email: whitpresby@charterinternet.com
Spiritual readings "Greetings from Whittier Presbyterian Church"
September 2004 LA Times on Gibson’s “Passion” Bob Marley & Sound of Music: “Doors Open…” McKnight critique of Spiritual Disciplines Thomas Curwen on Outdoor Spirituality Christian Century Marks: Sports vs athletics. St. Francis De Sales on meditation & action Thomas Merton: 2
loves in City of God Christian Century Marks:
hospital visits It’s been well over half a year since the movie “The
Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson. You
may recall all the hoopla and controversy that surrounded its production and
release. Back on July 19, 2004, the
Los Angeles Times had an article entitled “The Furor, The Fizzle,” by Roy
Rivenburg, one of their staff writers, following up on the movie.
The article noted that the movie had made over $600 million, enough to
get anyone’s attention. It has just been released on DVD, so it will no doubt make
more money yet. Here are some
excerpts from the article. “A poll taken after the film’s release indicated
the movie had spurred an uptick in anti-Jewish attitudes. The Pew Trusts survey found that 26% of Americans believed
Jews were responsible for Christ’s death, up from 19% in a 1997 ABC News
poll.”” “…Gibson publicist Alan Nierob dismisses all the
theories about the movie’s socio-cultural impact.
Reeling off the latest box-office statistics, he suggests a much simpler
outcome: ‘the only aftereffects I know of are financial.’” “George Barna (of the Barn Group, a Ventura, California
research group) says ‘”The Passion” was well-received and stopped many
people long enough to cause them to rethink some of their basic assumptions
about life. But within hours, those
same individuals were exposed to competing messages that began to diminish the
effect of what they had seen.” The issue of who killed Jesus is an important one,
and I dealt with it in my email of Feb. 27, 2004, which you can see at the web
site. The question of the competing
messages, raised in the last comment above, is the same question that we deal
with every day in our lives of faith. How
do we prioritize all the messages around us, and how do we hear the voice of God
among all those messages? That is a
big question in our faith and one for which there is some help in the practices
that are traditionally part of our faith. Those
practices are prayer, bible study, worship, fellowship, social justice etc.
Those are the things the world needs and that God calls us to.
If a movie helps you deepen your commitment to Jesus, then thanks be to
God. We need all the help we can
get in sorting our way through all those competing voices. May you hear God’s voice among the competing voices in
your life. Grace & peace Geoff One of our family evening activities on our recent vacation
was watching the movie “The Sound of Music.”
There was a line spoken by the character played by Julie Andrews in the
movie that went “When a door is closed, a window is always opened.”
I like better a similar statement by the late Reggae superstar Bob Marley,
where he says in one of his songs “When one door is closed, many more is
opened.” Both expressions refer to the ways our plans or
expectations can be changed, even ended, by events out of our control.
These expressions encourage us to look elsewhere for new directions or
new opportunities. I find that our life of faith often functions in much the
same way. God can help us to face
changes or disappointments in life. Indeed,
the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done….,” is a reflection
of the kind of flexibility that reliance upon God can give us. God wants us to find grace and blessing in life, grace and
blessing that originate in God to begin with.
I find Marley’s words reflective of the abundance of blessing that God
gives. The words from “The Sound
of Music” let us know that, even if not abundant, there is always something
forus when we feel disappointed. Either
way, there is always hope. May you find the hope you need this day, and always. Grace & peace Geoff Tomorrow will mark the 3rd anniversary of the defining
event in our society in this new millennium.
The added dimension of it being an election year will accentuate a
variety of the meanings of Sept. 11, 2001.
My concern (see the website for collected responses at the time) has been
to examine how that event effects our spiritual life.
The Sept. 7, 2004 edition of Christian Century magazine was devoted to
spirituality and one article that struck me was by Scot McKnight, a religious
studies professor at North Park University in Chicago.
In considering spiritual disciplines, McKnight says: "Jesus prayed, meditated, fasted, kept periods of
solitude, lived simply, worshiped and celebrated.
But he rarely spoke about the disciplines…Because they are so
objective, the spiritual disciplines easily attract legalistic and pietistic
barnacles that turn them into ugly monsters.
Because they can easily lead people to compare themselves favorably or
unfavorably with others. And
because they are acts, they can easily lead to a sense of accomplishment and
superiority. A discipline-focus for
spiritual formation can lead to legalism—as evidenced by the Christians who
congratulate themselves on their daily bible reading, church attendance, or the
superior vocations of their children." Ouch!! I need
such reminders regularly, to keep my feet on the ground. McKnight refers to the passage in the gospels where Jesus is
asked what it is that really matters in the life of faith and Jesus answers with
words like these: “You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind.’ This is the greatest and
first commandment. And a
second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On
these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
(Matthew 22:37-40.) With all the pressures of Sept. 11 upon us and the
manipulation of them, it is good to focus on what really matters.
May you find the focus you need in Christ this day and always. Grace & peace Geoff The L.A. Times has an article today entitled
“Death-defying Calm” that is one of the best short pieces of what I call
‘nature spirituality’ that I’ve read in some time.
It comes from their ‘Outdoors’ section and is written by Thomas
Curwen. It is accessible at
latimes.com/oak although I have not checked that version.
I would commend the whole article to you, but here are my favorite
excerpts. “When God gave man providence over Eden, we are told, man
was charged with the responsibility of naming everything he saw.
The task was not a capricious one. Man
in his grace knew a sparrow to be a sparrow, a fox a fox, an oak an oak.
After the Fall, he lost that knowledge.
After the Fall, he was separated from the world that surrounded him and
ever since has tried to bridge that gap.”… “More than 10 years ago, Bill McKibben argued that the
knowledge gained in the Information Age was mostly specious.
In “The Age of Missing Information,” he contrasted television with
nature, mediated experience with authentic experience.
“You have to listen harder to the natural world so you can separate out
the primal song from the songs of our civilization and from our static,” he
wrote.” “What is the primal song, and what is our static?
(Curwen then lists recommended equipment from “a buyers guide for an
outdoors magazine” that totals over $7500).
Inherent in each item is a tacit commandment to act, to move, to do.
We are not often invited to be still.
We speak with reverence of Thoreau’s famous simmer morning—“I sat
in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon, rapt in reverie…” Then we pick
up the trail again to some new urgency, a pressing destination.
To what extent have we subjugated need to desire?” Curwen refers to another nature writer, E.O. Wilson, saying
“…the preservation of the world lies in understanding and appreciating the
wonder and awe that nature arouses.” For me, rooted in concerns for ecological issues since the
late 1960’s, the matter of preservation of the world is not to be taken
lightly. More deeply in a personal
way is the issue of subjugating need to desire.
Do I need 3 bicycles, 1500 music albums, hundreds of books, etc. etc.?
I desire them yes, but need them? When
I’m honest with God and myself, I know that I often subjugate need to desire.
Separated and estranged from the world after the Fall, I, and many like
me, think we can purchase our way back to a sense of unity with creation.
Neither will attacking or conquering nature (the philosophy behind such
publications and programs produced by “Outside” magazine) bring a sense of
unity with creation. God charges us still with stewardship and the preservation
of our small round bit of creation. What
part do you play in that charge? May
you find God’s spirit in whatever bit of nature is accessible to you. Grace & peace Geoff One of my favorite reading sources is the “Century
Marks” section of Christian Century Magazine.
They scour other media for interesting bits of commentary on the
contemporary religious scene. Here
is one they took from the Minneapolis Star Tribune of June 28, 2004. It is found
in the August 10, 2004, edition of The Christian Century. Score one for God: It
is not unusual for sports teams in American to have a group prayer before a
game. But does God really care who
wins or loses? Does God take sides?
Might God enjoy a well-executed double play, regardless of which team
makes the play? These and other questions related to sports and religion were
batter back and forth at a recent conference at St. Olaf College, a Lutheran
school in Minnesota. Bruce Benson,
St. Olaf’s campus pastor, made a compelling distinction between athletics and
sport, with the former standing for humanistic and Christian values and the
latter for competition that can corrupt institutions. “Sports is whether you win or lose. Athletics is how you play the game,” he said.
“Sport is about glamour. Athletics
is about beauty…Sport creates stars, crowds, mobs and gangs.
Athletics creates teammates and community.
Biblical religion is uneasy about the first. It loves the second. I thought this was a wonderfully insightful reflection on a
subject that absorbs so much human energy.
I like to participate in some sports and watch others.
Some of the most inspiring moments I’ve had watching sporting events
have been in events like the Tour de France bicycle race where those who get 2nd
or 3rd place in a race will congratulate the winner, or when the
winner will acknowledge the efforts of those he has beaten.
I guess, according to Rev. Benson, I should be talking about athletics
and athletic events, not sports events. May you find, and be inspired by, beauty, community…..
“athletics.” Grace & peace Geoff I ran across another reminder of the importance of keeping
our life of faith active and expressed in our daily lives.
It’s from St. Francis de Sales, in “Authentic Devotion” Bernard
Bangley’s translated edition of “Introduction of the Devout Life” by St.
Francis. It’s published by Shaw
Books, Waterbrook press, Colorado Springs, 2002.
Francis says: “Meditation will naturally make you feel love of God and
neighbor, as well as compassion, joy, sorrow, fear, confidence, and the like.
Go ahead and let it happen. But
don’t stop with such generalized responses.
Change them into specific resolutions.
For instance, you may be meditating upon our Lord’s first word from the
cross (“Father, forgive them…” from Luke 23:34).
This will certainly move you to forgive your personal enemies.
But that is a small thing unless you go on to say, “Next time, I
won’t let ----- bother me so much. I
will do everything I can to win that person’s love.”
This will help you correct your faults quickly, Philothea.
Without that specific last step, your progress will be much slower. Philothea(Lover of God) is Francis’ name for the
woman to whom he is writing his advice on the devout life. This excerpt gives the kind of sound practical advice I need.
I have found that when I practice this, the results are always
beneficial. Alas, I don’t
practice it enough. The pleasures
of prayer and meditation are good, but from the Christian perspective, they need
to result in concrete actions and this is a good example. May you express today your devotion to God in this last
step that Francis speaks of. Grace & peace Geoff This last summer I bought a DVD of a movie I’d heard much
about, “City of God.” It’s a
Brazilian film about the disturbing plight of youth in the slums of Rio de
Janeiro. Its full of brutal
violence and is not for the timid. It
got me thinking about a book of the same name, “The City of God” by the
great Christian thinker, Augustine of Hippo.
Thomas Merton wrote the introduction to my version of this classic in
Christian Theology, Random House, Modern Library Giant, New York, 1950.
In the introduction, Merton talks about this city of God and the other
city. I’ve edited his comments. “The difference between the two cities is the difference
between two loves. Those who are
united in the City of God are united by the love of God and of one another in
God. Those who belong to the other
city are….intent on the love of self above all else. The earthly city glories in its own power, the heavenly in
the power of God. Those who love God love a supreme and infinite good that
cannot be diminished by being shared. Those
who place their hopes on the possession of created and limited goods are doomed
to conflict with one another and to everlasting fear of losing whatever they may
have gained.” Merton himself was a most articulate Christian writer and
his analysis of Augustine here I find most helpful. Does my world outlook clutch and hoard things material and
spiritual, or am I willing to share them? Do
I fear there will not be “enough to go around,” or do I realize that love,
based in God, cannot be diminished by being shared?
I’ve heard elsewhere that God’s love only grows by being shared.
This understanding can change our whole outlook and our behavior towards
those around us. May you find the peace and true security that God offers
each of us in Christ, and may you be able to share that peace and security. Grace & peace Geoff Here’s another selection from the “Century Marks”
section of Christian Century Magazine. It
is found in the August 10, 2004, edition of The Christian Century and they found
it on beliefnet.com. One of the most difficult experiences for many folk is
visiting friends who are very ill. They
worry about what to say, afraid that they might say the wrong thing.
But just showing up is the most important thing.
Rabbi Harold S. Kushner once said: At
some of the darkest moments of my life, some people I thought of as friends
deserted me—some because they cared about me and it hurt them to see me in
pain; others because I reminded them of their own vulnerability, and that was
more than they could handle. But
real friends overcame their discomfort, and came to sit with me.
If they had no words to make me feel better, they sat in silence (much
better than saying, ‘You’ll get over it,’ or ‘It’s not so bad; others
have it worse’) and I loved them for it.”
Visiting the sick can help them feel hopeful, and hope is a vital
ingredient in the healing process. As a pastor I’ve gotten over the difficulties of visiting
sick folks, most of the time. But I
know that many people relish visits from friends as much as from their pastor.
Jesus reminds us of the importance of visiting the sick in Matthew
25:31-46. On a further note, it can be helpful if those Christians who
visit Christian friends are willing to pray with them.
I recall a spell in the hospital years ago when I longed for someone to
offer to pray with me. Many of my congregation visited, but it was the rare
exception when they offered to pray with me. We can be surprised at the help and healing that a visit or
a visit and a prayer can offer those in need.
May you be able to offer that to those you know who are sick. Grace & peace Geoff
