ContemplativeJourney

I began writing this blog 2 1/2 years ago...what can only be described as several lifetimes ago, from the perspective of the events that have transpired in my life since May of 2010.   I won't take the time to recount those events, but suffice to say, I never imagined that I would use this space to contemplate politics, or the place that our political perspectives may take on the path of our individual spiritual journeys... To rightly share my story, I must go back in time to January of 2008, when I, like many Americans, first heard then-candidate Senator Barack Obama speak after his groundbreaking win in the Iowa caucus.  I remember the experience quite vividly, because I was mesmorized by the ideal he seemed to represent.  As I sat in a theater this afternoon watching the Dinesh D'Souza political documentary "2016", I was struck by the fact that much of our political consciousness is defined by what each of us projects upon the candidate of our choice. ...

This charming little munchkin is my great niece. Her name is Lexi Grace. Lexi was born on July 29, 2009, at just 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 lb and 5 ounces. She has several health challenges...some of which are related to her being a micro-preemie, and some of which are related to her having Dandy-Walker Syndrome. I'm writing about Lexi today, because I heard something in this week's sermon that made me think of her... The pastor told of a family who had a baby with Down's Syndrome...the father said this about having a child with developmental challenges: "When we found out we were pregnant, it was as if we were planning a trip. A journey to raise a new child in our family. When we learned of the Down's Syndrome, it was not as if the trip was cancelled, but the itinerary changed. We were planning a trip to London, but now the trip was to Paris instead. It's a very different trip than the one we originally planned for, but it's still a wonderful trip! ...

I saw a story on 60 Minutes last night, about a woman who has such an incredible memory, she literally cannot forget a face. For most of us, such a detailed memory is hard to imagine...for some of us, it's not uncommon to walk from one room in the house to another, and forget why we came... It's certainly true for me - my memory isn't what it used to be! As I read today's Gospel, I kept thinking about the importance of memory in our spiritual lives. Over and over again in the Old Testament scriptures, the people of Israel were called to "remember" the works of God. In the book of Joshua, there's a story of how the people created a stone monument to mark the place where they crossed the Jordan River...the purpose of the monument was to remind the people of what God had done for them. When it comes to the ways in which God has blessed us, healed us, delivered us from so many different trials of life...I think our memories, in general, are really quite bad...

Some of us concern ourselves more with external appearances than others...I say this as a statement of fact, not judgment. I grew up in a home that was always clean and neat...one of my mother's legacies to me. Dirty dishes sitting on the counter?? An anathema to her...and now, to me. I hate dirty dishes, particularly those that are stacked on the counter or in the sink...yuck! What about you? Does "neatness count" for you...are external appearances important in your lexicon for good living? What would Jesus do with dirty dishes? Can you believe there's a passage in the Bible that talks about washing dishes ? Indeed there is...let's check it out: Some of the Jews and Jewish leaders (Pharisees) were following Jesus, keeping an eye on him and his followers, trying to find things they could criticize about him and his teachings. They noticed that some of his followers weren't following the Jewish rules for ritual washing before eating their meals. The Jews w...

Today's picture is of a sunset over the North Pole. Breathtaking, isn't it? It illustrates well, I think, the idea that the beauty of the earth is sometimes as illusive as it is breathtaking. We take pictures in order to capture the moment, the feeling, the experience of beauty...and yet ultimately, we cannot contain beauty. In his book Simply Christian , N.T. Wright speaks of beauty as a signpost that points us to the very real existence of God: "Beauty, like justice, slips through our fingers. We photograph the sunset, but all we get is the memory of the moment, not the moment itself...We climb the mountain, and though the view from the summit is indeed magnificent, it leaves us wanting more; even if we could build a house there and gaze all day at the scene, the itch wouldn't go away. Indeed, the beauty sometimes seems to be in the itching itself, the sense of longing, the kind of pleasure which is exquisite and yet leaves us unsatisfied." Wright's words ...

There is an interesting story in the 6th chapter of Mark. Jesus has returned to his hometown for a visit...by this time in his ministry, he has already healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, and calmed the wind and sea...you would think he'd come home to a reception fit for conquering heroes, wouldn't you? But that isn't the way things went. In the gospel account, Jesus has gone to the local synagogue and is teaching...the people are amazed by his teaching...they recognize his incredible wisdom, and they even acknowledge that he has healed the sick. There is no lack of awareness of what Jesus has done and said...and yet... the scripture tells us that they were highly offended, as in, "who does he think he is??", kind of offended. It's an interesting story, to be sure...and the source of an often used quote, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." When I read the story today, I was struc...

I didn't really intend to take a break between Sunday and today, but I find sometimes that writing on a daily basis is a challenging discipline...and sometimes the task is made harder by the fact that I have so many things I'd like to write about, I can't seem to choose a topic. Circumstances collided this week to create such a challenge, and frankly, I'm in a very cranky mood today. I found out last night that I have a stress fracture in my left foot...nothing terminal or even really serious, but because I've worked hard for the past several years to develop my capacity for jogging and 5K races, it's depressing to be sidelined for the next 6 weeks. Today's gospel reading was from Mark, chapter 4...the parable of the sower. Funny isn't it, how you can read a story so many times over a period of decades, and then see something for the first time that you've never noticed before...? In the story, Jesus is telling the story of this farmer...he throws so...

Have you seen the movie Seabiscuit? It's the story of an undersized, damaged racehorse...trained by a 'washed up' trainer and ridden by a young man who had been abandoned by his parents as a young boy during the Depression. I happened to stumble upon it last night on TV, and was reminded of a quote that I think is the most powerful of the entire move: "You don't throw a whole life away just it's banged up a little." -Tom Truthfully, there is not a single one of us who isn't "banged up a little"...it's the inevitable reality of life. We make mistakes...large and small...people hurt us...we're treated badly in the workplace...we confront illness and death and grief...and we are...all of us... banged up. The beauty of Seabiscuit's story is a mirror to us all. Redemption comes to everyone who has the heart to receive it...sometimes in the most suprising ways! The Psalmist says, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works...

As usual, today's scripture readings from the Daily Readings were terrific. The Psalms, the Old Testament reading, the New Testment reading, and the Gospel...all of them...were excellent. So, why am I asking a crazy question about whether the Bible hinders our spiritual growth? Am I being facetious? Trying to start an argument? Offend? No to all of those. What I am trying to do is create questions that challenge...that force me...and possibly you, to look at things from a different angle...a new perspective. While writing these Lenten blogs, I am also continuing to read Eat This Book , by Eugene Peterson, and came upon a chapter today that stirred me up. Did you know, by chance, that Plato , who died 350 years before Christ, predicted that writing would ultimately debilitate our ability to remember things? Back then of course, information was shared orally. There were no books like we know them today (hardback or Kindle!)...no "Bibles." Eugene Peterson makes t...

Today is a spectacularly beautiful day in Dallas...the temperature is perfect, and the sky is clear blue. When I began reading today's Psalms, I was excited because Psalm 19 speaks of how the creation declares the glory of God...and it does! When I came to the Old Testament reading from Genesis, I was overwhelmed once again, with the amazing story of Joseph. What an incredible person he was...this teenager who was thrown into a pit by his brothers, and then sold into slavery... I've been reading several articles about bullying, due to the shooting that took place in an Ohio high school earlier this week. The articles remind me that people who are bullied most often become bullies. We've seen this over and again in high school shootings and bomb plots. On a smaller scale, I think we miss the fact that bullying happens to kids everyday, and it even happens to adults in the workplace. If Joseph wasn't bullied by his older brothers, I don't know what we could call it......

Happy Leap Day! It's the time that comes along only once every 4 years...an extra day on the calendar. For all of us who are perpetually running behind, this extra day will surely come in handy! Except for this reminder: " Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. " -Charles Richards I couldn't quite decide which of today's scripture readings would fit the occasion of Leap Day, but I think perhaps Psalm 49 and 119 are our best material, when we're given an extra day in the year to work with... Psalm 49 talks about death, which might seem morose, but it isn't really...it's more about the practical reality of death...for all of us...the rich, the poor, the powerful, and the needy. In this way, we are absolutely, all of us: equal. During Whitney Houston's memorial service, Pastor TD Jakes offered a 2 1/2 minute homily on the subject of death...and here is the punchline: Death does not win. Even wh...

Once upon a time, there was a teenager named Joseph. Joseph had lots of brothers, and as it turned out, the father loved Joseph best. This happens in families...a parent has a favorite child, and the siblings always know. In the story of Joseph, as told in the biblical book of Genesis, we also find out that Joseph had a pretty good idea that Dad loved him best , and was a very confident young man. A dreamer... maybe even cocky. One day the dad sent Joseph out into the fields to check on his brothers and report back. At the time, Joseph was just 17 years old...barely old enough to grow a good beard. As Joseph walked along, his brothers saw him from a distance, and here's what they said amongst themselves: "Here comes that dreamer! Come now, let's kill him and throw into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." Nice, huh? In the end, one of Joseph's oldest brothers talks the sibling mob out of ...

Imagine for a moment, that you are in this photo...without benefit of a car, or a cell phone...no tent...no granola bars and bottled water. Just you. And the vast expanse of dry wilderness. It would be terrifying, at least for me. I often joke that my idea of camping is a Holiday Inn. My preference for lodging runs along the lines of Marriott and Hilton. I picked up a book this week that was written by Eugene Peterson. If you read much in the world of Christian or Evangelical theology, Peterson is fairly well known. He is the author of the popular contemporary translation of the Bible, known as The Message. The title of the book I'm reading is Eat This Book , A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading. In Peterson's book, he talks about the difference between reading the Bible for the sake of gaining information, and reading the Bible in order to be formed as followers of Christ. There is a big difference between these two, and I think it's a topic worthy of our consi...

Have you ever thought of your Bible as an attic? I hadn't either, until today. I heard a sermon this morning, and a phrase stuck out for me..."What do you know?" And I started thinking about that question...what do I really know? I mean, what am I certain of? If you strip everything away, and leave only what you are sure is true, what is left? In today's scripture readings for the Daily Office (taken from The Book of Common Prayer, published by the Episcopal Church)...there was a passage from Ezekial. Yes, Ezekial. You remember it, don't you? I'm sure it tops your list of favorite books from the Bible, right? Perhaps not... But you will find it there...in the attic of scripture...buried under other dusty books like Amos, Habbakuk, and Zephaniah. There are treasures hidden there, for those who take a few moments to dig around. Remember that time you cleaned out your attic...a closet...maybe just a drawer...? And in the process, you discovered treasures you h...

Have you ever had a mountain top experience? Most of us have, in one way or another. Mountain top experiences can be of the spiritual kind...church camp springs to mind... Or, falling in love...getting a fantastic job...winning a sports championship...all would qualify, I think. Lent began this week. If you are not familiar with Lent, it's a 40-day period of reflection that precedes our celebration of Easter Sunday in the Christian faith. Growing up in the Southern Baptist tradition, I knew virtually nothing about Lent. I remember hearing friends from other churches talk about "giving up chocolate for Lent", or things like that. I thought it was weird. I really didn't get it at all. In recent years, I've worshipped in churches that practice Lent...if I'm honest, the idea of giving up chocolate...or coffee...or Facebook...doesn't connect with me. Maybe as I mature spiritually, I'll have better muscles for "giving up" something for 40 days. Th...

I saw a quote today that was so powerful, I felt compelled to blog about it! It must be something special, because I notice that I haven't posted anything since July of last year... "Gratitude turns whatever we have into enough." I'm reminded of stories told of people in third world countries...people who sometimes live in shacks, or worse...have no plumbing or running water, scarce amounts of food, and only the clothes on their back to wear... And yet...and YET...these folks are repeatedly described as happy, content, anxious to share what little resources they possess. We who live in America, most of us...I would argue ALL of us who might read this blog, have so much wealth...way beyond plenty to meet our needs as well as our wants. But is it enough for us? When you wake up each morning, are you overwhelmed with the sheer wonder of how blessed you are? Do you have a roof over your head? Family and friends to love you? Food and drink to satisfy your needs? Clothes ...