Philosopher Brian Swimme and historian Mary Evelyn Tucker reflect on the story of the universe:
We are the first generation to learn the comprehensive scientific dimensions of the universe story. We know that the observable universe emerged 13.7 billion years ago, and we now live on a planet orbiting our Sun, one of the trillions of stars in one of the billions of galaxies in an unfolding universe that is profoundly creative and interconnected. With our empirical observations expanded by modern science, we are now realizing that our universe is a single immense energy event that began as a tiny speck that has unfolded over time to become galaxies and stars, palms and pelicans, the music of Bach, and each of us alive today. The great discovery of contemporary science is that the universe is not simply a place, but a story—a story in which we are immersed, to which we belong, and out of which we arose.
This story has the power to awaken us more deeply to who we are. For just as the Milky Way is the universe in the form of a galaxy, and an orchid is the universe in the form of a flower, we are the universe in the form of a human. And every time we are drawn to look up into the night sky and reflect on the awesome beauty of the universe, we are actually the universe reflecting on itself. And this changes everything. [1]
Author John Philip Newell honors the work of scientist and Catholic priest Thomas Berry (1914–2009) who witnessed God throughout the cosmos:
Berry wanted us to be amazed, constantly amazed, by this one, single, interrelated body of the universe that new science describes as a single multiform reality, or as “Undivided Wholeness in Flowing Movement.” [2] It just keeps flowing and flowing into ever-new form. Four and a half billion years ago it flowed into the form of a planet of burning molten rock. And over the course of four billion years this globe of burning rock, Earth as it was later called, has transformed itself into birds and bees and butterflies, and into the emergence of human thought and music and love. We are each a shining flow of sacred energy.
Homo sapiens, meaning wise ones, appeared 200,000 years ago. We are latecomers in this story. The term “wise ones” does not accurately describe what we have been to one another and to Earth, but it could yet describe what we will become. As Berry adds, there is good reason to hope that “the universe is for us rather than against us.” [3] Given the dangerous moments that have been navigated thus far in the unfolding story of humanity and Earth, there is good reason to hope. It is now up to us to live from the wisdom of the Spirit that is deep within us. [4]
Jesus had been fasting in the desert for 40 days. He was understandably hungry, so the enemy presented to him a very practical and relevant idea. “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” The enemy was not saying that Jesus should prove his identity as God’s Son by turning stone into bread, although that is often how we misread the verse. The enemy was saying, “If you are God’s Son then you have every right to satisfy your desires. You don’t have to deny yourself or be hungry. Go ahead, make some bread and eat. You deserve it.”
Of course, Jesus was God’s Son, which God the Father had declared at his baptism just before Jesus entered the wilderness, but Jesus rejected this invitation to satisfy his natural desire for food. Instead, he said, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Many Christians fixate on what they understand to be sinful desires, or desires that are ungodly, unhealthy, or unnatural. But it’s important to notice that Jesus’ desire for food was none of these things. Hunger is normal. Bread is not evil. And eating is not a violation of God’s law. So, why did Jesus deny himself this ordinary and appropriate desire? Because he understood that our lives are not ultimately sustained by what we eat, but by God’s will. True life is to be found by living in communion with him, not simply by pursuing our desires.
The temptation he faced in the wilderness is one we face every day. We live in a culture that tells us we are defined by our desires, and the purpose of life is to satisfy them. We have elevated desires to the status of rights and the thought that a desire should intentionally go unfulfilled is utterly inconceivable to most people today. To deny ourselves a desire is to deny our very identity! Even worse, telling someone else they should not satisfy a desire has become an unpardonable sin. Doing so may get you labeled “judgmental,” “intolerant,” or even a “bigot.”
That is why, more than ever, we need to hear the wisdom of Jesus: we do not live by bread alone. We are more than our desires, our lives are more than our appetites, and the purpose of life is more than satisfying our natural longings, however real and legitimate they may be. True life flows from the living God, and our deepest longings are only satisfied in union with him.
Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no selfish desires may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no troubles can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy ambitions may tempt aside. Give us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, perseverance to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Richard Rohr describes how love and grace are present and operational in the world:
True Christianity and true science are both transformational worldviews that place growth and development at their centers. Both endeavors, each in its own way, cooperate with some Divine Plan, and whether God is formally acknowledged may not be that important. As Carl Jung inscribed over his doorway, Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit (Invoked or not, God is still present). [1] We can call this grace, the indwelling Holy Spirit, or just evolution toward union (which we call “love”). God is not in competition with anybody, but only in deep-time cooperation with everybody who loves (Romans 8:28). Whenever we place one caring foot forward, God uses it, sustains it, and blesses it. [2]
Scientist and theologian Ilia Delio writes of the balancing act she has faced in the worlds of science and religion:
When I speak about love as core reality to colleagues in theology (or science) I often get a look of annoyance or the raised eyebrows that signify dismissal. The academy can be like the church, intellectually self-preoccupied with the precision of logical arguments. I want to shout out … but I often remain silent because love cannot be defended by analytical arguments; love has its own internal logic….
All of nature is endowed with the energy of love (which is grace), and yet only by being open to love … can one know love as the precious gift of nature itself. In this receptivity of love I began to let go of my fixed ideas and narrow definitions of God, church, and world, and I invited into my heart and mind a new universe of life and a new way of seeing the world. I did not seek a new worldview; rather I went in search of truth and found love at the heart of all things. I have come to realize that all knowledge is true knowledge—whether in the sciences or in the humanities—if it moves one to fall more deeply in love.
Having studied the work of French priest and scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), Delio writes:
Teilhard thought that love is the most mysterious and unknown energy in the universe. It is this center drawn to that center; this person drawn to that person. There is no logical explanation for this core energy of life; it is deeply personal and yet whimsical; … an energy field that is somehow entangled with an infinite energy of divine love—for God alone, who is absolute love, is completely personal and ineffable intimacy. Love is rooted in the fundamental nature of reality itself…. Love forms every star, atom, leaf, daffodil, bird, earthworm, cat, giraffe, tiger, and human; everything that exists is born from love. Even consciousness is born of love so that mind is not intellect alone but includes the body and senses and emotional life. Love makes the world go around because love makes the world; matter is formed by love. _________________________________________________
Let My Presence override everything you experience. Like a luminous veil of Light, I hover over you and everything around you. I am training you to stay conscious of Me in each situation you encounter. When the patriarch Jacob ran away from his enraged brother, he went to sleep on a stone pillow in a land that seemed desolate. But after dreaming about heaven and angels and promises of My Presence, he awoke and exclaimed, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” His discovery was not only for him but for all who seek Me. Whenever you feel distant from Me, say, “Surely the Lord is in this place!” Then, ask Me to give you awareness of My Presence. This is a prayer that I delight to answer.
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 31:20 (NLT) 20 You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues.
Genesis 28:11-16 (NLT) 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”
Additional insight regarding Genesis 28:10-15: God’s covenant promise to Abraham and Isaac was offered to Jacob as well. But it was not enough to be Abraham’s grandson; Jacob has to establish his own personal relationship with God. God has no grandchildren; each person must have a personal relationship with him. It is not enough to hear wonderful stories about Christians in your family. You need to become part of the story yourself (see Galatians 3:6-7 – “6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.).
Contemplative theologian Beatrice Bruteau (1930–2014) considers engaging with science as a way of honoring God’s presence in the cosmos:
There are two motivations for including some knowledge of science in our contemplative lives: one, we need to understand God’s artistic work in order to appreciate it properly and relate lovingly to the Creator; two, we need to know something of the work in order to join it, to participate in creating the world from here on. This last is the real way of loving, that is, by joining in the life of the beloved.…
Somewhere deep down, we are all filled with mystical longing, longing for meaningful belonging, for profound union, longing to be securely embedded in the ultimate meaningfulness, and therefore we need to see all our world in that context. We long to feel the ultimate meaningfulness as real, all around us, concrete, real, intimate, tangible, communicating with us. To attain this in today’s climate, we need a new theology of the cosmos, one that is grounded in the best science of our day. It will be a theology in which God is very present, precisely in all the dynamisms and patterns of the created order, in which God is not rendered absent by the self-organizing activities of the natural world, but in which God is actual as the one who makes and the one who is incarnate in what is made by these very self-making activities.
Can our science be seen that way? Yes, I think so, and I would like to show it to you in those terms, so that all the world turns sacred again and we truly feel our unity and our wholeness and our belonging to the all. [1]
Contemplative and physicist Joy Andrews Hayter affirms a mystical oneness at the heart of the cosmos.
Whether you call it Sacred Unity, God, Universe, Ground of Being, the Source, or One, it is not out there somewhere, but is written into what we are and where we are…. Where could the Source of this loving, relational reality, the luminous web connecting all things, ever not be?
When we discover and live from the coherence in our being, we discover that we are in a relational field with all beings, with a mystical spark at the center that connects us all. Merton saw this clearly at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, [when he realized “the gate of heaven is everywhere”] [2] and Teilhard de Chardin saw this and his writings are permeated with it. In Cosmic Life, he said, “To live the cosmic life is to live dominated by the consciousness that one is an atom in the body of the mystical and cosmic Christ.” [3]…
Just as all began (from the Big Bang, or the Word, depending on whether you are talking about physics or the New Testament) and expanded into the myriad forms that are permeated with the One, all returns to Oneness, which could be described as the cosmic Body of Christ. [4]
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The Idol of Desire: The Problem with Peter Pan
J.M. Barrie began his classic book, Peter Pan, with the line: “All children, except one, grow up.” The powers fueling our consumer culture’s idolatry of desire are trying hard to prove him wrong. Statistics reveal more adult children are living with their parents well into their 30s, the average age for marriage has risen steadily among both men and women since 1980, and the age of cosmetic surgery patients is rapidly declining. We are quickly moving toward what one author has called a culture of “perpetual adolescence.”That may not sound horrible to some of us, but consider what is lost by rejecting a transition into adulthood. Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck defines maturity as the ability to delay gratification. He writes, “Delaying gratification is a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with. It is the only decent way to live.” The ability to make rational decisions and delay gratification to maximize future benefits, the very ability discouraged by a culture that idolizes desires, is the prescribed road from adolescence to adulthood. But more people are failing to take this journey, opting instead to remain in Neverland indefinitely. Given the extent to which popular Christianity has accepted the deification of desires, we shouldn’t be surprised at the spiritual immaturity evident in the contemporary church. Scripture and tradition tell us that formation into the likeness of Christ—the Christian definition of maturity—is not achieved by always getting what we want. Spiritual maturity is not a product of seeking immediate gratification of our desires. The Apostle Paul compares his pursuit of Christ to competing in a race. It’s a focused effort of self-control and discipline, and Peter calls us to supplement our faith with self-control and steadfastness, and to do it all with diligence.These values are not championed in our consumer culture, and they certainly don’t prove popular among church shoppers seeking a comfortable religious experience. But since the earliest days of the Church, surrendering control and embracing self-denial ensured that believers received what they needed to mature in Christ, not just what they wanted.
DAILY SCRIPTURE
1 CORINTHIANS 9:24–27 2 PETER 1:5–10 WEEKLY PRAYERThomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no selfish desires may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no troubles can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy ambitions may tempt aside. Give us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, perseverance to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Father Richard praises modern science for its emphasis on “practice” and openness to new questions and discoveries, which seems more like faith than the certainty embraced by many Christians.
The common scientific method relies on hypothesis, experiment, trial, and error. We might call this “practice” or “practices”! Yes, much of science is limited to the materialistic level, but at least the method is more open-ended and sincere than that of the many religious people who do no living experiments with faith, hope, and love, but just hang on to quotes and doctrines.
Under normal circumstances, most scientists are willing to move forward with some degree of not-knowing; in fact, this is what calls them forward and motivates them. Every new discovery is affirmed while openness to new evidence that would tweak or even change the previous “belief” is maintained. In contrast, many religious people insist upon complete “knowing” at the beginning and being certain every step of the way. It actually keeps them more “rational,” “fact-based,” and controlling than the scientists. This is the dead end of most fundamentalist religion, and why it cannot deal with thorny issues in any creative or compassionate way. Law reigns and discernment is unnecessary.
The scientific mind has come up with what seem like beliefs: for example, explanations of dark matter, black holes, chaos theory, fractals (the part replicates the whole), string theory, dark energy, neutrinos (light inside of the entire universe even where it appears to be dark), and atomic theory itself. Scientists investigate and teach on things like electromagnetism, radioactivity, field theory, and various organisms such as viruses and bacteria before they can actually “prove” they exist. They know them first by their effects, or the evidence, and then work backward to verify their existence.
Even though the entire world has been captivated by the strict cause-and-effect worldview of Newtonian physics for several centuries, such immediately verifiable physics has finally yielded to quantum physics. While it isn’t directly visible to the ordinary observer, it ends up explaining much more—without needing to throw out the other. True transcendence always includes!
It feels as if there are some scientists of each age who are brilliant, seemingly “right,” but also tentative—which creates a practical humility that we often do not see in clergy and “true believers.” A great scientist builds on a perpetual “beginner’s mind.” Many scientists believe in the reality of things that are invisible, and thus the active reality of a “spiritual” world, more than do many believers. Thus, although they might be “materialists,” they actually have the material world defined with an openness to a “spirit” that they themselves often cannot understand. Is this not “faith”?
Maybe this is all summed up in these words of Saint John Paul II: “Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish.” [1] So let’s walk forward with wide and rich sight!
Friday – Tuesday – Five from our friend, John Chaffee
Since I struggle with a scarcity mindset, I easily overlook things that I should be grateful for. However, Thanksgiving is an annual celebration of gratitude that causes all of us to slow down for a moment. It is no wonder that if we increase our gratitude, we thereby increase our joy.
2.
“When a system is not dominated by anxiety, everyone is free to speak truthfully, everyone is free to listen curiously.“
These are the closing lines of the epic English poem, The Hound of Heaven. It was written in response to Thompson’s own life failures and addictions while homeless in London in the 18th century. It is a lovely poem highlighting God as “the Hound of Heaven,” who has our scent and is in a relentless pursuit/chase of us even as we run from the very Love we yearn for.
If you have time today, take a moment to read the poem (the blue link above will take you to it) as a devotional practice.
While doing formal church work, I felt pressured to maintain a specific line in the sand. A paycheck attached would be threatened if I said something that challenged a status quo or would eat me up inside if I did not say something that I felt necessary. You may be reading this and not understand that struggle, but to others who have gotten a “peek behind the curtain” to the life of professional ministry, I know they resonate with this.
All that goes to say, Origen was correct in many ways. He was an Early Church Father who was controversially deemed a heretic centuries after he passed away because many of his students took his teachings in directions that he may not have done himself. His writings influenced the significant figures we still highly esteem today (especially the Cappadocian Fathers).
For Origen, the Gospel was always about the restoration of everyone and everything from all of time. The wrath of God was more purgative than punitive, and the power of Christ to save utterly eclipses humanity’s ability to doom itself. I believe that we have utterly shifted away from the Gospel of the Early Church because, with every generation of humanity, we all begin with disbelief that the Gospel could actually be that good until we relax and allow the Good News to disarm us, to let go the need to take vengeance and to acquiesce to being rescued.
5.
“Be a lamp, a lifeboat, a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.“
This is a classic quote that I have shared before.
It is a timeless and universal mantra that all of us could benefit from living out.
Lyrics from the song.
Lyrics
Deconstructed these walls to find a business Where the company line was the only way to get paid We built a church on certainty that fears everything against it Where the refugee suffers and the white man has it made
I won’t do it anymore it’s taken me too long to recover I’ll go feed the sick and poor and try to help the world to recover
I sat myself in your pews every single week And I gave you my money so you could tell me what to think And I learned from a book that you had taken the heart out of And that’s how I learned to make exclusion look like love.
I won’t do it anymore it’s taken me too long to recover I’ll go feed the sick and poor and try to help the world to recover
Come, come as you are, take up your cross, and use it to build a wall Reach across the aisle and fire your gun so you can keep them Love, love how you want, if we approve, and you’ll be undefiled Come, accept our gift, of salvation from sinners
I won’t do it anymore it’s taken me too long to recover I’ll go feed the sick and poor and try to help the world to recover I won’t do it anymore it’s taken me too long to recover I’ll go feed the sick and poor and try to help the world to recover
Gonna take a while to wade through the fear and the hurt But I think there’s a way for us to love and heal the world
From the beginning of time until now, the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth. —Romans 8:22
Father Richard Rohr writes of an evolutionary faith informed by Scripture and a foundational trust in God’s never-ending love and creativity:
In this passage, St. Paul seems to fully acknowledge evolution. It’s always seemed completely strange to me that there should be any resistance whatsoever to evolution or evolutionary thinking in Christian theology or practice. Christians should have been the first in line to recognize and cooperate with such a dynamic notion of God. But maybe many do not enjoy such a relational God—with all that implies—and have just met a “substance” they call God. A static notion of God makes everything else static too, including our very notions of spirituality, history, and religion.
If our God is both incarnate and implanted, both Christ and Holy Spirit, then an unfolding inner dynamism in all creation is not only certain, but also moving in a positive direction. If not, we would have to question the very efficacy, salvation, hope, and victory that the Christian gospel so generously promises. Foundational hope demands a foundational belief in a world that is still and always unfolding.
I believe that as “children of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36), we are both burdened and brightened by a cosmic and irrepressible hope—and we can never fully live up to it. We are both burdened and brightened with the gift of an optimism whose headwaters are neither rational, scientific, nor even provable to those who do not have it. Yet it ticks away from a deep place within us. [1]
Evolutionary thinking is actually contemplative thinking, because it leaves the full field of the future in God’s hands. It’s a way of thinking that agrees to hold the present humbly, with what it only tentatively knows for sure. For me, that’s true faith, and it’s the heart of the matter, because we no longer need a totally predictable outcome. I know it’s very hard to exist in such an uncertain place and most of us aren’t practiced in it. The Christianity handed down to many of us didn’t define faith in that way; it was a very static notion of time and knowledge. We didn’t have to participate in the organic movement in our own soul, in the soul of our marriage, our family, or our community.
The contemplative mind is an evolutionary mind, and I think it’s the mind of Christ. It allows the future to reveal itself, without present circumstances totally predicting it. We all need some degree of predictability, but in faith, I can live without certainty to some degree. Living in that tension, that in-between, could be called evolutionary thinking or it could be called trusting in deep time. I’m trusting there’s a deep river flowing. Even when not much is happening on the upper river, I still trust the deeper river. [2]
Evidence for Things Not Seen
Faith provides evidence for things not seen. —Hebrews 11:1
Richard Rohr describes how mystics and sincere seekers discover “evidence for things not seen”:
The entire faith tradition insisted that there was indeed “evidence for things not seen,” and yet too often the common notion of faith had little to do with discerning the actual evidence available in the present, in the mind, memory, heart, soul, and in creation itself.
Sts. Augustine, Teresa of Ávila, and John of the Cross all found that “unseen” evidence in the very nature of the soul and its inner workings, but we must admit this hasn’t been taught to or experienced by most Sunday Christians. Many formal believers found evidence in Scripture and dogmas that supported and affirmed their personal God encounter, but perhaps even more of them used Scripture and dogma to make their own experience unnecessary. Others like St. Francis, St. Bonaventure, Teilhard de Chardin, many poets, and everyday mystics found evidence in the natural world, in elements, seasons, animals, and all living things, but sadly they were often marginalized as mere “nature mystics” and placed outside the mainline tradition. This makes me think that we Christians never understood our core message of incarnation, must less its massive implications. This was despite St. Paul’s direct and clear message:
What can be known about God is perfectly plain since God has made it plain. Ever since God created the world, God’s everlasting power and deity—however invisible—has been perfectly evident for the mind to see in the things that God has made (Romans 1:19–20).
This generation has at its disposal a whole new type of evidence, display, and apparition that is proving Paul was correct. And this wonderful evidence is arising from the discoveries of the scientific mind! God comes into the world in always-surprising ways so that the sincere seeker will always find evidence. Is sincere seeking perhaps the real meaning of walking in faith?
The search for truth, the search for authentic love, and the search for God are finally the same search. I would rather have “one who lays down one’s life for one’s friend” (John 15:13) by sincere seeking, demanding scholarship, and authentic service, than those who are on no search, do no mental or emotional work, and have no open heart for the world, but just want to personally “go to heaven.” We have coddled this individualistic non-Christianity for far too long, and with no encouragement from Jesus whatsoever.
The very shape, possibility, and meaning of evidence is quickly broadening. Religious people would be wise to get on board. Frankly, I think it is what the Christian desert fathers and mothers, mystics and saints, meant by concrete spiritual “practices,” and what Eastern religions meant by “skillful means.” Such “doing” will give us the kind of evidence that cannot be denied. It moves us into the world of action and beyond the mind—to a place where we now “believe” because we know for ourselves.
Learning from the Mystics: John of the Cross
Quote of the Week: “How gently and lovinglyyou wake in my heart,where in secret you dwell alone;and in your sweet breathing,filled with good and glory,how tenderly you swell my heart with love.”- Verse 4 of The Living Flame of Love
Reflection: The Living Flame of Love is a wonderful companion and sequel of sorts to the Dark Night of the Soul. After one has gone through the ruthless elimination of idols and competing loves, there is nothing left but the sweet embrace of God. It is nothing more than a love poem to God in the vein of the Song of Songs (also known as the Song of Solomon) from the Bible. There is something both sweet as well as scandalous about this poem. In this original Spanish, it reads almost erotically. The intimacy described is quite profound and touching.
This is in large part due to the intimacy with God that St. John of the Cross models for us. In the medieval ages, there were three stages of sanctification: illumination, purgation, and union (sometimes called perfection). Illumination is the act of God shining on the human heart and conscience, awakening the person to the reality of the Spirit. Purgation is the act of purging or burning away that which does not belong in the human heart, a purifying of one’s love. Union, though, is the final stage. It is understood as the marriage of the soul to and with God. Throughout church history, there have been many figures who wrote from this marriage perspective. Many are “courting” God, fewer are “engaged/betrothed” to God, and fewer still are “married” to God. Some have called this final stage “Spiritual Marriage.” The Living Flame of Love is a poem of a soul being united and married to God. The brilliance of the poem is that the maturity of faith is not defined by perfection, morality, or doctrine. Rather, the maturity of faith is completely defined by loving intimacy with God. In many ways, despite his difficult life, St. John of the Cross has stood as an example of divine intimacy despite the hardships of life, some imposed by life outside of the church and some imposed by life within the church. St. John of the Cross believed in this intimacy with God so much, that he couldn’t NOT want to write eloquent Spanish poetry about it… and it has been all to our benefit that he did.
Prayer: Oh Love That Will Not Let Us Go, enable us the tenacity as well as the vulnerability to be intimate with you. Swell our hearts to ever greater love of you, and our neighbors as ourselves. Help us not to distance ourselves from you and help us to instead long for your sweet embrace at every moment of every day, knowing that that same sweet embrace is already happening, if only we have the faith to trust that it is true. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen and amen.
Life Overview of St. John of the Cross: Who Were They: Juan de Yepes y Alvarez, later known as Juan de la Cruz (John of the Cross) Where: Born in Fontiveros, Spain. Died in Ubeda, Spain. When: June 24, 1542-December 14, 1591 Why He is Important: Understood as a prime example of scholasticism and spirituality. What Was Their Main Contribution: John of the Cross is most known for his commentary on his own poetry, of which the Dark Night of the Soul is one of a few main texts. He was jailed and beaten by his religious superiors and escaped to only then write some of his most enduring work. Click here for The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross.
Hillsong’s Joel Houston Clarifies Evolution Views After Sparking Debate With Worship Song ‘So Will I’
Joel Houston explains the meaning behind the Hillsong Worship song, “So Will I (100 Billion X)”, December 2017. | (Screenshot:Youtube)
With one of Hillsong United’s latest hits, “So Will I (100 Billion X),” at the center of a creation versus evolution debate, worship leader Joel Houston is setting the record straight on where he stands.
“So Will I (100 Billion X)” is a song off of the album, There Is More, recorded live at the Hillsong Worship and Creative Conference in Sydney, Australia. Houston was recently asked on Twitter why the song mentions evolution.
The lyrics in question are: “And as You speak/A hundred billion creatures catch Your breath/Evolving in pursuit of what You said.”
Houston, who is the eldest son of Hillsong Church’s founders as well as lead musician in the worship band Hillsong United and worship leader of Hillsong Church in New York City, responded by saying:
“Evolution is undeniable—created by God as a reflective means of displaying nature’s pattern of renewal in pursuance of God’s Word—an ode to the nature of the creative God it reflects—and only ever in part—not the SOURCE! Science and faith aren’t at odds. God created the Big-Bang.”
His response sparked a Twitter debate on evolution versus creation and drew some backlash. In back-and-forth exchanges with various Twitter users, Houston went on to offer some context to his earlier tweet.
He wrote: “Context—things evolve, they change and adapt, I DON’T believe in evolution as a theory of SOURCE, I believe it’s merely a pattern of nature—created by God, reflecting Nature’s desire for renewal, survival, new life—something-SomeONE—Like God.”
He also said: “I think what gets lost, strangely enough, is that in any case, The Word, comes before any kind of Big Bang.. ‘let there be light’!! BOOM!! And there WAS!!!
When asked if he believes in the “Big Bang theory” or “literal 6 day creation,” Houston said, “It means I believe God created everything and His Word cane first..”
He further clarified his beliefs on whether man evolved from an ape, saying, “i believe God created humanity out of the dust.. and breathed his breath/Spirit into us..”
The popular worship leader admitted that when writing the song, the band was “aware of the implications ‘evolving’ would serve as a conflicting adjective for some” but said they still felt “it was worth it—if just a foolish desire to enlarge our thinking of a God who was-is-&-is to come, making all things new, ‘from-Him, through-Him, To-Him.'”
He explained that God is “way bigger than we think,” and regardless of one’s theological or scientific beliefs, He “is undiminished by our limitations.”
“If God’s creative process was an easy working week, or finely crafted over six-ages of millennia, does it make Him any more or less God?” Houston posed. “Or us any more or less created in His image? Either way, it was an unfathomably wonderful six-day process, however you think to see it.”
He added, “The way I see it—the NATURE of a fallen-world evolves in-decay BECAUSE of our best attempts to adapt to a—’survival of the fittest’ kind of existence—yet God, fully reveals His NATURE in-and-through JESUS, who embodied ours, and showed us a DIFFERENT way. Spirit & Flesh.”
The millennial worshiper went on to break down the structure of the song to help critics understand the development of the lyrics. He maintained they couldn’t sing of or understand God’s promises (in second verse) without the premise of the first verse (God of Creation). “Nor can we fully comprehend the reconciling power of the third-verse (God of SALVATION), without the tension in the middle.”
“The entire premise of ‘So Will I’, is the redemptive, creative, authority & power of God’s Word. That at the end of the day, all our best theories, ideas, dogmas & best attempts at understanding, will ultimately surrender to the ‘Word at the beginning,'” he concluded.
In an interview on TBN earlier this month, Hillsong Church Senior Pastor Brian Houston shared that all of Hillsong’s music is reviewed by theologians.
The pastor revealed they’ve been “more intentional” about vetting their songs in the last decade.
“We do put more effort into the theology of our songs than we ever have before for that very reason (of being able to reach into the hearts of people around the world),” he said. “So we have people specifically who, every single song has to fit through a system of being tested by theologians.
“There’s often a lot of grind, hopefully in a positive way, between the songwriter and getting it to a point where we feel like it’s not going to be too easily misrepresented.”
He noted that they usually do not throw a song out but they work on it until it’s theologically sound. Otherwise, if they release a song “that’s going to be misunderstood or theologically weak, believe me, we hear about it.”
Jesus invites us to withdraw our allegiance from a world of bigness, clarity, immediacy, looking good, and security and to see life instead as smallness, patience, humility, inner wisdom, and risk-taking. —Richard Rohr, Jesus’ Alternative Plan
Father Richard considers how Jesus’ parables reveal the realm of God:
Chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel contains seven parables on the kingdom of heaven or “realm of God.” In the first, Jesus says the word of God is like a seed which is sown in the hearts of many, but only those who let it grow within them belong to God’s realm (Matthew 13:4–9). [1] In the parable of the weeds and the wheat, Jesus seems to say that this world is a mixture of different things. God allows both good and bad to grow in the same field together. Then, at the end of time, God will decide what is wheat and what is a weed. In a certain way, the parable is saying it’s none of our business to fully figure it out (13:24–30). [2]
This divine realm is also not to be found in just one person; it spreads and grows from person to person, influencing groups and societies. In the third and fourth parables, Jesus compares the kingdom to a tree that spreads its branches and to yeast that filters through dough, always pervading, organically forming and transforming structures (13:31–33). The realm of God is something that touches, inspires, and enlivens all things from their very center outward—and changes them.
The next parables are the shortest, but they are two of my favorites. They show that people can recognize the kingdom when they find it, and if they are willing to give up a great deal to become part of it:
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he keeps it safe, goes off happy, sells everything he owns, and buys the field. (13:44)
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it (13:45–46).
I can think of many contemporary examples of how people have risked security to share lives and seek God’s realm: prayer groups, peace and justice ministries, social agencies and shelters, communities of contemplation and action. Living in this sacred dimension may be spiritual, but it’s also very real, and it’s very attractive when we discover it.
In the seventh parable, Jesus reiterates the idea that the realm of God has little to do with the ego-based expectations of our culture or religion (13:47–50). No church, community, or individual is perfect. We humans are always turning away from the realm of God and then undergoing a new conversion to return. To turn toward the kingdom, we must turn away from our smaller selves. To say, “Thy kingdom come,” we must say in the next breath, “My kingdom go.”
Walk peacefully with Me through this day. You are wondering how you will cope with all that is expected of you. You must traverse this day like any other; one step at a time. Instead of mentally rehearsing how you will do this or that, keep your mind on My Presence and on taking the next step. The more demanding your day, the more help you can expect from Me. This is a training opportunity, since I designed you for deep dependence on your Shepherd-King. Challenging times wake you up and amplify your awareness of needing My help. When you don’t know what to do, wait while I open the way before you. Trust that I know what I’m doing, and be ready to follow My lead. I will give strength to you, and I will bless you with Peace.
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 33:14 (NIV) 14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Deuteronomy 33:29 (NIV) 29 Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will tread on their heights.”
Hebrews 13:20-21 (NIV) Benediction and Final Greetings 20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Psalm 29:11 (NIV) 11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
I am humbled that I will never know everything about you, but I am grateful that through the lives of the other I can know more of you. While I thank you for those who are like me, I especially thank you for those who are different than me. I thank you for those who are younger than me and those older than me; for those who have less than me and those who have more than me; for those more physically able than me and those less physically able than me; for those whose skin is of a lighter hue than me and those of a darker hue than me; for those of a different gender than me and those of the same gender as me; for those of a different worldview than me and those with a similar worldview to mine. May we together discover a new story for our country where everyone has an equal voice—even those with whom we disagree and even with those who have no voice.
I am thankful for Turtle Island [1], that it can become a place where freedom can take hold and become a place where one day we will all be equal under the law, both under the prevailing social structures, and in our own minds. And for the land itself; may you work through us to restore it to your most beautiful intentions. May all of your creatures, the four-legged, the swimmers, the flying things, the crawling things, and the two-legged creatures all be able to have a home on your land. May we make the water sacred once again, the first medicine that provides life to all your creation. May it not be commodified so as to keep it out of the reaches of any of your creatures, and may it be kept in a way that shows the respect for it that you gave it when you made the water such an important part of this earth.
As I look around this circle we call Mother Earth, I am thankful to you that it is a sacred circle and in the circle no one is more, nor less, than the other. As I look around the sacred circle, I see that I am related to all your creation and that each one in the circle is as sacred as me. You have given us all stories to tell but in all our stories we find you. It is the you in the other that I most value Great Mystery. Please teach me about myself in this sacred circle so I may know you and reflect you more on this good earth, the whole community of creation, including humans. Thank you!
As you sit quietly in My Presence, let me fill your heart and mind with thankfulness. This is the most direct way to achieve a thankful stance. If your mind needs a focal point, gaze at My Love poured out to you on the cross. Remember that nothing in heaven or on earth can separate you from that Love. This remembrance builds a foundation of gratitude in you, a foundation that circumstances cannot shake. As you go through this day, look for tiny treasures strategically placed along the way. I lovingly go before you and plant little pleasures to brighten your day. Look carefully for them, and pluck them one by one. When you reach the end of the day, you will have gathered a lovely bouquet. Offer it up to Me with a grateful heart. Receive My Peace as you lie down to sleep, with thankful thoughts playing a lullaby in your mind.
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
Romans 8:38-39 (NIV) 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Additional insight regarding Romans 8:38-39: Powers are unforeseen forces of evil in the universe, forces such as Satan and his demons (see Ephesians 6:12). As believers who have Jesus’ power available to us, we will experience great victory both now and for eternity (Romans 8:37). Hold these two verses deeply in your heart and mind. Claim them for yourself so you’ll never double God’s love and care for you, especially when you are facing great adversity.
Psalm 4:7-8 (NIV) 7 Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. 8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Additional insight regarding Psalm 4:7: Two kinds of joy are contrasted here – joy that comes from knowing and trusting God, and joy that comes as a result of pleasant circumstances. Both are good, but the joy that comes from a deep relationship is strong and steady and can’t be shaken. There is nothing wrong with being happy about pleasant circumstances (for example, a family gathered around a table with plenty of good food). But pleasant circumstances are unpredictable; they come and go. And when they go, can you still be happy? Can you still have that strong and steady joy that defeats discouragement? Make sure you have the kind of joy in the Lord that is lasting, and then you can be happy no matter what circumstances come your way.
Theologian Allen Dwight Callahan considers Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan:
The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37)—perhaps Jesus’ most famous parable—offers us compelling signposts of compassion on the Jericho road of life. [1]
The first signpost of compassion along the Jericho road of life in the parable of the Good Samaritan is the sign of anonymity. Jesus has refused to disclose the identity of people in this parable…. The story of the fallen traveler and the compassionate Samaritan is a story of love that transcends identity…. It is a love that does not check references. It is love that does not demand a positive form of identification.
The second signpost of compassion along the Jericho road of life … is the signpost of altruism. The traditional title of Jesus’ parable refers to … this nameless, faceless traveler on the Jericho road of life as “the Good Samaritan.” But nowhere in the story is the Samaritan called “good.” The language of the good is wholly absent from this text. The God of the Bible makes many demands of us…. God has demanded through the mouths of the prophets that we be holy, just, merciful, humble, even perfect. But not good. There is little evidence that God wants us to be good. This is a truly liberating doctrine, one that must be good news to some of us….
With the signposts of anonymity and altruism there is a third signpost of compassion that marks the road to love, what we may call the signpost of alterity. It is the sign of difference … [used] when we talk about “those people.”…
The Judeans and the Samaritans shared the same ancient traditions. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the ancient ancestors of both. Both peoples belonged to the same Mosaic covenant. The land of promise had been promised to both. The history that divided them was the same history that united them.…
In the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus reminds us that it is because we are so close to each other that our differences are so vexing. But the differences are never as great as we fancy them to be. The Samaritan and the man at his mercy were enemies because of all they had in common. They shared Abraham and Palestine, Moses and Sinai, and, most important, they shared the divine commandments to love God and to love one’s neighbor.
The anonymity, altruism, and alterity of the Samaritan are the signposts that point to just such a love. His actions have shown us for his time, for our time, and for all time the meaning of love. He looked upon a fallen fellow human being with the eyes of compassion. He treated his wounds with the costly unguents of mercy. He provided for him in the spirit of the law of a God who has commanded us to love the neighbor we encounter on the Jericho road of life. Let us go and do likewise.
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The Idol of Family: Counting the Costs
As a teen, I was very skeptical of faith and frequently argued with friends who attended church regularly or who parroted warm sentimentalities they picked up from listening to Christian music. I recall attending a city-wide Christian youth rally in downtown Chicago one evening where the speaker ended with an altar call. With eyes closed and heads bowed, he urged us to make a decision for Jesus. “It’s the most important decision you will ever make,” he said with conviction and urgency. That’s the part that gnawed at me in the church van as we drove back to the suburbs after the rally.“If it’s really the most important decision I’ll ever make,” I said to my friends in the rear benches of the van, “Then shouldn’t I really think about it for a while? I mean, picking a wife is a pretty important decision, and none of us would do that without thinking it through. If following Jesus is even more important, why do I have to walk the aisle right now?” I’m glad the youth pastor was driving and couldn’t hear me de-converting half the kids in the back of his van.Even as a teen, I found the evangelist’s message contradictory. Either following Jesus is the most important decision and therefore should be entered into with thoughtful intent and careful deliberation, or it’s not that important and can be decided with no more forethought than ordering at the drive-thru. But it cannot be both. Once home, I found a Bible to see for myself what Jesus said on the matter. I eventually stumbled upon Luke 14 where Jesus challenged the crowds to “sit down and count the cost” of being his disciple. He warned them not to start down the path of following him if they could not finish the course. Ah ha! I thought. Here’s proof from Jesus himself that the evangelist’s call was wrong. Jesus didn’t tell people to make an impulsive decision to follow him. He told them to slow down, think it over, and be sure they understood the cost involved.My smugness over being right, however, soon shifted into surprise as I kept reading.“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26–27). Good grief, I thought, the evangelist didn’t say anything like this at the rally. And I quickly understood why. If he’d told 2,000 teenagers that following Jesus required them to renounce their parents, give up their suburban American dreams, and deny their consumer desires, I’m not sure any would have walked the aisle. I found the evangelist’s message to be problematic, but Jesus’ call was much, much worse. It was downright offensive. Did the other kids in the church van have any idea what they had gotten themselves into?It turns out my unease with Jesus’ message was exactly his point. As C.S. Lewis noted, this teaching of Jesus is “profitable only to those who read it with horror.” And, “The man who finds it easy enough to hate his father, the woman whose life is a long struggle not to hate her mother, had probably best keep clear of it.” In other words, Jesus meant to shock his potential followers with this call, and it was a recurring theme of his preaching.Earlier, in Luke 9, wannabe disciples asked to say goodbye to their families before following him. Jesus would have none of it. “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Even as a suburban American teenager far removed from Jesus’ original context, I was getting the message. You either think Jesus is the most valuable thing in all the world or you don’t. Either he’s more important than even your family or he isn’t. Either you’re ready to give up everything to follow him or you’re not. There is no middle ground.
DAILY SCRIPTURE LUKE 9:57–62 LUKE 14:25–33 WEEKLY PRAYER. Columbanus (543–615) O Lord God, destroy and root out whatever the adversary plants in me, that with my sins destroyed you may sow understanding and good work in my mouth and heart; so that in act and in truth I may serve only you and know how to fulfill the commandments of Christ and to seek yourself. Give me memory, give me love, give me chastity, give me faith, give me all things which you know belong to the profit of my soul. O Lord, work good in me, and provide me with what you know that I need. Amen.
Father Richard teaches on parables of things that are lost and found:
Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel gives us three memorable parables of God’s mercy: Jesus tells of the shepherd who rejoices at finding a lost sheep, of the woman who rejoices at finding her lost coin (note the feminine image of God), of the father who rejoices at the return of his prodigal son. These are all images of a loving God being true to God’s nature. They are all images of God’s justice.
As we can see from these examples, God’s justice requires God to go beyond Godself and extend love to others. The shepherd doesn’t just wait until the lost sheep wanders back. The woman doesn’t just forget about the coin until it shows up. The father doesn’t just go about his business; he watches the road every day until his son returns so he can go out to welcome him home. God’s love is relentlessly just: God never gives up on those who have forgotten God’s love. [1]
Author Debie Thomas reflects on what these “lost and found” parables reveal about God:
We get lost. We get so miserably lost that the shepherd has to wander through the craggy wilderness to find us. We get so wholly lost that the housewife has to light her lamp, pick up her broom, and sweep out every nook and cranny of her house to discover what’s become of us.
For the record, these versions of lostness aren’t trivial. Notice that the searching in these parables is not a show…. What’s lost is really, truly lost—even though the seeker is God.
Can we pause for a moment and take in how astonishing this is? God faces genuine stakes when it comes to our lostness. God experiences authentic, real-time loss. God searches, persists, lingers, and plods. God wanders over hills and valleys looking for lost lambs. God turns her house upside down looking for her lost coin….
Maybe the most scandalous aspect of these lost-and-found parables is not that I still get lost. Maybe what’s most scandalous is what they reveal about the nature of God…
If Jesus’s parables are true, then God isn’t in the fold with the ninety-nine insiders. God isn’t curled up on her couch polishing the nine coins she’s already sure of. God is where the lost things are. God is in the wilderness, God is in the remotest corners of the house, God is where the search is at its fiercest. If I want to find God, I have to seek the lost. I have to get lost. I have to leave the safety of the inside and venture out. I have to recognize my own lostness and consent to be found….
God looks for us when our lostness is so convoluted and so profound, we can’t even pretend to look for God. But even in such bleak and hopeless places, God finds us. This is amazing grace. And it is ours. [2]
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John Chaffee Learning from the Mystics: John of the Cross
Quote of the Week:“Souls begin to enter this dark night when God, gradually drawing them out of the state of beginners (those who practice meditation on the spiritual road), begins to place them in the state of proficients (those who are already contemplatives), so that by passing through this state they might reach that of the perfect, which is the divine union of the soul with God.” – The Dark Night of the Soul, Book One, Chapter 1, Section 1Reflection: Beginner. Proficient. Perfect.
These are the three stages of faith that St. John of the Cross identifies for himself and for his readers. There is the beginner on the path of faith, there is the proficient, and there is one who is perfect. The Dark Night of the Soul is the process by which God takes the person of faith from beginner into proficient, from stage 1 into stage 2. Why is this important to recognize, to notice? Because the Dark Night of the Soul, if misunderstood, is considered the loss of faith rather than the maturation of it.The Dark Night of the Soul is actually a process by which God systematically takes away every single idol a person might have. According to St. John of the Cross, during the Dark Night of the Soul God takes away the idols of…how moral you think you are,how addicted you are to the emotional or experiential “sweetness” of prayer/church services/worship/community,how proud you might be of your theology or dogmatic precision,and even putting faith in how much faith you think you have.For St. John of the Cross, to do any of these things shows that one is still just a beginner on the spiritual journey. Many well-intentioned churches, not knowing the wisdom of the Dark Night of the Soul, inadvertently encourage their congregants to esteem themselves higher than others for being “more moral” than others, they will validate people that are deeply passionate during prayer/church/services/worship/community, they will approve people that are certain about their theology or dogmatism in “the right way,” and celebrate those who profess the strength of their faith rather than their weakness. Many well-intentioned churches will actually try to insulate and protect people from entering their own Dark Night of the Soul and by doing so, keep people in “beginner” faith!
Again, for St. John of the Cross, these are all the symptoms of a person that is still in “kindergarten” Christianity. They have not even progressed into being “proficients.”All this goes to say, idolatry can be sneaky. Idolatry, even of things that sound good or even pious, is still idolatry. To put faith in anything less than the Intimate and Infinite God will always be frustrated and pursuing something that will never be adequate.To seek anything less than infinite union with the infinite God is a finite idol.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, clear our hearts and minds of the idols we cling to. We recognize that to put faith in any finite thing or experience, no matter how good or pious it is, is still idolatry. Grant us courage to walk into our Dark Night of the Soul when it happens and to seek out teachers and guides that can walk us through that season of faith. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen and amen.
Life Overview of St. John of the Cross: Who Were They: Juan de Yepes y Alvarez, later known as Juan de la Cruz (John of the Cross) Where: Born in Fontiveros, Spain. Died in Ubeda, Spain. When: June 24, 1542-December 14, 1591 Why He is Important: Understood as a prime example of scholasticism and spirituality. What Was Their Main Contribution: John of the Cross is most known for his commentary on his own poetry, of which the Dark Night of the Soul is one of a few main texts. He was jailed and beaten by his religious superiors and escaped to only then write some of his most enduring work.
Jesus said, “I will speak to you in parables and reveal to you things hidden since the foundation of the world.” —Matthew 13:35, quoting Psalm 78:2
Father Richard Rohr describes how Jesus uses parables to challenge our ways of thinking:
A parable is a unique form of literature that’s always trying to subvert business as usual, much like a Zen koan or a Confucian riddle, which both use paradox to undo our reliance on what we think is logic. Yet we typically do not let parables do that for us. Our dominant consciousness is so in control that we try to figure them out inside of our existing consciousness—or, more commonly, we just ignore them or consider them out of date. Parables aim to subvert our old consciousness and offer us a way through by utterly reframing our worldview.
Often, the biblical text isn’t transformative and doesn’t bring about a “new creation” because we pull it inside of our own security systems and what we call “common sense.” At that point, no divine breakthrough is possible. Frankly speaking, this makes much of Scripture become largely harmless and forgettable. [1]
Father Richard uses Jesus’ parable about workers in a vineyard (Matthew 20:1–16) to illustrate how God’s logic is not our own:
We often think that justice means getting what we deserve, but the Gospels point out that God’s justice always gives us more than we deserve. In fact, “worthiness” is not even the issue! In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of a landowner who hires laborers in the morning, at noon, and in the afternoon to work in his fields. In the evening when he pays them all a day’s wages, the ones who worked all day complain that they deserve more than the ones who worked only a few hours. But the landowner turns to them and asks, “Why are you looking so resentful just because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15). God’s justice is really magnanimity, being more than fair to everybody because God is being true to God’s nature. As Matthew says elsewhere, God makes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike (5:45). In other words, God provides all everyone needs in order to grow.
We have a hard time with that kind of justice. We’re capitalists, even in the spiritual life. If we work more, we expect more and we don’t know what to do with a God who breaks that rule. Yet God’s justice is just another way of thinking about God’s unconditional love. All through the Gospels, people receive what they don’t deserve. Relentless generosity is hard for us to comprehend, much less practice. That kind of unconditional justice is beyond our human power. Yet the Gospel is showing that it’s possible for Jesus to be fully human and divinely just, because he lived in the power of the Spirit. Likewise, it is possible for all those who, like Jesus, open themselves to receive the Spirit.
The Wedding Banquets
Father Richard describes how several of Jesus’ parables use the image of a wedding banquet:
In the New Testament, and particularly for Jesus, the most common image for what God is offering us is a banquet. It’s not a trophy, not a prize, not a reward reserved for later, but a participative and joyous party now. A banquet has everything to do with invitation and acceptance; it is never a command performance.
Matthew’s Gospel contains the parable of the wedding banquet (Matthew 22:1–14). A king sends out his servants to let the guests know that the banquet has been prepared. “But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business” (22:5). These are not bad things, but just “busyness with many things” that keep them from “the one important thing” (Luke 10:41–42), which is the banquet of conscious divine union. At the end of the parable, the king instructs the servants, “Go out and invite everyone you can find to the wedding feast.” The servants returned with “the good and the bad alike” (22:9–10). That phrase has been shocking to most Christians, because we have been taught to believe that Jesus’ message is primarily a moral matter in which “bad” people would clearly not belong. Once we know it is primarily a mystical matter, a realization of union, it reframes the entire journey. Almost by accident, we find ourselves becoming “moral,” but morality did not earn us a ticket to the banquet.
In Luke 14, we find three different banquet parables. People are either avoiding them, trying to create hierarchies at them, or simply refusing to come. Just as in Matthew 22, the host almost has to force people to come, and Jesus even offers a bit of nonsensical advice: “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t ask your friends, brothers, relations, or rich neighbors” (Luke 14:12). He lists the people that we’d logically invite and says, “Don’t invite them … for fear they might repay you in return.” (Remember, all rewards for Jesus are inherent, not about expecting something later.) But his message is also a warning against ego systems of reciprocity, and an invitation to pure gratuity.
Jesus is always undercutting what we think is common sense. This passage calls us to nondual thinking and to change our entire form of consciousness. “When you have a party, invite those who are poor, crippled, maimed, or blind, because the fact that they cannot pay you back will mean you are fortunate” (14:13)—because now you are inside of a different mind that will allow you to read all your life from a worldview of abundance instead of a worldview of scarcity.God is clearly into abundance and excess, and God’s genuine followers share in that largesse: first in receiving it and resting in it, then in allowing it to flow through them toward the world.
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Grace and Peace, Friends! This past week, the Eastern University community heard the news that Tony Campolo, 89, had passed away at his home in Bryn Mawr, PA. Tony was a charismatic teacher and preacher who proudly described Eastern as one of the best Christian colleges. He will be most remembered for emphasizing social justice, the poor and vulnerable, and the importance of engaging in politics. As an Eastern University and Palmer Seminary graduate, I had my fair share of run-ins and meet-ups with Tony Campolo. He was a Baptist minister and sociology professor who helped to found Red Letter Christians.
I first played basketball with Tony in the university gym without knowing who he was, only to see him preach at chapel the next day. He gave a stellar sermon and showed me what a “Pentecostal preacher” truly was. We had several good conversations, had the chance to interview him for a youth ministry podcast, rode the train in Philly with him, and even went to a prayer demonstration in front of the White House called Reclaiming Jesus.
Tony’s enthusiasm for Jesus and justice influenced me and many of my peers. Seeing so many of my former classmates post kind words about how he impacted their lives has been encouraging.A 7-minute video is later in this week’s newsletter. I hope you watch it because it is classic Tony.
Onto this week’s five quotes!
1.”Modern man can’t see God because he does not look low enough.”- Carl Jung, Swiss Psychologist I love the idea that God is not only in the highest heights but in the deepest depths. We are prone to focus on the Transcendent so that we forget God is also Immanent. God is infinitely beyond our limitations but also infinitely present within them. We don’t need to look beyond humanity to see God; we can find God already present in our depths.
2.”I want to help you grow as beautiful as God meant you to be when he thought of you first.”- George MacDonald, Scottish Preacher George MacDonald is an endless fount of good quotes and insights. In his lifetime, he was removed from his preaching pulpit because of what he would say in his sermons. However, I wonder if it wasn’t because he was an iconoclast and challenged the status quo of his day. Whenever I read MacDonald, I get the sense that he stumbled into the same kind of speech/rhetoric/wisdom as the early church desert monastics.
3.”The Church is the Church only when it exists for others… not dominating, but helping and serving.”- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, WWII-Era Lutheran Pastor Bonhoeffer’s legacy is a touchy subject right now. In our era of American political anxiety, some people are taking Bonhoeffer and reinterpreting his life in such a way that he would be in favor of Christian nationalism. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As a theologian and ethicist, he was always suspicious of Christianity becoming too aligned with the rich and powerful. As soon as Christianity associates itself with the pharaohs and the caesars of the current arrangement, then it has lost its legitimacy. The Ekklesia exists to be an eclectic gathering of people who give witness to their own lives and faith before and alongside the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
4.”Life is not a matter of reaching a stagnant end point, but is rather an ongoing process in which one, hopefully and with grace, grows ever more deeply in love.”- Gerald May, American Psychologist and Theologian This fall, I have been doing more spiritual direction sessions with people. It has been a slow build, but every one of them has been enormously rich and encouraging. It truly is a privilege to talk with so many of you. A common theme or experience we discuss is the Dark Night of the Soul. It is a normal experience that people go through, yet so few people know how to talk about it. Merton often cautioned against talking with people about your Dark Night of the Soul if the other person has not also gone through it themselves. Merton said this partly because, for some, life is a matter of achieving a “perfect state” of ease, comfort, or stability. However, life is more about constant evolution, growth, and becoming. Gerald May, whose work I have not encountered before, highlights this growth mindset. I have two of his books in my Amazon cart now.
5.”How gently and lovinglyyou wake in my heart,where in secret you dwell alone;and in your sweet breathing,filled with good and glory,how tenderly you swell my heart with love.”- The Living Flame of Love by St. John of the Cross This is the last stanza of St. John of the Cross’s poem, The Living Flame of Love. In some ways, it is a follow-up poem to The Dark Night of the Soul. It highlights the love of God, which wounds as it heals. If you need something that can help describe how elusive and extraordinary the love of God is, this poem is a beautiful place to start.
From Tony Campolo: A Story of Throwing a Birthday Party for Prostitutes at 3:30am in Honolulu Take seven minutes out of your day and watch this sermon excerpt. I guarantee it is worth your time.
This CO2- (Church Of 2) is where two guys meet each day to tighten up our Connections with Jesus. We start by placing the daily “My Utmost For His Highest” in this WordPress blog. Then we prayerfully select some matching worship music and usually pick out a few lyrics that fit especially well. Then we just start praying and editing and Bolding and adding comments and see where the Spirit takes us.
It’s been a blessing for both of us.
If you’d like to start a CO2, we’d be glad to help you and your partner get started. Also click the link below to see how others are doing CO2.Odds Monkey
Steve Harvey Introduces Jesus To A Secular Audience
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J.M. Barrie began his classic book, Peter Pan, with the line: “All children, except one, grow up.” The powers fueling our consumer culture’s idolatry of desire are trying hard to prove him wrong. Statistics reveal more adult children are living with their parents well into their 30s, the average age for marriage has risen steadily among both men and women since 1980, and the age of cosmetic surgery patients is rapidly declining. We are quickly moving toward what one author has called a culture of “perpetual adolescence.”That may not sound horrible to some of us, but consider what is lost by rejecting a transition into adulthood. Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck defines maturity as the ability to delay gratification. He writes, “Delaying gratification is a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with. It is the only decent way to live.” 
