Spring Training is a metaphor.
While there are no doubts that some baseball teams are better than others, in Spring Training everyone is still even. No one has won a game and no one has lost a game. In Spring Training it is time to refocus and work hard. It is a time of hope because every year there are some teams which surprise. Every year someone is much better than expected. Every year there is hope that this is the year that we do it!
Spring Training is a time to learn to play together. No matter how hard you work on your own, it takes a team to win. Meshing my skill set with your skill set allows us to achieve more. Interdependence is a reality and we need to live in the real world.
Spring Training is a time to focus on fundamentals. One of the most amazing truths about baseball is this: no matter how long you have played you still need to go back and practice the fundamentals. The foundation of our life also requires constant attention. Sometimes ego makes us ignore the basics because it is 'the basics' and we want more. In the spiritual life we are all beginners!
Lastly, Spring Training is SPRING! Spring and Lent, Spring and Easter, Spring and New Life. The words just go together. So now is a time to rekindle hope, to refocus on making the main thing the main thing, to renew our working relationships in concert with one another and a time to commit to achieving our ultimate goal (union with God and each other forever).
Even people who do not care about baseball can care about the metaphor. The metaphor of baseball provides us with an insight into life. We "play the game" of life and even if we are deadly serious about playing, we still need to enjoy it. Thirty teams start the season, only one team wins. Play to win, but even if you lose enjoy the game. You can build characater in disappointment just as you can in success. Players get hurt and careers end suddenly. Never forget how fragile it all is. Never take anything for granted. Today may be your last chance to "run and hit and throw" (whatever you do).
Before every game say a prayer of thanksgiving: for the sun, for the birds, for the other players and for the chance to be on the field. What ever your "field" is.....
Play ball!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Valentines Day
In a "Me" culture Valentine's Day gets reinterprted. Love is self giving. It is other seeking; that is, it seeks out the welfare of another. It is "us" centered, in the sense that it is about two becoming one. When "me" is the sole center then there can be no true love. So on Valentine's Day there is only a serach for someone to make me feel good. The purpose of Valentine's gifts is to score.
Authentic love is not easy. It runs counter to our self-seeking impulses. Authentic love makes us vulnerable. Authentic love is sacrificial. Yet, authenitic love is also life blessing, exciting and transformative. Those who have loved and been loved call it the greatest experience of life.
Romance is certainly an aspect of such love. There is, however, so much more. Love is an echo of the Universe's Source. We read that "God is love." We read that the first commandment is to love God and the other is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. Love is tied up with the purpose of the universe. It answers, in part, the question, "Why am I here?" So Valentine's Day, which can be cheesy, or can be a farce, is also able to be the best of holidays. It can be a day when we genuinely open our hearts to the others of our lives and tell them not only that we love them, but how much they mean to us.
Authentic love is not easy. It runs counter to our self-seeking impulses. Authentic love makes us vulnerable. Authentic love is sacrificial. Yet, authenitic love is also life blessing, exciting and transformative. Those who have loved and been loved call it the greatest experience of life.
Romance is certainly an aspect of such love. There is, however, so much more. Love is an echo of the Universe's Source. We read that "God is love." We read that the first commandment is to love God and the other is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. Love is tied up with the purpose of the universe. It answers, in part, the question, "Why am I here?" So Valentine's Day, which can be cheesy, or can be a farce, is also able to be the best of holidays. It can be a day when we genuinely open our hearts to the others of our lives and tell them not only that we love them, but how much they mean to us.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Me to Us
The idea of needing other people is easy for me to grasp. As a father, I am keenly aware of how much I give to my children. I give them a name. I chose their native language. I raised them in a particular church. I have been decisive in thousands of experiences: I chose their home, their school, their vacations, what they eat and drink, etc. I have limited some choices and expanded others.
Obviously, I was not alone. Mother probably was more decisive. It is also true that my kids made any number of decisions. They were not shaped and formed like clay. They make all sorts of choices, too.
Choices impact others. We are part of numerous systems. We ar one of the moving parts which have effects on other. Even when we withdraw we impact the group. Sometimes the team plays better without us, but there are other times when the team suffers our departure. If the team is playing with too few players it usually finds itself in trouble. There needs to be a reasonable ratio of workers to the job at hand.
What scares me about today is the focus on "Me" has resulted in the illness and death of so many institutions. I am a blood donor. Most blood donors are old. My motivation to give no doubt has elements of self involved, but in the end I do it because it is the right thing to do and people need my blood. People whom I do not know and whom I will never know have used more than ten gallons of my blood. Many have been babies. Is it worth the inconvenience of an hour of time and a needle in my arm. Yes. I hate needles and I am way busy, but yes, saving lives is worth it. It also helps me connect to the wider community. What happens as the number of donors shrinks?
Yesterday at prayer group Jean shared about an Egyptian woman she saw on tv. The woman was cleaning the square after the demonstrations. She said that woman said that Egypt belonged to the people and that the people had to clean it up. Most of us treat the "public square" as someone else's problem. We are not invested in cleaning up common ground. walking through a garbage strewn park in Chicago, following a weekend of ballgames and family picnics, I saw the fruit of that attitude. Civilization is perilous. It can all disappear in a blink. "We" can decide to maintain it. Unfortunately, the growing number of disconnected "Me's" is a deadly threat to all of us.
Obviously, I was not alone. Mother probably was more decisive. It is also true that my kids made any number of decisions. They were not shaped and formed like clay. They make all sorts of choices, too.
Choices impact others. We are part of numerous systems. We ar one of the moving parts which have effects on other. Even when we withdraw we impact the group. Sometimes the team plays better without us, but there are other times when the team suffers our departure. If the team is playing with too few players it usually finds itself in trouble. There needs to be a reasonable ratio of workers to the job at hand.
What scares me about today is the focus on "Me" has resulted in the illness and death of so many institutions. I am a blood donor. Most blood donors are old. My motivation to give no doubt has elements of self involved, but in the end I do it because it is the right thing to do and people need my blood. People whom I do not know and whom I will never know have used more than ten gallons of my blood. Many have been babies. Is it worth the inconvenience of an hour of time and a needle in my arm. Yes. I hate needles and I am way busy, but yes, saving lives is worth it. It also helps me connect to the wider community. What happens as the number of donors shrinks?
Yesterday at prayer group Jean shared about an Egyptian woman she saw on tv. The woman was cleaning the square after the demonstrations. She said that woman said that Egypt belonged to the people and that the people had to clean it up. Most of us treat the "public square" as someone else's problem. We are not invested in cleaning up common ground. walking through a garbage strewn park in Chicago, following a weekend of ballgames and family picnics, I saw the fruit of that attitude. Civilization is perilous. It can all disappear in a blink. "We" can decide to maintain it. Unfortunately, the growing number of disconnected "Me's" is a deadly threat to all of us.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
What about ME?
We live in tension. On the one hand, our culture celebrates individualism. To be 'different' and 'unique' is a preoccupation of so many. (Of course, we all know that non-conformists frequently end up looking like other non-conformists!)
I recall the radical punk movement we saw in Europe in the 1980's. Often times dozens of these young people with bizarre hair styles, dark makeup, odd clothing and assorted piercings would be seen flocking together. (All looking uniquely the same as each other) One day a young woman, in all her punk strangeness, was sitting alone with us in a train compartment. She seemed uncomfortable and we wondered, "Are there ever times that she wishes she looked normal so she could just blend in? Did she ever say, I wish I wasn't a punk today." Isolated and alone she appeared uneasy.
That is the proverbial 'on the other hand' of the story. We seek to be unique but we also hunger to be included. We seek out others like us. Even misery loves company! We want to belong. Yet, we fear rejection. So we preemptively reject others, or we act in a way that invites rejection. We boast that we do not care what others say, even as we listen for their every word. In pathological instances, the fear of rejection can make being accepted painful. I have worked with enough disturbed young people to see that at work. It is one of life's tragedies. We make choices which are self destructive and push away those who we need the most.
In theory, faith communities are intended to bridge the gap between 'me' and 'them' by creating a 'we.' 'We' is personal. It includes 'me' without devolving into a disconnected individualism. 'We' is personal, so it does not negate the reality of 'me.' The problem is, both impersonal communalism and the selfish individualism are pulling at us. Hence, we live in tension: do I give up myself and melt into the group or do I assert myself and stand alone? Taken to an extreme either is unhealthy, hurtful and sinful. But balancing the two is like walking on ice. The slightest misstep and we are suddenlyflailing about at the brink of a fall.
So what about "me"? Do I matter? Am I all that matters? Why is it so hard?
I recall the radical punk movement we saw in Europe in the 1980's. Often times dozens of these young people with bizarre hair styles, dark makeup, odd clothing and assorted piercings would be seen flocking together. (All looking uniquely the same as each other) One day a young woman, in all her punk strangeness, was sitting alone with us in a train compartment. She seemed uncomfortable and we wondered, "Are there ever times that she wishes she looked normal so she could just blend in? Did she ever say, I wish I wasn't a punk today." Isolated and alone she appeared uneasy.
That is the proverbial 'on the other hand' of the story. We seek to be unique but we also hunger to be included. We seek out others like us. Even misery loves company! We want to belong. Yet, we fear rejection. So we preemptively reject others, or we act in a way that invites rejection. We boast that we do not care what others say, even as we listen for their every word. In pathological instances, the fear of rejection can make being accepted painful. I have worked with enough disturbed young people to see that at work. It is one of life's tragedies. We make choices which are self destructive and push away those who we need the most.
In theory, faith communities are intended to bridge the gap between 'me' and 'them' by creating a 'we.' 'We' is personal. It includes 'me' without devolving into a disconnected individualism. 'We' is personal, so it does not negate the reality of 'me.' The problem is, both impersonal communalism and the selfish individualism are pulling at us. Hence, we live in tension: do I give up myself and melt into the group or do I assert myself and stand alone? Taken to an extreme either is unhealthy, hurtful and sinful. But balancing the two is like walking on ice. The slightest misstep and we are suddenlyflailing about at the brink of a fall.
So what about "me"? Do I matter? Am I all that matters? Why is it so hard?
Friday, February 11, 2011
Fundamental Option
"There are two kinds of people," the old joke goes. In a sense, that is true. The two types, those who love God and those who don't, obviously subdivide into a wide variety of manifestations, but there is a point where the division is between one or the other.
As a disciple, a rather poor one much of the time, I have opted for the "love God" group. This Sunday I will preach on Deuteronomy. God says, "I set before you life and death, blessing and a curse. Choose life." Choosing is a particular as well as a general act. I can choose to eat healthy food, but I still must make particular choices of apple, orange, broccoli, or lean meat.
In seminary, we called this general choice to love God the fundamental option. In our rule of life, we live out this choice. Our ethic is how we do it. The ten commandments are a basic outline of such an ethic. We are called by God to be moral. It is important to look at our values and beliefs and assess: am I a child of my culutre or am I a child molded by my Heavenly Father?
The other day at Morning Prayer I heard the words of Jesus, "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out." I was told once that Jesus did not mean this literally. I fought the urge to say, "No duh!" Even so, if He meant it figuratively it is still pretty amazing. Jesus apparently does not subscribe to the theory that "sin is no big deal." I wonder how the world would be if we Christians did a better job of avoiding sin and engaging in acts of loving service.
So, in your rule of life identify times and places where you engage in genuine acts of love and service. Find a group in need, maybe elderly, maybe young, maybe sick, maybe disadvantaged, whatever group it is, find them and commit your time, talent and treasure in service of them. You cannot save the whole world, but you can make a big difference for someone. Make a list of things you want to be known for: "S/he is the kind of person who would never do______" or "S/he is the most ______ person I know." Your behavior creates your legacy. Jesus will judge your legacy. What is your Fundamental Option? How do you live that out each day? Every choice we make and every act we perform goes into creating our life story. Our choices determine if our Fundamental Option is to love and serve God or not.
As a disciple, a rather poor one much of the time, I have opted for the "love God" group. This Sunday I will preach on Deuteronomy. God says, "I set before you life and death, blessing and a curse. Choose life." Choosing is a particular as well as a general act. I can choose to eat healthy food, but I still must make particular choices of apple, orange, broccoli, or lean meat.
In seminary, we called this general choice to love God the fundamental option. In our rule of life, we live out this choice. Our ethic is how we do it. The ten commandments are a basic outline of such an ethic. We are called by God to be moral. It is important to look at our values and beliefs and assess: am I a child of my culutre or am I a child molded by my Heavenly Father?
The other day at Morning Prayer I heard the words of Jesus, "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out." I was told once that Jesus did not mean this literally. I fought the urge to say, "No duh!" Even so, if He meant it figuratively it is still pretty amazing. Jesus apparently does not subscribe to the theory that "sin is no big deal." I wonder how the world would be if we Christians did a better job of avoiding sin and engaging in acts of loving service.
So, in your rule of life identify times and places where you engage in genuine acts of love and service. Find a group in need, maybe elderly, maybe young, maybe sick, maybe disadvantaged, whatever group it is, find them and commit your time, talent and treasure in service of them. You cannot save the whole world, but you can make a big difference for someone. Make a list of things you want to be known for: "S/he is the kind of person who would never do______" or "S/he is the most ______ person I know." Your behavior creates your legacy. Jesus will judge your legacy. What is your Fundamental Option? How do you live that out each day? Every choice we make and every act we perform goes into creating our life story. Our choices determine if our Fundamental Option is to love and serve God or not.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Kingdom Ethic 2: Rule of Life
Yesterday we offered a model for understanding salvation. In simplest terms, God has graciously called us into relationship with Himself through the work of Jesus Christ. In Christ, God reconciled the world to Himself. We are now, by grace through faith, members of His people. We did nothing and can do nothing to make Him love us.
So we enter His Kingdom. Today we are living in His Kingdom. Right now. But His Kingdom has not come yet. It is already here, but it is still to come. Sounds confusing but isn't that reality? The day you get married you are a spouse. The day you have a baby you are a parent. The day you get hired you are an employee. BUT! Everyone also knows that you grow into these roles and identities. There is a greater fullness to marriage, parenting or working than we experience on the first day. That is how the Kingdom is, there is a greater fullness yet to be revealed. God's rule as king has not been fully expressed among us yet.
So as we seek God and His will, prayer and study are key components. There is more. God has revealed that He is very concerned about how we act. In the Kingdom, the Bible makes clear, there are things we do not do. "No stealing here." "No murder here." "No sexual immorality here." etc. etc.
Is that a law ethic? Not really, "freedom from the Law" means something other than, "we can lie, steal, kill and fornicate." It means we are not law focused, but we are still behaviorally concerned. How we act and what we do still matters. We are in a community. Our behaviors effect others. God demands and expects us to live as proper citizens. So what does that rule of life look like? What are the behaviors which we are expected of us?
I think it is arguable that the main focus of God includes issues of justice and mercy. Jesus says we should love God and love our neighbor. Jesus had an eye on the needs of the poor. True religion has a component of right worship and a component of service to the needy. True religion includes personal morality and social morality. Now, let us be clear, this is not about justifying ourselves. It is not about doing things so we look good. It is not about earning salvation. But let us be equally clear that ignoring the needs of others, engaging in sinful behavior and not caring what anyone thinks are also NOT what it is all about.
It is about following Jesus and embracing His ethic. It is about imitation. It is about Jesus living in me. It is about "us" walking together in faithfulness and love. In the days ahead we might get into some controversy as we look at the ethic concretely.
So we enter His Kingdom. Today we are living in His Kingdom. Right now. But His Kingdom has not come yet. It is already here, but it is still to come. Sounds confusing but isn't that reality? The day you get married you are a spouse. The day you have a baby you are a parent. The day you get hired you are an employee. BUT! Everyone also knows that you grow into these roles and identities. There is a greater fullness to marriage, parenting or working than we experience on the first day. That is how the Kingdom is, there is a greater fullness yet to be revealed. God's rule as king has not been fully expressed among us yet.
So as we seek God and His will, prayer and study are key components. There is more. God has revealed that He is very concerned about how we act. In the Kingdom, the Bible makes clear, there are things we do not do. "No stealing here." "No murder here." "No sexual immorality here." etc. etc.
Is that a law ethic? Not really, "freedom from the Law" means something other than, "we can lie, steal, kill and fornicate." It means we are not law focused, but we are still behaviorally concerned. How we act and what we do still matters. We are in a community. Our behaviors effect others. God demands and expects us to live as proper citizens. So what does that rule of life look like? What are the behaviors which we are expected of us?
I think it is arguable that the main focus of God includes issues of justice and mercy. Jesus says we should love God and love our neighbor. Jesus had an eye on the needs of the poor. True religion has a component of right worship and a component of service to the needy. True religion includes personal morality and social morality. Now, let us be clear, this is not about justifying ourselves. It is not about doing things so we look good. It is not about earning salvation. But let us be equally clear that ignoring the needs of others, engaging in sinful behavior and not caring what anyone thinks are also NOT what it is all about.
It is about following Jesus and embracing His ethic. It is about imitation. It is about Jesus living in me. It is about "us" walking together in faithfulness and love. In the days ahead we might get into some controversy as we look at the ethic concretely.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Kingdom Ethic: Rule of Life
Prayer and Study can (and should) be done both in private and publicly as part of a group. Learning in a class and praying at church with others is the Jesus way. Praying alone and studying is also the Jesus way. Is there more to being a disciple than that?
Ministry, mission, apostolic action, work-- all these are terms used to refer the fruit of our life. I choose the term "Kingdom ethic" because I hope it will keep us out of the morass of "faith vs. works" which seems to muddy up so many discussions. I am not real interested in those battles. I want to live and love and serve! (well, most of the time....)
Jesus offers us entrance into a new mode of existence. It is called citizenship in the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom, God is the King and Ruler. He decides the expectations and He judges each person. Jews are the original members of this people. However, there has always been some place for Gentiles. In the OT this was usually vague and uncertain. In places there seems to be no room for us, while other times the invitation is quite open. Since Jesus, that invitation is much clearer. Paul writes about it quite a bit. You and I have become fellow citizens. (Other images include being grafted into the vine, being adopted, becoming part of the body of Christ) In God's Kingdom there are some serious expectations. Some of the major themes include the command to worship no-one else except God, to live justly and look after the needs of others and to live pure lives which are moral and merciful.
We are brought into the Kingdom by God's grace, it is not earned. There is nothing we have done to warrant it (just like God makes clear that it His choice of the Jews was pure grace). God has also chosen us and offered us this life and expects us to trust (faith) Him and to love Him. Once we are in the Kingdom (baptism is our citizenship ritual) there is a mode of life expected of us as citizens. There is an ethic ("way to walk" in the Bible) which we are called to embrace. So what we do matters. Faith has an intellectual content, a volitional content, and an emotional content, but it also has a moral-behavioral content. In the city of God we just do not do certain things. In teh Kingdom of God we are expected to do certain things. People who are not comfortable living the way the Father/King expects are not going to stay in the Kingdom. In the end, we will not live forever in peace and joy and harmony, we won't be able to love and worship God, if people continue to act the same way they do now. Something has to change and that something is our hearts and our behaviors. A "rule of life" addresses that needed change. The Kingdom ethic is our next focus.
Ministry, mission, apostolic action, work-- all these are terms used to refer the fruit of our life. I choose the term "Kingdom ethic" because I hope it will keep us out of the morass of "faith vs. works" which seems to muddy up so many discussions. I am not real interested in those battles. I want to live and love and serve! (well, most of the time....)
Jesus offers us entrance into a new mode of existence. It is called citizenship in the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom, God is the King and Ruler. He decides the expectations and He judges each person. Jews are the original members of this people. However, there has always been some place for Gentiles. In the OT this was usually vague and uncertain. In places there seems to be no room for us, while other times the invitation is quite open. Since Jesus, that invitation is much clearer. Paul writes about it quite a bit. You and I have become fellow citizens. (Other images include being grafted into the vine, being adopted, becoming part of the body of Christ) In God's Kingdom there are some serious expectations. Some of the major themes include the command to worship no-one else except God, to live justly and look after the needs of others and to live pure lives which are moral and merciful.
We are brought into the Kingdom by God's grace, it is not earned. There is nothing we have done to warrant it (just like God makes clear that it His choice of the Jews was pure grace). God has also chosen us and offered us this life and expects us to trust (faith) Him and to love Him. Once we are in the Kingdom (baptism is our citizenship ritual) there is a mode of life expected of us as citizens. There is an ethic ("way to walk" in the Bible) which we are called to embrace. So what we do matters. Faith has an intellectual content, a volitional content, and an emotional content, but it also has a moral-behavioral content. In the city of God we just do not do certain things. In teh Kingdom of God we are expected to do certain things. People who are not comfortable living the way the Father/King expects are not going to stay in the Kingdom. In the end, we will not live forever in peace and joy and harmony, we won't be able to love and worship God, if people continue to act the same way they do now. Something has to change and that something is our hearts and our behaviors. A "rule of life" addresses that needed change. The Kingdom ethic is our next focus.
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