Advent Reflections: December 15

Joy

“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. 
Matthew 1:1-17  

Reflection

Catch your breath. Reading this extensive list of names, some too difficult to pronounce, you're probably wondering why God would include such a detailed and repetitious passage in the Bible. What's the point? Why include this as part of our Advent journey? What can we possibly learn from this ancient and exhaustive family tree? Is it possible to meditate on these words and allow them in intertwine with our celebration of Christmas? Here's what I got from it.

In the days of Jesus’ birth, the culture was rife with expectations of the Messiah coming into the world. Discussions of who it would be and where he would come from were very common, although not all of them correct. In fact, some Jews expected two different Messiahs to come on the scene. It was a time of great speculation and uncertainty. The people of Israel wanted to make sure that had it right, and I'm pretty sure that God wanted the same thing. 

So that there would be no confusion, God spoke through the ancient prophets, who set forth unmistakable prophecies so that no other person born into this world could claim true that which Christ fulfilled. One unmistakable characteristic was that the Messiah would come from the line of King David. 

With intricate perfection and loving detail, God illustrates a family line that descends from Abraham, the Father of the Jewish people, divinely travels through the time of King David and quietly rests upon Joseph, “the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.” We see in this passage the words of a God that wanted nothing more than for the world to know his Son. Imagine the joy that filled the land as this truth slowly became realized?  

Prayer

Lord, as we meditate on these words that seem repetitious and mundane, let us see that nothing could be further from the truth. Through these words, let us realize your great love for us and be overwhelmed by the inexpressible joy that comes from you. 
Amen 

Silent Unity

After leaving facebook, my intention was to write and post at least one blog per week. Unfortunately, my intentions do not always equate to reality. Most professional writers encourage would-be writers to attempt writing every day, regardless of how you feel or whether or not you have anything to say.

I'm somewhat of an anomaly in this respect. I began writing not because I aspired to be a "writer", but simply because I wanted to express aspects of faith that I could not necessarily communicate as a minister in a church staff setting. In fact, that's exactly how the concept of  Naked Theology came to be.

I envisioned opening a forum for thought and dialogue that allowed people to not only think, but to be able to express what they thought without fear of judgement, rejection or alienation. Being "naked" in thought is a state of mind in which we are able to freely express thoughts, beliefs and opinions without the “cultural clothing” that hinders us being who we are.

Within a theological context, this means that we can be "naked" within the context of faith and spirituality and comfortable with the questions, uncertainties and doubts that sometimes come with it. All this to say; if I don't feel like writing, I don't write. If there is not something within me that I feel deeply, or feel would encourage someone else to enter the process of Naked Theology, I don't try an force it. I don't write unless I have something to say.

So, do I have something to say this morning? I don't know. But I felt like writing and that's half the battle.

Over the last few years, I've begun to spend more time in silence. Most of this time is spent in contemplative prayer and meditation, but also in times of just observing silence for the sake of silence. Disconnected from the typical distractions that usually fill the day, these times have become holy to me. I cherish these times, not because I feel the need to escape, but because this is when I find true fulfillment. In fact, one might argue that the avoidance of silence is society’s chosen method of escape and facing our true selves. For I am beginning to realize that when we allow ourselves to enter into deep inner silence, it is only then that we come face to face who we truly are.

We live in a culture where silence is often to be avoided, uncomfortable and even feared. Silence equates to idleness. Emptiness. Non-productiveness. We struggle to find anything to stifle the the silence in our lives, and in our effort to fill the void, we distract ourselves from true peace. I'm learning that silence takes focus, discipline and patience. It's not easy and takes a conscious effort of our mind, spirit and physical body.

But as we allow ourselves to settle into silence and all external distractions are shed, we delve into the only thing that exists: ourselves and our spiritual connection with God. And it is here that we find that ourselves are in complete union with God.

The gift of ourselves comes from God. Unique. Individual. Isolated. Apart from God, our self is the only true possession that we have and in recognizing this, we can then begin to see that the external factors of life really have no control over us. We can do our best to fill our lives with distractions that we believe bring peace, joy and make us better, but in reality, we only inadvertently lure ourselves further from the center.

Our inner-self calls us to look deep within. The deeper that we journey, the closer we come to God. For that is the one single point of existence; the place of consciousness that transcends and sheds even the physical body. That is when the words of Christ become most real to us when He said, "I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you." (John 17:20-21)  As the Church is the Body of Christ and united as one through the Spirit of God, we are united and one with God. This oneness must have an origin, a starting point. As we delve deeper into silence and connect with our true inner-selves, we find that starting point residing within. It's here that we find the reality that God is one, we are one with each other, and we are one with God.

I AM - A Prayer

I AM

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Our most gracious Father in Heaven, in whom we live and move and have our being.
Despite our desire to know Your will for our lives, we realize that You are essentially all we need.
You graciously give everything without measure.
You guide us and lead us on the paths that we so aimlessly try to pave ourselves.
As we seek You this day, reveal to us who You are to us; a people that are unique, individual and sometimes isolated from the world around us.
Who are you to us, Lord?
Who are You?

Now, in the silence of this moment, hear the words of God speak deep into to your inner-self:

I AM your love
I AM your passion
I AM your commitment
I AM your desire
I AM your need to be validated
I AM your success
I AM your failures
I AM you motivation
I AM your creativity
I AM your imagination
I AM your endurance and energy
I AM your perseverance
I AM your planning and preparations
I AM your satisfaction
I AM your contentment
I AM your serenity
I AM your confusion
I AM your dreams
I AM your future, present and past
I AM your confusion and uncertainty
I AM your guidance and wisdom
I AM your your times of silence
I AM your noises of every day life 
I AM growing you
I AM moving within you
I AM         

Let us pray:

Lord, if your are in fact all of these things, and more, all that we need is You. Today we seek Your Kingdom and Your righteousness. Keep our focus ever on You, the center of our lives. And when we take our eyes off You, blind us from those things that distract, confuse, frustrate and leave our lives out of balance. 

We ask these prayers through the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

  

Over There

It's easy for us to desensitize ourselves to death when it's "over there".  The memories of 9/11 are difficult for Americans because we saw it happen here. The people that suffered and died were familiar. They were like us. They were us.

But when we allows ourselves to move out of the insulated conditioning that most of us live with, we see the world differently. When we see life through the perspective of the Kingdom of God, we realize that "they", "those people", the ones "over there", are familiar as well. They are like us. They are us.

This is an email that I received this last year from a dear friend of mine, and fellow Franciscan brother. Feel the pain that he is feeling because he has chosen to see the world through this perspective. As I said in my previous blog, when we allow ourselves to mourn the loss of life anywhere in this world, the Kingdom of God is realized just a little more than it was before.

Hello All:  Asking for you to remember me in prayer today.  I believed I had made it through the 9/11 memorials without personal incident.  I avoided all references to the occasion.  But this morning as I read facebook and emails from yesterday I had a huge upwelling of anger and frustration.  I struggle with my friends and countrymen's obsession with our own losses, ignoring the massive loss of innocent life our acts of retribution have caused.  My mind flashed back to entering Baghdad in the first few days of "liberation" and seeing the city covered in small black mourning banners.    Individual families had made these banners to announce the death of a child, daughter, mother or some loved one. Estimates are 140,000 innocent civilians died in Iraq directly from warfare, the secondary death numbers are estimated at up to a million.  I have a banner I picked up from a ditch that I keep in a box in the back of my closet in memory of my complicity in the death of all the innocents.  I will carry that memory with me forever.  I try to see the experience as an uncomfortable blessing and guidance from God.  I thank you for your patience in allowing me to express my feelings this day.  Please pray for my anger to subside and that the love of Christ fills me today so that I can be a reflection of Gods love to all I encounter. 

Thank you. God Bless.

Shalom or Pax?

For me, the most memorable aspect of 9/11 is the expressions of anger and hatred. It's easy to be angry, and quite understandable considering what we all witnessed. But each year since, as we remember those who lost their lives, as well as those who have given their lives in war, I have found myself no longer choosing to feel anger. There is no one that I choose to hate. Instead, I feel a profound sense of sadness. Sadness because of how fallen and dark our world can be. Sadness that sometimes evil has it's way with us, overwhelms us and for a while, wins.   

Last year, a friend of mine offered some very wise words in how we can honor those who died on 9/11, those who have given their lives in war and those who have lost loved ones since. Rather than choosing anger and hatred toward those who choose to hate us, let us choose to follow the words of Christ and return that hate with love and prayer. As contrary as it is to our nature, this is the only way to truly honor them. Why? Because it's the only thing that will lead us to true peace: Shalom. And is that not what they would want for this world? 

Shalom is a perfect peace not dependent on circumstances and a peace that God intended each of us to have from the beginning. We may not realize it, but we posses this deep in the recesses of our soul. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." We so often base our lives and rely on worldly peace: PAX, a peace as the world knows it. This is peace that is dependent on circumstances and as we all know, that peace can be blown away by a few planes and crumbling buildings.

The only way to for us to end violence, war and terror in this world is for us to choose shalom rather than pax. As it is each year on the anniversary of 9/11, my prayer is that we can find a way to release the anger that we cling to. Regardless of how vehemently our natural spirit fights in contrast to this, let us choose forgiveness and love. Let us lose ourselves and be consumed with prayer, not dreams of hatred and vengeance. Let us choose to promote true and lasting peace.    

Shalom