Two friends walk along the road. It had been a crazy week. Not too long ago there was unbridled excitement in their lives as it seemed like all the promises of history were finally coming true. There had been a big parade with so many people cheering. But then things went terribly wrong. The one who had healed people, spoke of God's kingdom coming to fulfillment, caused a fire to grow in the hearts of any who heard him, was arrested. Bizarre charges, a trumped up case, led to the worst possible conclusion...crucifixion. These two walked away after all that disillusioned, disheartened. Had they been duped? Was it too much to expect of God that such a horrible end could result in something unbelievably amazing?
These two evidently headed down the road just a bit overwhelmed by this sequence of events. Perhaps they were a bit confused as to what they had witnessed. They are joined though on their journey by a man who seems to have no clue about what has just happened. Flustered, and a bit surprised that anyone could have missed this event, the two briefly share a small summary with this stranger. He then proceeds to give them a long history lesson, pointing out the promises of God, revealing the presence of God's kingdom all around them as they walk together, the three of them down the road.
.....................
Those of us familiar with this story from Luke's Gospel, are already in on this supreme "joke" on the two men. For the person that has appeared to them is the risen Jesus. While the three men talk, their hearts feel as if they are aflame, burning with an amazing passion that is a sign of God's love in the world.
Passion can be an amazing thing. Each of us has something that we are very excited about. It might be a particular hobby, an activity we participate in, our jobs, our families... But when we begin to talk about these things we find ourselves pulled along by our own enthusiasm while others must simply marvel at what we are saying, or roll their eyes in complete disinterest.
One of my favorite scenes of someone in the midst of passionate discovery is Ralphie in A Christmas Story. Ralphie's passion is Red Ryder and he deeply desires his own Red Ryder gun. He fantasizes about just what he could do with this amazing gift...things that only he can see. Every step of the way everyone tries hard to rob Ralphie of his passion for his quest. Parents, teachers, even the popular symbol of giving, Santa, tells Ralphie that such a toy would "shoot his eye out." No one can capture the passion that Ralphie has in his ongoing desire to acquire this toy gun.
The other night, I had a couple of amazing conversations with people. The conversations were not as deeply theological as you might expect. But they did have a lot to do with people's passion. The things that we talked about had to do with their personal experiences, the joys that were a part of their lives, and their passion for the work that they did. I watched as one person's eyes practically glazed over as they began to share all the great things about their products and how they were different from anywhere else. I heard about the needs of their business to adapt to the market and where they had to make adjustments. It was a conversation of great passion and I could not help but wonder if this person ever had a chance to really share that passion with anyone else.
Such is the way with those of us who come to share our passion for God. When we come alongside people, like yourself perhaps, who are just walking along the road of life a but overwhelmed, confused, or frustrated by the way the world works, we can only listen and subtly suggest that even in the midst of all this God is still at work. It is a wonderful opportunity to hear these amazing stories, and to enjoy the company of "strangers" while our hearts burn with a spirit that we often miss in our daily lives.
What things are you passionate about? When was the last time you really had a chance to share that passion with someone else? Why not stop by this week, or share your thoughts here, about the ways you live a "passionate" life that reminds you of God's grace and presence?
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Dialogo: Grace?
The running joke between my wife and I has to do with the idea of having a view of life that sees the proverbial cup half full, or half empty. Of course, there are many times in my life where I feel like saying, "Hey, where the heck is my cup?!"
Yet, if we pay attention to the world around us we discover the many amazing things that make our day, and our lives, just a little bit different. There are times when we catch glimpses of God's presence and these moments can be little glimmers of hope.
So, where have you seen a sign of God's grace this past week? In your life? Take a moment to reflect on that, and if you feel moved, feel free to share a little about that glimmer of hope.
Yet, if we pay attention to the world around us we discover the many amazing things that make our day, and our lives, just a little bit different. There are times when we catch glimpses of God's presence and these moments can be little glimmers of hope.
So, where have you seen a sign of God's grace this past week? In your life? Take a moment to reflect on that, and if you feel moved, feel free to share a little about that glimmer of hope.
Monday, March 24, 2008
A Day or a Way?
Alright, so Easter Day has come and gone. Maybe you had a really inspiring, new-life, yummy-feast, trumpet-and-lilies kind of a day. Maybe you didn't. Maybe you just barely got through it. Maybe it was a mixed bag. Whatever your "maybe" may be... now Easter 2008 is history.
Or is it? Is Easter just a day, or could it be something more? Could Easter be a powerful energy that ripples out, moving and shaking, disrupting and quaking, until nothing looks the way it used to? until all that used to look dead and hopeless has had a serious face lift?
Could Easter be a second chance? a dwi record wiped clean? another shot at planting a beautiful spring garden? a story with a dramatic twist that changes everything and keeps on going?
I don't know the answer. I just ask the questions.
Well, ok. I do know one answer. My answer. And that is, for me: well... yes.
Yes. Easter's not just a day. It's a Way (as you no doubt figured out after reading my title). It's a way of living that takes death seriously but life-from-death more seriously still. It's a way of finding the hope-out-of-hopelessness in my own little existence and daring to tell my story to someone who just might need to hear it. It's a way of reaching a hand out to a friend (or better yet, an enemy) who might not make it without the lift.
Easter's a Way of following Jesus.
Following Jesus means staring down the powers-that-be when those powers are crushing the life out of the defenseless ones. It means taking the heat, loving when it hurts, giving everything you have... so that someone else might be connected to a source of Life and Energy that just doesn't quit.
Following Jesus means allowing myself, all my self-oriented schemes and deadly games, to die at the end of each day... so that when I open my eyes again, it's all new, it's all good, it's all God.
So those are some of my thoughts on how Easter can be a Way, not just a day. What images come to your mind, of how life peeks up out of death? What stories to you have to tell? And who will you tell them to? Feel free to use this blog to get your word out, if you like, because, to tell you the truth: Lots of people read it. Don't ask me how many (ask Steve, he knows) or who they are (even Steve doesn't know that), but there are lots who pop by here, looking for who knows what... maybe looking for what you and only you have to say.
Be it by blog, by email, or facetoface over a cup of coffee... share it, tell it, live it... that Easter Way that echoes on and on and on.
New Life to you in the days ahead...
~Kari Henkelmann Keyl~
Or is it? Is Easter just a day, or could it be something more? Could Easter be a powerful energy that ripples out, moving and shaking, disrupting and quaking, until nothing looks the way it used to? until all that used to look dead and hopeless has had a serious face lift?
Could Easter be a second chance? a dwi record wiped clean? another shot at planting a beautiful spring garden? a story with a dramatic twist that changes everything and keeps on going?
I don't know the answer. I just ask the questions.
Well, ok. I do know one answer. My answer. And that is, for me: well... yes.
Yes. Easter's not just a day. It's a Way (as you no doubt figured out after reading my title). It's a way of living that takes death seriously but life-from-death more seriously still. It's a way of finding the hope-out-of-hopelessness in my own little existence and daring to tell my story to someone who just might need to hear it. It's a way of reaching a hand out to a friend (or better yet, an enemy) who might not make it without the lift.
Easter's a Way of following Jesus.
Following Jesus means staring down the powers-that-be when those powers are crushing the life out of the defenseless ones. It means taking the heat, loving when it hurts, giving everything you have... so that someone else might be connected to a source of Life and Energy that just doesn't quit.
Following Jesus means allowing myself, all my self-oriented schemes and deadly games, to die at the end of each day... so that when I open my eyes again, it's all new, it's all good, it's all God.
So those are some of my thoughts on how Easter can be a Way, not just a day. What images come to your mind, of how life peeks up out of death? What stories to you have to tell? And who will you tell them to? Feel free to use this blog to get your word out, if you like, because, to tell you the truth: Lots of people read it. Don't ask me how many (ask Steve, he knows) or who they are (even Steve doesn't know that), but there are lots who pop by here, looking for who knows what... maybe looking for what you and only you have to say.
Be it by blog, by email, or facetoface over a cup of coffee... share it, tell it, live it... that Easter Way that echoes on and on and on.
New Life to you in the days ahead...
~Kari Henkelmann Keyl~
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Dialog: So just what is communion...
Communion com·mun·ion
[kuh-myoon-yuh n]
+ the act of sharing, or holding in common; participation.
+ the act of participating in the celebration of the Eucharist;
+ the meal where God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ;
+ in bread and wine as Christ’s body and blood given to us, God forgives us and nourishes us.
What is communion for you?
What do you see as the causes of physical and spiritual hunger?
What has been your most powerful experience of communion?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Holy Week & a Media Meditation
This is an important week for Christians throughout the world. Holy Week is a chance to remember the final days of Jesus ministry on earth before the surprise of the Resurrection that marks Easter. Many churches in the area will be marking Holy Week with a variety of services and styles. We will have links for local worship opportunities here to encourage you to participate in this powerful spiritual journey.
You may wish to use this media meditiation Bitter Journey: The Way of the Cross this week to experience some of this powerful time: http://www.beliefnet.com/religion/christianity/holyweek/easter/cross_lite2.html.
Maundy Thursday: Marks the events of the "Last Supper". Often congregations may choose to have a modified Seder meal, celebrate communion, and/or include a foot washing ceremony. Some churches will remove all the special cloths and decorative symbols in the area surrouding the altar as well, often a deeply emotional time for some. Each of these can be a little strange if you are new to this, but just know that sometimes it is just as uncomfortable for regular church folk. Participate as you see appropriate to where you are in your spiritual journey.
Good Friday (sometimes referred to as Tenebrae Services): This is one of the most powerful services of the year often filled with a great deal of emotion and drama. It marks the last day of Christ's life on earth on the cross. Worship can be filled with candlelight in fairly darkened worship spaces, and the service consists of readings that follow the events of the Crucifixion. The worship space may also be draped in black cloth.
Easter Vigil: Held on Saturday night, this is kind of a parallel to Christmas Eve in that this anticipates the coming of Jesus, or the promise of his Resurrection in the way we come to Christmas expecting the birth of the savior. The Vigil is another of the ancient churches movign services that can be a series of many readings that put in context the early days of the Israelites, the promise of the prophets, and the final realization of this history in the life and resurrection Jesus. Often the service is held later in the evening so that it essentially ends at midnight with a sort of party atmosphere where the sanctuary symbols are brought back in, lilies are often brought in, and communion is celebrated.
http://www.beliefnet.com/religion/christianity/holyweek/easter/cross_lite2.html
You may wish to use this media meditiation Bitter Journey: The Way of the Cross this week to experience some of this powerful time: http://www.beliefnet.com/religion/christianity/holyweek/easter/cross_lite2.html.
Maundy Thursday: Marks the events of the "Last Supper". Often congregations may choose to have a modified Seder meal, celebrate communion, and/or include a foot washing ceremony. Some churches will remove all the special cloths and decorative symbols in the area surrouding the altar as well, often a deeply emotional time for some. Each of these can be a little strange if you are new to this, but just know that sometimes it is just as uncomfortable for regular church folk. Participate as you see appropriate to where you are in your spiritual journey.
Good Friday (sometimes referred to as Tenebrae Services): This is one of the most powerful services of the year often filled with a great deal of emotion and drama. It marks the last day of Christ's life on earth on the cross. Worship can be filled with candlelight in fairly darkened worship spaces, and the service consists of readings that follow the events of the Crucifixion. The worship space may also be draped in black cloth.
Easter Vigil: Held on Saturday night, this is kind of a parallel to Christmas Eve in that this anticipates the coming of Jesus, or the promise of his Resurrection in the way we come to Christmas expecting the birth of the savior. The Vigil is another of the ancient churches movign services that can be a series of many readings that put in context the early days of the Israelites, the promise of the prophets, and the final realization of this history in the life and resurrection Jesus. Often the service is held later in the evening so that it essentially ends at midnight with a sort of party atmosphere where the sanctuary symbols are brought back in, lilies are often brought in, and communion is celebrated.
http://www.beliefnet.com/religion/christianity/holyweek/easter/cross_lite2.html
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Dialogo: "I believe in God, but I'm not religious."
We begin a second weekly blog posting with a chance for you to share your thoughts or comments around specific thoughts/phrases/or questions.
Our first "dialogo" (i.e., dialogue) is around this statement: I believe in God, but I'm not religious.
What does that mean for you? Or your friends?
Our first "dialogo" (i.e., dialogue) is around this statement: I believe in God, but I'm not religious.
What does that mean for you? Or your friends?
Monday, March 10, 2008
Everyone Loves A Parade
Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, when believers around the world pause to mark Jesus’ welcome in a parade where cheering crowds waved branches cut from palm trees and shouted hooray for their hero and for God. The city was abuzz about this Jesus when he came to Jerusalem and they all wondered if he was the leader they should rally behind. Would he really save them from all their troubles and oppression was he the one?
In the heat of a presidential election year, in a world full of uncertainty, I can certainly relate to getting caught up in the excitement of a parade or campaign rally. We wonder if that person is the one, can he or she bring stability, strong leadership, and comfort through their resolve, their strength of mind or might? We are not that different from those crowds in Jerusalem who were filled with hope and longing for change.
But like the aftermath of a parade, streets littered with trash, manure from marching animals, and a let down found in the empty silence, the people of Jerusalem wondered and clung to their hyped-up visions of hope and change. We begin this holy week as our oppressed brothers and sister in Jerusalem did more than 2,000 years ago, elated and wondering what it all means.
In January I was in China and on the campus of Fudan University in Shanghai I was struck by a statue of a robed man on a donkey. The image for the Chinese is a symbol of intellectual spirit, which is humility and wisdom. For me I saw Jesus on Palm Sunday not riding heroically on a strong horse in a position of power, but sitting on an ass... a gentle animal that carries burdens and works for human benefit. From the back of an ass, the Jerusalem crowds cheered for a leader to crush their occupiers, calm the terror in their hearts and bring change. But Jesus in his humility and wisdom came not as a super hero but as a gift from God to carry our problems, our imperfections, and our fears.
In our world of entitlement and consumerism, we may think that we have a right, or are owed the basics of comfort, freedom, and love. But we are owed nothing; all we have is a gift from our creator God. We don’t have a right for God’s love, God doesn't owe us anything, but God loves us anyway. Anyone else would take other measures to solve the problems of the world, but God loves and gave us Jesus as a sign of that love.
What kind of leader are we waiting for? Which crowd will you follow? Palm Sunday begins the dramatic story and reality that Jesus came not to fulfill our selfish needs, but to die to save his people; people who in their selfishness became the crowd who turned against him, that crowd, those people are you and me. Dear Jesus, these are tough times for us and for you. Keep us in the parade of believers; remind us of the love of God and gather us around the events of this week so that we may rise with you on Easter.
+Bill Petersen
In the heat of a presidential election year, in a world full of uncertainty, I can certainly relate to getting caught up in the excitement of a parade or campaign rally. We wonder if that person is the one, can he or she bring stability, strong leadership, and comfort through their resolve, their strength of mind or might? We are not that different from those crowds in Jerusalem who were filled with hope and longing for change.
But like the aftermath of a parade, streets littered with trash, manure from marching animals, and a let down found in the empty silence, the people of Jerusalem wondered and clung to their hyped-up visions of hope and change. We begin this holy week as our oppressed brothers and sister in Jerusalem did more than 2,000 years ago, elated and wondering what it all means.
In January I was in China and on the campus of Fudan University in Shanghai I was struck by a statue of a robed man on a donkey. The image for the Chinese is a symbol of intellectual spirit, which is humility and wisdom. For me I saw Jesus on Palm Sunday not riding heroically on a strong horse in a position of power, but sitting on an ass... a gentle animal that carries burdens and works for human benefit. From the back of an ass, the Jerusalem crowds cheered for a leader to crush their occupiers, calm the terror in their hearts and bring change. But Jesus in his humility and wisdom came not as a super hero but as a gift from God to carry our problems, our imperfections, and our fears.
In our world of entitlement and consumerism, we may think that we have a right, or are owed the basics of comfort, freedom, and love. But we are owed nothing; all we have is a gift from our creator God. We don’t have a right for God’s love, God doesn't owe us anything, but God loves us anyway. Anyone else would take other measures to solve the problems of the world, but God loves and gave us Jesus as a sign of that love.
What kind of leader are we waiting for? Which crowd will you follow? Palm Sunday begins the dramatic story and reality that Jesus came not to fulfill our selfish needs, but to die to save his people; people who in their selfishness became the crowd who turned against him, that crowd, those people are you and me. Dear Jesus, these are tough times for us and for you. Keep us in the parade of believers; remind us of the love of God and gather us around the events of this week so that we may rise with you on Easter.
+Bill Petersen
Monday, March 3, 2008
Stevo's Devos: Re-focus?
The past few weeks have been filled with conversation about needing change, hoping for something different, and a myriad of other issues that need to be rethought as our political process churns towards a Fall election. In the midst of these conversations is a determination to focus energy and attention on the way things are here. Without intending to politicize this space, the question I have today is, how will we refocus this energy without concentrating solely on ourselves?
It would seem that we spend an enourmous time in our culture spending our money and time creating a style, a look, or a series of looks, that we wish to use in order to define ourself. Some of the time we may look to the owning of stuff as one way of defining who we are. Othertimes it might be where we eat, or even what we eat, that we think will determine who we are, or set the standard upon which we measure everyone else. When we are caught up in this self-examination, we often tend to get lost in our own reflection. Sometimes this leads to getting confused about the image we see in the mirror and the actual image of ourselves that others see. Our focus, if you will, becomes so narrow that we are unable to see around us, capturing the larger picture.
What does this have to do with God?
When we open our lives up to discovering God the picture gets a bit broader. We realize our connectedness to others in our immediate community and globally. We discover that our actions do matter and that we must discover ways to look beyond ourselves to make connections that encourage healing and wholeness instead of connections that make us feel as if we will never amount to much.
Crushed spirit? Filled with dashed hopes? Stranded on the desert island from a shipwrecked career, or relationship?
The hardest thing to do is to discover ways to let yourself discover a community of caring people who can moor your lifeboat to the source of life, God. Reconnecting to people who have discovered the freeing life of following, can give you the courage to move forward and refocus your life on new terms. You have been wonderfully created to a life of purpose and meaning. If you feel the need for a little spiritual checkup, stop by this week and discover the spaciousness of God. Breathe deep, and don't let the world around you use the "autofocus" feature on your window into a loving, caring way of living.
It would seem that we spend an enourmous time in our culture spending our money and time creating a style, a look, or a series of looks, that we wish to use in order to define ourself. Some of the time we may look to the owning of stuff as one way of defining who we are. Othertimes it might be where we eat, or even what we eat, that we think will determine who we are, or set the standard upon which we measure everyone else. When we are caught up in this self-examination, we often tend to get lost in our own reflection. Sometimes this leads to getting confused about the image we see in the mirror and the actual image of ourselves that others see. Our focus, if you will, becomes so narrow that we are unable to see around us, capturing the larger picture.
What does this have to do with God?
When we open our lives up to discovering God the picture gets a bit broader. We realize our connectedness to others in our immediate community and globally. We discover that our actions do matter and that we must discover ways to look beyond ourselves to make connections that encourage healing and wholeness instead of connections that make us feel as if we will never amount to much.
Crushed spirit? Filled with dashed hopes? Stranded on the desert island from a shipwrecked career, or relationship?
The hardest thing to do is to discover ways to let yourself discover a community of caring people who can moor your lifeboat to the source of life, God. Reconnecting to people who have discovered the freeing life of following, can give you the courage to move forward and refocus your life on new terms. You have been wonderfully created to a life of purpose and meaning. If you feel the need for a little spiritual checkup, stop by this week and discover the spaciousness of God. Breathe deep, and don't let the world around you use the "autofocus" feature on your window into a loving, caring way of living.
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