Holding Sacred Connections 11-3-13

Eternal God, sometimes it feels like we have very little to hold on to.  Sometimes it feels like there is so much to think about we don’t know where to start.  Help us find our holy groundedness—that place inside and around us where we find ourselves face to face with our own truth.  Amen

            Today’s sermon is really about paradox.  When you search for words with similar meanings in the thesaurus (one of my favorite ways to expand my understanding of words) you find yourself taken down a rather strange path.  Words like “inconsistency”, “absurdity”, “irony”, “enigma”, and “impossibility” spring up.  And, as if to trump all the others, “illogicality” leads the pack.  Ouch, that hurts our little well-defended hearts.  Now, here’s the problem, while the word ‘paradox’ itself may not feel consciously imbued with a spirit of negativity, all those words we use to describe what a paradox really is are naturally thought of pejoratively—places our, oh so logical minds dread to tread. 

            In my own theology, I, several years ago, moved to a phrase that I felt more comfortable with—“sacred contradictions”.  Today, I want us to think about how our ability to hold and even treasure those sacred contradictions—those things that are puzzles if perceived only with the rational mind—can help us be present to the “Mystery” (capital M) that takes our lives from mundane to sacred holiness or wholeness.  Why is this worth my time and effort, you might ask?  The value in our ability to move from avoiding to holding to celebrating these sacred contradictions is that the inability to do this is the one thing that keeps us from being able to embrace the entire sacred world and to understand the joy of the sentient world as well.  

            Let me give you an example—let’s say that you are very angry at God or Life or the Universe or however you perceive it—a loved one has been taken, a job lost, financial security is ripped out from under you.  At the same time, you continue to live in the glorious world of nature with other loved ones or friends.  If your anger at God cannot be held at the same time as your gratitude to the Universe for life itself, you will force yourself to choose.  I don’t think I need to tell you which one will win out.  But, if we can come to believe that both of those feelings and realities live in us at once—that one does not necessarily cancel the other one out, then we can begin to live life from a “wholeness” perspective.  And, it is only in a wholeness perspective that true healing can occur.

            Let me give you an historical example since I have vowed to stay out of the political arena.  In the Second World War we were drawn into the war in the Pacific.  Terrible things happened in that war.  But one of the most tragic, other than the thousands who were killed or maimed by the dropping of nuclear bombs, was the massive internment of Japanese immigrants on our west Coast.  We, as a country, could not live with the contradiction of fighting the Japanese army while being home to thousands of Japanese immigrants.  So we forced them to live in captivity until the end of the war.  Had we been able to live with that contradiction, we would have had one less blight on the soul of the United States of America and we would have been one step closer to wholeness.  The inability to balance seemingly impossible realities causes us as individuals and as countries to be less than whole in our humanity. 

            There is another arena where we have great difficulty in balancing the contradictions which I believe to be holy.  And that is when we look at our own growth as spiritual beings.  We speak often of Spiritual Formation in this church.  Let me say, up front, that I am not sure any of us truly understand all that this seemingly simple phrase means.  Spirituality is, first and foremost, a gift.  But it is a gift that does not come fully developed.  The process of development itself is a gift.  Our experiences, as we allow ourselves to be present to them, are both individual and collective gifts.  We want to explore various spiritual practices and we do; perhaps Lectio Divina with its quiet meditation on sacred word, perhaps walking meditation where movement and quiet are present, perhaps yoga or tai chi where discipline is combined with mental and spiritual reflection.  It is my experience that the learning of new ways of expressing spirituality inevitably leads to a desire for further exploration and experimentation.  So, as much as our endings are gifts in themselves, they inspire a deep yearning for more. 

            Our inability to hold on to seemingly disparate beliefs stifles our willingness to become more and more whole as led by the Spirit of Love.  If, and I know this is a big ‘if’—if we can allow ourselves to learn from other spiritual traditions and place our fear in abeyance while we allow the spirit of the Whole to show us the wisdom we can gain from exploring other traditions we grow not only in our own tradition but, as humans sharing a common planet, we learn how to be present in melded ways the whole of humanity can understand at once.  Let me give you an example.  When I was at the most committed to yoga stage in my life, there was a relatively strong movement in Evangelical Christianity for people to learn “Christian Yoga”.  Now, think about that for a minute.  What in the world is “Christian Yoga”?  Yoga, centuries old, itself has many traditions but is often subsumed under the one word ‘yoga’.  Each of those traditions has its own emphasis, some so subtle that, except for yoga experts, you can’t tell the difference.  The most common differences have to do with the speed or conditions under which the positions are practiced.  What is shared is the belief that these various positions along with the focused meditations unleash energy that has been previously bottled up in the body.  Yoga, of course, is a wonderful practice and has been credited with having a positive effect on many medical conditions. 

            Apparently, though I never sought out a class, Christian Yoga consists of the same basic poses but the meditations are focused on the teachings of Christ and on God.  I wondered then and I wonder now, “why did yoga need to be ‘Christianized”?  Aha, the ‘founders’ and I use the word loosely since it is difficult to see how one can ‘found’ something that has been in existence for centuries, could not hold the sacred contradiction of a professing Christian practicing an Eastern spiritual practice.  This is a silly example, you may say, but, I assure you I did not make it up. 

            There is one thing we must not miss here, so please listen.  It is in the moment of holding the two so-called opposing truths in our hands, rolling them around, treasuring each for what it is—it is in that moment when power and grace are generated.  We must have those moments and lots of them, if we are ever to have an impact on the world for Good and an impact in our lives for Growth.  Life is about growing, becoming more and more of what God has created us to be.  Being accepted and truly loved by God is a starting point—we spend our lives working out what it means to be loved.  It is in that working out that we come to know the value of saving the world.  It is in that saving the world we learn to be whole.

            I invite you to try a little experiment.  Think of something in your life about which two things or thoughts appear to be true.  I would like for you, if you are able, to hold both of your hands out in front of you, palms up, at a comfortable level.  Now, in your right hand, mentally place a picture or the words of something you believe in very much.  Now, in your left hand, place the things or thought that feels like it is in conflict.  Spend a moment going back and forth looking at your two hands.  Ignore your neighbors, they are doing their own thing.  Now place your hands back to back like this.  Keeping your focus on your hands and the thoughts in your hands, how does that feel.  Awkward, uncomfortable, maybe even painful.  That is where many of us are living right now.  Now relax your hands and put them back out in front of you.  Place your right hand down at your side—how does your left hand feel?  Alone, perhaps.  Bring your right hand back out in front.  Gazing at your own hands for a moment, gently place them in the position that describes how you would like for your hands to interact.  Perhaps, you will just hold both hands together, perhaps you will lace your fingers together—it’s completely up to you.  Hold them there for a moment—feel the warmth that rises from your hands—that warmth is energy—energy that inspires you to change and energy that will heal the world.  Amen and amen.

Opening to Journey 10-27-13

God of many names and expressions:  teach us to see you everywhere we look.  Lead us to a life that recognizes that you are in and around us and all of creation.  Teach us to listen to the earth yearning for peace.  Show us where we fit and what you call us to do.  Amen

                I’d like to ask you to participate in a little experiment with me.  I promise that nothing strange or unexpected will happen.  I’d like to ask each of you to close your eyes.  Now, I would like to ask you to find a comfortable way to sit in these somewhat uncomfortable chairs.  Now, I would like to ask you to take a breath in and exhale; and, one more time, take a breath in and exhale.  Now, I would like to ask you to imagine the most beautiful place you have ever been or imagined.  Take a moment or two to really explore your surroundings.  You may be at the beach, or in the hills of Ireland, perhaps on top of a mountain, or in the depths of a lush forest.  Allow your feelings to rise to the surface as you gaze about.  … Now, as much as you would like to stay in that beautiful place, I’m going to ask you to return to this setting here in this beautiful building.  And what were some of those feelings?  Shout them out—you don’t have to explain—just one word feelings……

                I love your words—all of them.  And, there are no wrong feelings, no right feelings—just feelings, yours to treasure and to explore.  The smallest word is the largest feeling for me—awe.  I am awestruck, struck by the lightning flash of wonder when I am blessed to survey the beauty of the world.  But most of all, I am rendered speechless by the impossibility of naming God in the midst of the wonder.  No matter how hard I try, I can never take in all of the wonder that nature—this creative force of precision and grace—lays at our feet, displays before yes, and pours light and love throughout our human selves.  God is like that.  We stumble over what to call God as if we could ever presume to understand the force of life itself.  We argue over gender—gender!—when we have not even come close to acknowledging the power and energy that surges through every aspect of this created world.  We debate timeframes and condemn those who believe differently from us, when all we really need to do is say, “wow!”  I think ‘wow’ is a very spiritual word, don’t you?  Recently, I had a revelation or epiphany of what we look like when we try to fit God, the divine Good, the ever-present Source, into one of our boxes.  Boxes that look like words because we fear admitting that we are at a loss when confronted with the immensity of all there is.  I’d like to tell you a story and hope that I can tell it in a way that you can participate in my experience in some small way.  At the end of my vacation, I spent just 48 hours in New York City with our friend, Celia.  She knew that most of all I wanted to visit the 9-11 Memorial.  From the very beginning I was unsure of what that experience would be like, but I knew that I must go.  As we found our way to the memorial I realized that we were walking down the very same street that I had driven a truck full of supplies on a few days from the attack.  I saw the Burger King that had provided a place still able to cook even though it had been completely bombed out by the blast of the buildings falling.  As for me, I saw nothing but the same firefighters, police, and rescue dogs that I had seen some 12 years ago.  Thousands of people thronged the lines and streets, but I only saw the grime and dust and smelled the acrid smell of human flesh wafting on the breeze.  I pulled myself out of my replay of events and we walked into the Memorial itself.  At the first reflecting pool/fountain in the footprint of Tower One, I allowed myself to feel the immenseness of the scene and the memories.  Hundreds of names were engraved on the memorial.  But, at first, I was focused on the pool itself.  In the center of the pool, is a deep pit looking very much like the pit that the rescuers dug out of the actual buildings.  The water flowed in, going beyond sight and then was forced back up through the first level waterfalls only to return to the pit.  I stood mesmerized by the sight and tried to take it all in at once.  I quickly realized that I could not.  It hit me in an instant.  “This is God”, I said to Celia, “and no matter how hard I try or what angle I achieve, I cannot see it all at once.”  Of course, I did not mean just the memorial itself, I meant the feelings, the lives lost, the heroism of those early hours and afterwards, and all those alive and breathing people gazing at the same scene I was seeing.  This was intensely freeing for me as I realized again that we are not called upon to understand it all, we are called upon to acknowledge that we cannot. 

                This is not a bad place to begin our look at Spirituality, Science, and Healing the World—this beyond our grasp place.  Indeed, God, that is absolute love, was never intended to be within our grasp.  Where God, Love, and Spiritual Enlightenment meet is in Mystery—the mystery of God, of Good; yes, of Love.  You might wonder why I have chosen this discourse as our sermon series between now and Advent.  You might wonder why I don’t leave it to the experts—to those writers of that stack of books on my desk at home.  I have chosen to invite you into a communal learning experience—one that we can begin together regardless of our previous or present convictions regarding the subject.  For I believe that as long as our intellectual energy and spiritual insight is focused on defending our differences rather than embracing and celebrating what we have to give to each other, we will continue on the path of destruction and conflagration that, more than likely, will someday, result in the end of at least our planet, if not the universe as a whole.  I want us to stop throwing around the words “radical inclusivity”; I want us to require ourselves to come to understand what that means and the amount of putting aside comfortable beliefs that it will require. 

                I believe that we are called to treasure the saving of the whole of the universe more than we treasure a long-held belief in a specific path to salvation.  For if we do not, we will find ourselves standing on the metaphorical street corners of this world spouting senseless sayings to people who have already died to the possibility of rebirth or regeneration.  There will come a time, when people will indeed realize that it is too late for us to value the oneness of all creation, because that very creation will have been destroyed by fires fueled by the energy of our unwillingness to open our hearts to the different, the other, the unknowable. 

                The time has come for us to enter into the mystery—to stand and say, “Teach me, O Universe, what you have need for me to know.  Let me move from rhetoric to an explosion of understanding of the interconnectedness of my redemption with the revolution of regeneration in the world.  Open my heart, show me where to stand so that I may receive all that the universe has to bestow while I, myself, get out of your way”.  John Phillip Newell, Celtic theologian, reminds us, “Just as Hebrew Scripture begins with a description of the Wind of God hovering over the chaotic deep at the beginning of time to bring forth creation in its oneness, that same Spirit is hovering over the depths of the human soul today to bring forth a consciousness of life’s oneness that we could never before have imagined.”       

                No matter the author or title of the book I chose to study, one word found its way into every discussion—“Awe”.  In awe, we open ourselves to a different kind of journey—a journey into the mystery that is ever unkown and always present.  We cause ourselves to become present to the journey, aware of the mandate for courage and change.  Barbara Fiand, author of “Awe-fillled Wonder: the Interface of Science and Spirituality” warns us—“The new and unfamiliar can be terribly frightening, and fear can drive us to violence”.  Thank God we are not alone in this journey.  Surrounded by friends, we chart our course together to align ourselves with those churches ready and willing to do ground-breaking work—to love the universe more than we love our narrow definitions of God and all that we consider holy.  We join this great Peace March, rising from the beginning of time against those who would limit the holiness and wholeness of the universe.  I invite you to revisit your beautiful place from the beginning of the sermon.  This time, as you close your eyes, and settle your soul, I invite you to offer your own prayer...  It is enough to chant with the ages, “I am in awe, in awe, in awe.” ….. Amen and amen. 

The Great Reversal 10-6-13

God, author of all peace, creator of all things, lead us this day and every day in the paths of righteousness.  May we be open and receptive as we seek to learn more of you.  Amen

            How many of you, when you were growing up, had topics that you were not allowed to talk about at the dinner table, or worse yet, anytime your family had company?  What were some of those aspects of life that were not deemed acceptable for casual, non-private conversation?  Ok, so sex is the obvious one.  Religious beliefs, maybe.  Family skeletons and ne’er-do-wells, probably.  Politics, perhaps.  What about money?  As a child, did you know how your parents felt about money?  Did you know whether or not your family had plenty, or was just barely skating by?  I think that money is a topic that is pretty taboo most places.  And, you may well be sitting in the place where it is the most taboo.  We, preachers and congregants alike, just don’t want to talk about it.  I am no different—I dread the sermon on money every year—I usually don’t want to preach about it and you, more than likely, would rather not hear about it. 

            But, let me say this up front—money and stewardship are part of the picture.  If we refuse to bring it out in the open, we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to grow and change.  The church itself, and I mean the church universal, has given money and stewardship a bad rap.  We are quick to point to the selling of indulgences in the history of Roman Catholicism and the shistering of itinerant ministers in the past and Tele—Evangelists in the present.  Those, my friends, are excuses, not reasons, for whispering about money matters if they are talked about at all.  Jesus talks a lot about money; and, not just money, but how we let it rule our lives or not. 

            In our scripture today, a wealthy man runs up to Jesus.  We see him standing there, his top notch, designer robes swishing in the dust.  He is polite, the scripture says he treated Jesus with reverence.  He asks about eternal life—perhaps, we would call it abundant life.  Jesus recites the law to him and the man says he has done all those things since a child.  We are then told that Jesus looked deep into his eyes and he loved him.  That love generated the final stipulation.  Jesus told this wealthy young man to go sell everything he had and follow in God’s way.  This was too much for the man; and, we are told that he turned with a heavy heart and walked away.  He could not find it in himself to give up his wealth.  Jesus and the disciples continue to talk and this is the conversation where Jesus give us the famous line about the camel and an eye of the needle.  To enrich the metaphor even more, the “eye of the needle” was an actual opening in the wall that surrounded Jerusalem.  Camels could not go through it.  To utilize that gate you could only be on foot with very little to carry because the way was so narrow.  Few tried it and this is exactly what Jesus meant. 

Notice that the scripture says that Jesus looked into his eyes and loved him.  Jesus loved him before telling him to walk away from his wealth.  This seemingly small detail is important because it allows us to understand that when God’s Spirit calls us to spiritual practice, it is from a place of complete and all-embracing love.  I know that Jesus was saddened by the man’s decision, not surprised, but saddened. 

            Finally, in Mark’s Gospel passage, we hear Jesus promise his followers that they will be repaid double, even triple, by God in the gifts we receive from God, including eternal or abundant life.  The disciples were relieved even as the man attached to his wealth walks farther and farther away from Jesus.  This is not just a story; it may well be the story of our times.  One of the most powerful things a church can do in an era of shifting priorities and confusion at the very root of our financial security is to begin to break the taboo against speaking about money.  I am convinced that we must—even in the midst of encountering our own personal conflicting thoughts around the place of money in faith and spirituality—we must begin to talk about it.  MCC churches, such as ours, make a commitment to be transparent with all congregants in all things.  I think we do a pretty good job of being transparent with transactions, the business of the church, and the governance of the church.  I do not think we do a particularly good job of mutual transparence around emotions, thoughts, or conflicts around money; or, more precisely, the responsibility of this congregation to support the ministries and services of a church that feeds them in many ways. 

            Secrets do not heal.  Honest, truthful, compassionate sharing of facts and feelings heals.  Our need not to know about the financial circumstances of the church is strong—as if by not knowing we absolve our own taboo-keeping about the sanctity of stewardship and the giving of gifts.  By bringing the whole messy topic to light, we destroy the ability of the spirit of conflict to take hold around this subject.  I know that many, if not most, of you have said at one time or another, “I wish they (the pastor, Board, Treasurer) would quit talking about money.”  I think what we really mean to say is, “I wish they(everyone in the church) would find another way to talk about money—a way that takes into account my own personal financial situation and my desire to grow spiritually at the same time.”

            Jesus, in his statement to the disciples about wealth and the kingdom of God, tells us something very important about the hold that money or wealth has on many of us.  He tells the disciples that there is no way that a person can get into right relationship with money by themselves; however, if we allow God to change us as we grow spirituality that relationship will automatically change.  Ah, relationship, here we are again talking about relationship and balance and allowing our hearts and lives to be changed as we come more and more into the presence of God and seek to grow.   So, how, then is the talking about money spiritually edifying? 

            Money and wealth and things, or at least the accumulation of things, are spiritual issues.  Martin Luther, of Reformation fame, said, “What people of faith do with their money is indicative of what they believe about God.”  I might be tempted to modify his statement for a little additional clarity—something like, “the amount of focused energy centered on money by a believer is a strong indicator of his or her relationship with God.”  Now biblical economics varies greatly from the prevailing economic theory of the day.  Biblical economics focuses not on who does and doesn’t “get” wealth; biblical economics is an economics of abundance which focuses on figuring out how to spread the wealth of God’s abundance to all of creation. Most of the time, I will admit, it seems like the economists are right—the “haves” get more of what they already have; and, the “have nots” continue to struggle along.  But churches and denominations like UFMCC have made a commitment to work towards all kinds of justice including economic justice. 

            I ask you to notice at least one thing about this sermon.  At no point did I ask you for money.  Surprised?  Here’s why—I believe that as we mature as a spiritual family and become able to talk about money and funding in healthy and whole ways, that we will see God’s abundance at work among us.  I believe that honest conversation leads to heartfelt contemplation and prayer which leads to change. And change is to be celebrated.

            Perhaps our first celebration should be to change the way we present our offerings to the church.  Listen to a story from a missionary to the Congo describe the way the offering went there.  First, a deacon got up and stood at the front of the church (really a hut).  The minister began calling the congregation forward to give their offerings.  There was singing and dancing up the aisle as the dreadfully poor people came forward to offer their gifts.  The missionary reports that she was stunned by the exuberance and excitement of the congregation.  After the offering was finished, the minister announced that one of their sister churches had burned to the ground—and the festivities began again as they joyfully dug a little deeper for a second offering.  Bare feet and all, they danced and clapped their way to helping their brothers and sisters in need. 

            They were trusting—trusting the God of abundance to provide abundance to them and to others.  Abundance is not always what the world expects and it may not look like abundance in the eyes of the world.  Abundance is a way of being—a way of living in a constant state of grace.  Now, I’m not suggesting that this comes easily.  It requires practice—spiritual practice.  I believe that we are ready to begin practicing the joy of giving and tuning in to the peace that happens when we trust.  As we begin to focus on God’s abundance, we can feel it—hope, coming into our lives in ways we could never imagine—hope that springs from the abundance of creation itself.  We can be a part of spreading that hope throughout the world. 

            That same missionary tells another story—this time in Kenya.  She tells of a woman who came forward to give her offering.  The basket was on the altar table at the front of the room.  She walks up to the plate, stares at it for a moment and then picks it up and puts it on the floor.  You can almost imagine the “uh oh—she’s gone and done it nows” whispered throughout the little church.  With no warning, she steps into the basket, putting her whole self in the offering plate that day.  Friends, let us move forward in abundance and hope, knowing that the very same God who permeates the Universe has more than enough abundance to make it so.  Amen and amen.

Just Do It 9-29-13

God of Time and Space, enter our hearts this day and show us your sacred truth.  May we meditate upon your goodness and grace.  May love be our guiding principle today.  Amen

               

How many of you have enough time in the day to do everything you need to do?  How about want to do?  How many of you sometimes think that if you just had a few, even two, more hours a day that you would be more satisfied?  How many of you think that time goes faster on some days than it does on others?  We know a lot about time.  Mostly, most of us know that we need more of it.  Of course, time efficiency folks—don’t you hate those people who tell you where you waste time?—any way, time efficiency folks tell us that we don’t need more time, we just need to use our time better.  I promise you, this is not a sermon about using our time wisely; but, it is a sermon about the stewardship of the time we are given.  I’ll leave the suggestions for organizing our time to the experts.

                It gave me pause when I realized that we don’t own the time we inhabit.   We have no control over it. We have control over the way we use it; but, we don’t have control over it.  There will always be 24 hours in a day with varying amounts of light and darkness depending on where you live in relation to the equator.  The months will slip away and we will grow older.  Time is known to fly or drag; but one thing is sure—time passes.  Just as I cannot put up my hand and say “Stop!” to a raging river, I cannot say “Stop!” to the passage of time.  Since I have no control over this force of nature, I am left with one conclusion:  Time, like so much else of life, is on loan to us.  God, the Source of the Universe lends us the hours, days, weeks, and months to us as we go throughout our lives in this part of the Cosmos. 

        So, I want us to think of God’s time in our lives in two ways—first, in the amount of time we re-invest for God’s justice work; and, secondly, the amount of time we spend with God—whatever that looks like to you.  When doing research for this sermon, I came across some very interesting resources. The US government, particularly through the Department of Labor, has a chart for every imaginable use of time.  I chose one particular demographic, which while it does not include all of us, still gives us some very good statistics.  Employed people, ages 25-54, who have children, use their time like this:  Working and work-related activities= 8.8 hours,    

Sleeping = 7.6 hours, Leisure and sports =  2.5 hours, unidentified =  1.7 hours, Caring for others = 1.2 hours, Eating and drinking = 1.1 hours and Household activities =  1.1 hours.  This adds up, of course, to 24 hours. Not surprisingly, adults over 55 spend far less time working = only 3.4 hours up to age 64 and have much greater time for leisure and sports = 5.2 hours.  We also sleep about an hour more and, fortunately, I couldn’t find the statistic on how much longer a day we spend eating and drinking.  One statistic that caused me great pain is that adults over the age of 65 who do not have a spouse or partner, spend on the average of 10 hours of their waking time alone. This is a statistic that we would do well to remember as we plan ministries and outreach. 

                    While leaving aside the question of how much time we have for God’s justice work—because that is a question you must answer for yourself; I am going to make a rather radical suggestion.  The amount of time that you spend doing God’s justice work, through this church or another organization, is directly proportional to the amount of time that you spend alone with God.  The reason for this slips by us unless we are paying pretty close attention.  I think it safe to say, that the more time we spend in the presence of God, the more we will want to do and seek ways to do God’s work of justice.  Now, let me be clear here—I am not suggesting that you must be out in the streets with a sign picketing Walmart for the way it treats its workers in order to be working for God’s incoming reign of justice.  You may work at the campus, preparing a beautiful place where people can hear God’s voice.  You may work in a soup kitchen or a thrift store.  There are many ways to do God’s justice work.  On your Estimated Giving Card, there is a place for you to indicate where you see yourself being involved in the ministries of Open Circle.  As you do that, feel free to indicate how many hours a week you wish to give to that ministry.    

                    You may find it strange, in the midst of our Fall Stewardship Campaign, that I want to talk about the time we spend with God.  I often have people who tell me, as they are explaining to me why they do not attend church—a question, by the way that I never ask but they seem insistent on telling me—that they can find God in nature or in a beautiful song, or in whatever.  I realize that my question really should be, and it is a question that I ask myself and you as well—“yes, but do you?”  I think that one of the reasons that churches and communities began springing up in the First Century after Jesus walked on this earth, is that it was ‘set-aside’ time—a time when nothing else was planned except for worship.  The problem that happened soon after is that, too many times, the way of worship, the prescription for worship, if you will, took over the act of worship.  The way people worshipped became more important than the who (the God of love, compassion, and peace) and the why (because we worship to be unified with the Spirit of God and because this is where we learn who we are).  So, as we free ourselves from the proscribed ways of worship, our worship becomes more authentic and fluid with God’s Spirit; and, it is here we gain motivation for our private time with God, and here we make our initial attempts to love our brothers and sisters and celebrate the quilt of diversity that they embody.  Our worship, just as our individual time with God is intertwined and interdependent with the time that we spend working for the in-breaking of God’s reign of justice.  To miss the interconnectedness of these two uses of time is to miss a valuable insight that leads to spiritual maturity and gives us the ability to make informed decisions about both.  Until we realize that spiritual ‘work’ is both private and communal and that they are both equally important, we will continue to fall prey to what Jesus warned us about.

                    The great Rabbi Jesus tells us to be sure we are not just “acting a role” when we try to do good.  He pushes us to make sure that we are not playing to the crowd.  “Just do it!” says Jesus, “quietly and unobtrusively”.  He insists that we “work behind the scenes” like God does.  And then he links it to our private spiritual life and exhorts us to be real and authentic before God.  He says, “Here’s what I want you to do: Find an alone place, away from any others, to you will not be thinking of anything but God.  Just be with God.  Before long, you will feel the focus shift from you and your thoughts to God.  This is when you will begin to sense the presence of God’s divine grace”.

                    “I tried it and doesn’t work that way for me!”  If that is something you might be thinking you are not alone.  Spending time alone with the Source of all being can be hard, maybe even frightening.  “What if I find out that I don’t know how to be real with God?” is a question that may arise.  Perhaps spending time with God is not something that you particularly want to do.  It may help to know that there is nothing you can feel that hasn’t been felt or thought before.  If we are to be good stewards of the time loaned to us, however, we must spend some small part of that time discovering what it is we are to do.  Time alone with God is time well spent and will lead us to the place of spiritual maturity in our decisions regarding all that we give back to God. 

                Spending time alone with God usually requires our giving up doing something else.  Since much of life is determined for us—such as working to make a living, or visiting the doctor, or providing care for someone who is dependent upon us—we are called to make some hard decisions about our so-called ‘spare time’.  Leo Babauta, a blogger who focuses on building a quieter life, asks us to look at how we spend our time.  Is social networking as important as it seems?  What about computer games, or, dare I say it?—that football game on TV or other TV shows that we spend a lot of time watching.  Doesn’t matter the ‘thing’ of it; what matters is that unless you are a very rare person who has hours of extra time to spare, you’re going to have to make a choice.  He reminds us, “In the quiet space that you create, in this world of noise and rushing and distraction, is a new world of reflection, peacefulness, and beauty. It’s a world of your own, and it’s worth living in”.  I don’t have any magical answers for finding this time, nor do I have a list of easy steps to reach this quieter life.  I do know that it is something I wish for myself and for all of you who desire it as well.  Together, we will explore where God is leading us next.  And so we say, “Show us, great source of all time and space, show us the way to you”.  Amen and amen.