More on Mercy

As I prepare for my forgiveness class that begins this Sunday after church, I am contemplating mercy once again. 

The model I am developing includes this: 

• In a box on the left are resentment, judgment, fear, upset, anger, imprisonment - these are imposter values
• In the center is forgiveness, mercy - the exchange - the genuine values
• To the right is freedom, & there is the possibility of spiritual awakening, letting the mind be in you that was in Christ, as Paul said.

Or another way to say it might be: Cosmic trade in program - trade in bondage for peace of mind, cost = forgiveness.

We are free to choose what kind of person we will be. I choose freedom, peace of mind, Christ.

I exercise mercy. I exchange all that is unlike Christ in me with forgiveness. I accept a new freedom.

Mercy

I'm working on a new concept to me. It's not totally formed yet, but I want to write the beginnings of it as I begin to work it out.

The root of the word "mercy" is "exchange." So, when I say "Lord have mercy," I'm saying exchange this for that. Exchange this problem for Your will.

When I take the bread and the wine, God's mercy is an exchange. I exchange my separate, isolated self for joining with Christ. Let the mind be in you that is in Christ Jesus is the exchange I approach. It seems to be a process, that is the first time or the twentieth time or the two hundredth time is not the when this happens. It slowly, for most of us anyway, sort of creeps in. When we sincerely seek mercy, we move toward having the understanding of Christ express in us.

We can look to those who have successfully made this exchange to varying degrees -- from the Apostles, to the mystics, to saints, to great thinkers such as C.S. Lewis (I quoted him today on my website's Thought for the Day). If it is possible for one, it is possible for all.

Lord, I sincerely, fully say to You this day, have mercy on me. Exchange all that is unlike Christ for Christ. In the exchange, let Your Light shine & draw others to You for their own exchange. Let Your Light shine in people all over this planet. Lord, have Mercy.

Variety

I was just pondering the staggering diversity within Christianity. Someone once told me that Hinduism has no core theology that all Hindus must subscribe to. One might be able to say the same thing about the Christian community. The array of churches teach vastly different understandings of the Bible, Jesus, the appropriate Christian life, etc. Each have different requirements of their adherents from celibacy to full embrace of sex; different tenets from "literal" Bible interpretations to more contextual, historical & metaphorical understandings; from Jesus to being the only son of God to Jesus being the son of God just as are others, only different in his fullness of Oneness; from the historical Jesus to the Cosmic Christ; from immersion Baptism to sprinkling; on and on. Just go to any big bookstore & look at the shelves bulging with books from a huge variety of perspectives.

As I look back on the history of our religion, I see that there was diversity from the very beginning. Paul & James disagreed. Apostles went out into the world teaching from their own perspectives. Converts understood & spoke through their cultures & understandings. Disagreements arose between the Trinitarians & the Arians. The Gnostics grew & were opposed. Whoever were in power were the "orthodox" & whoever were out of power were the "heretics," in a seemingly never ending swing from one to the other. One day you were "in" & the next "out" & the next "in," etc.

Yet within the sometimes heated arguments created by such diversity, something amazing lurks. Something amazing compelled the people of the 1st century to give all to tell of the life-changing happenings in their lives when they came in contact with Christ. The first were poor, but after awhile the more wealthy were touched too. Christ quickened within each person the dormant spirituality unfed by any other.

Today's hungry souls reach out to find the touch of Christ too. Far too few find that touch. So many are turned off by churchiosity, religiosity, political messes & immorality, etc. in some of the visible church. The soul cries out. I hear so many people say things like -- Where is the spirituality? I hunger to touch the hem of the garment, to be touched by Christ, but I don't know the way. Who is there to show me?

Sometimes I think God has to find us. The rigormorale that many go through doesn't seem to lead them anywhere except in circles. For me, God found me when I was a child. Jesus became my closest friend. Perhaps what needs to be done is to become available to found. If you are wanting to be found, maybe this little prayer will help.

God of all, I open all of myself to You. I come ready & willing for You to find me. I am available to know Your Presence. I invite Christ into my very depths. Lead me to that life-changing touch of Christ. Lead me to experience what those awakened souls in the 1st century knew by Christ being quickened within them. Hear the collective cry of the humans on earth and send Christ to each heart that hungers. Let this be a time of great spiritual awakening. Thank You for hearing my prayer. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ & seal it with the ancient seal of faith as I say Amen, Amen & Amen.

Fundamentalist Extremists

In recent days I've been pondering the puzzling life of fundamentalist extremists, the people on the edges of whatever it is they profess. In particular, I've been thinking about Christian fundamentalist extremists.

In fact, I was praying about one particular person who has moved to the extreme edge. From the edge, their position is the only one that is "right." All others need to be condemned and/or shunned. From the edge, a narrow view of life and religion are maintained. They think that they have the only correct understanding of scriptures, traditions and ways of being Christian. They do not explore the great Christian mystics and thinkers of the ages, because they already "know." They don't need to understand the idioms, the historical context or anything else re: the Bible, because somehow they "know." The feel justified in being judgmental of all Christians who are not on the narrow edge with them. Perhaps some are actually fanatical.

For many of them, they are unwitting followers of Darby, the defrocked Anglican Priest of the late 1800's. Darby made up some of the features of extreme fundamentalism such as the rapture & tribulation. The followers today think they are following the old ways, but instead are following the thinking of a rather strange man of a little over 100 years ago.

The shower has historically been a place of insight and inspiration in my life. Sunday morning during my shower, I had a flash of insight re: this puzzling position of some people. They are Pharisee-like Christians. The law, their view, the narrow view -- that is all that matters. Search for deeper understanding is not needed, is indeed repulsive to them. Compassion is only for a select few who agree with them.

I had a vision of Jesus scratching his head over this odd turn of belief about him and his teachings. Instead of following in love, forgiveness, generosity of spirit, healing, giving, peacefulness, the stories of the long ago Pharisees live again in fundamentalist extremism.

God of the ages, God of the universe, God of my heart & soul, today as all days I turn to You. I need Your guidance, comfort & healing hand. Help me to be able to keep rooted in Your ways of Love & not be swayed by the harshness of our world. Lead me to live as You would have me live. Help me to live with courage that is gentle & rooted in Your Lovingness. Open my mind to more & more understanding. Help me to remember that we are all unfolding from various points of awareness, so that I can have compassion for those who seem to be stuck in some place far from Your Love. Help me keep focused on Your Light & follow You always. I ask You all of this in Jesus' name, Amen.

Bonhoeffer

I'm reading a biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. It's fascinating, deep, moving, disturbing, inspirational and more. I didn't know a whole lot about Bonhoeffer's life before reading this book. I had previously read a couple of things, including a book on his lectures on his Christology. If you don't really know who he was, briefly, he was a great leader of Christianity and theological thinking and understanding in Nazi times and was murdered by the Nazis. Apparently he became part of the Valkyrie plot; I'm not to that part of the book just yet.

Anyway, what I wanted to discuss today is a little statement on page 240. Bonhoeffer thought that anything less than obedience to God smacked of "cheap grace." Actions must follow what one believed, else one could not claim to believe it.

This seems to me to lead me to one of my problems with us humans, that is congruence or lack of it. If one believes something, but does not act in line with the supposed belief, can a person really claim to believe that thing?

Say someone says it is the most important thing in their life to be "green" and be environmentally careful. But, let's say, that someone has huge houses, huge cars, private jets, a glamorous life full of travel and use of tons and tons of fuel. Can that person really be said to be an environmentalist?

Or let's say that we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, working in our lives to live by his example. But we are not typically forgiving, loving, kind, inclusive, praying, meditative, healing children of God. Can we really be said to be followers of Jesus Christ? So, I think we could examine our actions and determine what beliefs they portray. Then we could examine the life of Jesus and determine what we would need to change to follow his example more fully.

Then there is Bonhoeffer's idea that we must be obedient to God. What would that mean in our lives? I think first it would be to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. One of the things he did was to pray and go into silence regularly, listen and then act as a result of the listening he did. I think we need to listen quietly to hear "the wee small voice" so that we can be more able to honor God's guidance by obedience. My experience has been that by regular quiet times in spiritual contemplation, I am more and more able to be guided during my daily life.

To be true to our guidance, we have to at times notice and ignore the opposition of others, not be swayed, but stay true to God. Others may doubt us and our motives, but God knows what is really going on in us and with our relationship to God. Bonhoeffer surely lived this as he stood up to the crazy Nazi nationalization of the church and its work of turning the church away from scripture and Christ.

The challenges I have at this point in my life are not so vast. There are a few, from time to time, who see me in a different light that I see myself, and in the light that God sees me, for God KNOWS. Of course, to be sane, I must consider all attacks and challenges to see what if any truth they might contain. I am only on a spiritual path. I am not an example of arriving at some mythical all-knowing place. I realize that because God is Infinite, I, as a finite person, can never know all. I can never be God. What I can do is look at the highest and best that I know to be my goal, and see how I'm doing living it. Perhaps, if I live this well, I will be able to move a few more steps along the path, see a bit more, learn to live a bit more spiritually attuned, and continue along the path.

I offer forgiveness to those who do not understand. I offer compassion for those who arrogantly believe they know all. I offer prayer for all.

My beloved Father, this day once again I come to You. Help me to hear, listen and act in accordance with Your Will. Give me guidance and courage and vision to live more closely as Christ lived. Lead me another step along the path, closer to You, closer to being who You created me to be. I give thanks to remember You hear me always. Your will be done. Amen

Trinity

The Trinity is an interesting almost koan-like concept. People not Christian sometimes accuse us of not being monotheistic (as having more than one God). There have been countless attempts to explain it, with varying success.

St. Patrick used the shamrock. It has three leaf parts, but is one leaf. I think that is the simplest, most visual explanation. It is quite successful for many people.

(Before I say anymore, I want to address the inadequacy of language. I know that God is not a guy in a bed sheet, that God contains all that is, both male and female. The Creator births all that is. Using "He" implies otherwise. Using "She" sounds strange and is just as incomplete as using "He." Using "It" sounds impersonal, which God is NOT. So, I will be using "He" as the pronoun, not knowing what else to use. This is the usual socially acceptable pronoun.)

For me, the Trinity is a way to describe the three ways that God reveals Himself to us. In a very small way we also reveal ourselves variously. I am Marlene, the child of God. One facet of me is spiritual, one physical and one intellectual. All of these express as wife, mother, grandmother, friend, leader, follower, creator of various things, etc. All the while, I am Marlene, the child of God. It is my hope and my goal to reveal the child of God essence in all of the ways I express. God reveals Himself in all the ways He expresses. He, of course, is totally congruent, always true to Himself and His Nature. I, as a human, am not able yet to be that fully congruent, although I try.

Just as the triune nature of being human (spirit, mind & body) expresses in many ways, I think the Triune Nature of God expresses in all we see and beyond.

First there is God, the Divine Parent, the Creator, the One. This is God of Power. This is God of Creativity. This is the One, the only God. This is the Originator of all that is. This is the Love that permeates creation.

Then there is God the Son. God reveals Himself through this personal view of Him here on earth. God participates in human life, has compassion for us, understands us thoroughly and cares for us. God the Son has a personal relationship with us. Simply by turning to Him, He turns to us and is with us in an intimate way. God the Son is not limited to the historical Jesus. You may recall that the Bible tells us that after the resurrection, Jesus was different. Those closest to Him didn't even recognize Him. This more Cosmic Christ (beyond the body) is alive and available this very moment to be part of our everyday, every moment of life.

Then there is God the Holy Spirit, the Comforter that Jesus told us would come. The Holy Spirit inspires us, urges us onward, counsels us, guides us, is always available, always present.

All three aspects of the Trinity lead to each other, for they are all part of the One Nature of God.

This is important to me because I have a personal relationship with God as Father, as Son and as Holy Spirit. Words are incredibly limited, so I cannot reduce my relationship to words, but I am endeavoring to point to it anyway.

If you are reading these words, I'd really like it if you shared some of your thoughts on the Trinity.

Dear God, I come to You this day, as every day, to welcome You into my walk on earth. Open me more each moment to You. Wash away the darkness I may have accumulated so that Your Light may shine more fully through me. Help me understand You and our shared life. Lead me to more deeply understand Your Triune Nature. Guide my words so that I may more effectively communicate to others. Again, Your Will Be Done, Now & Forevermore. In the name of Jesus I seal this with the ancient seal of faith, Amen, Amen & Amen.