Destiny

Happy Easter! Or, as a friend of mine said, "Happy Resurrection Day!" That's his preferred mode of talking about "Easter Sunday," because he is aware of the commercialization of it all. Chocolate bunnies and cream-filled eggs. It's not as bad as Christmas, but it has become less a religious holiday and more of a commercial endeavor for specialized business products. Such is religious life in America, I guess.

After a bit of reflection, I've come to like the idea of avoiding the term "Easter" in favor of "Resurrection Day." It can't help but to remind us of what the holiday (or “holy day”) is about. And for those of us who participate in the Christian faith, it is actually less about an act that happened in history and more about an event that happens beyond time and space (an "eschatological" event, for those who like big words).

Talk about the resurrection is talk about a certain type of spiritual experience. It is a sense of divine connection that liberates us from our death-dealing ego-centrism and births us into life-giving other-centeredness. The resurrection experience is an inner resurrection that transforms. Inasmuch as it is authentic, the resurrection experience leads us on a process of “becoming.”

Because we specifically proclaim the resurrection of Christ, our “becoming” centers on him. For us, (to use a term by JAT Robinson) he is the “human face of God.” We claim that in his person and work God is revealed. When we say that he is fully human and fully divine, we are saying that he is the image of what humanity was meant to be: in perfect communion (or “one-ness”) with God. More tangibly, we are saying that when humanity enfleshes other-centered, justice-oriented, self-giving love, it is living out a divine way of being. To be fully human is to be fully divine. When we are becoming “Christ-like” (or “Christian”) we are becoming more fully human. When we are becoming more human, we are truly embracing our God-given destiny.

I recently came across a parable written by Edward Hayes in The Ladder (p.52). I thought I’d share.

The Three Most Encouraging Words of Jesus

A group of students sat around their [spiritual] teacher when one of them, wishing to test him, asked, “Teacher, what are the three most encouraging words of Jesus?”

“His three words on the cross,” the teacher answered immediately: ‘It is finished.’” Then the teacher rose to leave the room.

“You confuse us, Teacher,” said the student. “You cannot leave us with such a mystery. Why are those words in any way encouraging?”

“Because those words tell you that it takes a lifetime to achieve your spiritual destiny!”

Happy Be-Lated Resurrection Day Everyone!

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Which Circle?

I was going to put something Eastery here, but haven't got to that yet. For the moment, I've got something else. A couple of guys who were in Campus Crusade a decade or so ago have turned a new leaf. Now, they have a spoof comic entitled "Which Circle?" Very funny. Make sure to read the interviews.

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Next Step: Final Four

OMG! What a phenomenal game between the Illini and Arizona. An 89-90 win. I have to admit that I gave up with us down by about 12 with around 3 mins left. But...wow. I'm a happy camper.

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And Now For Something Completely Different

*giggle, snort, guffaw*
Child Walks Out on Toy Non-Proliferation Talks"

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Loss of "Self"

I used to go to a centering prayer group at my home church, Westminster Presbyterian in Rockford, IL. Usually, when we gathered we would open with a reading. I think one of Ed’s favorite books was Thomas Keating’s, The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. I miss sitting with that group’s sharing and silence. So I thought I’d share a relevant passage from Keating with everyone who reads this (p 61-62).

***************
”Father, How Can I, Your Son, Become Sin?”

Your attitude must be Christ’s:
though he was in the form of God
he did not deem equality with God
something to be grasped at.
Rather, he emptied himself
and took the form of a slave,
being born in the likeness of men.
He was known to be of human estate,
and it was thus he humbled himself,
obediently accepting even death,
death on a cross! [Phil. 2:6-9]

To become sin is to cease to be God’s son—or at least to cease to be conscious of being God’s son. To cease to be conscious of being God’s son is to cease to experience God as Father. The cross of Jesus represents the ultimate death-of-God experience: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” The crucifixion is much more than the physical death of Jesus and the emotional and mental anguish that accompanied it. It is the death of his human self. The crucifixion was not the death of his false self because he never had one. It was the death of his deified self and the annihilation of the ineffable union which he enjoyed with the Father in his human faculties. This was more than spiritual death; it was dying to become God and hence the dying of God: “He emptied himself, and took the form of a slave…accepting even death, death on a cross!” The loss of personal identity is the ultimate kenosis.

In the crucifixion, his human self disappeared and with it the loss of his experience of who God is. In his resurrection and ascension, Jesus discovered what God is. The dismantling of the false self and the inward journey to the true self is the first phase of this transition or passing over. The loss of the true self and the experience of no-self is the second phase. The first phase results I the conscious of personal union with the Trinity. The second phase consists in being emptied of this union and identifying with the absolute nothingness from which all things emerge, to which all things return, and which manifests Itself at That-Which-Is.

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Dragons

The Animal Planet feature: Dragons. So far, it has been really cool. I wish I could tape it, but my VCR will not hook up to my cable. Bummer. I'm quite fond of dragons. Some time back, I even did this as a mural for an eight-year old (Jacob). His grandpa (Bud) did the scenery, and his mom (Christina) did the sky, minus the clouds.

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Sometimes Dialogue and Peacemaking Are Not Easy

Since I've posted a bouple of things regarding the "Divestment Issue," I thought I'd also post this article. I think it is an important article because it shows how hard it is to meet face to face those with whom we are in such conflict. And yet, it also shows what is possible when we value maintaining authentic relationships. It is a model for difficult times, when our world wants to polarize so quickly.

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"Jewish Voice for Peace" on the Divestment Issues in the PC(USA)

In February, Liat Weingart, one of the co-directors of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) spoke to the Chicago Presbytery to offer his perspective on the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s current approach to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Currently, we are investigating the possibility of "selective divestment" of funds from companies that profit off of human rights abuses in Palestine. Accusations of anti-semitism abound with assertions that the PC(USA) has sided solely with the Palestinians and against the Israelis. The claim is that divestment would basically cripple the Israelis economically. Here is Weingart's speech, which is definitely an alternative Jewish view that supports and encourages our denomination's approach.

This is a very complicated issue. On the one hand, there are clear human rights abuses. On the other hand, it is understandable why Israelis want to control land so close to their capital. It's an issue that reveals to us how messy real life usually is. It is not filled with white and black issues, but saturated with variousl shades of grey.

Meanwhile, here is what our denomination's leadership has said on the issue.

(Part of what Kirkpatrick addresses is a related issue regarding a new church development for ethic Jews, which is another really big issue today. Readers will have to wade through that in order to reach the divestment issue material.)

Edit: Since we're on the topic, I just came across this article in the Christian Century.

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"Truth Nebula"

Devoid of substance.
Living in truth nebula.
It's our existence.

Picture of Orion Nebula

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Reunion

Last night, I went up to Rockford after a meeting to catch up with Tim (who can be found here). We used to work together as technical writers and it looks like we might be able to pull off an on-the-side business venture. It was a great time. And I'm pretty pumped about the whole project. A certain part of me really misses the Rockford area.

And, yeah, in the above pic, Tim is the pirate, not the monkey.

P.S.: Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

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Evolution or Intelligent Design?

It's a pretty hot topic. Religious folk have been looking for years to find a theory to rival evolution. They think they have found it in "Intelligent Design Theory" (ID). Here is an article that presents arguments for and counter-arguments against ID.

Personally, I share the thoughts of Kenneth Miller, who says,

If Behe wishes to suggest that the intricacies of nature, life, and the universe reveal a world of meaning and purpose consistent with a divine intelligence, his point is philosophical, not scientific. It is a philosophical point of view, incidentally, that I share. However, to support that view, one should not find it necessary to pretend that we know less than we really do about the evolution of living systems. In the final analysis, the biochemical hypothesis of intelligent design fails not because the scientific community is closed to it but rather for the most basic of reasons -- because it is overwhelmingly contradicted by the scientific evidence.

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This One's All About the Ego

An on-line friend wrote this a few days ago. I thought I'd share.

Fatherman wrote:
Ego is like a shadow. It only exists from the blocking of light. It resembles the form but is not the form. You can spend your life chasing your shadow, or you can turn to face the light.

It's certainly something to think about.

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"Bo's Blah, Blah, Blog"

Attached to my web page is a link to "Bo's Blah, Blah, Blog." It's more related to what I do at the church. I need to update it more. In many respects, this one has taken over the role that was previously assigned to that one. I need to start cross-posting to keep it up to date.

Anyway, the point is that I've put together a new layout for it. I would like a bit of feeback on the design. A couple of problems that I can't overcome. First, since it is a free geocities site, that ad bar pops up on the right and messes it all up. Also, if the favorites panel is open, it can also mess up the layout a bit. Anybody see anything else that I've missed?

EDIT: I have just reworked the actual LiveJournal page for "Bo's Blah, Blah, Blog." It is much better than the one embedded in my web page. I think I'll have to change the link to go directly there.

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The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus

Al Franken seems to have something to say about the Christian (sic.) gospel of wealth, prosperity, and power. It's dead on: The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus. I laughed pretty hard with this one.

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Pizza, Pizza, and More Pizza

For Faith Quest tomorrow night I am apparently in charge of the main dish. (Hmmm... Just noticed that the page is out of date. I'll have to fix that.)

Recently, we've moved from a "make it up as you go along" potluck, to a more organized one. Each week, someone brings the main dish and everybody else tries to compliment it. So, tomorrow it's home made pizza.

Unfortunately, that means that I have to bake about 3 of them. One pizza pan. No counter space. And, it's pushing 9:30pm. This is going to be a nightmare. But, it has to be done before bed tonight. I was going to be up late practicing my sermon anyway.

First one's mine though. It's done. Time to go see how it turned out.

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Million Dollar Baby

Megan and I went to see Million Dollar Baby tonight. This is a phenomenal flick! I was completely caught off guard, not to mention thoroughly traumatized. I have not been in this state of "awe + shock" since Schindler's List.

I need a beer.

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"Treasure"

I cannot sleep tonight. The nasty creative bug keeps biting me, so I decided to do something in hopes that it would go away. Another haiku...

Abundance surrounds.
The cold and the hungry wait
for the blind to see.

And now, back to bed.

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Plotting and Scheming

It doesn't exist yet. I've been working on it in my spare time. It's an intro book to Christianity as a religious option in America. The BIG plan is to turn it into a supplement book for a video series. It would be a way to present a Christian alternative to both those already in the pews and to those who are on the outside of the church. It is all about a Christian option for postmoderns who are both experiential and thinking people.

On another note...

I've been thinking about how I could best describe God in my own words (which means specifically not using anyone else's formula). This is what I came up with:

God is the...
Life-Giving Source of Creativity
Unifying Way of Interconnectedness
Abysmally Absolute Other

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