As we continue our discussion on the hungers we have around our world, check out these two clips. The first is a well known commercial - a true picture of how we think of water in the West. The second... well, a more realistic picture of water around the world.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
In celebration of the Spirit within
Pentecost is around the corner and this clip from Gina Loring says it better than I could ever. "It" in that sentence is expressing how fascinating, exhilarating and even astonishing is the movement of the Spirit within us.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Follow up from last week
I was amazed at how many people were really touched and challenged by our conversation about Chakras last week. I found this youtube video that works through all of the colors. It might seem weird at first but if you put aside the oddity of sitting still or listening to someone with an english accent, it could be a great healing tool.
Monday, May 4, 2009
a teaser for next week
Check out this clip from that great movie "Dead Poet's Society." In what way does finding our own voice play into wholeness? And can looking at our lives, particularly our wounds, aid in our being made whole?
Series on Wholeness, week 1: Stitches
I have series of questions that I invite you to answer if you feel comfortable… if not, that is always ok.
If you had stitches, raise your hand. 2x…
If you’ve ever broken a bone…
If you have a scar (from an accident or surgery)...
We get hurt outside... we also get hurt inside. We have wounds on the outside of our body and on the inside... some wounds we don't tell anyone about...
Don't raise your hands but can you name the first person who broke your heart? The first two people... Can you name someone you are having a hard time forgiving? Two people? Again don't raise your hand but how many were bullied? By more than one person? We can assume statistically that we have people here who have been and potentially are still being abused by someone who loves them.
We all have wounds, some on the outside, some on the inside. And if you think about it, our wounds tell an awful lot about us.
It's interesting to note that Jesus thought that about his wounds too. In fact, he figured that theypeople would recognize him if they saw his wounds.
Go back with me. Jesus dies and they bury him. But when they go to visit the grave, he’s not there. Two people in dazzling clothes appear and ask, “why do you look for the living among the dead?” Great question.
And you can imagine these smart, witty women answering the dazzling dressed people, “Listen, we thought he was dead. He was dead yesterday, therefore he would’ve been here… among the dead. Well, he’s not dead anymore. “Yes well, Jesus needs to work on his communication,” they say as they walk away from the grave. That same couple decides to leave town, and as they walk someone starts walking next to them. The someone turns out to be Jesus… surprise! Fooled you. Again they say, “Jesus needs to work on his communication. He needs to find a better way to communicate where he is and when he’s dead or not. Clearly, folks aren’t getting it.
Then it says that Jesus appeared again and says, “peace be with you.” They thought he was a ghost and they were afraid. Have I made my case yet for a better communication system? Is this really Jesus? Looks like Jesus, sounds like Jesus. Folks are confused.
He tries a new plan after the fourth confused episode, he says, Look at my hands and feet. Look at my wounds. Certainly they'll know me when they see my wounds.
Jesus’ wounds told his story, it communicated who he was. Is it possible that we don’t really know Jesus until we’ve seen his wounds? And is it also possible that we don't really know ourselves or one another until we’ve seen our wounds as well?
Something of our wounds tell our story. They speak to who we really are, what we’ve seen, what we’ve endured, our joys and failures. Our wounds tell our story. The life we live in our body, scars and all, are important.
Toward the end of Greek mythology, (the time period right before Jesus) there was a god named Aesculapius. He was a healer. He was also said to have raised from the dead. His story is interesting because the other Greek gods were not concerned with the body. His story is from the end of Greek mythology when intellectuals began to take the gods less seriously. Instead the intellectual thought of the day turned to what is known as Gnosticism. Gnosticism believes that the mind/soul is trapped in the body. The body is not important, not essential. That might be well and good for the intellectuals of the day but the regular folk didn't seem to get the memo because they were flocking to Aesculapius' temple. Forget intellectual thought; the people wanted their religion to care about the whole person, mind, body and spirit.
Just in time for Jesus. Jesus was actually human. He had a body. And he went around offering healing to other people’s bodies. Jesus wanted us to be “whole” - he cared about the mind, the soul, the spirit and the body. Wholeness.
We’ve begun a long discussion on “wholeness.” What does it mean to be “whole?” What role do we play in our wholeness? What role does God play? What role do we play in one another’s wholeness? When we think of our bodies, or when we think of our minds, or when we think of our spirits, in what way are we not whole? Where are our wounds?
Jesus didn’t ignore wounds. He wanted folks to face all of life. He says, Look: my hands and my feet. Look at my wounds... you'll know me by my wounds.
One morning a couple weeks ago, I was waiting for the coffee to brew and I thought I’d start making dinner. So I began to cut potatoes... can you see where this is going? That's right, I sliced my finger. Can I be honest for a second? I don’t do blood very well. I’m probably not the best person to get if someone is bleeding. And so I’m holding my hand, trying not to look at it. And it’s bleeding… your hand bleeds a lot! I sit down and then I think that I may throw up. It's 6am. I make my way over to the bathroom. But I can’t throw up… why? I haven’t even had coffee yet. So I figure I'd run a little water over my finger. When I tell you that I have not experienced pain quite like that. You ready? I pass out.
Briefly, I catch myself. Pete’s lookin’ at me when I come to… I say, “that’s not good.” He says, “you think?” I rested a bit on the cold floor, drank some water, I ate a Clementine.
Now the big decision... is the cut deep enough for stitches… here’s the thing. It was Thursday and Thursdays are when I go to my small group. And… well, I didn’t want to go to the hospital. So deep enough or not, I didn't go.
So my wound has healed by secondary intention... thank you Dr. Lutchman. Primary intention would be that I skipped my small group and spent the morning in New Brunswick getting stitches. But secondary intention means that it heals from the inside out, on its own. Takes longer and my hand... well, let's just say that I'm not going to be a hand model.
But my scar tells a lot about me. It tells you that I love my small group. It tells you that I'm not as good with a chef's knife as I think. It says that I ought not cook before I've had caffeine.
I should've gotten stitches. I should've had someone look at the wound, size it up, and close it up so that it could heal easier.
But here's the thing: we heal, with or without stitches. We heal: inside and outside. Whether we close up the wound professionally or not. We have wounds, inside and outside. Some don't call for physical stitches. But I'd like to start our discussion about healing by suggesting that when we pray for our wounds, physical, emotional, spiritual, naming them is like putting on “stitches.
By coming to God with as much specifics as we know, it's like we've closed the wound to give it a chance to heal easier.
Might God offer us insight and guidance about how to pray for ourselves and even for others. Might we find courage to look at our wounds and in so doing, know ourselves. Amen.
If you had stitches, raise your hand. 2x…
If you’ve ever broken a bone…
If you have a scar (from an accident or surgery)...
We get hurt outside... we also get hurt inside. We have wounds on the outside of our body and on the inside... some wounds we don't tell anyone about...
Don't raise your hands but can you name the first person who broke your heart? The first two people... Can you name someone you are having a hard time forgiving? Two people? Again don't raise your hand but how many were bullied? By more than one person? We can assume statistically that we have people here who have been and potentially are still being abused by someone who loves them.
We all have wounds, some on the outside, some on the inside. And if you think about it, our wounds tell an awful lot about us.
It's interesting to note that Jesus thought that about his wounds too. In fact, he figured that theypeople would recognize him if they saw his wounds.
Go back with me. Jesus dies and they bury him. But when they go to visit the grave, he’s not there. Two people in dazzling clothes appear and ask, “why do you look for the living among the dead?” Great question.
And you can imagine these smart, witty women answering the dazzling dressed people, “Listen, we thought he was dead. He was dead yesterday, therefore he would’ve been here… among the dead. Well, he’s not dead anymore. “Yes well, Jesus needs to work on his communication,” they say as they walk away from the grave. That same couple decides to leave town, and as they walk someone starts walking next to them. The someone turns out to be Jesus… surprise! Fooled you. Again they say, “Jesus needs to work on his communication. He needs to find a better way to communicate where he is and when he’s dead or not. Clearly, folks aren’t getting it.
Then it says that Jesus appeared again and says, “peace be with you.” They thought he was a ghost and they were afraid. Have I made my case yet for a better communication system? Is this really Jesus? Looks like Jesus, sounds like Jesus. Folks are confused.
He tries a new plan after the fourth confused episode, he says, Look at my hands and feet. Look at my wounds. Certainly they'll know me when they see my wounds.
Jesus’ wounds told his story, it communicated who he was. Is it possible that we don’t really know Jesus until we’ve seen his wounds? And is it also possible that we don't really know ourselves or one another until we’ve seen our wounds as well?
Something of our wounds tell our story. They speak to who we really are, what we’ve seen, what we’ve endured, our joys and failures. Our wounds tell our story. The life we live in our body, scars and all, are important.
Toward the end of Greek mythology, (the time period right before Jesus) there was a god named Aesculapius. He was a healer. He was also said to have raised from the dead. His story is interesting because the other Greek gods were not concerned with the body. His story is from the end of Greek mythology when intellectuals began to take the gods less seriously. Instead the intellectual thought of the day turned to what is known as Gnosticism. Gnosticism believes that the mind/soul is trapped in the body. The body is not important, not essential. That might be well and good for the intellectuals of the day but the regular folk didn't seem to get the memo because they were flocking to Aesculapius' temple. Forget intellectual thought; the people wanted their religion to care about the whole person, mind, body and spirit.
Just in time for Jesus. Jesus was actually human. He had a body. And he went around offering healing to other people’s bodies. Jesus wanted us to be “whole” - he cared about the mind, the soul, the spirit and the body. Wholeness.
We’ve begun a long discussion on “wholeness.” What does it mean to be “whole?” What role do we play in our wholeness? What role does God play? What role do we play in one another’s wholeness? When we think of our bodies, or when we think of our minds, or when we think of our spirits, in what way are we not whole? Where are our wounds?
Jesus didn’t ignore wounds. He wanted folks to face all of life. He says, Look: my hands and my feet. Look at my wounds... you'll know me by my wounds.
One morning a couple weeks ago, I was waiting for the coffee to brew and I thought I’d start making dinner. So I began to cut potatoes... can you see where this is going? That's right, I sliced my finger. Can I be honest for a second? I don’t do blood very well. I’m probably not the best person to get if someone is bleeding. And so I’m holding my hand, trying not to look at it. And it’s bleeding… your hand bleeds a lot! I sit down and then I think that I may throw up. It's 6am. I make my way over to the bathroom. But I can’t throw up… why? I haven’t even had coffee yet. So I figure I'd run a little water over my finger. When I tell you that I have not experienced pain quite like that. You ready? I pass out.
Briefly, I catch myself. Pete’s lookin’ at me when I come to… I say, “that’s not good.” He says, “you think?” I rested a bit on the cold floor, drank some water, I ate a Clementine.
Now the big decision... is the cut deep enough for stitches… here’s the thing. It was Thursday and Thursdays are when I go to my small group. And… well, I didn’t want to go to the hospital. So deep enough or not, I didn't go.
So my wound has healed by secondary intention... thank you Dr. Lutchman. Primary intention would be that I skipped my small group and spent the morning in New Brunswick getting stitches. But secondary intention means that it heals from the inside out, on its own. Takes longer and my hand... well, let's just say that I'm not going to be a hand model.
But my scar tells a lot about me. It tells you that I love my small group. It tells you that I'm not as good with a chef's knife as I think. It says that I ought not cook before I've had caffeine.
I should've gotten stitches. I should've had someone look at the wound, size it up, and close it up so that it could heal easier.
But here's the thing: we heal, with or without stitches. We heal: inside and outside. Whether we close up the wound professionally or not. We have wounds, inside and outside. Some don't call for physical stitches. But I'd like to start our discussion about healing by suggesting that when we pray for our wounds, physical, emotional, spiritual, naming them is like putting on “stitches.
By coming to God with as much specifics as we know, it's like we've closed the wound to give it a chance to heal easier.
Might God offer us insight and guidance about how to pray for ourselves and even for others. Might we find courage to look at our wounds and in so doing, know ourselves. Amen.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
The Church Is Alive
Happy Easter everybody! Just in time for us to experience a fantastic week of worship, all encouraged, perhaps you had time (on Sunday afternoon maybe?) to read read last week's cover story in Newsweek of about the decline of Christianity. I always respond to things like this by squinting my eyes and thinking "But... Our church is not dead... our church is quite alive."
I mean didn't we just celebrate an amazing season of Lent. Don't we regularly have dynamic worship services? Singing, sharing, laughing (in church - imagine). We care for one another, we respond to needs around us, we enjoy being people of faith within a community of faith. Our Church is not dead... we are quite alive!
Bruce Reyes-Chow, the moderator of our next General Assembly, has issued a challenge to us to think about those thing that are "alive" in our denomination. Check out this website to hear more.
He challenges us to submit responses to the questions, "How is the church alive?"
But for the purposes of our blog, comment back with your response... How is our church alive?
I mean didn't we just celebrate an amazing season of Lent. Don't we regularly have dynamic worship services? Singing, sharing, laughing (in church - imagine). We care for one another, we respond to needs around us, we enjoy being people of faith within a community of faith. Our Church is not dead... we are quite alive!
Bruce Reyes-Chow, the moderator of our next General Assembly, has issued a challenge to us to think about those thing that are "alive" in our denomination. Check out this website to hear more.
He challenges us to submit responses to the questions, "How is the church alive?"
But for the purposes of our blog, comment back with your response... How is our church alive?
Monday, March 16, 2009
In the middle of Lent
The crocuses came out last weekend around our house. There's little bits of green sticking through the ground that in a few weeks will be tulips or daffodils. My amaryllis is growing on my kitchen table... faithfully appearing each year.
It's in the middle of Lent that I look for these signs of life. Some time in the middle of "take a walk with God" month, I begin to look for signs of resurrection after a lengthy season of winter death.
Check out this clip from Fantasia 2000 and see if you can find connections between its story and our beloved Christian story of Holy Week and Easter. Feel free to comment!
It's in the middle of Lent that I look for these signs of life. Some time in the middle of "take a walk with God" month, I begin to look for signs of resurrection after a lengthy season of winter death.
Check out this clip from Fantasia 2000 and see if you can find connections between its story and our beloved Christian story of Holy Week and Easter. Feel free to comment!
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