High on Glory / Googling God by Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Glory… some hunger for it and some shy away from it. Some look for it in others and in the world around them. Some point to the sky when they’ve done something note-worthy, giving any glory that may come their way to a higher power.  From Super Bowl splash to Olympic beginnings, this just might be a week to ponder glory.

This week is a glory-filled one for those New Orleans folks who love their Saints.  I can't help but smile when I think of this struggling, once-glorious city, feeling a surge of self-confidence again because of their Super Bowl win. I for one sincerely hope they get an economic surge as well; it’s been a long post-Katrina haul, and they could use a break.

I’ve also enjoyed perusing through the Super Bowl commercials, which has become a sport of its own these past few years. A few companies are having their glory-moments because their commercials hit the mark perfectly. Plenty others leave us marveling at what they were trying to say and who exactly those companies think we are!

Perhaps the most acclaimed commercial was Google’s  Love Story Ad, which took viewers on a seeker's journey and ended with the simple words, “Search on.” With much lower production costs than most,  this emotion-stirring ad (created by Eric Schmidt) is truly a winner. The message is that Google can be a guide through life, helping people to bridge the knowledge gaps (as well as the cultural gaps) and find the sweet life they’re hoping for. You don’t need a Super Bowl ring to be glowing with glory. You can find it in the everyday moments of your Search.

Jump with me into a glorious moment in the lives of Peter, James, and John in  Luke 9:28-36. These three guys have seen some wild things while hanging with this Jesus, but this is one unforgettable mountain-top trip. (I mean, we knew he had some God-power, but we didn’t expect to see him radiating light and channeling our two greatest heroes!)

Peter, of course, would like the glorious moment to last forever, not knowing that there’s a much more profound glory still to come. The light gets swallowed up in fog. They hear a voice, and there’s no doubt that it’s God speaking, telling them to keep listening.  Stay tuned, guys, ‘cause this glory-story has only just begun.

And what’s that “exodus” that Jesus was chatting with Moses and Elijah about? That’s where we fit into the glory. Jesus was not about to stay in that moment of God’s glorious affirmation, as if that's all life is about. He walked forward to continue his Search to bring everyone into God’s Love Story. As we, too, join that Search for what is real and true, we can welcome Jesus’ light and power into our lives, seeing glory in the everyday, every time we bridge the gaps between God and God’s people.

I’ll end with some words of poetry to ponder:

Signs and wonders lead the dancing from the heart God frees from fear:
wings of angels greet the maiden, and God finds a dwelling here;
boldly may we lift our hands, bow the head, and voice Amen;
thus does glory shine at midnight: open hearts invite the starlight…

Cast aside all fear and hiding; hand in hand we dance the round.
God is with us, Christ, abiding, and the Spirit’s gifts abound.
Called by God to holiness, let us boldly serve and bless;
and to hearts that sigh and hunger
may our lives dance signs and wonders.

from Signs and Wonders by Susan Palo Cherwien,
Evangelical Lutheran Worship # 672

Please join in the conversation by commenting below, offering your glory-stories or any other thoughts you might have.  You can also join in by the way's audio Skype conversation, Thursday, 7pm, Feb. 11.  Look for the contact name: bytheway community.

May glories abound,
Kari

What Are You Carrying?

I have to share with you a couple of sentences that I read from an article a friend gave me. As you read them, make a mental note about which phrases, if any, grab onto you:

God has given us a vision of the way the world can be. It is not our job to make it happen, but to companion God and willingly carry the piece of the dream God gives us to carry. *

The words that intrigued me were “to companion God” and “carry the piece of the dream”.

I confess that I go about much of my life carrying way too much. I get to thinking that improving the world is my job. Responsibility hounds me like a stalker. Then when the load gets to be too heavy, I’m so tired or so afraid-of-failure that I can’t seem to carry anything at all. Just barely getting by.

What if I could be carrying just a piece – the piece – the piece of God’s dream that God has given me to carry?

What if my everybreath companion would be not responsibility, but… God?

What if I could truly be companioning God as a way of life, a regular thing. What would that look like, feel like, to have God as my constant confidant AND to be God’s confidant as well?

It's certainly not easy to know what God is saying all the time, but it’s probably a good thing to give it a try. To stop and ask: God, what piece of your dream am I carrying today?

Click on the title of this entry to read a great story about someone who’s just beginning to companion God. He’s a young guy named Samuel. It’s such a great story because God’s so patiently persistent. God keeps going after this kid until Sam gets it: that God wants a conversation partner. God has a dream for being in touch with Samuel’s people. And Samuel is to carry a piece of God’s dream.

How do I know what piece of the dream God has in mind for me? I’ve got to be in touch with God’s other conversation partners. Together we listen, to God and to the Godvoice in other listeners.

Please feel free to comment on any thoughts you have about Samuel’s story or your own. Consider the piece of God’s dream that is part of you, the unique gifts that only you bring to God’s world. Either post your thoughts here or on the Facebook page or shoot me an email at bythewaynashua@gmail.com.

My hope is that By the Way can be a community of GodCompanions who walk with and support one another, whether it’s online or in person, whether you live in New Hampshire or New Zealand (yes, there’s someone in NZ who reads this!). Let’s continue to seek out ways we can be community, reaching out and being God’s people in the world.

Peace,
Kari

* excerpt from Radical Newness: The Essence of Being Church by N. Gordon Cosby with Kayla McClurg

Steve-o's Devo: Listening to Live

The one thing we do a lot of at By The Way is listen. Even our primary phrase, "listening and exploring faith together" empashizes this very important piece of Christian community. We still are an early community. A community of people on the fringe who have perhaps had an encounter with the holy and desire deeply to discover what truth looks like after that encounter.

It is in our human nature to want to test everything to see just what it might be about, or if the people we meet are who they say they are. We see this played out in our daily lives at school, work, in our relationships. The hardest thing for many of us comes when we discover the truth that we are loved, just as we are, where we are at in our lives. That seems almost unbelievable. And yet, it is a core reality of God's grace.

In Paul's letter to another early church, one in Corinth, he reminds the people that it is less important to worry about the testing of our faith or of living in community. He reminds them it is not so much the fact that you are tested, but that you had the opportunity to pursue what was right. He hopes that the people followed the path laid out to them by Jesus--a path that can lead to the ability to listen to one another, come to an agreement and live in peace. This happens when we are able to accept God's love as always present and manifested in those around us called to live as followers of Jesus.

The path is not an easy one and this weekend I was reminded of this when I saw a bumper sticker that said: No Jesus, No Peace....Know Jesus, Know Peace. I laughed at first because as a person who works with other Christian communities, often ones in conflict, it seemed that this "peace" had been forgotten. But then I realized something deeper that gave me pause for reflection throughout the weekend. When we forgot who we are, and whose we are, peace is a difficult thing to come by. When our communities get bogged down in what we think, instead of discerning together and listening to what God may have in store, peace cannot exist. Conflict will begin to arise and we enter paths that cause more problems for us and our relationships. Is it any wonder so many people have come to church to discover Jesus and the peace that passes all understanding, only to discover a surly bunch of frustrated and distracted people. As I thought about this, I realized, it is our responsibility as disciples of Jesus to remind these communities that they are forgetting whose they are as they descend into bickering. And it is our responsibility to encourage them to rediscover Jesus.

It's not easy living in community. There will always be frustrations and contentions and I do not expect even our community of By the Way to be without them. But I think if we practice listening to one another, trying to discern what God is loving us into, we have an amazing opportunity to re-discover a world overflowing with grace and abundance. My prayer is that we can be one of those glimmers of hope that calls others, even those already connected in Christian communities, to re-discover and revitalize their lives in Jesus.

If you are stuggling this week, finding it hard to focus, perhaps feeling unsettled or frustrated, I hope you will consider stopping by to regroup your spirit, and discover how you can truly know peace. Or perhaps, you may just have to turn off the noise...and listen.