Linking into "Bread for your journey"

If you weren't able to get to last night's bread for your journey gathering at the Crowne, you can experience it this way instead, if you like...

There’s conversation going on as you walk into this Crowne Plaza room set aside for by the way. You take a seat from a semi-circle row of chairs, noticing the colorful words of welcome on the screen in front of you. Others are still arriving as the group begins to get centered… a candle is lit, and you’re invited into God’s presence with some words of prayer.

You have some time to reflect on some readings chosen to go with the theme: Fan or Follower – Considering our Commitments. You can see the brief readings up on the screen, each in turn, followed by the lighting of a candle and some words of prayer:

1st reading: exerpts from “So Tough” by Freddie Foxx
How can I find who's the real divine
when everytime I take a book and take a look
my strong mind sees a new sign…
Who do I follow and who do I lead
do they really wanna help me or is it just greed
is everybody all for self to get wealth
the street wanna dust me off and throw me on the shelves…

prayer: God, the words of this song remind us that the world is asking the questions of who to follow and how to find you. Let us see a peek of you in this time together, or at least a look into who you are… and who we are… in relationship to you. In your name we pray… amen.

2nd reading: Luke 5:27-32
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%205:27-32;&version=65

prayer: Loving God, in Jesus you went seeking for so many who didn’t fit the mold. Thank you that these stories of Jesus’ reaching out were preserved for us, so we have a chance to be found as well. Help us to hear your call to follow you… and to figure out what that might mean. In your name we pray… amen.

3rd reading: “All I Do” by St. John of the Cross
Forever at his door
I gave my heart and soul. My fortune too.
I've no flock any more, no other work in view.
My occupation: Love. It's all I do.

prayer: God, as you speak powerfully through poets like John, speak to us through the silence, through words of prayer, through the words of each other, through the bread we share. Occupy us with your kind of love, that we might be your loving servants and poets in your world. In your name we pray… amen

You are then invited to join in a discussion of the theme and the readings. Here are a few highlights…

Who do I follow is a pretty fascinating question, especially because of how Twitter and Facebook and My Space have connected us with old friends, new friends, famous people, groups, causes galore… which on one level is really great. But it can be hard to keep up with all we’re interested in.
~ Google “who do I follow” and you get a whole lineup of Twitter philosophies of how to decide who to follow.
~ Even rapper Freddie Foxx is asking the question, wondering if his followers/fans really care about him or just his wealth.

Who do I follow and what difference does it make?
Who follows me and what’s good about that?
Can I really be committed to all these people and causes?
Is it all just a blur of interests, or is there some kind of organizing principle, some way of focusing it all or sifting through what’s important and what’s not?

Not everyone is scattered and overextended and unfocused. Some are really intentional and focused, and have their acts together. Some are even hyper-focused in their fandom, knowing exactly what they center their lives on.

To go with that thought is a film clip from the movie Fever Pitch, with Ben (the obsessed Red Sox fan) introducing Lindsey (upwardly mobile workaholic) to his “summer family”, those who have season tickets in the same spot.
~ Being an intense fan can get you into something bigger than yourself, give you that exhilaration of being connected, even give you a “family” that won’t let you down (like Ben)
~ Having the Sox as his “organizing principle” only worked for Ben up to a point… then he and Lindsey had to figure out how their love could be at the center instead.

Next, we take a closer look at the story of Jesus and Levi, someone who seems to be a bit like Lindsey (wrapped up in his own successful career) and in another way like Ben (Levi’s “family” is made up of fellow tax collectors, because they’re all outsiders together and can’t get beyond that)

It’s important to know what leads into this story of Levi and Jesus (link above, 2nd rdg). See this poignant story of friends who care, and Jesus' response:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%205:17-26;&version=65
~ After this awesome healing, Jesus is poised to have tons of fans… so now all he has to do is schmooze with the right people and he’ll have more fans and followers than he ever dreamed of.
~ But what does he do now to capitalize on his big success? He goes out and sees the least popular person he could find: a tax-collector (aka traitor to his own people and therefore an outsider freak, with absolutely no fans… except for one…)

Yep, it’s Jesus, who shocks Levi and everyone else by telling Levi to follow him. This has got to be a stunning moment for Levi. This Jesus must have incredible charisma, don’t you think? How else would it be possible for the next line of the story to read: “And he did – walked away from everything and went with Jesus.”

Take a look at this Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644) painting “The Calling of St Matthew” (Levi’s story under another name)
http://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/European/1941.1.html
~ What do you think the painter communicates about the state of mind of the one called by Jesus…. to completely re-orient himself, away from his money, his shameful but profitable career…

The story doesn’t say how he felt about this incredible turn but it does tell us what he did next: He threw a party! a huge feast for all the tax men and all the other shady characters he could gather… feeling pretty ecstatic about his new focus.
~ Notice there’s no family there; just a bunch of work cronies
~ These tax guys had to watch each other’s backs; no one else would claim them… again, no one except Jesus.

Jesus notices the snooty people who are peeking into Levi’s house, saying, “What in God’s name is he doing?"
~ Jesus compared himself to a doctor: I’m hanging with the sick folks, the ones who need me because they had their priorities screwed up. and I’m offering an amazing kind of healing
~ You were amazed that I could make a paralytic walk! Why can’t you get into the healing of these outsider losers!

So now… if Jesus were to butt into your life like he did Levi’s, what could he possibly do (or be like) that would so thrill you, that he could ask you to walk away from your main focus, and to walk with him and have a new focus?
~ This gets you thinking about your own experiences of how someone reached out to you with a life-changing word or action... while others share their stories of this happening to them, .
~ Maybe if we’re really open to it, we could imagine many ways this has happened to us, that God reaches out to us to shift our priorities throughout our lifetimes (little or big ways)

Jesus calls us to put God in the center of all that our lives are made of… all our following, our major commitments and our shallow ones.
~ And through this story of Levi, Jesus calls us to consider that having God at our center is not a burden or a “should”, but an incredible gift, a release of tension and insecurity, a way of feeling like it all fits together somehow
~ That’s one reason people come together to experience God’s presence and power… to feel once again that things might make sense if God is the center, and to explore with others how that might happen in real ways.

Next you see just one more reading up on the screen. This time it’s not about us following God but about God following us.
~ Take a look at this poetry, especially at the final verse:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2023;&version=76
~ The word, “following” in the original language of Hebrew, literally means “pursuing” or “chasing after” which leaves us with quite an image: of God running after us, following us in hot pursuit, to give us the good stuff we need…

With the discussion drawing to a close, the group is now invited to a time of “open space” where we can experience God’s presence in a variety of ways: lighting candles, sharing bread, talking to one another or having time to ourselves.

We gather together for a few more minutes to share announcements of what’s coming up… and then we are sent out into the world once again.