Those People

In one of Jesus' stories a Pharisee, standing by himself, prays to God: "God, I thank you that I am not like other people" (lk 18:11).
That's a prayer we often pray. "I'm glad I'm not like him, her, or them. I am lucky not to belong to that family, that country, or that race. I am blessed not to be part of that company, that team, or that crowd!" Most of this prayer is unceasing! Somewhere we are always comparing ourselves with others, trying to convince ourselves that we are better off than they are. It is a prayer that wells up from our fearful selves and guides many of our thoughts and actions.
But this is a very dangerous prayer. It leads from compassion to competition, from competition to rivalry, from rivalry to violence, from violence to war, from war to destruction. It is a prayer that lies all the time, because we are not the difference we try so hard to find. No, our deepest identity is rooted where we are like other people- weak, broken, sinful, but sons and daughters of God.

- Excerpt from Henri Nouwen's sabbatical journal

Jesus Didn't Die for Us

"Jesus died for us." Those of us with Christian backgrounds have heard this before.
But on Good Friday I just want to pause for a minute an give a voice to some of my doubts.

There is no better time than Good Friday to have a doubt or two.

So, here goes:
Do I really believe that?
That Jesus died for us? And does Jesus' death matter? I mean, if I'm gonna die too... what good is someone dying for us? If in the end... in 15 years, 15 months, 15 days, or for some, 15 seconds from now we will all end up in the realm of the dead, what is the point?

What is today about? As I revisit the story, I am starting to suspect something that may look like doubt to some. Something new that would change everything.

... maybe Jesus didn't die for us...

As in, in exchange for us. As in, for our sin. As in, one for one, transactional death to pay the penalty for those things we owed God because we were born in sin.

That pay-the-penalty Jesus is easy to need and hard to love.
And regarding this "born into sin" concept, I have some real issues with that.  Being born some way shouldn't instill guilt in anyone. After all, no one can help how they are born.

I think there is a reason why the oldest folks left first when Jesus said, “Whoever hasn’t sinned should throw the first stone*" to those who were accusing the woman caught in adultery.

We older folks know that it is harder to condemn absolutely, black-and-whitely, hard and fast sins. The older I get, the more grey everything becomes; but maybe it is just my vision going bad.

Regardless, the more I understand about life and the more I live, the less willing I am to throw a stone at a prostitute. Because, well, that prostitute might be me.

I think that is what Jesus was getting at on Good Friday... "Solidarity."

Or in more Nazarene terms, "Holiness"
Or in more hippie terms, "Wholeness"
Or in more eastern religious terms, "Oneness."

What if Jesus didn't die in exchange for us but in solidarity with us.

What if he subjected himself to backstabbing, injustice, hatred, holy rage and irresponsible use of government power because his children have been subjected to those things and he wasn't going to exempt himself because he could have escaped them.

He became one (whole, holy) with the Father when he said, "Thy will be done"

What if he entered the karma, the consequences, the result of selfishness, hatred, war and injustice even when he didn't deserve it in order to unify the sacred and the secular.

Everything was reborn with the potential for holiness (oneness, wholeness) when the curtain in the Holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom.

What if he shared in our shattered self images that come from interacting and experiencing our own evils, our own wills that would rather be done, our own conflicted and divided selves, our own self-loathing, our own suicides and the illnesses that dualistically fight within our bodies.

In the experience on the cross, Jesus, the eternal being, became non-being. The ultimate paradox that makes possible the unifying of our divided selves into our wholistic (holy, one) self. 

Did you hear that? God is dead.

If you want a reason to doubt on Good Friday, here you go: GOD IS DEAD.

God cannot not die. God can die.
God did die.
God didn't not die because he did not want to. God died though God didn't want to.
God died so God could be one with those who had already died (and those who will die)
God died and the curtain opened to everything's holiness potential
God died and "gave up his Spirit" (makes you wonder, to whom?)
God died next to humans and alongside all humanity
So we could be one, as he is one (whole, holy)
Finally. (my translation of: "it is finished")

If Jesus died for us, it was in a different way that commonly taught. If Jesus died for us, it was to be with us in all the demons that we know, all the death-acts we take part in and in the place we are all headed toward.

It was for solidarity's sake.

Because he didn't condemn the prostitute: he married her**

*John 8:7 CEB
** She goes by the church universal

Under the Juniper Tree

1 Kings 19:4-8 (NRSV) But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

  Here on the cusp of this Lenten season, I thought it appropriate to reflect on this passage as we prepare our hearts for this journey of lent.  

Carlo Carretto reflects on what happens here: "'Leave me, Lord.' But, instead, the Lord says: 'Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you.' This food given to Elijah on the edge of the desert may be seen as the symbol of a food which is to nourish man: The Blessed Sacrament. And it will nourish him with eternal life and take him beyond the frontiers of this world. The frontier is represented by the desert: 'he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.' In biblical language forty signifies many, many.... Patience is necessary to cross the desert; commitment is necessary for the purification the desert brings. Above all, the desert means 'to renounce'. Yes, renounce these stupidities upon which we have wanted to build our poor existence; renounce those ideas we have been clinging to; above all, renounce that attitude we have had towards heaven and towards earth: 'I was right; you'll see I was right!'"
As we ready to enter into this season may we find our nourishment in the food provided through Christ our Lord.

Expectations

Some thoughts from Advent a few years ago... seemed like an appropriate re-post :)

Expectations.

What are they?

There is so much here. One's expectations can make or break your experience.

What you expect sets the tone for how you receive. 

As Christians its easy to expect much, and if you aren't careful you will spend your entire time chasing your own expectations. But perhaps the sole role of the Christian is to expect Jesus, in a real tangible way.

The problem happens when we find ourselves expecting what Jesus is "supposed" to be doing for us; rather than expected Jesus Himself. Jesus has promised Himself, He has given Himself. We love Jesus, and so expect Him, yet in doing so we hold no expectations from Him.

We simply Hope in the Love He has already shown.

This Christmas season, what are your expectations?  

Impact Teams Algorithm Revealed

I'm a part of the... um... 

What is our Impact team called again?

There is nothing better than finding your place in the world of our ever evolving Impact teams. 

If anyone has truly learned something about their strengths, gifts, place of life and where they fit in to Impact, then we have been at least partially successful over the past almost year of trying to figure out how to make Impact teams active, sustainable and thriving. 

However, there remains a gap in communicating about our teams...

Namely... the team names.

So this blog is for you... you people who don't know the name of your group.

Struggle no more, here they are:

Creation Team (think create, build & beauty)

Aesthetics/Sustainability/Building

 Ryan Arnett (Building)*, Justin Croft (Sustainability)*, Kayla Steward (Aesthetics)*, Zach Pond, Christopher Fryman, Harrison Wall, Cobi Ferguson, Eli Hamilton, Caleb Haynes, Paul Blalock 

Garden Team (think grow)

Gardening/Engaging Community Involvement/Garden Kickoff Event

This team is only a team from March-August (6 months) - this team is currently serving in other capacities.

Welcome Team (think inviting & hospitality)

Community Events/Giving Tree/Marketing

 Trey Davis (Trees)*, Josh Smith (Events)*, Emily Haynes  (Marketing)*, Leloni Hamilton, Amanda Badley, Tim Gragg, Brandon Rarig*,  Nathan Badley  

Outreach Team (think heaven on earth & sweetness)

Meals/Neighbors/Cards/Baskets/Health-checks

 Deirdre Arnett*, Melanie Pond*, Taren Ferguson, Chasity Blalock , Hilary Fryman, Jenn Drake Croft, Tanae Badley, Lorainne Gragg, Chelsea Davis*, Rachel Bell     

If you don't see your name, I need to see you! 

Impact Team Goals (May, June, July)

Aesthetics 3 Month Goals: 

• Finish existing walking path
• Repair picnic tables, clean and restain
• Weed and re-mulch paths

Aesthetics Goals (Long-term)

• Firewood station
• Herb garden 
• Create an enclosed storage space
• Permanent tree hanging banner
• Green houses
• Signage
• Mailbox
• Flowers
• Dog run
• Build additional recycling stations

Visiting Neighbors and Neighborhood Hospitality 3 Month Goals:

• Monthly grief support basket for neighbors who have lost loved ones
• Give neighbors leftover food each week
• Be deliberate about listening to neighbors and finding ways to support them
• Supply nook for basket supplies

Community Events/Trees/Marketing 3 Month Goals:

• Developing a garden logo
• Plant three more trees and get all signs up
• Get signs up for trees already planted
• Host community events 1 each month in the summer - brainstorm ideas for interesting additions to the events
• Maintain consistency in all marketing across all platforms

Garden Goals 3 Month Goals: 

• Consistency in gardening and community presence
• Participation from the community
• Rigging up a clothesline for growing vines upright
• Distributing produce baskets in the community
• Figuring out a system to let neighbors know when produce is ripe and ready

Sustainability Impact Team 3 Month Goals: 

• Build out bottom part of recycling container to collect batteries and other future items that aren't picked up by normal recycling. 
• Add educational pieces about sustainability to garden newsletter
• Host 1 community trash pickup in the next 2 months
• Create composting education magnets to give out

Heaven and Hospitality

What do you get when you combine community grown, homemade salsa, water balloons, neighbors and a garden cat? July's Community Potluck. Click here to see images.

Thanks to everyone who came out to offer hospitality, and specifically those who did the work to pull off this event. 

We saw a lot of beautiful and diverse faces. 

This is truly a way we see the Kingdom of Heaven breaking into our lives, our city and our world. 

When we offer hospitality and invite our neighbors to the table we get more than we give:

... We gain a deeper understanding of those that live next door.
... The bonds for a community are built up.
... A sense of pride is gained for the place we live.
... God's vision of 'love for neighbor' has an opportunity to be experienced.