Tag Archives: Wholeness leads to Oneness

Sound of Silence

Living in the Spirit

Living in the Spirit

June 13, 2022

Scripture Reading:

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a

He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. –1 King 19:11-15

Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
Then the sign said, “The words on the prophets are written on the subway walls
In tenement halls”
And whispered in the sound of silence*

There are lots of interpretations of this song, but I have seen none that connect it to the above scripture. I do not know if Paul Simon had this scripture in mind when he wrote it, but the song speaks to me of a world where no one listens to anyone else, and everyone follows the latest temptation that presents itself. In such instances, we do not have to think or weigh the worth of what is put before us. It suggests that oneness has nothing to do with loving one another but focusing our love on the bright shiny objects of the world as we stand next to each other and are still totally alone. Only when Elijah does the impossible, lets go of all those outward distractions, and hears the sound of silence does he recognize that God is always with him, and he is never alone. God’s presence empowers him to return to his calling leading the people out of the wilderness of separation from God and into the fullness of loving God and loving one another.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we get caught up in the ways of the world. Return us to wholeness in your love that allows us to the oneness with you and one another. Amen.

*First and last verse of Sound of Silence by Paul Simon see at https://www.google.com/search?q=sound+of+silence+lyrics&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS987US987&oq=Sound+&aqs=chrome.1.69i59l2j69i57j35i39j46i10i199i465i512j69i60l3.3798j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Self-Righteous

Lent

March 31, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Philippians 3:4b-14

even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. –Philippians 3:4b-11

This is a letter to those of us who suffer from some degree of religious supremacy, and most of us do. In fact, we would not be participating in a religion we did not think was better, at least for us, than any other religion. I could easily write something like what Paul wrote in the opening section of the scripture quoted— born in the USA, a Christian born of Christians, baptized at the age of six. None of those matters, when I consider the great gift of grace, I receive from the love of God through Jesus the Christ. God’s righteousness must prevail not my self-righteousness for being born the right color in the right country to law-abiding parents who taught me to be law-abiding, even when some laws were/are unfair.

I purposely used the word supremacy because we are called to deal with it in our society today. Christian nationalism is also a phrase that evokes a marriage of church and state which makes me very uncomfortable. Indeed, my faith in God should drive every aspect of my faith, but I am not God and must not assume God’s role in the life of others even through manipulation of governance. God did grant us permission to love others—all others, no matter what and we can do as much of that as possible.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we take our privilege for granted. Help us to see how that may hurt others and help us make changes in our lives to correct such injustice. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Feeling Inferior

Kingdom Building

October 27, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 18:9-14

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’

Inferiority complex an acute sense of personal inferiority resulting either in timidity or through overcompensation in exaggerated aggressiveness; broadly:  sense of being inferior or at a disadvantage:  lack of assurance*.

It is a paradox but people who appear on the outside to be overly invested in themselves often feel inferior on the inside. The results are negative for them and others whether they withdraw from the world, thus robbing the world of their talents, or whether they present themselves like the Pharisee in the scripture above as being better than others. They have not incorporated in their being the depth of Jesus’ identifying the commandment to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Feeling the need to be better than another is not loving them. We are only able to love all others when we can accept that God’s love for us gives us all the worth, we need. Our loving the other demonstrates to God how much we love God as much as it tells the other that we recognize that God loves them too.

We are forgetting John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’  Our worth was established when we were made in the image of God. Our worth was further proved when God gave his only Son for each and everyone of us.

Prayer: Lord, heal our souls so that we may as fully as we possible can understand the depth and breadth of your love for us. As you teach us to love ourselves enable us to love all your children. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/inferiority%20complex

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.