Travel Plans

Our summer travel plans this year, determined by life events—my daughters’ graduations, one  from high school and another from university, and Donovan’s German godson’s confirmation—are full this year. Donovan and I will visit Germany for the confirmation. Then, because I always celebrate high school graduations with a trip to New York City, Missy and I have been planning for this celebration trip. When we learned our German friends want to celebrate the confirmation with a trip to New York City, we decided to make this a joint celebration.

Donovan and I enjoy travel but many probably think our style of travel boring. We just wander—streets, art galleries, and churches. We wander from one café to the next, taking in interesting churches on the way. Sometimes we happen upon a church tour or organ recital. We have wandered through the National Gallery in Washington, DC so many times that I’ve noticed particular art works are moving in and out and around the building. We always stop by the café downstairs for gelato.

Cafés are determined by the hour, whatever looks interesting at meal or snack time. We follow streets the same way, whatever looks interesting.

Mostly we talk. On road trips we frequently miss turn-offs because we have been carried away in conversation. Visiting with friends means we talk even more. Some of my fondest memories are wandering with friends through churches, villages, cafés, and art galleries. And one castle.

Interfaith Winter Shelter

Tuesday mornings I work the 6:00am cleanup shift at the Interfaith Winter Shelter that rotates to my church two days a week from November 1 through March 31. There’s no sermon, no music, no liturgy, but week after week, this is the best church service I attend.

Linda, the Monday night director, is part of the success of this ministry. Frequently she talks about seeing the glow of the Spirit over the place or in the face of volunteers or guests. She is always seeing Jesus in a way like someone who has actually seen Jesus.

This week I saw the glow of the Spirit myself. Now I know what she has been talking about. People who are always seeing or hearing from Jesus are pretty freaky until you see him yourself! In that instance, spiritual eyes are opened to see things of the Spirit.

All along I’ve enjoyed working at the shelter, the guests and other volunteers, but this week it became different. While I was focused on picking up and putting away, not even paying attention, the Spirit shined and I saw. I turned to looked around and Oh. My. God. Literally.

In the words of John Lennon, “You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one.” Linda and I both have seen it. It will be hard to keep it quiet now.

Interfaith Weekend

This weekend I attended an interfaith prayer service and panel discussion at the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist monastery Cultural Center in my community. This gathering of sisters and brothers from many world faiths reminded me of the Psalm 133:

How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the HOLY ONE ordained blessing,
life for evermore.

It is very good and pleasant when God’s people dwell together in unity. God anoints this with an anointing that runs down the head and over the collar, onto the ground and overflowing the mountains. God does not limit based on those who call God by one name or another.

I felt this goodness this weekend as Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Moslem, Buddhist and Hindu, Jain and Sikh prayed. I felt the Spirit of God as these holy women and men spoke of their faiths. I know for much of Christianity Christians have believed our sisters and brothers who call God by different names are pagans in need of conversion. But either there is just one God or there isn’t and I believe there is, whatever name you call God by.

I’m convinced Jesus was speaking of these sisters and brothers in John 10:16:

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

And Paul in Romans 2:14:

When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts.

My sisters and brothers call God by other names and worship God differently but it is still the same life-giving God. Rather than diminishing God, this is witness that God is too big to be fully described by one faith alone. As these sisters and brothers spoke on Saturday I heard the fruits of the Spirit in our midst.

Gloria Patri II

I’m still working through this Gloria Patri/Glory Be thing. The Gloria Patri, from early Christianity, is a short hymn of praise to God. The exact wording varies depending on faith tradition but the form I use from the Irish Jesuits at http://www.sacredspace.ie/ is:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now and every shall be, world without end.

As I said in an earlier post, I have a couple problems with it. I come from a non-Trinitarian background, which we called Oneness. This is no longer an issue for me but I still do not embrace the Trinity. This is actually an easy fix for me by praying “to the Holy, that is Creating me, Redeeming me and Sustaining me.”

What I have continued to ponder is “Glory.” At first I was uncomfortable offering Glory to God. I feel like we are more partners and I’m not convinced God wants glorification from me. However, this suggests I believe God is a person like me, which I don’t.

So, what is God and what does God want from me? If I haven’t already cited Micah 6:8 before, “God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does God require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

To begin with, “God” sounds so person-like… and masculine. Why don’t we just call God what Moses called God? I am that I am. The One that is. We—at least I—tend to think referring to God as the Holy, the Divine, etc. sounds so New Age-y but how much more New Age-sounding can you get than “I am that I am.” God, on the other hand seems so much more defined and knowable. That’s that problem. We think we have it all figured out when we really don’t.

I believe the Holy is that which has been drawing us closer into the Holy since humankind began encountering God. I don’t think God ever changes, but as humanity gets closer and closer, what we know of the Holy changes.

I think I’m deciding this Holy that draws us closer in does deserve glory. This experience I feel coming into the Holy from afar deserves glory. Glory be to the Holy that is Creating me, Redeeming me, and Sustaining me. Glory!

Benedictine at Work

I continue to explore Benedictine spirituality in my life. I qualify this with the phrase ‘in my life’ because it’s not enough merely to explore on an intellectual level. It needs applied into my day-to-day life. Here the challenge begins.

Work is central to the Benedictine life. On first glance, that’s easy for sisters and brothers in a monastery and ordained clergy but what about the rest of us? My 9-5 (actually 7:30-4:00) job is far removed from such Godly work. Or is it?

I work for a not-for-profit hospital as a reimbursement analyst. Actually, my work is about as Godly as it gets: we provide healing to those in our community. I review and analyze how we could improve our billing practices to increase our reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid so we can continue to provide healing in our community.

We bind up the wounded. We heal the sick. We comfort the hurting. I shouldn’t take this lightly.

Thus, this spreadsheet is not a work list to work through this week; it is the healing work I am called to do. Debating this service with Medicaid is not such a nuisance; it’s a bit of wrestling with ‘Satan in the wilderness’ but it is healing work and I must overcome this bureaucratic adversary. I should greet complicated and time-consuming work: healing is complicated and time-consuming work.

I will continue to look and see how I am doing God’s work. I imagine it could even change how I go about my day. Will it change how I start and end my day when my inbox is full of healing God called me to and my outbox is full of healing I did today. Yes, it feels much different.

So, how do you do God’s work?

Justice Creed

Pentecostals refer to the religious joy they are prone to as “shouting.” The Justice Creed by Brian McLaren below made me feel like shouting last night as I read it in Justice in the Burbs by Will Sampson and Lisa Sampson. Other than the few “King” references, this is a creed I can embrace (and shout about):

The Justice Creed

We believe that the living God is just
And that the true and living God loves justice.
God delights in just laws and rejoices in just people.
God sides with those who are oppressed by injustice,
And stands against oppressors.
God is grieved by unjust people and the unjust systems they create and sustain.
God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, and
God's kingdom belongs to those willing to be persecuted for the sake of justice.
To God, justice is a weighty thing which can never be ignored.

We believe that Jesus, the Liberating King, came to free humanity from injustice
And to display the justice of God,
In word and deed, in life, death, and resurrection.
The justice which God desires, Jesus taught, must surpass that of the hypocrites,
For the justice of God is a compassionate justice,
Rich in mercy and abounding in love
For the last, the least, the lost, and the outcast.
On his cross, Jesus drew the injustice of humanity into the light,
And there the heartless injustice of human empire met
The reconciling justice of the kingdom of God.
The resurrection of Jesus proclaims that the true justice of God,
Naked, vulnerable, and scarred by abuse, is stronger
Than the violent injustice of humanity, armed with weapons, conceit, deceit, and lies.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is here, now,
Convicting the world of sin and justice,
Warning that God's judgment will come on all that is unjust.
We believe that the Kingdom of God is justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Empowered by the Spirit, then, we seek first God's kingdom and God's justice,
For the world as it is has not yet become the world as God desires it to be.
And so we live, and work, and pray,
Until justice rolls down like water,
And flows strong and free like a never-failing stream.
For we believe that the living God is just
And that the true and living God loves justice.
Amen.

This past Sunday our Bread for the World class read from Luke 4 when Jesus read and preached in the synagogue, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recover of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” This old-time religion, from Jesus’ first sermon, is good enough for me.

The first thing Jesus stepped out to say is he was sent to proclaim this message of social justice. It makes me think we should be interpreting all Scripture in light of these words. When I read “God is my shepherd, I shall not want” maybe I should read it as a call from my shepherd to do justice for the injured and oppressed. When I read “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” maybe I should read it as a call to make earth a place of justice for all God created it to be. If Jesus was sent to do justice then he sends me to do justice. Cain asked God if he was his brother’s keeper. Yes, Cain, actually we are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers.

While I no longer embrace Pentecostal theology, God still gives me something to shout about, like The Justice Creed. I didn’t know creeds could do that but maybe that’s because other creeds have been misdirected.