Sorrow For Muslims

There are times when I am gripped with a profound sorrow for Muslims. It doesn't matter whether or not theirs is a religion of peace. The reality is that their religion is religion of a godless eternity.

Allah (which is, literally, simply the Arabic word for 'God' but I will use it for the Muslim understanding of God to differentiate from the God of the Bible) is eternal. But apparently, Allah is not omnipresent. The reason the Christian understanding of the nature of Jesus is blasphemous to Muslims is because Allah simply refuses to and is incapable to have anything to do with the material world. That Allah should draw near to a human being (let alone touch or - horror - take on human flesh) is to become contaminated.

Christians take tremendous comfort and even joy at the marvelous mystery that God not only thinks of human beings and desires to be with them but that he actually took on the complete human form and nature. Other than his divine nature, the only difference between Jesus and us is that he was pure, wholly without sin.

But the thing over which I grieve for my Muslim "cousins" is that their eternity is spent apart from Allah!! A Christian cannot imagine such a thing for him/herself. At the consummation of the ages, all the saints who have ever lived join around the throne of God in his very presence to worship him altogether. In fact, the definitions of life and death hinge on the presence of God. Where God is, there is life. Where God is not, there is death. Death is the absence of life. Death is the absence of God.

Never mind that the Muslim idea of eternal paradise revolves around fleshly pleasures (they get the things that are forbidden them, now). Who cares that they can drink all the booze they want and have their virgins at their beck and call? Allah is absent. The one they are to revere most of all is completely absent - for eternity!!

To be eternally separated from God is not paradise or heaven... even if all fleshly pleasure is available. There are many in this world who even now can attest to that. Eternity without God is hell.

How I ache for my Muslim friends. I do not want to kill them. They can mock my faith. They can mock my Jesus. I will not strike them. Far worse for them, they will be stricken with an eternal emptiness for which there is no cure except that Allah should touch them to heal them, to replace their eternal death and give them Eternal Life. Alas, he will not... he cannot.

May God have mercy on them. Praise and glory to God through Christ who gives us life.

Lent

I once read (can't remember from whom) that Easter without Lent is like the
climax of a movie without the rest of the movie.

Perhaps it's partly because I'm introspective by nature and often rather
melancholy that I really like Lent. If there is a specific time during
which I take some pleasure in reflecting on struggle and really embracing
the difficulty of being who and what God created me to be, it's the Lenten
season.

Israel spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. They made some pretty
dumb decisions (stuff that involved relying on their own "ingenuity" and not
trusting God) so God let them wander around in a huge circle. While it was
a tremendously hard time for them (well, that's putting it mildly... and
they still made some dumb decisions) God provided miraculously for them. It
wasn't just the manna. Their clothes and shoes never wore out... 40 years!!
(I look forward to worn out clothes so I have sufficient reason to buy
something new!)

Jesus spent 40 days/nights in the wilderness fasting and praying. It's
interesting to note the Bible says it was AFTER those 40 days/nights that
Jesus was hungry. I wonder if it was hard on Jesus or if there was an
ecstasy for him since it was an opportunity for him to focus exclusively for
over a month on the Father.

I don't think I do Lent very well. I chose my "mortification" this year and
am practicing it... But I worry that I'm not really getting the full benefit
from it that I should because I'm often so easily distracted... From prayer,
from meditation.

Israel was forced into it. Jesus volunteered for it. I guess I volunteered
for it, too. I just wish I could get my heart attitude into better
condition for it, with it, through it. I really do want to embrace the
struggle. But emotionally I run away from it. Perhaps, if nothing else,
for now, I can at least DO it without feeling the need to feel good about
it.

Orthodoxy. Orthopraxy. Is there such a thing as orthopathy?

God Is Here

This week I listened to a lot of John Michael Talbot and some other
Christian singer/song-writers most of the day while I rode around. I
probably have about 30 hrs worth of songs on my mp3 player. Today I heard
(again but for the first time in a long time) a song written by Tom Booth -
"Here I Am." It's written as if from Jesus to the listener. Here are the
verses.


Do not fear when the tempter beckons
Do not fear even though you might fall
Do not fear for I have conquered evil
Do not fear; never be afraid

I am here in the face of every child
I am here in every warm embrace
I am here with tenderness and mercy
Here I am. I am here.

I am here in the midst of every trial
I am here in the face of your despair
I am here in pardon and forgiveness
Here I am. I am here.

The refrain - beginning, end and in between the verses

Here I am, standing right beside you
Here I am, do not be afraid
Here I am, I'm waiting like a lover
I am here. Here I am.


The song is really quite simple... but it is the first and last verses that
seem to really "get" me. I hear Jesus speaking these things to me. And I
think the reason is because I am so fearful. There are mistakes I make
because I don't think enough. There are "mistakes" I make because I don't
want to think otherwise. And there are those "mistakes" I make because I'm
afraid of either losing or not getting something that seems important to me.

The real problem is that I really don't have a very good grasp of the
incredible, inscrutable, unreasonable, illogical, unfathomable love of God
in Christ. Consequently, my faith in God doesn't go nearly deep enough.
And so I become afraid, angry, resentful, anxious, etc. These are not
qualities of the Spirit of God. They are qualities of the "flesh."

The reason God is "here" is precisely because of his great and powerful
love... a love so powerful that it endured death and then beat death at its
own game. And that Love is HERE. He is here not only to bring mercy and
forgiveness but also bring grace and the power to be transformed. The great
thing - and this is the thing of which I need to keep reminding myself and
remind other Christians and teach to non-Christians - is that it's not just
for a moment and then it's gone. Love is here for this moment... and this
moment... and this one... and this one... and on and on and on in every
single moment.

To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength
requires that one knows God in a profound way. And that requires
experience. I can't prescribe the "shape" of that experience for every
person - it can be vastly different for lots of people (although it appears
to be very similar for lots of people, too). But everyone of us needs to
come into this experience of knowing God's great love for us.

And it needs to happen more than once in a lifetime or once a year or even
once a day. We desperately need this experience as a constant aspect of our
lives. Realistically, it may happen in seemingly disconnected moments, but
ideally it ought to be the normal life experience of every moment. And it
needs to happen in each person. You can't have the experience for me. And
when I do have the experience, I need to re-experience I in the very next
moment... and all the moments that follow.

It is the experience of God's presence with us, right next to us, in us. It
is the experience of Love that goes beyond even our wildest dreams. It is
the experience of rest and peace to such a degree that it becomes obviously
other-worldly.

To know love and to love... This is what it means to know that God is here.

Today's Grace

80 deliveries on my truck today - only one of which I actually delivered. Stuck
in the snow for 3 hours. Was really mad at myself for having even attempted
any deliveries today - but Wendy said it was the right thing to do... taking
responsibility for the job no matter what. But I was equally mad at Fed Ex
for not just closing down for the day. Besides... only a third of the
entire work staff (drivers, package handlers, etc.) showed up. (But I was
one out of only two drivers who made all their deliveries yesterday.)

Tomorrow? Doesn't look real good - but hopefully better than today... at
least in terms of the roads. Numbers of packages will be through the
roof...

Anyway, that's background to what happened while I was sitting and,
initially, fuming. I wasn't just fuming... If my anger had been actual
physical energy I could have melted the ice around me for miles. But then
my anger turned inward. I was angry for being so angry. I told the Lord
how much I despise that part of myself. It's been more apparent in the last
several weeks than it has otherwise been for a long time. At one point,
when I was talking to Wendy on the phone (which I did several times while I
sat), I told her how much I hate this s*** (yeah, I cussed - something that
is rare for me but less rare in the past few weeks). What I really hate,
though, is not being able to "handle" it - that I am still so clearly UNLIKE
Jesus deep inside. So I talked with God for a while about it. I plugged in
John Michael. (I device to play my music through the FM radio.) Then I
grabbed my Liturgy... ( I always take that with me) and prayed. I wanted to
find God's Grace at that moment. And I again realized the presence of His
Grace in prayer - that simply because I did pray grace was present, not so
much because my prayer brought grace (although I think it did to some
degree) but because, apart from grace, I wouldn't have prayed.

And I began to calm down.

I hate this "thing" in me... this beast. I wish it were just dead...
completely gone. But at least, until it is, there is grace that can reign
it in. How I long for the completion of God's work in me. How I long to be
like Jesus in every way.

With Other Pilgrims

I've been meeting with a couple of others once or twice a month for a couple
of years, now, in a cell group. We've meet for about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs, sharing
what our lives have been like, how we see (or want to see or can't seem to
see) what God is doing in, through and around us, reading and discussing
some aspects of the Rule for the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, reading
and discussing (most recently) "The Fire of God" by John Michael Talbot
(founder and spiritual director of Little Portion Hermitage and the Brothers
and Sisters of Charity), and praying together.

We met again this evening and had another one of what I call our "Pilgrimage
Discussions." There's only three of us meeting regularly together, but I
find these discussions so helpful for me. It's not just a matter of, "Oh,
yeah, that's what I've felt/thought/experienced, too." Part of what goes on
for me during these times is a kind of refining of the understanding of my
own experience.

I've long been convinced that it's dangerous for us to try to live out our
Christian lives in a kind of isolated state even though we may be engaged
with a gathering of Christian believers in worship each week. We (and I'm
not sure how to define that "we" other than "people") tend to head towards
extremes that are unbalanced. It's not that we don't want to be balanced,
generally. But the only experience of which we are aware is our own
experience unless we deliberately engage in discussion with others and
listen to them talk about their experiences. I include in that "experience"
both the daily, practical, "life experience" but also our experience with
the Word of God as the written word and the Living Word - Jesus Christ.

It also seems to me that we Americans are particularly prone to strive for
isolation (that we can make it through life - or even just through a day -
without the aid of anybody else). But if, as Christians, we take seriously
that we have been made to reflect that character and nature of God himself,
we sin if we live by this "rugged individualism" concept. While God
certainly does not need us to accomplish anything he desires, God is, within
himself, a community... a tri-unity. If human beings have been made in the
image and likeness of God, despite what Sin has done to us, it has not
altered the fact that part of our "fulfillment" is to somehow live and
journey together with other Pilgrims.

While I am not a terribly social person (I'd much rather spend a full month
of evenings at home with my wife than spend even two nights of that month
with any sizeable group of people), the reality is that I need others in my
life. I am grateful to God that, in his sovereign grace, he has provided me
with, not only my wife, but a few others who are willing to journey with me
on this pilgrimage toward Home. It's not necessarily all, "What a wonderful
fellow you are to be with, Jim." But it is, "I see you struggling to
persevere on this journey as am I. May I come along with you so that I may
both be encouraged and, perhaps, encourage you, too, as we travel."

There are many times when I think John Bunyan was writing about me when he
wrote about Pilgrim and his progress towards the Celestial City, and the
people that journeyed with him.

Perhaps you, too, are on this pilgrimage towards Home. I would welcome the
opportunity to, if you desire, to chat with you "along the way." Perhaps we
can encourage each other to persevere when we get discouraged or tempted to
get (or maybe even tricked into becoming) sidetracked. The journey is every
bit as important as the destination... And it's important to travel with
other Pilgrims.

How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!
It's like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard,
Flowing down Aaron's beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes.
It's like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion.
Yes, that's where GOD commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.
(Psalm 133)

Context

Our "small group" met at out house tonight. We've been discussing selected
readings from Theresa of Avila. Tonight we were discussing some things she
had to say about defending our personal "rights." Tom, one of the fellows
in our group brought to our attention what I thought was a particularly
insightful thought (probably because this is what I think about, also). The
gist of what he said, along with my own thoughts, is what follows.

We tend to get terribly fixated on a very myopic perception of life. As
Christians, we need to remember the big picture which is, in brief,
creation, sin, and redemption. We all have our story to live and tell but
we must remember that our story is part of a much larger story that God is
telling. The story is not about "me" but about God. My rights are really
only important insofar as they are part of the God-story.

This is why it's important for Christians always to associate their lives,
their choices, and their responses to people and situations with all those
same aspects of Jesus Christ who himself, was and is, the image (icon) of
the invisible God. In other words, just as it is dangerous to try to
understand and interpret something someone has said or written apart from
its and their context, so it is dangerous to try to understand and interpret
the events and experiences of our lives apart from our context - not just
"in the world" but as people of the Kingdom, people of the Story.

Context is absolutely crucial. Meaning can only be discerned within a
particular context. Words are understood within sentences, sentences within
paragraphs, etc. Our lives are within a particular context but far too
often we tend to ignore the context in order to focus simply and exclusively
on "the moment," which, I fear, has more to do with "feeling" than anything.
A proper understanding of the importance (or lack thereof) of our rights can
only be gained if we know and remember our context. (Perhaps this is one
definition of sin: the ignorance - whether deliberate or otherwise - of our
context.)

In a very literal sense, I really don't and can't know anybody else's
context. The only person's context about which I can have any real
confidence is my own. It's not so much important that I know anybody else's
context. I know mine. I am a follower of Christ. Christ's Spirit lives in
me. I have been infected by sin but through the grace of Christ, that
infection and its power over me has been reversed and broken. I'm not
completely healed of the infection but I the cure has been administered and
I must simply live accordingly - regardless of what others may do or say.
And part of what that means is that the story of both the infection and the
cure aren't really about me. My rights really are no longer about what I
should have or get but about what I can give and to whom... To love the Lord
with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as I have
loved myself. Love is the theme of God's story. God's story is my context.

I just need to remember the context of my story.

Poverty, Greed and Following Jesus

I really know nothing of poverty. I have some academic awareness of it -
but no experience with it.

Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor." I have read of many Christians who,
having come from wealthy families and living in lavish opulence and having
heard these words of Jesus, left all their wealth and deliberately took up a
life of poverty. It's not that poverty in itself is so great... but you
have to wonder when you hear Jesus say, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell
your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me." (Matt 19:21) Or when he lavishes his praise on the
poor woman who gave her last two cents away. "She gave far more than all
those who gave out of the excess of their wealth." (Mark 12:43-44, my
paraphrase)

And so I have to wonder what I know of Jesus. (Certainly I ought not take
food from my wife's mouth to give to someone else - but that's an extreme
that is an unnecessary consideration just now.) I sit in room with lots of
books, electronics, musical instruments... and stuff. All this in a house
with lots of... stuff... and much of that "in storage." Jesus told his
disciples, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's
life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)

How do I "guard against all kinds of greed" if not by just not yielding to
the desire to "get" and "have?" Perhaps that's only half the equation.
Perhaps the other half is "give."

"Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your
neighbor as yourself." Perhaps wealth works against that, somehow. Even if
wealth does not, greed certainly does. And I have a thought that my concept
of greed is simply acceptable American idealism.

Jesus, show me your way... and make my heart to desire your way.