Tragedy blows through us, disorients our gaze, and leaves us suffering. Groping becomes our sphere of momentary orientation, as we sink into a sense of desperation and helplessness. Aiming to think correctly and practically in this realm is shattered and even space offers us no escape from ourselves and the deeply frustrating experience of loss. Yet, as genuine as dilemma this is, we are not allowed to dwell in resignation and passivity. Life itself, as configured by the Creator, forces us into and towards a re-orientation mode, where we start to grapple in the darkness with the response of tragic wisdom, as most fully expressed in the Crucified and Risen One. While a configured life and tragic wisdom will not resolve all our conflicts, they offer a fragile, but true conviction and experience that directs us on into the future with hope.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Reflection for the Week
The validity of the Christian faith will only continue to suffer if we do not engage the issues and ideas of our day. To bury our heads in the sand and hope the challenges to the truth of what we believe will all go away, is wishful thinking. We have the significant calling to be a testimony to the love of Christ, but this will not be heard, if we speak an entirely different language unrelated to current discussions, nor will it be seen, if we live in a spiritualized world of our own making, divorced from that which is really happening. Being informed about what’s going on is a responsibility for ourselves and others, as we tell the story of life and death in a pertinent and persuasive manner that has traction in the listening and watching world.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Special OFFER – Living Spirituality
Amazon www.amazon.com is at it again. Previously, prices on my books have been reduced. Now Living Spirituality is 78% off and available for $3.30. If you think you might want to experience a challenging read on Christian spirituality for yourself, or pick up LS for a relative or friend, this may be a good time to buy the book. Click on the cover on the right to go straight to LS on Amazon.
The ZigZag Café
We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue. I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
What do you see as the major similarities and differences between writing history and writing fiction, and why might they matter, especially in respect to the biblical accounts?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Spiritual Rhythms of Life for Today
Considering all the bantering going on over politics and the economy in Western democracies, recent reports in the media have suggested that some Christians advocate dominionist theologically authoritative governments. I have been badgered by journalists for interviews on this subject, but have declined. While the media is not noted for its accuracy, nor I might add, its credibility, the sheer false representation of positions reportedly held by certain people in this discussion is astounding. I’m not out to defend this or that politician or theologian here, as their writings and platforms speak for themselves. At any rate, it seems to me that moving in the direction of any kind of a theocracy is clearly a mistake. To identify the Kingdom of God and country is a travesty. Simply said, whether it is the fundamentalist form coming from the right or the fundamentalist freedom coming from the left, there has to be an effort to strike a balance that avoids extremism. Embracing the principles of both form and freedom is an inviting way forward. Granted, working this out is no easy task, but if politicians are committed to this venture, instead of slander, manipulation, and deception, we might get somewhere. One key working model should focus on the concept of collegiality and the acceptance of a diversity of political views, which all have to interact together in a way that preserves checks and balances. A dialogue where real positions are put out there to be discussed and analyzed is to be preferred to mud-slinging, which dubiously aims to cover a myriad of weaknesses and a lack of fresh ideas. Equal concerns from different quarters are to be represented in the public square and our interactions should take place in a civil and respectful manner.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Reflection for the Week
Self-interest does not always translate into selfishness. God calls us to accomplish things and to take some credit for these, yet we are to avoid arrogance and self-centeredness like the plague. As created and spiritual people, who are gifted with the Spirit of God and Christ, this feat is not entirely beyond us, as we embrace the tension of working out our salvation, because God is at work in us.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The ZigZag Café
We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue. I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
Do you think there is any way we can enhance God’s well-being?
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Spiritual Rhythms of Life for Today
There is no reason that I can see why producers of goods and the commercial enterprises that sell them should wait until there is a public outcry that prices are completely out of line and profit margins far too great, before any action is taken to decrease the stranglehold. It’s as if we’re being fed the message, “we’ll rip you off as long as we can and if you say and do nothing, then nothing will change.” If we don’t speak up, protest, boycott, and engage in other actions against injustice where we can, money and all its entanglements will continue its almighty reign. Instead of aiming to have peace and tranquility, we should be highly disturbed and unsettled by our political and economic systems that seem to operate as if they are ends in and of themselves. They are not and if we admit this it will bring a dimension of the uncomfortable into our lives and hopes. In fact, Christians should be among the most concerned, disconcerted, and angry people on the planet. To rant against the machine will help preserve our humanity and promote a well-lived life, as we adhere to the love, mercy, and justice reinforced by the Creator and his redeeming action in the Christ, which is to be the overarching context within which politics and economics are to be done.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Reflection for the Week
Given the folly of debt circulating around the world, it’s no wonder the bankruptcy or potential default of countries, has not resulted in the fateful crisis that it should. Not dealing with the truth and reality of overspending and accumulating massive debts, will surely jeopardize the future for many, as it will inevitably bring about warlike conditions between nations of power.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Special OFFER –
Amazon www.amazon.com is at it again. Previously, prices have been reduced on my books. Now Living Spirituality is 66% off and available for $5.03. If you think you might want to experience a challenging read on Christian spirituality, or pick up LS for a relative or friend, this may be a good time to buy the book. Click on the cover on the right to go straight to LS on Amazon.
The ZigZag Café
We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue. I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
Why do you think there is so much of an emphasis on justice for the vulnerable: widows, orphans, the poor, and alien, in OT Israel, and what might this teach us today?
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Spiritual Rhythms of Life for Today
Confidence in our global systems and economies is quickly and rightly eroding. Injustice and deception plague our times, as options of trust and credibility disappear like the stars at daybreak. Faced with the ultimate breakdown of the idols of money, status, and possessions, it is an opportune time for Christians to live with a greater integrity. As we let go of the insignificant demands of personal peace and affluence, the cultures in which we live will no longer look at us and see themselves in a mirror. And this will have a shattering impact for the sake of Christ, who boldly stands against the epidemic that infects us. His capacity to heal what contaminates us - to being brought aright, should lead us to take part in forging communities of love and mercy that reflect God, and which will therefore leave an undeniable trace in the midst of the chaos of the historical flow of the early twenty-first century.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Reflection for the Week
Unmasking and denouncing the fear of exposure is no doubt a step towards trust, but we rightly wrestle with ‘who’ is trustworthy – Self, other, God. Surely this is not a venture for the uncritical, yet criticism is never an end in and of itself. Letting go of that which entangles us and moving into the laboratory of trust is a challenging task and a liberating joy that begins to diminish illegitimate coverings, while increasing appropriate disclosure.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Spiritual Rhythms of Life for Today
Wilderness wanderings, seemingly distant from God, can sometimes appear to leave us on our own. But what may seem to be the case can be deceptive and just when we think we’re in it all alone, God moves with us into this mode of lostness. In sacrificially meeting us where we are, the Infinite One slowly but surely forges the way forward a step at a time, so that we sense his presence with us and can emerge into the land of the living.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Reflection for the Week
Coercion, manipulation, and dishonesty are power tools of the trade for the selfish self, while love, justice, and mercy battle it out within the theater of life to promote redemption. Graciously convicted of sinful practices by the Infinite One, allows selfish selves to undergo the penalty of death, in order to be offered new life in Christ, the Unselfish One.
