We spend the first part of our lives building our container. By container, I mean the structure that holds our early lives in place, the mental structure that allows us to make sense of ourselves, others, and the world around us. The moral structure that allows us to make decisions and interact with others. This […]
Lent: an empty container
“Born again” has become a generic term often describing a particular demographic, usually socially conservative evangelical Christians. But is the term really so generic and simple? This Sunday’s lectionary suggests the story in John 3 in which Jesus introduced the phrase “You must be born again.” Interestingly, Jesus used this phrase on only this one […]
Lent: Opening your container
“This is my container.” These were the opening words for an activity each year in the class I taught at the university. The class was a training experience for undergraduates. Twenty students were selected each year to participate in a three-semester sequence of courses that took them from learning basic helping skills to providing valuable […]
Lent: At home in the wilderness
No matter how comfortable, gentrified, and predictable we try to make our physical lives, in our spiritual lives thrive in the wilderness. Here’s what I mean. For me at least, I want to avoid as much life drama as possible. During parts of my life, particularly when I had young children and teenagers, and during […]
Lent: No short cuts
The final test for Jesus probably came about midway through the arduous and painful process of fasting and meditating. I suspect he had gone through many bouts of intense hunger, long stretches of boredom, hours of wondering what the hell he was doing out in the middle of nowhere. And he had no guarantees that […]
Lent: I can’t bluff my way through
Back to the wilderness. Jesus has distanced himself from human contact in order to learn the lessons only solitude can teach. After many days of fasting and being alone, his second temptation has to do with the nature of his contact with others. His dilemma seems to be this: I want to fulfill my purpose […]
Lent is about being conscious
I’m sticking with the story of Jesus in the wilderness for a few days. This is a story that has a lifetime’s worth of lessons; unlearning and relinquishing control being among the most important for me. The first “temptation” Jesus faced during his time of fasting and contemplation was the urge to turn stones into […]
Lent is about unlearning
This first Sunday of Lent, Christian congregations all over the world heard the story of Jesus in the wilderness. As an allegory, it is full of rich images and meanings. For me, this story is one of Jesus confronting the limitations of his childhood and adolescent images of life. Like all of us, Jesus had […]
From impermanence to unpredictability
Ash Wednesday, for me, is about awareness of my impermanence. I have let that percolate for a couple of days, and it took little thought to get to the next step: unpredictability. Not only is my life time-limited, my life’s end is unpredictable. It is out of my control. I may reach a ripe old […]
Ash Wednesday: Celebrating impermanence
I attended Ash Wednesday service this week. The beginning of the season of Lent. It was somber, subdued, and much of it conducted in silence. It is my favorite church service of the year, which I guess makes me sound a bit morbid. But I have my reasons. This is the one worship experience of […]