Reflexion Connexion

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Welcome and Prayer: Nancy Lopez

Welcome to the RefleXion Community.  The Lord is with you!

There are so many examples in the Bible of men and women hearing the Lord’s voice.  For example, Jeremiah says, “The word of the Lord came to me.”  I’ve long been intrigued not only by God speaking to humans, but by our ability to hear and respond to Him.  Really, how marvelous is that.  But how?  Is there an organ in our bodies, a certain radio wave?  I’m sure many of us can say that we’ve had a word from the Lord; where did we sense it?  A thought or insight, our gut, chills, a strong emotion?  I’ve been reading a book on Contemplative Prayer by Hans Urs von Balthasar, who was, by the way, a Swiss 20^th century theologian and priest.  He asks, “How can we hear God’s word?  We can because we are in the word.” 

John 1:1 states:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In the beginning: Genesis 1:26 reads.  Let us make man in our image after our likeness. Von Balthasar says, “God’s word is himself, his most vital, his innermost self:  his only-begotten Son, of the same nature of himself.  The word need not be apprehended as something alien, something ‘other’:  it can be understood to be what is most our own.  The word of God addressed to us always presupposes a word of God within us, insofar as we have been created in the word and cannot be detached from this context.”

I think this is a marvelous concept and worth pondering. Is every cell in our body designed to hear and respond to the word.  If we are created by the Word and made in His image, then the word is planted deeply in us and indeed is in every cell in our body.  Our various senses would then receive and respond to the word.  When we hear the word, it is our natural instinct to listen, to find a resonance, and then to resound it to the world. This is the way we are made. That’s what I’m thinking about, and you may want to ponder it.  We live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  Let His word dwell in us richly and be empowered in us by the Holy Spirit .  Can we agree to that in prayer?Lord God, we offer you our mental faculties, that we might have agreement with your ways,  our hearts that they may be awakened to You, and indeed the whole of our physical bodies to become aware and attuned by all our senses to your word to us.  As you have said “Let it be” in our creation, let our response be “Let it be to me according to Your word.”  We ask for you to enliven the word planted in us this morning.  Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

The word of the LORD came to me saying, “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD,
I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them,
declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 2:1-3

Intro: I always been enchanted with the way this chapter opens

If you look at the text, God’s speech is arranged in a poetic format
– Hebrew poems do not look or sound like English poems
• Hebrew poetry has a different structure and rules
◦ in chapter 1, Jeremiah had expressed his thoughts in prose (the ordinary written form of essays, etc.)
◦ but God’s messages were laid out in poems
(God’s speech is always in greater than the words he uses)
• poetry gives language greater force
◦ it’s primary objective is to communicate experience (rather than bare information)
– this chapter begins with God grieving a failed relationship
• there is more than a hint of emotion here: “I remember”
◦ it’s as if God is brooding over a cherished memory
◦ back when he rescued Israel from Egypt, he was their hero
• Yahweh remembers her youthful devotion and “bridal love”
◦ they followed him into the desert with reckless abandon
◦ they lived in the aura of his holiness
he took care of her – protected and provided for her

Unfortunately, this lovely song lasts no more than a couple of verses
– the reminiscence ends abruptly and shifts from past to present
• v. 4 – the romance died a long time ago
◦ Israel broke their marriage covenant with Yahweh,
◦ and were no longer God’s devoted bride
– we’re going to stay with this story in Jeremiah,
• but I want to comment on what we have witnessed so far
◦ close relationships require maintenance
◦ and the closer the relationship, more maintenance is required
• the fire of romance needs fuel, the life of love needs nourishment
◦ this is as true for our love of God as for family and friends
◦ as Jesus said to the church in Ephesus,
I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at the first (Rev. 2:4)

Israel allowed their love to die by what they did not say
What wrong did you fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?’
And I brought yo into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, you defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?‘
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the shepherds transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after things that do not profit Jeremiah 2:5-8

Love and romance don’t end when people argue
– but when they stop talking to each other, it’s over
• “How was your day?” “How did the interview go?”
◦ personal questions demonstrate interest and concern
• the people stopped asking about God because they stopped caring
– in this instance, the question, “Where is the LORD?” is not negative
• it is not like asking, “Where is God when you need him?”
◦ here it is the ongoing question of faith
◦ where is God at work now? Where is he revealing himself?
• it’s the question we ask when we are still seeking God and his will
Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually! (Psa. 105:4)
◦ they were neglecting God and their relationship with him
◦ so further down, Yahweh will ask,
Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet my people have forgotten me
days without number (v. 32)

Israel broke their relationship with God by what they did

God presents his accusation as a scandal – something unheard of
For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,
or send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for that which does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the LORD,
for my people have committed two evils;
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water Jeremiah 2:10-13
– nations did not abandon their gods
• ancient civilizations are remembered for their gods,
◦ as much as for their language, art, poetry, and myths
◦ their deities were embedded in their culture and minds
• about the time of Moses, a Pharaoh turned Egypt to just one god
◦ but that innovation did not survive his death
– this defection from Yahweh was especially appalling,
• because Israel replaced him with
gods that are no gods and that which does not profit
• God uses a striking analogy to illustrate this poor deal they had made
◦ a cistern is a cave dug underground to collect rain water
◦ it is not a source of fresh water, but a reservoir
◦ if it has any crack or fissure, water drains out, and the cistern becomes useless
• for Israel, Yahweh was the fountain of living waters

Israel abused their relationship with God by what they did say

The first to verses I’ll quote are found in one passage
– but the passage itself deserve attention
How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way in the valley;
know what you have done —
a restless young camel running here and there,
a wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
in her month they will find her.
Keep your feet from going unshod
and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
for I have loved foreigners,
and after them I will go Jeremiah 2:23-25

This analogy is graphic and moving
Robert Alter, “The female wild [donkey] in heat sniffs for the scent of the male.”
– Israel’s lust for other gods is depicted as an animalistic drive
• God, trying to warn them, to protect them, calls to them,
“Don’t go running off barefoot, calling for those foreign gods until your throat is dry and hoarse.”
• I think their reply is the saddest sentence in the Bible
But you said, “It is hopeless,
for I have loved foreigners,
and after them I will go.”
◦ they know they are wearing themselves out,
◦ they know their desperation is harming them,
but they can’t control themselves–they can’t stop
– do you recognize what this is? Our modern term is “addiction”
• the Bible uses the word “slavery”
◦ it is what Paul was addressing in Galatians 4:8,
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.
◦ you can be sure of this: addiction destroys relationships
• James Finley is a clinical psychologist,
◦ whose training included AA meetings in a Veterans Assistance hospital
Finley, “The patients in this treatment center had devised an initiation rite [that was] part of the process a person had to go through to be admitted to the unit.”
◦ the newbie is ushered into large room where fifty men sit around perimeter, heads down and silent
◦ two chairs are placed in the center about four feet apart–the newbie is seated in one of them
◦ the member in charge sits in other and asks the newbie, “What do you love the most?”
Finley, “The newcomer . . . would often blurt out something like ‘My wife.’ At which point the silence of the room would be abruptly shattered by all the men lining the four walls loudly yelling in unison, ‘Bullshit!’”
◦ they would then look down again and go perfectly silent
◦ the newbie may say next, “My children,” and the group would react with the same shout
◦ this was repeated until the newbie would answer, “Alcohol”
Finley, “. . . everyone in the room would break into applause. . . . The members of the unit would line up, single file. In complete silence each would approach the newcomer to hold him for a moment in a sincere embrace, welcoming him into their midst.”
• our addictions do not allow us to love our family more than anything else

– in one of my meditations in Jeremiah, I wrote:
“The attractions of other deities had taken such a strong hold on Israel, that even though running after them had reduced them to deprivation and unquenchable thirst, they felt helpless to rein in their passion. This is the worst stage of addiction, when addicts realize their drug is killing them, but their brains and bodies have become so dependent that them they feel helpless against the urge to use.”
Gerald May, “Everyone has addictions. Any ‘bad’ habit which we find ourselves wanting to ‘overcome’ is an addiction. Whether it is to drugs, alcohol, food, tobacco, sex, television, sports, self-importance, power or work, the basic quality is the same. One does something because it makes one feel good now. Later on there may be a price to pay, but now it feels good. And the more we do it, the more desire there is to do it again.”

What was Israel saying that was destroying their rel with God?
Verse 23, “How can you say, ‘I am not unclean’”
and verse 25, “But you said, ‘It is hopeless, for I have loved foreigners.”
– facing our hopelessness is often the first step in recovery
• as long as I tell myself “I can quit any time I want,” I will refuse help
Step 1 in the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Step program is, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable”

Other things Israel was saying that had ruined their relationship with God:
“who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth’” (v. 27)
“Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
we will come no more to you’?” (v. 31)
“you say, ‘I am innocent;
surely his anger has turned from me.’” (v. 35)
– these sayings reveal Israel’s illusions, their dubious liberation from God, and their rationalizations
• and this cost them the best love they had ever known

Conclusion: Thursday I got up early to have blood drawn

Afterward, I decided to walk on the beach – the morning was perfect artistry
A seagull scavenging in the sand caught my eye
I wanted it to be tame, to welcome to me
I was longing for contact with another living creature in God’s world of nature
I desired a St. Francis experience
That wasn’t going to happen and I realized I was the problem
The seagull could only be what it was created to be,
and do only what it was supposed to do
I, on the other hand, was the creature who has a will and who can resist God
I am responsible for whatever alienation I feel in my world

So here is the test I’m recommending:
Let’s ask whether or not we are holding up our side of our relationship with God
We are we not saying that we need to say?
What are we doing what we should not or not doing what we should?
And am I saying that I should not?

And do you know what?
Your success will not be the result of how well you do,
but will come from God working his grace into you body, mind, soul, and spirit
That’s the benefit of being in covenant with God
That’s the miracle

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Welcome and Prayer: Nancy Lopez

Good morning, RefleXion!  The Lord is with you!

This week I heard a conversation that was punctuated by this statement:  “It was a Come to Jesus moment.”  I think they meant it was a moment of sudden realization or recognition that included a paradigm shift, perhaps a life-changing moment.  Were you ever at a revival or crusade where these words were spoken:  Come to Jesus.  What did they mean to you?  Some of us heard them and responded with a “yes” that changed the course of our lives…for sure a life-changing moment.  And oh, yes,  I think we can have more than one Come to Jesus moment!

This week, one dear one in my life realized that she actually felt guilty having to come to Jesus with her difficulty…as if she should have handled it herself.  Another thought that other people would have an answer to her problem.  Others had no hope and felt stuck.  The last time I checked, there are plenty of Come to Jesus invitations in scripture.

Are you tired, worn out, burdened by life?  Great, you’re invited by Jesus:  “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

If we don’t know which way to turn?  He’ll show us.  Jesus:  “Come, follow me.”

When a man with a withered hand needed a healing touch, Jesus said,  “Come here.”

When the disciples had been working hard and hadn’t even had time to eat?  Jesus instructed, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”

When Peter wanted to  walk on the waves,  Jesus said “Come.”

Jesus told the disciples to let the children come to him.  To the curious and to the confused, he said, “Come and you will see.”

So, what kind of Come to Jesus moments are we experiencing right now?   What are we waiting for?  He says, “Come.”  It very well could be another life-changing moment.

Let’s pray:

Lord Jesus, we come to you in praise and thanksgiving. One day we will come to you in glory—to you, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  There is no moment that we can’t come to you.  Thank you for your invitation to come boldly to the throne of grace.  We welcome your fresh work this morning, your comfort, your guidance, your strength, your healing, your rest.  We come this morning, acknowledging and welcoming your presence with us.  Come, Jesus; come Holy Spirit.  Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Intro: There are several words in the Bible we don’t understand

They pose a problem for us, because they’re common words,
– and we assume we know what they mean
• that is why we get confused when we come to them
◦ for instance: “name,” “fear” (“Am I supposed to be afraid of God?”), “holy,” and “sons of”
• biblical Hebrew has a small vocabulary
◦ so it has to expand the meaning of various words
◦ that enabled biblical writers to describe spiritual values and experience
– I thought a series of talks on those words might be helpful
• a short dictionary of words that confuse or upset us
But Friday night I had a dream. I approached two strangers–a father and son–bent over a small table. I approached them and asked what they were doing. They said, “We are reading the book of Jeremiah together.”
• even in my dream, it felt good to hear that
◦ after all, Jeremiah is my favorite book in the Bible
◦ when I woke up, I decided to walk you through Jeremiah’s book of prophecies
(not teaching the entire document, but exploring some of its gems)

God and his prophet are having a conversation
Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying . . . Jeremiah 1:4

God came to recruit Jeremiah–not to say that he gave him a choice
– Jeremiah was drafted into God’s service
• it is Jeremiah himself who is telling us the story of what happened
◦ much of this wonderful book is autobiographical
• as a result, I get the feeling that I know Jeremiah – I can relate to him
◦ he never settles into his calling completely
◦ he gets discouraged, he complains, he wants to give up
– the truth is, God gave him an impossible job
• about forty years from this moment, Judah would be conquered by Babylon
◦ Jeremiah’s work was to warn God’s people
◦ but through this whole period, they resist him, argue with him, and plot against him
• Jeremiah has many conversations with God that some scholars refer to as “prophetic dialogues”
◦ what matters to us is that we hear two voices, God’s and Jeremiah’s

When we read that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah,
– we’re likely to think God spoke to him or delivered a verbal message
• but that is only one part of their encounter
◦ the actual experience involved a supernatural encounter
• the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures were exposed to the divine force of God’s word
– the movement of God’s Spirit and revelation of his word overlap
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
and by the breath [ruach] of his mouth all their host (Ps. 33:6)
• so God is not simply sharing words with Jeremiah,
• he is at the same time creating the reality that he speaks
◦ he is making and empowering Jeremiah to be this person

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations Jeremiah 1:5

I’m going to take a risk here, because it will sound too human to speak of God this way
– but it seems like God has been looking forward to this moment
• God had been interested and involved with Jeremiah from conception
◦ even in utero God can tell him, I knew you . . . I consecrated you . . . I appointed you
• now it’s as if God could not wait any longer to activate his prophet
◦ Jeremiah doesn’t see himself as a full-fledged adult, prepared for mature service
◦ but God is eager to get his ministry started, so he recruits him while he is still green
– from his mother’s womb, Jeremiah entered the world with a divine purpose
• he was formed according to God’s design,
• and now that design has is being revealed to him

Jeremiah immediately signals for a time-out
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth Jeremiah 1:6

He addressed God by name, “Ah, adonai Yahweh!”
– rather than jump at the opportunity God hands him, Jeremiah raises an objection
• “Behold” – “Just look at me for a second!”
◦ in saying this, we are given a visual impression of the narrative scene
◦ we are looking at a youngster, not a career-age person
• Jeremiah’s reticence to accept God’s offer was a typical response to God–cf. Gideon, Saul, and Isaiah
◦ Moses, whose story parallels Jeremiah’s at this point, could have said “I’m too old” as Jeremiah said, “I’m too young”
◦ but both argued that they weren’t gifted at public speaking
(Moses went so far as to say, “Get someone else who is gifted and send them”)

God’s response to Jeremiah’s objection
But the LORD said to me,
Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord” Jeremiah 1:7-8

We could all benefit from God’s first sentence, “Do not say . . .”
– what holds us back from taking on a challenge?
• from doing something new or daring to step into a bigger arena?
• our negative self-talk: “I’ve never been good at this,”
◦ “I’m not musically inclined,” “I am only …” fill-in blank
◦ “. . . one person,” “a novice (amateur),” “I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me”
– In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth
• when we play god, that’s where we begin, we use words to create our tiny universe
◦ we fabricate an interior reality with self-talk and then we live in its cramped space
• J. B. Phillips wrote a translation of the New Testament that was popular in 1960’s and 70’s
◦ he also wrote a book entitled, Your God is Too Small — we are our own very small gods
◦ if God challenges us with something big, we don’t have to worry about being too small ourselves
– God is less concerned about our aptitude than our integrity
• the aptitude and ability are his

God’s response to Jeremiah is exactly his response to Moses
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you . . .” (Ex. 3:11-12)
God tells Jeremiah,
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you . . .”
– every once in awhile, we have to remember, that in our prayers we are talking to GOD!
• one way or another, he will have his way
“to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak“
• God doesn’t have to accept our explanations for declining his call
– since God is recruiting Jeremiah, there’s no argument that will stand
• God didn’t promise Jeremiah that all would go well,
◦ that he’d receive lots of invitations to speak at conferences, or sell lots of books, or sign lots of autographs
◦ he only promised that he would deliver him
• Do not be afraid of them, God says–those people who could reject Jeremiah,
◦ who could ridicule and insult him
◦ we can allow ourselves to be imprisoned by others, we can become slaves to their opinion
• we will never be our whole self until we’re delivered from what others think of us and say about us

God qualifies Jeremiah for his work-related responsibilities
Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,
Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to over throw,
to build and to plant Jeremiah 1:9-10
(Notice how Jeremiah reports God’s speech in poetry and his own in prose)

I don’t know what to say about the touch on Jeremiah’s lips
– the entire episode speaks of intimacy
– and now it is God’s turn to say, “Behold”
• “Look at what I have just now done”
◦ with the touch, God put his words into Jeremiah’s mouth
• then God says, “See” – not “behold,” but a different word
◦ it means to “perceive”
◦ God is saying, “Jeremiah, be aware of what is happening”

Verse 10 is God’s prophetic “job description” for Jeremiah
– there are two stages to ministry:
• the first stage: to uproot, break down, destroy, and overthrow
◦ this has to do with popular beliefs, social behavior and practices, and bad faith
• the second stage: to build (but not on the old foundation) and to plant (new seeds)
– as time goes on,
• God will not totally abandon or destroy his people
◦ he does not send his word through prophets, in order to shut people out, but to bring them in
• but their way of life will have to be demolished, in order to become the true people of God

Conclusion: The same God we see with Jeremiah,

Is the God who is here with us this morning
– and his word enters our lives the same way – uprooting, breaking down, destroying, and overthrowing, then building and planting
• he rescues us from our illusions so we can live in his reality
• he corrects or negative self-talk with his divine word
• he liberates us from the need to compromise in order to please others
We need to learn how to receive the powerful word of the Lord
Not in Bible studies or memorizing verses–at least, not exclusively
It begins by “noticing” — being present to, and aware of the world around us,
because God speaks through sky and seas, stars and sand, the silly ostrich and stately lion
And we need to open our hearts to receive the Scriptures
in the same way that Jeremiah consumed God’s words
Your words were found and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O LORD, God of hosts (Jeremiah. 15:16)

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Welcome and Prayer: Nancy Lopez

Good morning and welcome!     The Lord is with you!

Last week, Chuck mentioned 2 Corinthians 3:18, which reads:  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.  One of the most beautiful verses ever.  Several phrases caught my attention, these in particular:  “are being transformed” and “unveiled face.”

Unveiled is the Greek word anakalypto, meaning to uncover, for example, by drawing back a veil. I’m sure you have heard the word apocalypse; the Greek word apokálupsis meant a revelation, disclosure, or unveiling.  Remember how the veil was torn in the temple at Jesus death?  The separation between the holy place and the holy of holies was opened.  We are invited in, and the Spirit is released to dwell in us.  As our faith grows, we believe and train ourselves to follow the new way of the Spirit.  We grow in our new environment.

We often talk about it in terms of True Self and False Self.  One way I picture it is that our True Self is like the sun, always shining.  The False Self (actually “selves” since we have true parts and false parts of ourselves) are like the clouds.  The sun is always shining, but the clouds may veil its presence. We all have parts of ourselves that were formed in our first environment. We were born into and perhaps parented in the false;  we’ve lived in the false desires of the world and its culture. We have an enemy who offers lies and deceptions. We adapted, but those parts of us are small and superficial, like clouds compared to the sun.  They are trying to maintain control, security, and esteem. 

This past week, near the Vatican, did you read that Nero’s 1^st century Theater was uncovered?  It was revealed by uncovering the layers of dirt that hid the ruins and precious treasures that were already there.   We don’t wait for the gift of the True Self; we uncover it and let ourselves shine.

Transformation is the Spirit’s work.  Following our True Self is to follow the Spirit of Christ living in us, in sync with Christ’s impulses, operating freely by Grace.  Our False Selves are parts that haven’t yet come into Truth and therefore are not free. They have not been transformed. They live in cramped spaces of control, fear, greed, violence, and shame.  Those places were developed in adaptation, the Survival Dance instead of the Sacred Dance.  But now our True Self-in-Christ is wanting to bring transformation.  Living in that truth will set us free. 

Let’s pray together:  How wonderful it is to be called the children of God; our transformation is not yet complete.  Let us not be hypnotized or paralyzed but seek the Truth of our own being.  May everything we encounter assist this deep awareness of the Spirit’s call and leadership.  We present ourselves to Your Truth and Your Presence this morning, dear Lord.  In Jesus Name. Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Intro: The book of Proverbs is a collection of pithy sayings

If you read it several times, those clever lines stick in your mind
– for instance, here is one that comes to mind regarding this last week:
Iron sharpens iron,
so a person sharpens the face of a friend (Pr. 27:17)
• you might remember, last year, Guy Gray spoke here
◦ we met up again this past week — Gut has been my friend for fifty years
◦ I was fortunate to meet him in the early years of my ministry
• he guided me to a path of greater insight and understanding
◦ his has been a lasting influence all these many years
– I think God has placed people in my life strategically
• men and women who have opened my eyes and prepared me for what was next
• however, when it comes down to what I do for you,
◦ the most important, overriding service that I provide you,
◦ that has come to me directly from Jesus Christ, through the Scriptures

I know that God wants to use me as an influence in your life
– not a great deal of influence – that isn’t necessary
• it’s not my place to tell you how to vote,
• or to make you decide where you stand on controversial doctrinal issues
– however, I won’t hold back anything that I believe is vital for you to know
• in that regard, Paul is my example
I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable (Acts 20:20)
• it is God’s desire to personally direct your path through life

What kind of influence does God want me to provide?
They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you Galatians 4:17-19

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a fire alarm, an air-raid siren
– his passion is felt from beginning to end
• he was upset with them:
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? (Gal. 3:1)
◦ and afraid for them:
I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain (Gal. 4:11)
• the problem was that two different messages had reached Galatia
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ (Gal. 1:6-7)
– it’s good for us to know something about this controversy
• there was a dedicated contingent of believers with their own ideas regarding salvation
◦ when a large number of Gentiles formed a church in Antioch,
some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers and sisters, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1)
◦ this created an immediate conflict
And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question (Acts 15:2)
◦ when they arrived, the Pharisee believers argued:
“It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5)
• although this issue was resolved at that council, the ultra-religious followers of Moses did not quit
– Paul’s message was, through Jesus we are saved by grace
• the message of the other group was, we are saved by grace plus something else
◦ they were adding requirements for the Gentiles that God did not authorize
• I hope you can see why this is so important that Paul would fight it aggressively
◦ this has ben an ongoing danger ever since – people adding prerequisites
◦ today people will give you the impression that you are saved by grace plus something
that you read only the King James Version of the Bible
or the only authentic Bible study is verse-by-verse
or “You must become an Evangelical to become a Christian”

So in verse 17, when Paul says, “They make much of you,”
– the “they” are members of the ultra-religious crew
• “make much” is literally “zealous for you” or “over you”
Martin Luther, “Now zeal properly signifies an angry love, or as we would say jealousy. . . . such a zeal the false apostles pretended to bear towards the Galatians.”
◦ in verse 18, Paul says zeal can be good if the purpose is good
◦ he provides his own example in 2 Corinthians:
I feel a divine jealousy [zeal] for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2)
• the ultra-religious plan was to convince Gentile Christians, that their connection to God was defective
◦ they would act very concerned for the Galatians
(and they may have had a true concern–but they were still wrong)
◦ they wanted the Gentiles to feel “shut out”– “excluded”
◦ then they would offer them the way in–by keeping the law of Moses
– that’s the background for Paul’s passionate word picture in verse 19

What Paul describes here is the work Jesus has given me to do

Let’s take this line by line:
my little children
– this term always expresses deep affection
– John uses this expression many times in his first letter
• this is the only place ever in all of his writings where Paul uses this term
for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth
– the reference is specific to a woman in labor
• it seems an odd analogy for a man to use (I feel embarrassed by it)
• but the point is, Paul struggled and was in anguish over the Galatians
– giving birth is not a function of mechanical rules and requirements
• it is an organic process – it has to do with life
• life was the essence and goal of Paul’s ministry
until Christ is formed in you
– there is this strange language in the New Testament
• Paul talks about believers being in Jesus Christ,
◦ but he also talks about Jesus being in us – “Christ in you”
◦ Jesus made a similar reference, but in fruit-bearing rather than birth:
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (Jn. 15:4)
– the life of Jesus within a person secures them in God
• the attributes of Jesus are seen in the person in whom he is formed
◦ in their words and actions and demeanor

For Christ to be formed in you must be the result of whatever influence I have in your life

I hesitate to refer to my work as “spiritual formation,”
– simply because that phrase is used too often of too many things
• but it is quite literally the formation of a Christian spirituality
• and it is a developmental process

When Jesus is formed in our lives:

We have a new center
– by nature, I was at the center of my universe – I was egocentric
We have new thoughts
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (Ro. 12:2)
We have new desires, new feelings, new impulses

To have Christ formed in me, means, what is his becomes mine
– his will becomes my will
• I experience his compassion and his goodness as my own feelings
• his vision becomes my vision

As we experience this, we come to a new vision of ourselves
– an awareness of who we are and how we please our Father in heaven
• we are constantly knowing Jesus more intimately
• and knowing him intimately, we become more like him
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18)
– this doesn’t mean you become Jesus, but he causes you to become your true self
• there is a famous Hasidic story of Rabbi Zusha
◦ when dying, his students asked him why he was crying
“Because I know that in the next world they will not ask me, ‘Why weren’t you more like Moses?’ but ‘Why weren’t you Rabbi Zusha?’”
• Christ formed in you, means you become like the person God meant for you to be

Conclusion: We can see plainly how we have been shaped by life

But I feel it’s important to have a clearer view or our history
That it is not simply life with all its coincidences and contradictions that made us who we are today
or will determine who we become tomorrow
Listen to how the prophet Isaiah describes our formation:
“But now, O LORD, you are our Father;
we are the clay and you are our potter;
we are the work of your hand” (Isa. 64:8)
Can you remember that this week?

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Welcome and Prayer: Nancy Lopez

Good morning, RefleXion Community. The Lord is with you!

I bring another word picture this morning, and this time I remember where I heard it.  It was on James Finley’s podcast “Turning to the Mystics,” and this has been a helpful image for me.

If you will, picture with me a man looking into a mirror and seeing his own reflection.  Now see it from the perspective of the reflection looking at the man.  One day the reflection begins a conversation with his man:  “I’ve been with you a very long time.  I know your ways.  I dress like you; I move like you.  I think it’s time for me to break out on my own.  You’ve taught me well.”  “Well,” the man replies, “You are made to be my reflection. This is your Reality.  If you walk away, it’s not going to go well for you.”  “Nevertheless,” the reflection says, “I’m going.” 

From Thomas Merton, “There is no greater disaster in the spiritual life than to be immersed in unreality, for life is maintained and nourished in us by our vital relation with realities outside and above us.  When our life feeds on unreality, it must starve.  It must therefore die.”  And that’s what happened to the reflection who forgot how his Real life worked. 

I don’t think any of us would purposefully walk away from our Maker, but recently I did find myself outside of that reflective light.  Do you ever find yourself frustrated, discouraged, angry—feeling the feels of the big Ego?  You, like me, might realize that you have drifted away. 

This is how it looked for me:  First, my prayer:  Change them.   Then: I’ll try harder (I’ll work at it).  Then: I’m not doing well with this strategy.  I’ll ask God to help me. (Notice that I’m still trying to get my way).  I also realized that not only was I saying, “I can do this,” I was saying, “I should be able to do this.” Then, the turning!  Turning around is to repent, a turning away and a turning toward.

When I come to my senses and return to the mirror, I am returning to be-ing.  I am brought back to the Real.  Jesuit theologian Walter Burghardt once described contemplation as taking a long, loving look at the real.” A reminder that this is our way.  It’s not just a one time and done, it’s a way of living.  This is the gift of our Creator.  At times, we might find ourselves even saying, “This is Unreal.”  Ah ha!  Perhaps it is.

Pray with me, will you: Lord God, in You we live and move and have our be-ing.  Forgive us when we think otherwise.  Thank You for the gifts of the Real Life of knowing You and reflecting You.  Draw us back to long, loving looks at the Real.  Thank you for this place to listen and practice Your Presence.  May we be receptive and reflective.  For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.  Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Him [Jesus] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me Colossians 1:28-29

Intro: About twenty years ago, Barb attended a seminar at work

A psychologist lectured on Compassion Fatigue Syndrome
– it is a common condition among healthcare professionals
• their encounters with the suffering of others takes a toll
◦ if they are not treated yet continue to work, they can become numb
◦ they stop feeling empathy for their patients’ pain and grief
• the speaker provided the audience with a list of symptoms
◦ Barb said as she was going down the list checking boxes, she was thinking,
“Yes, that’s Chuck. Yep, that too.”
– I was burned out and seriously questioning whether I should stay in ministry
• one morning I told Barb I was going to fast until evening
◦ I read, prayed, listened—but did not get an answer
• so when the sun set, we went to see a movie
◦ I broke my fast with a salted pretzel and a Coke
◦ but in the middle of the movie, I could feel something big was coming
The movie was “Along Came A Spider,” and the dialogue was between actors Morgan Freeman (playing detective, Alex Cross) and Monica Potter (playing Secret Service agent, Jezzie Flannigan)
Cross: You do what you are, Jezzie
Jezzie: You mean you are what you do
Cross: No, I mean you do what you are. You’re born with a gift. If not that, then you get good at something along the way. And what you’re good at, you don’t take for granted. You don’t betray it.
Jezzie: What if you do, betray your gift?
Cross: Then you betray yourself. That’s a sad thing.
– I knew that God meant for me to hear that–it was my answer

I was going to stay in ministry, but something had to change

My vision for the church had grown old and tired
– reading through Colossians, the Lord stopped me at the verses above
• Jesus told me, “This is what you will do. This is who you are.”
– immediately, I felt totally comfortable with this arrangement
• in this instance, Paul became my mentor and example

Paul wanted these Christians to know how privileged they were

In verse 26 Paul tells them about a mystery, “hidden for ages”
– in the New Testament, “mystery” doesn’t mean a puzzle or an enigma
• it refers to something unknown and unknowable
“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever . . . .” (De. 29:29)
◦ what mystery was Paul talking about? what had been hidden for centuries?
• God, the Savior of Israel would open the door to Gentiles
◦ no one expected this – not even Jesus’ disciples
◦ and when it began to happen, they still didn’t believe it
– Peter needed a vision from heaven to persuade him to go to a Gentile home to tell them about Jesus
• when he returned to Jerusalem, he “criticized” for being with Gentiles, so he had to explain
When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18)
• Paul mentions this mystery in several of his letters
For instance, Ephesians 3, When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to [humankind] in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (vv. 4-6)
◦ God had at last revealed this mystery
◦ and the Colossians were privileged to be beneficiaries of it

I wish we could hear Paul’s words the way the Colossians would have
To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (v. 27, and “you” is plural)
– Christ was among them, within their community
• but he was also within each person who had received him
• Paul explains it more fully in Romans chapter 8
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you (Ro. 8:9-11)
– reading both passages I noticed Paul refers to the Lord as “Christ” and not by his name, “Jesus”
• it is not that Jesus and Christ are not the same person or entity
◦ the title Christ derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah
◦ Jesus is the unique “anointed one” of prophetic promise
• I think for Paul, “Christ” refers specifically to his spiritual role
◦ as God’s appointed representative and shepherd-ruler
◦ it’s in his role as the Christ, Jesus takes his place in our lives

Recently I have wrestled with the idea of “Christ in me”
– in me where? my brain? my bones?
• I’ve wondered if this were merely a metaphorical indwelling
◦ but I don’t think so – and I’m pretty sure Paul meant literally
• in the Romans passage I read, Paul said we have the Spirit of Christ
◦ it is not that he is located somewhere in our bodies,
◦ but that your true self is spirit – and Jesus meets us Spirit to spirit
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Ro. 8:16)
– there is a real sense of Christ being in our true self—our aware self
(and if he is in me, then he is always with me)
• the most beautiful sermon from the 20th century that I ever read,
◦ was preached by G. Campbell Morgan
Morgan, We rejoice in Jesus’ first and second coming, because of “the mystery of His personal coming into our own life. . . . ‘Christ in you.’ That is the great miracle, the great mystery, the individual fact on which all the other facts of Christianity are based, and through which the other forces of Christianity become operative in the history of [humankind]. Christ in me—the Christ light—so that I see with His eyes. Christ in me—the Christ aspiration—so that I desire with His desire. Christ in me—the Christ impulse—so that I am driven as he was driven. Christ in me—the Christ consciousness—so that the world’s sin burdens me in the same fashion as it burdens Him, and the world’s agony hurts me as the world’s agony hurt Him.”

So, back when I was wondering about my new job description,

Jesus spoke to me through these two verses — I will take them line-by-line
– “Him we proclaim”—proclaiming Jesus would then be for ever my priority
• my ministry was to present and promote Jesus
◦ this has proved to be tricky—for myself and others
◦ ministers are like everyone else, we want to know that we’re good at what we do
◦ but the truth is, there’s no way to calculate our effectiveness
• instead of simply preaching Jesus, we end up promoting ourselves (it seems like a subtle shift)
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake (2 Cor. 4:5)
– I enjoy talking about Jesus; telling his story, explaining his teaching
• that comes first—present Jesus, bring him into focus
• it’s a continuation of Jesus’ ministry—as well as an extension and expansion of it
◦ as such, the love of Jesus is revealed in broader dimensions (“all the world,” “all flesh,” etc.)

Then Paul says, “warning everyone” – literally, to place in mind
– to provide biblical and spiritual counsel—personal care
• answer questions if possible; give direction; spiritual training
– “teaching everyone” for me means to inform, to instruct
• to help make sense of the Bible for others and clarify things
– “with all wisdom”—in scripture, wisdom the useful application of knowledge
• some people don’t get why I study certain subjects
◦ they understand my biblical and theological studies,
◦ but why neuroscience? why psychology and sociology?
• I started studying human consciousness because I want to be as fully conscious of God’s presence as possible
◦ how were the prophets and apostles so aware of God? Is it a matter of discipline or is all grace?
◦ I want to be useful as a resource — and to know where pastoral counseling leaves off and psychological therapy begins
– “to present everyone mature in Christ” – complete
• think of working on a project until it is finished—that is what this word means
◦ and God’s finished work in us is the fullness of Christ in us, the hope of glory (Php. 1:6)

For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me (v. 29)
– this is my work—sometimes it is toil and struggling
• but it is also the presence and support of God’s Spirit

Conclusion: I want to tell you to spend some time in scripture

Read, and think about what you’ve read
I want to tell you to spend some time in prayer;
pray your anxieties and sit in silence with your heart open to God
I want to tell you to spend some time in Christian conversations; with friends or our Lexio Divina meeting
I want to tell you to do these things, but I won’t
Instead, be kind to someone who isn’t doing well
As far as it is possible for you, be gracious with everyone
This is how we move toward maturity, and best represent Jesus
And remember, Christ is in you; remind yourself to enjoy him

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Welcome and Prayer: Nancy Lopez

Welcome to RefleXion!     The Lord is with you!

A couple of weeks ago I shared a little story with my Lectio Divina group, and I referenced a book where I thought I had read it.  I went back to look for it this week, and it wasn’t in the book I thought, so I’m not sure where I heard this tale.

It’s like this…There was a young woman who lived in a comfortable stone cottage, one she had built herself and loved.  One day she found herself wanting to cross the stream that she could see from her door.  As she reached its banks, it seemed too wide for her.  She asked Jesus to help her; he brought her a stone to step on, and she took her next step.  The next time she was in the stream, the gap still seemed too big, so she asked Jesus for help again; he immediately brought her another stone to step on.  She made progress, but day after day it still seemed so far, so wide, so dangerous; and Jesus always brought stepping stones.  But one day, Jesus was late, so she turned around to look for him, in the direction of her comfy stone cottage.  To her astonishment, the cottage was being deconstructed stone by stone.  The stones she was stepping on were taken from her comfortable little place, and now she could never go back.

If you’re like me, you can look back and see the structures you had, comfortable, familiar, safe; but perhaps they  no longer a fit for your journey.  Scripture says, “all things work together for good.”  Nothing is wasted.  There’s always a bit of deconstruction going on.  Cells in our body break down and get rebuilt regularly.  In philosophy, deconstruction is the literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth. 

Many of our beliefs and ways of looking at things have changed, haven’t they? John Dewy, an American scholar in the early 20^th century, said, “All learning begins when our comfortable ideas turn out to be inadequate.”

I’ve heard people say, “Don’t look back, that’s not the way you’re going!”  But, like the young woman in the story, you can look back…and be astonished! Things are being deconstructed, but nothing is lost.  It has all had its way with you.  To deconstruct is not to destroy.  Scripture says, “all things work together for good for those who love God.” Let’s welcome the Spirit working a forward-facing work in us and take each step as it’s made possible.

Let’s pray:

O Jesus, what a marvelous, wonderful author and finisher of our faith You are. Let us not side-step our calling, but follow You, willingly and whole-heartedly.   Keep astonishing us.  Turn Your Face toward us this morning, we pray; as we turn ours toward You, in gratefulness that You are leading us in Glory .  Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr. 

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17

Intro: Last week, God’s question to Elijah was, “What are you doing here?”

We’ll start with that question: “What are you doing here?”
– isn’t one reason that your here is because you came to hear what I have to say?
• Okay, I feel uncomfortable when I think that or say that
◦ not only because it’s like I have to give an oral report every week
(and feel like I’ll be graded on it),
◦ but because I can’t take myself that seriously
• I’m a mediocre guy who makes more mistakes than gets things right
– However, I do take God seriously and the work he’s given me
• and I take you very seriously – so I don’t want to waste your time
• but I’m like a court jester; the silliness of what I do and who I am, causes others to think

If what I do is part of the reason you’re here, then perhaps I should explain why I’m here
– so that’s what I’m going to talk about for the next two weeks

This idea came to me Wednesday night in our Lexio Divina
(Jim refers to our Lexio Divina meetings as a “workshop on learning to listen.” We listen for the Spirit to speak to us through the Scriptures, in silence, and through each other)

The reading was in Matthew 2, and was about the birth of Jesus and the visit of the magi
– one of the women in our group said that what spoke to her was,
“The shepherd and the star” – both images are were references to Jesus
• that had an immediate effect on me
◦ and the more I thought about it, the more it spoke to me
• a few days later, it was my inspiration for these talks
– so today we’re going to ease our way into it

John tells us how Jesus reconciled with Peter after his resurrection

It’s a beautiful and complex story, but we won’t go into those details
– we watch Jesus approach Peter and patch their relationship
• Peter needed the Lord to do this for him
• after reconciling with Peter, Jesus gave him his assignment
◦ he said it three times, in three words, and mixing it up each time
Feed my lambs – Tend my sheep – Feed my sheep
– the biblical tradition of the shepherd-leader has a long history
• Moses spent forty years as a shepherd before spending another forty leading Israel through the wilderness…
• God removed King Saul and replaced him with David, whose primary qualification was he had been a shepherd
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel” (2 Sam. 7:8)
[The LORD] chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
from following the nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his inheritance.
With upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with his skillful hand (Ps. 78:70-72)
– Israel’s poets and prophets perceived God in role of shepherd
• the most famous psalm, Psalm 23, begins with, “The LORD is my shepherd”
◦ God leads, feeds, waters, and give rest and protection to every believer
• then we hear the prophet Isaiah announce:
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young (Isa. 40:11)

When Jesus came, he saw people through the eyes of a shepherd
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Mt. 9:36)
– Jesus chose the shepherd as one of the images he used to describe himself
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd (Jn. 10:14-16)
– and now here, at the end of John’s gospel, Jesus enlists Peter to continue his shepherding work
• later on, Paul regarded all church leaders as shepherds
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God (Acts 20:28)

The thought of being in pastoral ministry terrifies me

One of the most famous preachers of the 19th century, Charles H. Spurgeon, said,
“If you can do anything else, do it. If you can stay out of the ministry, stay out of the ministry.”
– the writer of Hebrews said pastoral leaders:
are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account (Heb. 13:17)
• James wrote,
Not many of you should become teachers . . . for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness (Jas. 3:10)
• I’ve run into people around town who attended Capo Beach Church when I was there
◦ more than once I’ve been greeted with, “Hi, Pastor Chuck!” And I’ve answered “I’m not a pastor any more”
◦ one woman replied, “But you will always be my pastor” – that creeps me out
– there are too many ways that I can fail you
• I’ll give you one example

Suppose I assist you in deepening your life in God, but that part of your life is activated only on Sundays or only seems real when we meet together–when we pray, and enter the Scriptures–and the rest of the time and everywhere else we’re preoccupied with other things? What if every other day of the week we live like earthlings, unaware of God, and caught up in all the things of the world? What if on the weekdays we are worried about our bodies while neglecting our spirits? The the point I want to make is that I am a “supplement”! What I do is not your nutrition, your source of energy or healthy growth.

What happens when we’re here is reinforcement, a remembering, a refreshing, and refueling. Reflexion is a rest stop in this long journey and a break from the everyday pressures. We leave here and return to the road. A benefit of being here together, is that it supports our lives and gives us stamina in the trenches. Our real life in God is what we nurture and practice every day.

Abraham Maslow, a twentieth century psychologist and humanist,
– was convinced that humans have a “transcendent nature” that needs to be nurtured
• he believed there was a human need to experience transcendence
• he argued that church on Sunday could get in the way of that rather than provide it
Maslow, “The experiences of the holy . . . the divine, . . . of surrender, of mystery . . . gratitude, self-dedication, if they happen at all, tend to be confined to a single day of the week, to happen under one roof only . . . . ‘Religionizing’ only one part of life secularizes the rest of it.”
– Maslow refers to this kind of rupture between one day of the week and the other days as “dichotomizing” (dichotomy is a division of one thing into two parts)
• he argues that dichotomizing results in psychological disorders
Maslow, “Isolating two interrelated parts of a whole from each other, parts that need each other, parts that are truly ‘parts’ and not wholes, distorts them both, sickens and contaminates them.”
• St. James made a similar observation 2,000 years ago
People who are double-minded “are unstable in all their ways” (Jas. 1:8)
◦ we can break this down further and make it easier to digest
Brenning Manning, “Christianity has designated certain places more sacred than others, some days holier than others, and some actions more religious than others, giving the impression that contact with God happens primarily, if not exclusively, on the first day of the week in a building called church. Confining God’s presence to certain predictable times and places is restrictive and leads to the unspoken assumption that the rest of the week is irreligious.”
My dad used to say, “Some people have enough of the Lord in them to be unhappy in the world and enough of the world in them to be unhappy in the Lord.”

If we correct the division between sacred and secular, what is possible?

Being here together will enrich our daily experience of God
– but the reverse is also possible
• our daily experience of God will enhance our being together
– let’s say we have a day that is unusually distressing
• we pray and we call or text to share our need with a Christian friend
◦ we breathe, turn our awareness to God, and receive peace
◦ the answer may not have arrived–yet–but it’s on the way
• then we meet together here and share our hardships and successes
◦ this is what the Psalms describe when the poet says,
“I will thank you in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you” (Ps. 35:18)

Conclusion: Sometime ago, a friend of mine lost his wife after a prolonged illness

When I called him to see how he was doing, he told me that a minister involved in his wife’s memorial service told him to write out his eulogy; that way he wouldn’t risk losing a thought or rambling. Also, if he were to be flooded with emotion and unable to keep reading, his daughter could finish reading the eulogy for him.
The problem was that my friend did not consider himself a writer or capable of putting together something worth reading at her memorial. He was struggling with it and getting nowhere. So I asked him if he was busy, or if I could come over to his house, interview him briefly, and write the eulogy for him. He said he didn’t want to put that on me, but I told him, “This is easy for me. It’s what I do; it’s who I am.”

There are two specific places passages in the Scriptures where Jesus spoke to me and gave me my assignment like he did with Peter.
Years passed between these two events,
but on each occasion, Jesus said, “This is what you do. This is who you are”
Next week and the week after,
I am going to share those two words with you

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Welcome and Prayer: Nancy Lopez

Good morning, RefleXion Community.            The Lord is with you!

In honor of Chuck’s birthday, which he will celebrate this week, I want to begin with a scripture verse that I call “the birthday verse.”  From 2 Corinthians 4:16:  So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

I think I’m one of the oldest people in the room, so I will give you my perspective on aging…. it’s not for sissies!  I think we all know that from birth our physical bodies, our mental acuity, and our emotions grow in capacity and strength; and then, by some unseen clock and timing, they diminish, and we become frail and weak.  “Everything goes south, as they say.”  That’s gravity, but, as this scripture reminds us, it’s gravity and grace.   The verses that continue after the “birthday verse” say, For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

We don’t often think about our unseen spirit that is given to us by God as growing us, yet our spirit, which we’re born with, gives us the ability to search for and to know God. The Holy Spirit received reveals God to us and enlivens our spirit to become like Him.  Like a flower or a bird that is programmed on the inside, so are we.  Remember our grandmas who often said to us, “Look how big you’re getting!”  Well, maybe we all need spiritual grandmas who say, “Look how far you’ve come!”  I love this quote from Morgan Harper Nichols, who invites us to look and to see that “All along you were blooming.”

So, Chuck, thank you for letting us in on the ponderings of your spirit with these meditations in Mark.  May you never lose heart and may God bless each of your days with the Spirit’s renewal of hope and peace, and, yes, joy.

Join me to pray will you:

Lord, spare us the continuing demand for youth.  Give us instead the desire for maturity and for the wholeness of who you have made us to be.  Let the Spirit make real to us this truth from the inside out, that we might live our lives with integrity.  Thank you for our teachers, for our friends, and thank you for the way you have created us—to search for and to know you.  We welcome your work in us; let the desires of your heart be ours today.  Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?: And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take hi down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” Mark 14:22-39

Intro: This story is about Christ the Victim becoming Christ the Victor

I’m going to jump right into my meditations on this chapter
My meditation: “I want Mark to use his remarkable storytelling skills to enhance the details of what is depicted here. I want him to enable us to visualize it and hear every sound. It would benefit us to begin to fathom what Jesus suffered and to feel the utter hopelessness of the cross. I feel it’s important to sit in dark shadow of his abandonment, aloneness, sorrow, and death. But here, when I think the action should slow down and perhaps zoom in on still frames, Mark hurries us along at his usual fast clip, using “and . . . and . . . and . . .” to keep the action moving quickly.
But Mark has his own agenda and his own purpose. He carries us from one critical point to another, rising and falling like peaks of a wave. That is how he presents the story and that is how we must receive it, noticing when he wants to emphasize a specific sentence.”

I have several meds on verses 1-20 that I’ll run through quickly

My meditations, verse 1: “‘And as soon as it was morning . . .’ The Greek says, ‘immediately [in the] early morning.’ In scripture, to get up early signifies eagerness. Mark captures the enthusiasm of the priests and scribes to convene a meeting and rush Jesus to Pilate. Perhaps they feared losing ground if they were to wait for due process to run its course.
What inspires me to jump out of bed early in the morning? The chief priests and scribes were eager to get rid of Jesus. Am I equally eager to get up to meet with Jesus? Am I as motivated as the women who went to his tomb ‘very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen’?
Why did the pious trolls tie Jesus’ hands. Were they afraid he might Kung Fu his way to freedom? Did they do it to humiliate him or make him look like a criminal when they delivered him to Pilate? I like to think they were afraid he might try to touch and heal someone on the way, and so expose their wickedness. Jesus the innocent. Jesus the Savior. Jesus the Christ. Those hands! That touch!”
verse 2: “Mark has created a dark chapter. I find it disturbing this morning–it’s not what I think I need to read. My circumstances tell me I need a living, powerful, miracle-working Savior with me, not someone who allows the world to roll over him. Jesus is dreadfully quiet in this chapter, and reading it feels like I’m losing Jesus, my one hope. I want to skim the chapter, fast-forward to the resurrection, and move on.
I am afraid; afraid of being stuck at the ‘Place of the Skull,’ stuck in a world without Jesus in it, without my link to God, a world in which the crucifiers are in control and good things die. But this chapter is not the end of Mark’s story, and it is not the end of my story either.
And I know it’s a fatal error to think a dying Savior is not what I need.”
verses 4-5: “In the beginning of Mark’s gospel, people were amazed at Jesus’ teaching and how he spoke (with authority). Now his silence is just as amazing. I wonder if Mark intended for us to also find Jesus’ abrupt silence amazing? Perhaps Jesus fell silent because at that moment silence was the best answer (regardless of how defenseless it left him).
No doubt Pilate, who had seen many people on trial for their lives, assumed this would be the moment a person would be desperate to speak, desperate to defend themselves, when their life was on the line and many accusations were leveled against them. To witness the Lord’s absence of need to speak up, to counter his accusers, or justify his actions amazed Pilate.”
verses 6-15, “Barabbas: “I can see how Jesus appeared to be a threat to the religious trolls, but I do not know why they felt so much contempt for him. They despised and feared him so much that rather than see him released, they chose to free a murderer. Even Pilate was confused by this move, and asked them, ‘Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?’”
verses 16-20: (The Roman soldiers tortured Jesus) “These verses are hard to read and digest. The soldiers scourged Jesus because that’s what they were ordered to do—everything after that was entertainment. Perhaps they were frustrated with being posted in Israel and viewed the Jewish people as a constant aggravation. After all, the legions were not there for the benefit or prosperity of Israel, but to maintain the Pax Romana, and brutally squelch any sign of revolt.
Their brutality ‘wasn’t personal.’ Jesus meant absolutely nothing to them. Of course, it’s personal to me. Seeing him suffer all the degradations of an abused criminal, the humiliations of a hated victim, the torments of a rebel of Rome is too tragic to absorb. But to know that he was dragged to the bottom of the world in order to identify with and redeem those who live at the bottom–those he refers to as his brothers and sisters who are ‘the least’ because of their zero status in society–well, this is a revelation of his incomprehensible love.
I wonder whether I can endure my relatively lightweight burdens and put up with my aches and pains and feelings of despair, and at the same time be responsive to the needs of others. I don’t feel like I can. I don’t have that kind of strength or energy left in me. However, seeing what Jesus endured, I want to keep moving forward. His example inspires me and his Spirit enables me.”

The following meditations are from the passage above

Here we come to the crescendo of Jesus’ suffering
– he entered Jerusalem with shouts of welcome and praise
Hosanna! (or, Save now), and Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! (Mk. 11:9-10)
• but here he staggers out of Jerusalem, wounded and bloody
• then, when his body is fixed to the cross,

he is jeered at, scoffed, and harassed
– for me, this is the most painful and frustrating part of the ordeal
• as a child, I was conditioned to feel foolish and clumsy
◦ for me, there was no such thing as simple embarrassment
◦ what I felt was shame, humiliation, and rejection
• for years I would get stuck in this passage because it bothered me so much
◦ it distressed me to see Jesus treated like a fool and just take it

My meditation: “Jesus was accused of being the Messiah, Israel’s Savior (14:61-62), so this became the nature of their insults. The sting was that they were not saying, ‘Save Israel,’ but ‘Save yourself.’ The chief priests and scribes joked among themselves, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself.’
No one there spoke up for Jesus. No one offered him comfort or support. Nor did the crowd allow him to die in peace. He was the laughingstock of the heartless bystanders. I imagine that the scorn of the pious trolls was most hurtful. They were responsible for engineering this injustice; responsible for bringing the ministry and life of Jesus to an end. Now that they had won their victory, they were not off gloating in a side chamber of the temple, but right there in front of his cross. They mocked Jesus and made sure he could hear them.
I have been misjudged and slandered. People who thought they knew something about me have taken potshots at me. A couple times I made the mistake of offering a friendly response to their criticism and insults, but all that accomplished was to trigger a more aggressive and demeaning reaction.
I think most people feel passionate about defending themselves, squelching rumors, and getting the truth out there. So I wonder how Jesus could allow those offensive words to be floated in front of his face and not strike back. I know it’s unrealistic to think anyone would listen to him, hanging there between two criminals, and I admit my imagination can go off the rails. I want Jesus to transform into a super hero, glide down from the cross, and kick their butts. In fact, it seems some people thought it possible that there could be a last minute rescue, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ But the Lord just takes their abuse, as if he were totally helpless–as if they were right and he deserved this horrible death. He lets them have their fun.
Can I comprehend in any way Jesus’ devotion to the Father or his devotion to us? Can I make sense of the Scripture that says, ‘for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame’ (Heb. 12:2)?”

In all the emotional intensity, we are liable to miss the impact of two events

The moment Jesus died, two miracles occurred
My meditation: “‘And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.’ This weird phenomenon, when the barrier that protected the holiest room in the temple from the intrusion of anyone but the high priest, could signify one of two things: Either the ultimate desecration of Israel’s religion or the end of our separation from God. Never again would we have to feel alone or abandoned.”
My meditation: “The most amazing word spoken regarding Jesus is heard from the mouth of a Roman centurion. Only after his death, when Jesus could not hear it, and it could not do him any good, or relieve an ounce of his suffering, was one decent thing said of him, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’ Only in his death was the full revelation of the Lord Jesus seen by someone, and that someone was an outsider to Israel’s religion and covenant. Still, this is the point that Mark has been trying to bring us from the first verse of chapter 1. He has wanted us to make this discovery. And it comes not after a noteworthy miracle, but at the end of Jesus’ life. But still, Jesus’ crucifixion was not a mistake or merely a cruel martyrdom, but the culmination of God’s victory over all the powers of evil, seen and unseen.”

There is one other direction we need to look, off in the distance
There were also women looking on from a distance . . . . When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem Mark 15:40-41

My meditation: “Why does Mark bring these women into the narrative at this point? Were they brave to venture so close to the site of execution? Or were they so marginalized as to be invisible? Was it safer for females from Galilee to be present than the males? It is easy to forget that many of Jesus’ disciples were female. We learn that these women have been in the background all along, and were associated with Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. In those happier times, the only threat to Jesus in Galilee was the risk of so many people trying to get to him they might crush him or prevent him from having time to eat or sleep. But now it seems the women are light years from those pleasant days around the lake, when Jesus brought the kingdom of God so near that disciples were beginning to stumble into it. How sad that Jesus might have been reminded of Galilee and the loving care of those women in his dying moments.
Do the women surface now because in that culture women were more involved in caring for the corpse than men? (Remember in the previous chapter, as Jesus said, ‘she has anointed my body beforehand for burial’; Mk. 14:8.) Is Mark working a theme here, in which women are last at the cross and first at the empty tomb? Was it because women had a special attachment to Jesus, being present at his birth, his death, and everything in between? Does the presence of women heighten the sentimental effect of this phase of the story? I ask, because I am always wondering What am I missing? And not just in my study of scripture, but in my life and the life of my spiritual community.”

Conclusion: The last face we see is that of Joseph of Arimathea

My meditation: The women ministered to Jesus during his life; Joseph came after he was dead. Favors shown to the dead are small compared to those given to the living. But Joseph has this going for him, he was looking for the kingdom of God. His concern for Jesus’ body tells us that he had not given up that hope, and it was still connected to this wonderful person who spoke as no one else.

From the start, Jesus’ message was, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk. 1:15).
He did not say the time is at hand, but the time is fulfilled
Jesus brought the kingdom of God into our world,
and now we get glimpses of it, if we’re looking for it!
It will appear to us in flashes this week;
the smile of a stranger,
a spray of flowers,
a light breeze brushing our cheek.
When we see anything beautiful,
we will know God is near,
if we are looking for the kingdom of God
and step through the door when it opens