answer the question by zooming out and assessing the present circumstantially--what's working and not--or perhaps historically--the decisions and situations that led here. While such a big-picture assessment has its time and place, Jesus encourages a more granular perspective. 

As we said on Sunday, if we want to know why we are unsettled, we don't need to zoom out; we need to zoom in. Take a look, Jesus exhorts in Matthew 5:17-48, at those ordinary and minute interactions in any given day, and you'll discover what's easily overlooked. Whether in a conversation with your coworker, an argument with your spouse, correcting a child, counseling a friend, or any of the dozen daily collisions; when you get granular, you can see that unsettledness is often relational. 

The source of our anxiousness and unrest is often the disposition of our interactions, how we come into contact with others or a reaction to their disposition towards us. Remember, unsettledness is contagious. But, so too is peace! 

The wonderous paradox of Jesus' revelation is that when we look at the granular, we not only discover (become aware of) what's going on under the surface in us and sometimes in others, but we also see the kingdom of heaven's entrance. The place where we feel tension, the daily interactions and collisions that make life real, is the same place we experience the "Already Blessedness" of life in God's life. And so, Jesus encourages us, don't avoid the collisions, pay attention and participate in what's happening within them.

Love your enemies and
pray for those who make life hard on you. 
(Matthew 5:44)

After all, that's our familial expectation:  

You therefore must mature, reach your end goal,
as your heavenly Father is already at the end.
(Matthew 5:48) 

Our Fourth Practice is meant to help us mature, get better at paying attention to participate! I encourage you to set aside space to work through the practice this week. Perhaps with a friend or spouse? As you do, may you find,

...the kingdom of God is in
the midst of you...
within you...
within your grasp.
(Luke 17:21) 

Love you, faith family!

Uncovering Happiness

Dear Faith Family,  

"If I could only __________, life would be good."

"If only __________, I'd be living with purpose." 

How would you fill in the blanks above, today? Would today's answers differ if you were asked the same question at a different moment? I'd wager what filled the void, say, while in college was different than within your career. In fact, as you consider each stage or phase or circumstance of your story, I'd imagine that your answer to "What do I need to live happy, to experience a good and purposeful life?" has been as varied and vanishing as the moment in which it was asked.

Whether something to get, or do, or change, our answers to the question have been in constant motion and so too have our efforts to secure the apparently elusive prize of a happy, "Blessed" life. If a good and purposeful life is an ever-moving target, changing as the terrain of life changes, then no wonder we find ourselves exhausted. But is it?

Is a "Blessed" life something to be captured, achieved, or even reached? Is the life we are after truly an ever-moving target, or does the perpetual motion of what we think we need to experience it create an illusion of elusiveness? 

What if the way we frame the question is the real source of our anxiousness and unrest, not the apparent elusiveness of our desire? Think about it: the way we phrase the question of happiness implies what we desire is somewhere out there, just out of reach or a million miles away. And, what lies between where I am and what I seek is a host of obstacles, whether people, objects, situations, or something more internal or ethereal. Regardless, the question assumes that there is something that we must get over, get through, or simply get to get where we want to be.

Yet, as we discussed a couple of Sundays ago, Jesus' opening words in the Sermon on the Mount imply that the life we are after is the one we already have. In other words, Jesus doesn't provide us with another list of answers; Jesus reframes the question! 

Instead of asking what you need to be happy, which implies we go looking for the ever-changing answers, Jesus asks: What dilutes or covers up your "Alreay Blessed-ness"? Jesus' question still presumes there are difficulties even in a flourishing life. A good and purposeful life is still something to be faced. Yet, the reframed question settles the desire. What we are after is already ours.

So, it's not about finding what we lack but cultivating or maturing in what is already ours. The change of question shifts our efforts. Instead of figuring out what to get, grab hold of, or go through, which is, as we've attested, ever-changing, we now spend our energy uncovering happiness.

What we find exposed in our digging is the shroud of our particular anxiousness and unrest (which we'll see throughout the Simply to Flourish series) and the depths and wonder of our Father's providential affection. 

So today, with Jesus' reframed question in mind, spend a few moments meditating on a favorite of our faith family: Psalm 139. And as you do, may your life, inside and out, settle in the gracious surety of your "Blessedness." 

Love you, faith family!

Getting Oriented

Dear Faith Family,  

At the end of my senior year of high school, I drove from Wichita Falls, where I grew up, to Flint, a little town in east Texas. My destination was program and counselor training for a family camp where I'd spend the summer working. You might not think this roughly four-hour trip was a big deal, but it was my first relatively long, solo road excursion. Oh, by the way, this was not only pre-smartphone days (so no GPS); it was pre-cell phone days (at least for my family!). So I was making this trek old school, with a foldout map, printed turn-by-turn directions from Map Quest, and a strict demand from my mom to call her when I arrived. 

I'd love to say I was confident and relaxed in my travels. After all, I had a map, I had directions, and I knew what I was headed to would be a good thing. But the truth is, my eyes darted from the map to the directions to the odometer (remember having to mark the miles!) and back again for nearly the entire journey! Especially nerve-racking were the interchanges in Dallas, not to mention the drastically different driving styles, as well as the half dozen or so farm-to-market roads seemingly every three-and-three-quarter miles I was supposed to keep a lookout for! 

There were multiple times along the way that I experienced all the physiological indicators of anxiety: heart racing as hundreds of cars flew by as I naively kept to the speed limit, head spinning at how many different I-35 and I-20 signs and exits there were, and stomach tightening wondering if I read the directions correctly (Was it FM 349 or FM 439 that I'm supposed to be looking for?!), if the map was accurate (Maybe this thing is dated, every road is under construction!), or if my orientation to the map was just off (Where the heck am I, really!). 

Eventually, I arrived at my destination, though emotionally exhausted. A few hours into the training, a year-round staffer got up in front of the several hundred trainees to let one particular trainee know that he should call his mom since she had called the main offices to ensure he was indeed safe and sound. 

Maybe you've had similar experiences. Not forgetting to call your mom, but the unease accompanying doing something you've never done, navigating through unfamiliar territory, and dependence on tools that may be accurate enough but don't provide a vivid picture of the path at any particular point. 

In truth, much of the underlying anxiety and restlessness we experience in life, especially our spiritual life, stem from our navigational processes: how we relate to the world and others around us based on the maps and models shaping our imagined place and path. Perhaps that is one reason Jesus' first actions with his apprentices was to ensure they were properly oriented. 

As we discussed on Sunday, in the opening to the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:2-16), Jesus makes sure those following Him know where they are because of where they are going. In doing so, Jesus empowers us to be content in facing the real rather than imagined obstacles along the way. 

This week, I encourage you to set aside some time for our second guided practice to help us live simply to flourish. Today, wherever you are literally or metaphorically navigating life, listen and rest in Jesus' orientating revelation. 

Blessed (already happy) are you utterly dependent on God's presence and power,

for you have it. 

Blessed (already favored) are you who feel the losses in life;
for refreshment and strength are yours. 

Blessed (already whole) are you appropriately angry and evidently gentle,
for you are in peace amid the chaos. 

Blessed (already happy) are you whose most genuine desire drives you,
for you have your daily fill. 

Blessed (already favored) are you who illogically & inconceivably forgive,
for you share what you've received. 

Blessed (already whole) are you laborers for wholeness and health,
for you're living on your inheritance, what was made for and given to you. 

Blessed (already happy) are you in conflict with the old navigational tools,
for you're living in/by something new. 

Blessed (already happy) are you in the run-ins and put-downs,
for you are distinctively with Jesus,
and those blessed to be a blessing,
shown to reveal in word and deed a world different,
have always been a bit tangy. 

Love you, faith family! God bless. 

A Place to Start

Dear Faith Family,  

You don't have to be a social scientist, cultural commentator, or medical professional to recognize we (as individuals and society) are experiencing the ill effects of an ever-churning current of unease permeating our daily existence. Though such persons are regularly reporting the fact, often contending that the levels of anxiety and restlessness we live with are unprecedented. The solution of most pundits and professionals is to manage the effects, treat the symptoms, or, worse, attempt to escape the pressure. Yet, as Steven Cuss points out, 

“[Humans] face a steady onslaught of internal and external pressures we are not trained to handle. We focus on skill development and hone our gifts but too often neglect the most powerful [life] tool: awareness of what is happening under the surface.

All manner of triggers, reactivity, and stories we tell ourselves bubble just under our conscious awareness. This boiling collective blocks our capacity to be present because it takes energy to manage, especially when we’re not aware of it or when we’re reacting unconsciously to anxiety in someone else."

Acknowledgment that we are constantly facing anxiety—whether yours, mine, or ours—is not the same as awareness of the particulars of our unease and restlessness. Recognizing our mechanism for management, identifying our triggers and reactivity, and exposing the stories we live by won't automatically make us less anxious or more apt to cultivate peace, however. There are no quick fixes. Still, awareness is the place to start: 

“Awareness is critical to be sure, but it is not the path of growth; it is simply the gate. We unlock it and walk through it, but on the other side of self-awareness is difficult work that brings deeper freedom for us and those we [share life with]." (Steven Cuss) 

This Fall, we'll be doing several things to help us unlock and walk through the gate of awareness as we continue (discover) the difficult work of deeper freedom, of living simply to flourish. In addition to offering the Entering Awareness Group (see the image above), we'll learn to pay attention to our racing hearts, spinning minds, and tightening guts as we listen to Jesus' words and the Spirit's examening. You can find the first guided practice here. 

As we take responsibility this week and during the weeks to come to open the door of awareness, may we enter into the steady work of living abundantly (Jn. 10:7-10), at peace amid the raging currents of today and every day:

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”
(Matthew 7:24-27)

Love you faith family! God bless.

The Final Word

Dear Faith Family,  

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?
Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
You desire and do not have, so you murder.
You covet and cannot obtain,
so you fight and quarrel. 
(James 4:1-2)

The Tenth and final of our Ten Words takes us to the essential tension we experience in living a free and whole life: the war within that manifests as fights amongst our foundational relationships. 

You shall not covet...anything that is your neighbor's.
(Exodus 20:17)

As we mentioned on Sunday, the Tenth Word is surgical. The Tenth Word exposes the disease at the heart of our daily tensions: a desire willing to destroy what we do have - relationships, integrity, resources, potential, i.e., your life - for what someone else has - things, success, opportunities, i.e., their life. Yet, surgery is not merely about exposing an issue but correcting or removing the malcontent at the source. And so, the Tenth Word prohibits inordinate longing for another's life and empowers us to live content. 

Before you stop reading because you've heard the exhortation to be content too many times, remember what the word doesn't mean. To be content does not mean to "be happy" with or "don't complain" about what you have. In contrast to what most of us assume, the encouragement to be content is not the slogan we used around our house when the kids were toddlers: "You get what you get, so don't throw a fit." If content were just be happy or don't complain, we'd have to eliminate nearly half of the Psalms! 

Contentment is much deeper than our surface reactions to life's circumstances. To be content is to be self-sufficient. Contentment is the inward experience of sufficiency, of possessing all you need for life in that moment. In being satisfied with my ability to flourish in my life, contentment cuts out the source of daily disputes, "the passions at war within me" for someone else's life. Another's life, James reminds us, is something we'll never be able to obtain, so no wonder we get frustrated! But my life, now that is a gift I can do something with. 

In step with the First Word's revelation (Ex. 20:2-3), the apostle Paul points out the self-sufficiency that brings peace to the wars within and the quarrels between is a relational sufficiency on the One in whose life we are caught up:

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for
I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content (self-sufficient).
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance,
I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
I can do all things through
the One strengthening (sharing power-ability with) me.
(Philippians 4:11-13)

As Paul said, the secret of living at peace within ourselves and between one another is something "learned." If it took Paul a while to become intimately acquainted with contentment, I imagine it will for me and probably you as well! So, will you join me this week in letting the Spirit and scripture do a little heart surgery? 

Set aside a few moments this week and allow the Spirit to examen the heart of your daily actions and attitudes, asking: In what ways am I trying to live another(‘s) life? Consider writing down what the Spirit brings to mind. Then, allow the Spirit to lead you to delight in God's life in you, asking: In what ways has God empowered me for my life? 

As we trust in the Lord and do good this week, may we feed on the faithfulness of God, delighting ourselves in His life, finding that He gives us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:3-4). 

Love you, faith family! God bless. 

More Power Than You Think

Dear Faith Family,  

Death and life are in the power of the tongue
and those who love it will eat its fruit. 
(Proverbs 18:21)

Even with how well acquainted we are with feeling powerless, Wisdom says that we indeed possess great power. And, as we all know, "With great power comes great responsibility." 

Okay, that last sentence might not be from the most reputable source of wisdom, though Uncle Ben/Aunt Mae seemed to have had enough life to have figured a few things out. And if you're lost to what I'm talking about, you're probably better off! 

Regardless, the truth of the matter is that words are powerful things. As Paul reminded the faith family of Colosse, it is our words along with our deeds that make a life, good or not (Col. 3:17). Or, as one translation of Proverbs 18:21 puts it: 

Words kill, words give life;
they're either poison or fruit - 
you choose. 

The words we use and the manner in which we use them matter. The Ninth of our Ten Words declares our submission to this truth essential to living free and whole with God and others. 

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
(Exodus 20:16) 

As we mentioned on Sunday, at the heart of the Ninth Word is the prohibition against any speech that corrupts the judgment of others in our favor. Whether in a legal proceeding or at the watercooler, whether to secure a favorable ruling or favorable perception, whether spoken in ignorance, arrogance, from hurt or fear; when we use words to twist or manipulate how another person(s) are perceived (judged), we are violating the Ninth Word. That's why throughout our scriptures, not only is lying condemned, but so is slander, gossip, 'othering,' stereotyping, 'gas-lighting,' and the like. And these ways of using words are not merely called improper, but evil, for in truth, they kill life in relationships rather than cultivate it. 

I doubt you'd have to think too hard to recall the power of words in your life- whether your own or another's. Times when words poisoned a relationship and times when words made bounds deeper and more satisfying. 

It is humbly to think that the Lord would entrust us with such power. Which is why Paul encourages us, as Uncle Ben did Peter Parker, to use our words with great responsibility:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,
but only such as is good for building up,
as fits the occasion,
that it may give grace to those who hear.
(Ephesians 4:29)

May our words make life good, as we speak truth in love. 

Love you, faith family! God bless. 

Never Too Late to Learn

Dear Faith Family,  

The stunning simplicity of the Ten Words in Exodus 20 is magnified by how remarkably exhaustive these foundational words are. As we've seen over the summer, and as Leviticus details, an entire civilization, a community's every day customs and culture in life together and with God, can be built upon these ten simple words. The simplest of which might just be the Eighth Word:

You shall not steal.
(Exodus 20:15) 

From early in life we learn that taking what is not ours is wrong. Whether it be our playmates toys or candy from the store, by two-years of age most every human knows that stealing is an action to avoid, or to hide! While the Eighth Word may be the earliest espoused command, it may also be the most frequently transgressed. 

As we said on Sunday, the word used for "steal" allows us to expand the prohibition from no unlawfully appropriation of someone else’s property, to do no action to take advantage of another. 

The truth is, we can take advantage of others in as nearly as varied ways as we can run off with their possessions. Whether through mindless consumption that takes advantage of unjust labor costs, or a demanding dependence on the kindness of others, idle and half-hearted labor, or even inconsiderate production; taking advantage of others is the failure to take responsibility for ourselves, a failure in stewardship.  

A steward recognizes both what they have and what others have belong to someone else. For a steward, there is true and only owner of possessions, prosperity, and persons, who has entrusted the stewards to use what they've been given in ways that honor the owners character and intentions. And the owner to which we are each of us stewards, as Paul reminds us, intends for us to take responsibility for what we have been entrusted by doing good work well with a generous spirit. 

Let the thief no longer steal,
but rather let him labor,
doing good work with his own hands,
so that he may have something to share
with anyone in need.
(Ephesians 4:28)

While you might not be directly taking what is not yours, I'd be willing to wager that like me, you are taking advantage of others, whether our "stealing" is self-evident or (as thieving tends to be) a self-deception. So, today, lets take a few moments to allow the Spirit to examen our hearts in the ways we interact with our daily responsibilities and employment, our possessions and persons, and our community. 

Pray:  "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Examine me, and know my disquieting thoughts. See if there is any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way ancient and everlasting." (Ps. 139:23-24)

Then listen as the Spirit reveals: 

• The ways am I taking, rather than taking responsibility & 

• What I need to do to give up “thieving." 

May our souls know the grace and freedom of a thief who recognizes in Jesus the means of living differently and forever: "Today with [Him] in Paradise" (Luke 23:43) 

Love you, faith family! God bless.