Aloha Dreamin'

Keys

Jesus and the disciples have been traveling.  They have come into the district of Caesarea Philippi.  They have journeyed far and are likely now resting.   

Perhaps here to find a spot of shade and a drink of cool, fresh, clean water.  It is believed that they are standing near the cave that is the source of the Jordan River.  This cave was once a place where people came to worship pagan gods.  Outside the cave sit statues of deities in niches.  

It is in this place Jesus asks,

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  

What isn’t clear is if they knew he was talking about himself or if they thought he was saying something along the lines of,

“This Messiah y’all think is coming, who do folks say he is?”

Regardless, they answer,

"Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

Remember John was often mistaken for the Messiah, Elijah was taken into heaven, Jeremiah prophesied disaster.  What is revealed is that the disciples are for the most part clueless about who Jesus really is.  He is their teacher, friend, fellow traveler.   The Son of Man?  Surely, not this man who has broken bread, laughed, walked, and wept with them.

He then makes them think about that as he asks,

"But who do you say that I am?"

And Peter, our friend who is the first to jump in without thinking, answers

"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

The one who is so quick to speak without thinking, to run away when things get tough, the one with whom most of us identify, says without missing a beat that he know that Jesus is the Messiah.  The one everyone else thinks is still to come in some sort of mighty display of power and strength to free the people from oppression.  Peter for one moment gets it.

We then get the famous interchange in which Jesus says he will build his church upon the rock.  Many of us have been taught that Peter is the rock.  Yet even though that is what his name means, Jesus is actually referring to himself.  Jesus is the rock upon whom the church is built.  Think about it, he is the cornerstone, the foundation.  It is he, Jesus, upon whom the church is built.  That is good news when you think that it was to us the church has been entrusted.  How else would Christ’s church have lasted 2000 years with people caring for it?  In spite of our frailties and sinfulness, the church exists still.

Jesus reminds us that even the gates of Hades will not prevail against the church, so even we cannot destroy it.  That gives me hope.

Speaking to all the disciples, and yes to us, Jesus says he will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  If you think about artistic portrayals of Peter there is usually a set of keys in the depiction.  Even our jokes show Peter standing at the gates of heaven as a gatekeeper. 

But what if the keys are not a literal thing like we have been taught?   

What if the keys are in fact living into our call as disciples?   

What if the keys are heeding the call found in the words of Paul, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Doesn’t that change everything?  To be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God?  Not to have some magic set of keys, a set of rules, certain behaviors that mysteriously open the gates of heaven but rather living a life that is acceptable to God.

What would that look like, feel like?   

Most of us have a hard time just living into our roles as parents, workers, students, children, friends.  But to live a life as a person transformed to that place that we are able to discern the will of God?  To where we are holy?

How would our world, our lives be changed if we remembered that our enemies are a living sacrifice to God as well? 

Would it make it harder to turn away from the homeless man resting under the bridge?  The mentally ill woman walking the street?  The one dressed differently than us?   The one who talks using words we don’t know?  The discourteous driver who gets our parking place?  The “friend” who can’t hold fast to a secret? The one against whom you hold a grudge?

How do we do that?  We certainly cannot do it of our own free will nor in solitude.  Perhaps that is why the church, built on the rock of Christ, exists.  Our catechesis teaches us that the mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ as we pray, worship, proclaim the Gospel, and promote justice, peace, and love.

We are called to come together to seek after God, to be refilled, renewed, and refreshed as we remember each week the sacrifice and offering of Christ.  To be reminded that each of us is called to live as a living sacrifice to God.  To see others as holy and acceptable to God.

It is only on that rock that we can let go of those things that keep us from living into our call to be living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. 

It is only on that rock we can loose what needs to be loosed and bind what needs to be bound.

It is only on that rock that I may see you as holy, that you may see me as holy, and as we strive to that spiritual worship, it is the rock that transforms us and leaves us able to seek the will of God.

I will share my keys, if you will share yours.

Weekly Zentangle Challenge #35

I appreciate all the kind comments, yet was still not happy with my results.  What I realized is I was too focused on the dark and light thing, so I switched to sepia to move away from it.  This is where it led me:

Okay, so this is much harder than I first thought.  The challenge is to make it look like a tile in a tile.  Here is try #2 but I'm still not happy with the results.

I think I need to play more with light and dark contrasts.

Here is my first 'tangle for weekly challenge #35, "Tile on Tile" found at:

http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/ 

I need to play with it a bit more so the border is more pronounced....stay tuned!

Crumbs

Photo copyrighted by esther_a

On a recent morning as I was praying about Sunday’s sermon and making my way through email, snail mail, and returning telephone calls after a few days away from the office, a young woman came into the office.  She was far from clean, her clothes tattered and torn, either vintage ‘70’s or found who knows where.  I have never seen her before.  I doubt I will again.

In a soft, shaky voice, she politely asked me if I could pray with her.  Knowing she was not “like us” I told her no.  I was busy with sermon preparation and other things.  My job was to pray only with those who were members of our church.  She asked if there was someone who would pray with her.  I told her she might find someone in Huntsville that would.  She left slowly, her shoulders hunched over; perhaps shaking, and I quickly began returning my very important phone calls.

Now that I have your attention, no this is not a real story.  I would hope you would send me packing or at least fuss at me if it were true.  It seems a stark reaction to being confronted with someone unfamiliar to us, someone who is an “other.”  Yet that is what we see in today’s Gospel.  Jesus at first tries to send away this courageous woman who pleads on behalf of her ill daughter.  She is tenacious and does not give up when he tries to send her away. 

This story has many layers and much to think about.  Any way you look at it, this is a lively interchange between Jesus and the gentile woman.  Perhaps it is even a debate about the mission of the Christian church.  Remember until now Jesus’ ministry was based on ethnic boundaries.  In this exchange he refers to the Jews as children and the gentiles as dogs.  Many biblical scholars note the word used here is a racist label.  No matter how we translate it, it is far from positive.  And it is clear, at least at first, Jesus wants nothing to do with her.

This woman is what we might call a “mama tiger.”  She will not be sent away, she will find healing for her sick child.  And so she challenges Jesus.  She challenges him to cross ethnic and gender boundaries to heal her child.  She knows that God’s mercy extends beyond the Jewish people.  My hunch is she knows Jesus know this as well.

This woman is painted as an “other,” an outsider, one not from around here.  We are uncomfortable with the Jesus who tries to send this driven woman away in spite of the fact we often do so unknowingly (and sometimes not) ourselves.   She comes begging for his help and he turns his back on her.

 We see then that she knows something of the Messiah, the Son of David but she still remains an “other.”  The tone of this interchange shows that she was thought to be the wrong religion, was not saved, and was likely damned. 

Yet she had a boldness that gave her the willingness, the courage, to step beyond her status as a gentile woman begging a Jewish rabbi for help and even arguing with him when he tries to send her away. 

We do not know what was going through Jesus’ head.  Remember he had just had one of many interchanges with the Pharisees in which they reminded him of the “rules” of religion.  Perhaps he was tired and frustrated with their lack of understanding.  Wondering what it would take to get through to people that loving God is not about rules, but about relationship, about love.

And here comes this woman, this “other” who shows her faith and trust in him, in God’s grace and mercy.  And she is indeed a mama tiger and won’t give up when he tries to send her away.  Instead she humbly kneels at his feet and asks for crumbs, reminding him even dogs get the crumbs, so while she may be an “other”, she is worthy of crumbs.

This woman knew enough about Jesus to have hope.  That hope gave her courage to fight for the child she loved so dearly she was willing to risk everything to have her healed.  Status and power had nothing to do with her faith, she had none.  In her world she was viewed as little more than the puppies running the streets.  Hardly noticed, certainly not worthy.  She knew enough that she followed that still, small voice, that said to find Jesus.   

Do you know that place? 

That place deep inside where you just “know” when something is good and right? 

That place away from the distraction of people and things? 

That place where you quietly “hear” God? 

That place you can go to when the world beats you up? 

That place you can go to with your fears, your doubts, and even your anger at God? 

That place where it is safe to wrestle with the questions, even to wrestle with God? 

We all have times when we need to vent, to yell, to be mad at God.  And we all are able to go to that safe place to meet God.  Even when it feels like God isn’t there, that God doesn’t show up.  God is in that place.

“Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.”

Crumbs.  Broken and left over pieces.  Bits discarded. 

Often this is all we think we deserve of God’s love.  Or how unworthy we are to receive even the crumbs.  Left overs.  Bits.  

 We think we are this woman, an “other,” unworthy, unlovable, unforgivable. 

Yet these little bits are all God needs to heal us.  Feed us.  Remember the 5000?  It was in fives loaves and two fish that many were fed and there was enough left over to fill 12 baskets.

And you know what, Jesus says, “Your faith has guts, boldness, I hear you, I love you, I am with you, and together we will walk through this.   Let me carry your pain, hurts, fears, doubts, burdens for a while.” 

In a few minutes we will come to the Master’s table.  We will kneel or stand at this rail, lift our hands in supplication, and say, “Lord, give me the crumbs.  Feed me.  Fill me.  Make me new again.”

Won’t you come to the table?  Come and see, know that you are loved completely, fully, and forever. 

You are beloved and you are God’s.

Changing the rules

As I have shared, I have been doing a lot of 'tangling lately which has helped me weather some difficult times recently.  How much I have been talking about it was brought home by this gift of love from my dear sister, Catherine:

The gift of it is that we both follow the rules (sometimes to our detriment) and in this picture my dear sister makes her own and decides to change them!  I'm glad my playing with 'tangles gave her the reminder she can go her own way.  

Here are a few ways I have been changing the rules: