True seeing is not focused on the “seen”, as it is temporary, but on the “unseen” for it is everlasting. There must be a movement from the “seen” to the “unseen” and back to the “seen” in order to truly see. In truly seeing, the eyes are able to correctly focus on the wider context of life and death, which are the central issues of reality. The fragility of life and the tragedy of death are relentless. No one escapes questions of purpose, well being, alienation, and degeneration. But in the end, life overcomes death by going through it, not around it. This is crucifixion and resurrection. Those who choose to participate, then become followers of the Crucified and Risen One. Such a victory and following call for improvisation, creativity, and imagination, as day by day renewal rocks and through this explosion, we begin to find our place in the massive drama of God’s plan to make all things new.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Reflection for the Week
There is much gloom and darkness in the world and ourselves. Superficial gimmicks, legalistic devices, political treaties, new economic policies, and even one world government will not stem the tide. Scriptured voices point to the light, but the night is long and sometimes seems endless. Prophets, psalmists, artists, and poets arise. Help us break through the masquerade and tell the story again about the way it really is. In the midst of denouncing this dark tragedy, there is a call to joy and hope, as God has not forgotten his people, redemption is already in action, and someday there will only be light.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
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:
Does power corrupt character and is having power attractive, compelling, or desirable?
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Spiritual Rhythms of Life for Today
We are capital ‘I’ in many facets of our lives. This persuasive, though misleading power, attempts to set itself up, for example in knowledge and relationships, as ultimate authority. Making self-centeredness primary is the deep structure of capital ‘I’ and this is exactly where its seemingly harmless deception lies. Self-centered selves need to be confronted by another power – the Spirit of Christ. When this happens there will be a clash and hopefully all hell will break loose. This altercation will be uncomfortable and raise many questions, since one has most likely lived in the paradigm of capital ‘I’ for years. Gradual release from the bonds of selfishness towards otherness will be difficult and sometimes frustrating, until transformation sets in and a paradigm shift begins to take place. Time is an important element here and patience is required. Notions of who we “be” and what we “do” are at stake. Fresh resources will start to be at hand when the new paradigm grows and the surging power of the spiritual life, identified by following the Crucified and Risen One, becomes primary and the power of capital ‘I’ diminishes.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Reflection for the Week
We live and die in the midst of brokenness and beauty. They both engage us deeply in an insightful and real truth. Why? Life is like this. Our world and our lives, as it were, are cut in two. This tension permeates creation and us. Looking outside and then inside reminds us that this is the way it is. Sometimes there’s a dirge and sometimes there’s a praise, yet both are woven together and one never effaces the other. Faced with this reality, we long for redemption and the gift of resolution, where brokenness is absolved and beauty alone remains.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
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:
There seems to be a widespread interest in something called survivalism. Stocking up food, water, and ammo – finding a safe place because the political, social, and economic fabric of the West is coming apart and this means big time danger. What are your thoughts about the world as we know it coming to an end?
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Spiritual Rhythms of Life for Today
It seems to me our culture is increasingly one of dislocation and fragmentation. Modernist notions of stability and permanence are rightly being shattered, as they were rooted in deception. In its place postmodern nomads now wander from here to there - to nowhere, but this is not merely a physical or geographical phenomenon, it pertains to the way folks live. False solidity has been replaced by false drifting. Flitting from this to that and back again is so common today. Many attempt to re-invent themselves by the hour. No home, no boundaries, no commitments – wandering. These powerful, persuasive, and misleading images are often peddled by our culture and embraced by the crowd. They leave us destitute and floundering. This form of the postmodern turn now needs to be replaced by a God turn, where true images of what’s creationally and redemptively real abound and offer therefore a safe space to be.
Monday, February 13, 2012
The End?
What’s happening to our world? We find ourselves in unprecedented times. Seems we’ve never been here before. Sure, the world has been a mess at many other times, but the cumulative degree of the mess this time, in my view, is unprecedented. Countries are crumbling and in turmoil, natural catastrophes are creating havoc and destruction, governments are run by incompetent and sometimes corrupt elected officials, everything is awfully close to being a consumer product, and much of the Western church is not only ineffective and woefully impoverished, but it is fading away and its very existence and sustainability are under threat. Does it matter? Wonder where it’s all going? If you have time, read Living Apocalypse.
Reflection for the Week
Living in a world of wonder, exchanged for profit and greed, invites a sense anger. Woe to those who strip the earth of its glory, rob people of their dignity, and propagate darkness. If ever there was a time for re-making a world and a worldview in light of the Infinite, it is now. Proclaiming lament and hope are a beginning, but they have to translate into a polyphony of actions that will make a contribution to change for the sake of a just mercy. When we make a pledge to radically reject the forces of materialism, our commitment will no doubt transform us into exiles from that vast network of betrayal and oppression, as it attempts to parasitically reign over all that is.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
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 many churches nowadays emphasize entertainment over following Christ?
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Spiritual Rhythms of Life for Today
Looking around, seeing your face, touching the blurry surface of otherness gives me a sense of being with you. We are known. Holding hands contact, as we stroll past the graveyard, remembering the past and projecting the future is a significant part of living in this world. The relation and distinction of the two of us is a creational mystery and a redemptive marvel that surpasses understanding.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Reflection for the Week
Displaced and dislocated. Wandering. Home has drifted away, as quickly as the raging wind sweeping over the glacial, barren, white landscape. Shelter has vanished. Still hoping all is well, - but no, no it’s not. Pain seeps uncontrollably through flesh and bones, leaving a fractured heart. This sense of loss runs deep within and shakes the confines of self. Being home-loss is not supposed to happen – broken home is a betrayal and a love-less pseudo reality that devastates the very guts of who we are. Crying for home, tears of sorrow flood the eyes. How we long for a homecoming, not so much as merely a space, though that’s important, but as a community of trust, acceptance, grace, and love, which is offered first and foremost by the audacious trio of the Infinite. When this reality becomes our address, liberated and transformed memories now surpass the treacherous debris of disruption and defeat, as being at home will begin to heal our wounds, to reset our hearts, and to grant us a place to dwell.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
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 that prayer in a Christian context can be taking a walk in nature?
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Spiritual Rhythms of Life for Today
Provocatively cutting away at the darkness, a given and challenging task, helps create slashes of light. These slivers of illumination, subversive and revolutionary, glisten through ever growing slits in the masquerade, and offer a hope that translates into a new way of being, seeing, and living. Light leads to a destiny, whereas darkness takes us nowhere. Wounding darkness promotes light, embracing light exposes darkness. Here lies the ferocious battle, the DNA of what it’s ultimately all about: life or death.
