email:  whitpresby@mindspring.com

Spiritual readings        "Greetings from Whittier Presbyterian Church"

Aug 2003 Emails    

August 1, 2003

Interpretation, a Journal of Bible and Theology, is a quarterly publication that comes out of Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.  The April 2002 issue was dedicated to biblical spirituality and here is a quote from the opening article by Sandra M. Schneiders, a professor at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California.  She is talking about the convergence of Protestant and Catholic theological concerns over the last few decades.  There she has this line:

 “Protestants have discovered anew the importance of spirituality, not as a substitute for or competitor to grace but as a way of cooperating with grace.”

 As a Protestant pastor, I appreciate her distinction and delineation of this issue of cooperating with God in our spiritual practices.  We are not trying to manipulate God, as if we could summon God’s presence with us by the intensity of our prayer.  No, we are seeking to cooperate with God in this life, in knowing God’s gracious love and care for us, while going through our daily responsibilities. 

How well do you cooperate with God?  May you discover yourself cooperating with God in whatever spiritual or faith practices you use.

Grace & peace

Geoff

 Aug. 5, 2003

Urban T. Holmes wrote an analytical introduction to Christian spirituality, “A History of Christian Spirituality,” Seabury Press, New York, 1981.  In the book he puts forth a system of analyzing spiritual disciplines and writers throughout the history of the church that can be very helpful.  Towards the end of the book he says this about our experience of seeking God in our lives:

 “It is essential that we not try to “codify” –to “make three booths (Mark 9:5)—the experience as a way of holding on to it for ourselves and to test the spirituality of others.  The tendency in recent years of renewal movements to degenerate into literalism—an institutionalization of the experience of God at the prepositional level—is destructive of the very renewal for which we all strive.  There is no permanent resting place, no one has captured the ineffable God in his or her formulae; perfection lies in the desire for God, not in the accomplishment of the union.  This is why we who have searched the spiritual masters together conclude that we must never lose that delicate balance between the intuitive and the logical, between the receptive mode and the action mode of consciousness.

 After slogging one’s way through a system like Holmes’ it is refreshing to find him put the matter into the heart.  I liked his phrase “perfection lies in the desire for God, not in the accomplishment of the union.  (See the email of July 18, 2003 for a very similar quote.)  It is indeed our desire that counts, the journey more than the destination.  I find this comforting as one who stumbles along the spiritual path.

May you find your desire for God sharpened this day, and be blessed as a consequence.

Grace & peace

Geoff

 Aug. 8, 2003

Each issue of the Christian Century Magazine has a section of short articles called “Century Marks.”  The articles are of interest to the current religious scene in America and may be humorous as well.  The August 9, 2003 issue has a short article relating Alzheimer’s disease to some words of Jean Calvin.  Sue Miller, in her book “The Story of My Father,” Knopf, 2003, tells of the cruelty of watching her father, church historian James Nichols, suffer from Alzheimer’s.  She notes that he seemed to accept his fate, posting in his office the following excerpt from Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion.”

 “We are not our own: let not reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds.  We are not our own:  let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us according to the flesh.  We are not our own:  insofar as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours.  Conversely, we are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him.”

 If you know and/or love anyone who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, you might well understand the relevance of these words to their condition.  There may be some help for the caregivers too, if they can put these words and the disease and their loved one into the context of faith.  Calvin speaks of a healthy, conscious faith, but maybe his words can provide some support to those suffering from or with Alzheimer’s disease.  May you find or pass on some comfort from these words.

Grace & peace

Geoff

 Aug. 12, 2003

Another excerpt from the Aug. 9, 2003 issue of Christian Century Magazine’s section of “Century Marks.”  They are taking it from the English newspaper “The Guardian” May 24, 2003 issue.  It is a touching story of the increasing global awareness about issues of economic justice.

 “The town of Garstang in Lancashire, England, claims to be the world’s first “fair trade town.”  Of the towns 100 businesses, 90 sell or actively promote food that pays a fair price to small farmers in developing countries.  Garstang’s schools, local council, chamber of commerce and churches have also jumped on the fair trade bandwagon.  The idea took root three years ago when the local Oxfam group invited the town bigwigs to a meal fashioned with fairly traded items and local produce.  The town has also entered into a relationship with a similar-sized town in Ghana that grows cocoa for the fair trade market.  A youth group from Garstang visited the sister city in Ghana to see how hard it is for farmers to compete in the global marketplace.”

 Such stories remind me of the goodness of people to be found when one just looks for it.  It also reminds me of the need to be more aware of the larger economic picture of our world.  It is one more way to put our faith into action, to practice what we preach.  May you be more aware of what happens in the world around you this day, and find some new, innovative way to practice your faith.

Grace & peace

Geoff

Aug. 15, 2003

One of the best books on spirituality (in my humble opinion!) is “Practicing our Faith” edited by Dorothy C. Bass, Jossey Bass, San Francisco, 1997.  It is a collection of essays on various topics of spiritual practices.  Bass’s own article is on Keeping Sabbath and this is one of the concluding paragraphs.

 The practice of keeping Sabbath bears much wisdom for people seeking ways through the crises of these times and the stresses of contemporary life.  “The solution of mankind’s most vexing problems will not be found in renouncing technical civilization, but in attaining some degree of independence from it,” writes Abraham Heschel.  Sabbath keeping teaches that independence.  Refraining from work on a regular basis is a way of setting limits on behavior that is perilous for both human welfare and the welfare of the earth itself.  Overworked Americans need rest, AND they need to be reminded that they do not cause the grain to grow and that their greatest fulfillment does not come through the acquisition of material things.  Moreover, the planet needs a rest from human plucking and burning and buying and selling.  Perhaps, as Sabbath keepers, we will come to live and know these truths more fully, and thus to bring their wisdom to the common solution of humanity’s problems.

 As I prepare for vacation, something of an extended Sabbath, I realize again the need that all humans have for rest and renewal.  Summer is traditionally the time for such in our society and I expect many of you have had or will have some time of vacation rest this month.  May you find the resolve to carry some of that rest, that Sabbath observance, over into the other part of your lives.

Grace & peace,

Geoff