Month: June 2016

I have a friend named Luke. I have known Luke for the last thirteen years. We met through the internet, when he answered an email from me. My mother had just died and I had done her memorial service in her home town, at the cemetery.  Luke responded to my email with such peace and caring that I felt totally comforted. So, for the last 13 years, Luke and I have chatted, two or three times per year, most often through email. Always, I receive a blessing. Always, the chats are full of laughter, or peace or joy.

I know what you are thinking, if this guy is such a good friend, how come you only talk two or three times per year? Did I mention that my Brother Luke is the Choirmaster of the Abbey where I am sitting this minute writing this? He is a Cistercian monk who has been at this place for 43 years. He wears a robe most days and plays the organ, sings and leads the monks in their daily worship. And, he is funny, deep and filled with joy. And, I think he would be a bit embarrassed to know I am writing this about him.

The monks are committed to a way of life where everything is about prayer. They work, this Abbey is 168 years old and occupies about 2,500 acres. You can imagine the upkeep of the buildings and grounds and that everyone has a role. This place has often been called a “school of love” and so it is. I have been loved by my brother, Luke, from the very first moment he answered my email from here at the Abbey.

I got to chat with Luke just yesterday. When I asked him how he was, he smiled and explained that at 66 years of age, it was all “golden”. That the light was softer but golden. He reminded me that very little matters in this life but love.  He also reminded me that in the next room from his office, sits the coffin every monk will lie in while his brother monks keep vigil over him. We are all going there and that too is glorious. In that moment, we will finally know that we never needed the answers, that it was always about love and that the Eternal created us to do just that, to love.

Luke brings me back to what matters. This Abbey brings me back to what matters. I am. That is all, just I am. I do not have to do or be anything else and Luke and God will love me just the same. I suspect my lovely wife will too. Isn’t that enough? To know that we are the beloved of God? Does that sound arrogant to you? It shouldn’t, Christ said we are joint heirs with Him. He was the son of God, so am I, and if you are reading this, so are you….son or daughter…….you are Beloved of God. Bask in it, see the golden soft light of love. You don’t need anything else.  

Thanks for the reminder Brother Luke……I will indeed trudge on toward the Light.

 

TMM

That word, “prayer”, seems to bring both comfort and terror to people. Terror, because people are afraid of who they might be talking to, afraid of doing it wrong, afraid there is no one to pray to. Comfort because for many, it is having a talk with a Beloved friend, a chance to be heard, or a chance to come clean about what is on a person’s heart.

As I write this, it is 4:45 am and I am at the Abbey of Gethsemani. It is quiet (joyously so), dark and comforting. It is a place of thunderous peace. It is a place where the monks pray for the world. It is a place where life is lived out as a prayer. Whether they are singing the Psalms (beginning at 3:15 am) or making fudge, or fruitcake, or washing dishes or well any act of the day, it is all meant to be prayer.

I guess most people pray out of great need. A sick loved one, a lost job, preparing for death, or out of a sense of duty. All of those are legitimate reasons to pray and yet none of those really fit what prayer should be, a chat with a beloved friend. My wife hates the song, “just a little talk with Jesus” and I tend to agree with her, that song represents cheap prayer. Just tell Jesus and that makes everything alright? Uh, no. While forgiveness and grace are most assuredly found in a “talk” with Jesus, that does not fix things.

My daughter was maybe 8 years old when she apologized for something saying, “I’m sorry”. She had a very expectant look on her face. That look disappeared when I explained that I knew she was very sorry and that I appreciated that but that being sorry did not repair things, it is only the door through which one enters to start the repairs. So, my wife is right I think, a little “talk with Jesus” is bad theology because it is only the opening of a door and few will actually step in and make amends, try to fix it or at least acknowledge their part in whatever has happened.

And yet, “a little talk” with the Creator of the Universe is exactly what we are invited to do. Isn’t that amazing? The Creator, the Sacred, wants nothing more than to spend time with us individually. Just me? Really? But I am not worthy. To that the Eternal says every one of my creations is worthy of my time. The Eternal longs, yes aches to spend time with me. Clearly, the Eternal doesn’t really know what kind of person I am.

Oh yes, the Creator knows exactly what I am. What I am capable of and every failing I have (a rather long list by the way). AND IT DOESN’T MATTER! This last is capitalized for my own benefit. I grew up being taught I am not good enough, not smart enough, not thin enough. The Eternal doesn’t care. I want to be the best, the smartest, the wisest. The Eternal doesn’t care. Love is all that matters to the Eternal. Love of others, love of God, and love of self. It is that last one that most of us cannot do.  If you only knew, Sacred One, you would not love me anymore. To that, the response is always, My Grace is enough for you. And so it is!

 

TMM

I don’t like being obedient. I am just being honest, I don’t enjoy giving up control. I suspect if you are reading this, you just might not like it either. We all hate to be out of control, to not be masters of our own fate, captains of our own ships. Our country just doesn’t work that way. We love rugged individualism, getting our own way and being successful on our own.

This costs us all a great deal. We no longer have a sense of community or a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves. We have lost our sense of hospitality, humility and than thankfulness. That is the price of individualism. While the Gen X, Y, and Millenials are all volunteering more, it is not necessarily out of a sense of humility or even giving freely. It is most often one more activity to cross of the list of good things to do.

In his book Strangers to the City, Fr. Michael Casey discusses the rule of Benedict and one of the hardest things in the rule is to learn obedience and submission to another. Benedict meant for there to be mutual submission and obedience, not just to the Abbot, but to each other. This requires great humility and a strong sense of community. In Japanese martial arts, practice is best when it is “jitakyoei”. This means mutual benefit and mutual prosperity. That is how it is supposed to work. As a martial arts instructor and college professor, I learn as much from my students as they do from me. That is what Benedict calls us all to, that the spiritual community comes before our own needs and ego.

I have been in a lot of communities and the most disruptive issue that comes up over and over again is the individual who will not submit to the group. In Presbyterian life, (Reformed church in general) polity is foremost. The community comes first. I believe that is how Christ meant it to be, how God wants us to be. I have seen, in community, when the will of one person and their need to be in control and correct has hurt several and totally disrupted the community. This is when correction becomes necessary and because we do not enjoy conflict, we avoid telling the person what they must hear.

Benedict is clear, if we don’t love our brothers and sisters enough to offer correction when they are in error, we really don’t love them and really don’t understand being obedient to one another. We simply don’t trust ourselves, God, or our brothers and sisters. We cannot, must not have it our own way. In a good relationship, submission is mutual. In the New Testament, submission is not a verb, there is no verb there in the  Greek. It is simply a state of being, of mutual respect and love.

What would our community, spiritual or otherwise, look like if we returned to a belief that we are our brother’s keeper? I am not sure of the answer, but I am sure that this is the community I would love to live in. No more poverty, no more abuse, no more “rugged individualism”. Instead, we love one another as commanded, we include all, and we are obedient to each other for the sake of all.

 

TMM

I really hate that show. I mean it, I really hate bully’s and that is exactly what Trump does on that show, he bully’s people and what is worse, those people choose to let him do it. That is willing slavery. That is one view of the Master/Apprentice relationship. Trump would have been a good slave owner and his campaign shows it.

Sadly, we do the same thing in our spiritual life. I have heard so many sermons and been to so many churches where the point of each sermon is how sinful we are, how lost we are, how badly we need to follow the rules, enslave ourselves to the Master. That is the legalistic view of our relationship with God. We are his slaves. I’m sorry, I have no use for a life of that sort of slavery.

Instead, it dawned on me that there is another version of Master/Apprentice. That is the traditional view, one Christ would have known, where a new student attaches themselves to a master tradesman in order to learn the trade. I love this version. To sit at the feet of a true master has been my honor in martial arts. It is a joy to learn that way, to let the Master guide your hands and your thoughts and your actions until you achieve mastery.

This is what we are called to do as Christians. We are called to be Apprentices to the Master. And what is the craft we are learning? It is the craft of Love. Love for self, neighbor, and God. So, this is a love affair with learning. Doesn’t that feel better, to know that we are students, not slaves? And, don’t forget that the goal of being an apprentice is to become a master yourself. How are you doing? Are you learning your craft? Will you become a master? I’m gonna keep trying, how about you?

TMM

 

I am a law-abiding citizen. Well, most of the time. I do drive too fast once in a while. Society needs laws and rules that organize and control behavior. Without them, of course there is anarchy…..survival of the fittest. Sadly, that also describes the economic view of this country, free enterprise works for those who have money and opportunity. Our society works on an idea of getting more is always better. And the laws? Well, many obey when convenient but get upset when the laws don’t work to their advantage.

So what about religious laws? Those are okay aren’t they? The answer is no, they are not okay. Jesus came to do away with the law, to fulfill the law. If you read scripture you begin to notice that not only Jesus, but Paul and even the Old Testament describe a world of faith, not law. I grew up in an Evangelical world that taught me that I was a sinner, had to get and stay right with God, and it was dependent upon me being good, doing good and repenting daily.

Enter Brennan Manning. He was a priest, a husband, and a ragamuffin. He wrote great books, led a difficult life (at times) and was forgiven. But, if you want to know the great Abba of the universe, read Brennan’s books! In those books you discover that you only need to accept the forgiveness that is already there, once and for all time. You discover Grace. It is not about laws, it is about Love.

I am a Christian mystic, which means that I am obsessed with the Eternal’s love for me. I cannot explain it, I surely don’t deserve it, and I want it! Richard Rohr writes about the two parts of the spiritual life. In Falling Upward, Rohr says that the second part of the spiritual life is one filled with love, grace, forgiveness and mercy. The things I was taught in the past are restrictive, controlling, and impossible to follow.

In Galatians, Paul talks about taking Peter to task for hanging out with Gentiles and then, when the Jews heard about it, he changed and wanted the Gentiles to follow the laws. Sound familiar? It sounds a lot like many churches these days, do it our way and you will have Heaven. Paul was right, it is grace and love, not law that makes it possible. A quick greek lesson: logos is the Word. Christ was the Logos, or the word. He came to be the word, but more than that, he came to show that it is the intent of the law, not the letter of the law that matters.

Think of the sermon on the Mount. That is the point, you want it to be about the rules, about the letter of the law, but you don’t really want to be that kind of person, who lives a real life. Christ embodied the idea that words (or letters) don’t matter, what does matter is Love, inclusion, acceptance without judgement. That is the law of love. That is part two of spiritual life. Forget the law, throw out the rules and just live. Love all you can, be who you are, be Abba’s child.

TMM