What’s the benefit of fasting? The temptation is to fast from food (there are other kinds of fasts, but that’s the traditional one) for purely physical reasons: to lose a little weight or to purge the body. I’m fasting for 24 hours one day a week for Lent, and it’s nice to have those physical benefits, but what I really want is a way to remind myself of what Jesus went through for the sake of his mission. He took on the limitations and irritations of a physical body, giving up the privileges and glories of his pre-incarnate experience. Giving up food for a little while is a small way of identifying with him.
But I’ve found that fasting does something else: it slows me down. Maybe it’s the lack of caloric intake that gives me a little less energy (probably not, though: I have plenty of reserve energy jiggling on me in embarrassing places). But my mind has one less thing to occupy it. I don’t have to worry about preparing food or getting to a lunch date. I’m surprised how many times during the day I find myself thinking about food (maybe more so when my stomach is grumbling about the lack of attention). It’s become a prompt to stop and remember that I’m fasting and why. As a result, I have a little more space in my day, time for pondering or praying or just slowing down. I take in a deep breath, not in preparation to gobble down a bite of food, but so I can slowly exhale. I’m actually more in tune with my physical world by not eating, at least once in a while.
So if you're having trouble slowing down to pray, try fasting.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
why pray?
Why pray? In Philip Yancey’s book on prayer he tells how he has spoken to Christian leaders in Burma and China who have been imprisoned and treated in unbelievably inhumane ways. Yet these are people of spiritual power. Some have led hundreds to follow Jesus in spite of the risk of imprisonment and torture. When he asked them how Christians in other parts of the world could help, they have answered the same way without exception: pray for us. Why didn’t they say something about appealing to the UN or getting their story to Amnesty International or organizing a human rights watch? Because sometimes it takes being without access to earthly power to make us realize that we have access to a greater power through prayer.
Who are the meek? The usage of the term in Jesus’ day referred to the poor and those without social status or access to earthly power. And yet Jesus said that the meek would inherit the earth. The conventional wisdom is that the earth belongs to those who are strong enough to take it by force. Yancey’s account underscores the point that Jesus is making. Prayer is how we get to know our Father, the one to whom this world really belongs. And prayer is how we ask our Father for things. Lord, teach us to pray.
Who are the meek? The usage of the term in Jesus’ day referred to the poor and those without social status or access to earthly power. And yet Jesus said that the meek would inherit the earth. The conventional wisdom is that the earth belongs to those who are strong enough to take it by force. Yancey’s account underscores the point that Jesus is making. Prayer is how we get to know our Father, the one to whom this world really belongs. And prayer is how we ask our Father for things. Lord, teach us to pray.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
pairs
I was watching the pairs figure skating (it was a lazy Sunday afternoon and I had no control over the remote, OK?) and I saw one of the skaters fall. My first thought was, “What is his partner thinking?” When you fall by yourself, you have a choice. You can pick yourself up and, for personal pride, continue to skate even though you know you’re out of medal contention. Or you can just pack it in and you don’t affect anyone but yourself (and a few million of your countrymen, but they’re not on the ice with you). But if you have a partner you have to think about how your reaction affects your partner. It’s not just about you anymore. It’s not just personal pride at stake, but the morale of your partner and your future as a competing team.
In the Christian life we never fall alone. The other day I stumbled on an old song that I used to cover in a band 25 years ago (yikes, I’m ancient!). Twila Paris’ “The warrior is a child” describes the weaknesses that a soldier of the faith feels inside in spite of the bravado displayed on the outside. The song implies that the only one who really understands the inner life of the soldier is our Commander, but that can’t (or shouldn’t) be completely true. We have others around us, fighting the same battles, who would support us if we would get over our rugged individualism and open up to them.
God places the members in the body “as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:18 KJV). Just as parts of the body need each other and can’t function by themselves, so God’s designed His Church to be interdependent. You and I can’t drop out without it affecting a lot of other people.
I suppose I could have had similar thoughts watching the interview with the losing coach of the Super Bowl, but I was too busy eating.
In the Christian life we never fall alone. The other day I stumbled on an old song that I used to cover in a band 25 years ago (yikes, I’m ancient!). Twila Paris’ “The warrior is a child” describes the weaknesses that a soldier of the faith feels inside in spite of the bravado displayed on the outside. The song implies that the only one who really understands the inner life of the soldier is our Commander, but that can’t (or shouldn’t) be completely true. We have others around us, fighting the same battles, who would support us if we would get over our rugged individualism and open up to them.
God places the members in the body “as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:18 KJV). Just as parts of the body need each other and can’t function by themselves, so God’s designed His Church to be interdependent. You and I can’t drop out without it affecting a lot of other people.
I suppose I could have had similar thoughts watching the interview with the losing coach of the Super Bowl, but I was too busy eating.
hosanna?
A couple Fridays ago, as part of a board meeting for The Mosaic Center (click on the link on the right to find out more about TMC), I slept overnight at the Fred Jordan Mission in Los Angeles’ “skid row” (if you want a cushy board member gig, don’t join a board that’s concerned with social justice). I was awakened by a recording of the worship song “Hosanna” being played outside on the street. I looked outside and saw a line of people a block long waiting in the rain for breakfast.
Listening to “Hosanna” in a comfortable sanctuary as it’s played by a high-tech worship band is worlds away from hearing it in a line of homeless people waiting for food in the rain. The word “Hosanna” means “save us”. It was the people’s cry of reliance on their king. Over the millenia it's come to be associated mostly with hymns being sung by people in suits and dresses or anthems sung by choirs in beautiful cathedrals. But it takes on a whole different meaning when you’ve been run over by the world system instead of enjoying the benefits of being one of the world’s privileged.
Our God has chosen to identify with the poor rather than the privileged. What did Jesus experience when he was on earth? He was part of an oppressed minority and spent his ministry years as a homeless person. But in the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed (and of which his followers are ambassadors) there is no favoritism. No one will be excluded, marginalized, ignored, or taken advantage of. Hosanna.
Listening to “Hosanna” in a comfortable sanctuary as it’s played by a high-tech worship band is worlds away from hearing it in a line of homeless people waiting for food in the rain. The word “Hosanna” means “save us”. It was the people’s cry of reliance on their king. Over the millenia it's come to be associated mostly with hymns being sung by people in suits and dresses or anthems sung by choirs in beautiful cathedrals. But it takes on a whole different meaning when you’ve been run over by the world system instead of enjoying the benefits of being one of the world’s privileged.
Our God has chosen to identify with the poor rather than the privileged. What did Jesus experience when he was on earth? He was part of an oppressed minority and spent his ministry years as a homeless person. But in the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed (and of which his followers are ambassadors) there is no favoritism. No one will be excluded, marginalized, ignored, or taken advantage of. Hosanna.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Happy Ash Wednesday!
That phrase sounds a little weird. Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent, which is supposed to be marked by an attitude of sadness as we remember the human experience of our Lord Jesus, brought to a tormented climax by his death on the cross.
In “Letters from the Land of Cancer” Walter Wangerin shares intimate moments from letters to friends as he nears the end of his life. In 2006-7 his cancer slowed, which gave him time to reflect on life and to write. He shares that in such times we have two choices: “Wail, plead, beg, make deals with friends and with the Infinite. Sink into despair… Or else, prepare.”
Lent is a season of preparation. We are saying good-bye to the old life, to old expectations and old values and old ways of doing things. As much as we may be fond of our old life, it is not God’s way, not the life that God has for us. Or we may be glad to be rid of the old life, but we still mourn it because it is familiar. And change always involves some pain. So we mourn the passing of the old life.
For those who don’t understand the meaning of the Resurrection, who feel oppressed by the religious establishment, there’s no such thing as a good Lent or a Happy Ash Wednesday. Might as well party like there’s no tomorrow on Fat Tuesday because you have to put a lid on it when Lent starts and no one wants you to be happy.
But for followers of Jesus, we claim Lent as a time of preparation, knowing that leaving behind the old life lets us welcome the Kingdom of Heaven in which the good and loving King of kings and Lord of lords reigns first in us and ultimately in our world. He has broken into our world in the Incarnation, proclaimed the Kingdom in his life and teachings, bought our redemption through his death on the cross, and become the first of a new humanity in his resurrection. Those who mourn will be comforted. We know our mourning will turn to dancing. In fact, NT Wright says that we should mark the week starting with Easter with champagne breakfast every day! Pull out all the stops! Lent should be preparing us for a time of celebration that obliterates any sense of sadness or mourning and makes all the Christmas festivities pale in comparison.
So “Happy Ash Wednesday”!
In “Letters from the Land of Cancer” Walter Wangerin shares intimate moments from letters to friends as he nears the end of his life. In 2006-7 his cancer slowed, which gave him time to reflect on life and to write. He shares that in such times we have two choices: “Wail, plead, beg, make deals with friends and with the Infinite. Sink into despair… Or else, prepare.”
Lent is a season of preparation. We are saying good-bye to the old life, to old expectations and old values and old ways of doing things. As much as we may be fond of our old life, it is not God’s way, not the life that God has for us. Or we may be glad to be rid of the old life, but we still mourn it because it is familiar. And change always involves some pain. So we mourn the passing of the old life.
For those who don’t understand the meaning of the Resurrection, who feel oppressed by the religious establishment, there’s no such thing as a good Lent or a Happy Ash Wednesday. Might as well party like there’s no tomorrow on Fat Tuesday because you have to put a lid on it when Lent starts and no one wants you to be happy.
But for followers of Jesus, we claim Lent as a time of preparation, knowing that leaving behind the old life lets us welcome the Kingdom of Heaven in which the good and loving King of kings and Lord of lords reigns first in us and ultimately in our world. He has broken into our world in the Incarnation, proclaimed the Kingdom in his life and teachings, bought our redemption through his death on the cross, and become the first of a new humanity in his resurrection. Those who mourn will be comforted. We know our mourning will turn to dancing. In fact, NT Wright says that we should mark the week starting with Easter with champagne breakfast every day! Pull out all the stops! Lent should be preparing us for a time of celebration that obliterates any sense of sadness or mourning and makes all the Christmas festivities pale in comparison.
So “Happy Ash Wednesday”!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
happy new year
On Sunday we celebrated the lunar New Year with my wife’s family. It’s an annual event: hanging around with extended family, nourishing our tree of relationships through conversations and a days’ end feast. I talked for a while with my wife’s brother-in-law about how he’s helped to start the first school-based healthcare clinic with dental services in northern California (http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=71604). Why did he do it? Because God gave him a second chance at life.
A year and a half ago he fell off a ladder in his garage and his wife found him unconscious in a pool of blood. To look at him today you’d never know that he went through several hours of surgery and has enough titanium in his skull to build a small mountain bike. He’s retired from his dental practice but puts in two mornings a week at the school clinic so that under-served kids from economically disadvantaged homes can focus on their studies without also contending with dental pain. (He’s still trying to recruit enough dentists to help so that each dentist only needs to put in 1 morning a month.)
As the great theologian James Cameron says in the movie “Avatar”, everyone is meant to be born twice. God wants to give all of us a second chance at life (see John 3:1-5). For those of us who have been born again, what are we doing to be a source of life to others? Whether you celebrated the New Year on Jan. 1 or Feb. 14 (or both), that’s a New Year’s resolution worth working on.
A year and a half ago he fell off a ladder in his garage and his wife found him unconscious in a pool of blood. To look at him today you’d never know that he went through several hours of surgery and has enough titanium in his skull to build a small mountain bike. He’s retired from his dental practice but puts in two mornings a week at the school clinic so that under-served kids from economically disadvantaged homes can focus on their studies without also contending with dental pain. (He’s still trying to recruit enough dentists to help so that each dentist only needs to put in 1 morning a month.)
As the great theologian James Cameron says in the movie “Avatar”, everyone is meant to be born twice. God wants to give all of us a second chance at life (see John 3:1-5). For those of us who have been born again, what are we doing to be a source of life to others? Whether you celebrated the New Year on Jan. 1 or Feb. 14 (or both), that’s a New Year’s resolution worth working on.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
grace
I didn’t realize it, but today was the grand re-opening of a newly remodeled supermarket near my home. So when I stopped in to pick up some things the place was more full than I’ve ever seen it and all the checkers were newly-hired. The floor plan was as new to them as it was to me, plus they were obviously learning all the codes for the grocery items. In other words, lines were long and moved sloooowly.
There was a mom and her two kids in front of me. The checker was having to look up a lot of the codes for stuff that doesn’t grow with bar codes on them, like bananas. She knew she was taking a long time and apologized to me when she finally started ringing up my items. She’d done several items when the mom apologized to the checker because her 3 year old hadn’t yet caught on to the notion of paying for stuff in a store and had helped himself to a box of candy and eaten half of it, unbeknownst to her. Now she needed to pay for it.
The checker told her to wait until after she’d finished ringing up my items. I put myself in that young mom’s place: waiting around for the checker to finish while trying to keep 2 kids from being run over by grocery carts AND dealing with the embarrassment of everyone knowing her 3 year old was becoming a kleptomaniac. So I told the checker, “Just ring up the candy with my groceries.”
It felt good to see the look of relief of on the mom’s face. I told her, “Merry Christmas” and off they went. It felt even better to hear the woman in line after me remark to someone next to her, “That just made my day.”
As I took my groceries to my car, I thought about God’s grace. Isaiah tells us, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray… and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Jesus came from the Father expressly to take on himself the payment for our sin. That was the message that the early Church received with gratitude.
The church is here to continue Jesus’ work of offering grace to the world. The early church knew that, too, and it’s one of the reasons the church grew from an obscure Jewish sect of with 3,120 members after Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 to taking over the Roman Empire under Constantinople less than 300 years later (Rodney Stark estimates that in order to be a majority in the early 4th century there must have been at least 6 million Christians in the empire). When plagues threatened whole cities, early Christians cared for the sick while people of means fled to their country villas. Early Christians cared about the poor and those without status(like slaves and women). Outsiders looked on with admiration and appreciation. Some even decided to follow Christ, as did many of those that received God’s care through the Church.
So God used an everyday situation to remind me of why and how I’m to be a part of God’s purposes in the world. It was certainly worth the 89 cents the lesson cost me. I didn’t look to see whether the mom let the 3 year old finish the candy.
There was a mom and her two kids in front of me. The checker was having to look up a lot of the codes for stuff that doesn’t grow with bar codes on them, like bananas. She knew she was taking a long time and apologized to me when she finally started ringing up my items. She’d done several items when the mom apologized to the checker because her 3 year old hadn’t yet caught on to the notion of paying for stuff in a store and had helped himself to a box of candy and eaten half of it, unbeknownst to her. Now she needed to pay for it.
The checker told her to wait until after she’d finished ringing up my items. I put myself in that young mom’s place: waiting around for the checker to finish while trying to keep 2 kids from being run over by grocery carts AND dealing with the embarrassment of everyone knowing her 3 year old was becoming a kleptomaniac. So I told the checker, “Just ring up the candy with my groceries.”
It felt good to see the look of relief of on the mom’s face. I told her, “Merry Christmas” and off they went. It felt even better to hear the woman in line after me remark to someone next to her, “That just made my day.”
As I took my groceries to my car, I thought about God’s grace. Isaiah tells us, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray… and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Jesus came from the Father expressly to take on himself the payment for our sin. That was the message that the early Church received with gratitude.
The church is here to continue Jesus’ work of offering grace to the world. The early church knew that, too, and it’s one of the reasons the church grew from an obscure Jewish sect of with 3,120 members after Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 to taking over the Roman Empire under Constantinople less than 300 years later (Rodney Stark estimates that in order to be a majority in the early 4th century there must have been at least 6 million Christians in the empire). When plagues threatened whole cities, early Christians cared for the sick while people of means fled to their country villas. Early Christians cared about the poor and those without status(like slaves and women). Outsiders looked on with admiration and appreciation. Some even decided to follow Christ, as did many of those that received God’s care through the Church.
So God used an everyday situation to remind me of why and how I’m to be a part of God’s purposes in the world. It was certainly worth the 89 cents the lesson cost me. I didn’t look to see whether the mom let the 3 year old finish the candy.
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