Shalom

Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace.

But it connotates much more than that. Strong's Concordance says it also means: completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, and the absence of agitation or discord.

Shalom comes from the root verb shalom which means to be complete, perfect and full. The ancient Hebrew people used it as a greeting or a farewell (and as I understand many still do today) and they said in using it you are speaking into someone's life all the good things that it means.

Paul alludes to and expands upon this tradition in his letters using the phrase "Grace and Shalom(Peace)" as a greeting and a farewell.

But more than all that, it stands for the way God intended creation t be. 

The way things were in God's good garden.

In the ancient Jewish mindset God created things in Shalom and once that was broken He set about restoring Shalom.

The great prophet Isaiah told that one day God would send a liberator to Israel to set things right again, and he would be the "prince of Shalom".

God is still in the business of restoring Shalom!

Pub Theology

Once a month for the past couple of months I have had the pleasure of getting together with a group of guys at Winslow's Tavern.We gather with the belief that good food, good drinks and good friends creates the ideal space for meaningful conversation. I like to call it Pub Theology.

Pub Theology is based on the belief that Theology is much more than a high academic pursuit, but rather a conversation. A conversation that happens, not locked high away in the library's of Academia; but rather in pubs, coffee shops, restaurants, smoke shops, parking lots, and public parks. A conversation that takes place, not between scholars and professors; but between regular people in every day settings.

Because good theology doesn't seek to escape from the world. It offers a better way of engaging it.

After all, what good is theology if it doesn't offer something to all of us non-scholarly folks?

Why should we care if we don't have a chance to add anything to the conversation?

To bring our story to the table?

And what good is theology if it's always hidden away in a church building?

We shouldn't be ashamed of theology. The theological conversation is a beautiful thing. We should do it in public. Good theology doesn't just happen in a church; it seeks to be the church, especially in the kind of places that Jesus would hang out. 

Theology should be an invitation. It should be a place where any one can come and gather around the table. Theology needs to happen at the local "watering holes" because that is where the people are. Every one from the curious waitress to the guy at the end of the bar who's had a few too many should be invited to be a part of the conversation. After all theology isn't just for the "us" crowd, it's also for the "them" crowd.

It's really about the "All-of-us-together" crowd.

Grace and Peace

To Be...

In Exodus 24 God says to Moses, "Come up on the mountain and stay here". Some Rabbi's will point out that "to stay" means literally "to be". So God is telling Moses to come up on top of the mountain and be on top of the mountain?

Sounds a little redundant doesn't it?

But God understands that Moses will spend all sorts of energy getting up the mountain, and then once he actually gets up there it is likely that  he will immediately start planning how he is going to down. And if he does that then he will never fully be on top of the mountain.

Then he just might miss it.

Evening and Morning

When I speak of a day I usually refer to it as moving from morning to evening but the creation poem in Genesis 1 uses the refrain "evening and morning". For my Jewish friends out there the Sabbath starts when the sun goes down on the sixth day of the week and ends when the sun goes down on the seventh day of the week.

Some Rabbis said that Moses is giving us a picture of the journey that God has all on. A journey that moves from night to day, from darkness to light, from ignorance to awareness of the harmony and rhythm of creation and our role in it.

Book Review: "God's Silence" by Franz Wright

"At some point, forever, I crossed

into a state where my words

became more real than I am (even to me)

Is that a good thing

or a bad thing, I

have absolutely no idea

but every day I thank God for this consciousness

that neither

one is real"

-from "The Beloved Illusory"

Franz Wright is the son of renown poet James Wright. In 2004 Franz's collection Walking to Martha's Vineyard won the Pulitzer Prize, making Franz and James Wright the only Father and son to win a Pulitzer in the same category.

God's Silence (2006) is an absolutely breathtaking collection of poetry. It is simple and yet profound all the while being deeply spiritual. These poems move from darkness to light and they climb and fall and take you along with them. It is beautiful and yet humble at the same time.  Langdon Hammer, in the New York Times Book Review, wrote of God’s Silence: “In his best poems, Wright grasps at the ‘radiantly obvious thing’ in short-lined short lyrics that turn and twist down the page. The urgency and calculated unsteadiness of the utterances, with their abrupt shifts of direction, jump-cuts and quips, mime the wounded openness of a speaker struggling to find faith.”

I posted "Love", one of my favorite poems from this collection, earlier and even though I have finished the book and written a review I may still come back to it and post some more poems from this collection. I can honestly say that I've enjoyed this book as much, if not more than any collection of poetry I've ever read.

You can purchase the book here:

http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Silence-Franz-Wright/dp/0375710817/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322323711&sr=8-1

Candle Liturgy

With the busy and often stressful Holiday season upon us I thought it might be helpful to share a very simple, yet powerful prayer liturgy to help you relax and get centered in the midst of all the hustle and bustle. All you need is a candle, matches/lighter and a quiet space to yourself.

Start off simply by thinking about all the things that might be stressing you out (you are probably already doing this anyway). Think about all the people you need to see, places you need to go and things that have to get done. But only think about it briefly, as in a couple of minutes at the most. Don't let it overwhelm you!

As you are thinking about all these things light the candle.

This is your Philippians 4:6 candle.

 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Once you light the candle imagine that the flame is climbing upward toward God and taking all of the concerns you were just thinking about with it. Don't think about those things anymore! For the rest of the liturgy you have to push them out of your mind. Know that even as you are not thinking about them the small flame is presenting them to God for you and that He is taking care of you. God can handle all your stressors, even when you can't.

Now simply breathe.

Take a deep inhale,

then a deep a exhale.

In the Greek, Hebrew, and almost every other ancient language the word for "Spirit" and the word for "breath" are the same.

Consider this reading Job 32:8.
"But it is the breath in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding."

If you want to understand God, contemplate on breathing.

It is a truly beautiful thing.

As you inhale you are being filled with God - all His grace, love and kindness.

As you exhale you are overflowing with God's breath. His grace, love and kindness are so plentiful that they spill out of you and effect everything and everyone around you.

In closing thank God for his grace, love and kindness and pray that your life will overflow with these things.

Then as you put out the candle thank God that your worries and concerns are being taken care of even when you are not concentrating on them. Ask him to help you remember that as you enjoy the Holiday season.

Happy Holidays,

Grace & Peace

What is Truth?

It's very early in the morning. The Jewish leaders have taken Jesus from the High Priest and brought him to the palace of the Roman Governor Pilate. They stand out on the steps of the palace and call out to Pilate. So he awakens from his sleep and goes out to meet them. When he sees that they have a prisoner with them he asks, "Who is this? And for what reason have you arrested him?"


After finding out that the man was in fact Jesus, the Jewish revolutionary that he had heard so much about, he invites him to come inside to be questioned. Pilate had heard that some people wanted Jesus to violently overthrow the Roman government and establish himself as king, so he asked him, "Are you a king?"

 Jesus answered, "Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?"

Pilate said, "Do I look like a Jew? Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?"

"My kingdom," said Jesus, "doesn't consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn't be handed over to the Jews. But I'm not that kind of king, not the world's kind of king."

Then Pilate said, "So, are you a king or not?"

   

Jesus answered, "You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice."

Pilate said, "What is truth?"

What is truth?

This to me is one of the most pivotal, and powerful scenes in all of the Scriptures. 

Pilate may have lived thousands of  years ago, but he was well ahead of his time. He is struggling with the same exact question that many people are struggling with today. In fact this question may very well represent the single most important societal shift that we as the Church face today.

Welcome to the post-modern era!

What is Truth?

Is it objective?

Subjective?

Is it just an idea that we created?

Is it grounded in the laws of a Divine being?

How can we know?

What can we trust?

But what's so shocking about this scenario is not Pilate's way-ahead-of-his-time question. It's the way in which Jesus responds.

If you consider yourself a devout Christian how would you respond?

I think most of us would jump all over this opportunity right? This is a non-Christian sincerely asking this question. This is an opportunity to lay some gospel truth on this guy right? Time to tell him what he needs to hear in order to get in to heaven?

And what does Jesus say?

Nothing...

He doesn't say anything...

This was a golden opportunity, and yet it appears that Jesus blew it.

Jesus doesn't answer the question.

Or...

Maybe he just doesn't answer with words.

Jesus doesn't say anything but he does do something profound. He remains quiet, as the poets once wrote like a lamb being taken to the slaughter. Pilate watches this man, whom he recognizes is innocent go and be tortured and murdered. And why does he do it?

He does it out of love!

Jesus doesn't seem overly concerned about telling Pilate what he needs to believe as true in order to go to heaven one day. When Pilate asks "What is truth?" Jesus responds by demonstrating what it means to live out self-giving, sacrificial love.

The kind of truth Jesus is interested in is not some information that if believed will allow you to escape the world one day. It's a way of living in the world and embracing it. It's a willingness to sacrifice everything even your very life for the world.

It's showing radical, overwhelming, self-giving, sacrificial, recklessly extravagant love here and now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grace & Peace