Perfect love casts out fear...

Sunday, a friend of mine made a minor offense in our relationship.

Wednesday, I had a great conversation on Skype with my friend Cree. When I asked her what she had been learning from God, she started sharing about being engulfed in grace that we feel peace in the reality of who we are...both before God and before those we fellowship with. (I hope that was accurate, Cree).

Wednesday night, the friend from Sunday called to apologize about Sunday.

Thursday morning, I am dwelling on I John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."

My mentor has coined the phrase "So what?! Relationships are messy!" She uses the statement to diminish the drama of being hurt in an arrangement that will inevitably be painful in some way or another. I think the command for Christian relationships doesn't prevent hurt in relationships, but rather helps us work through the after math.

I John reiterates that all are guilty of sin (1:8,10; 5:16-18...). At some point the faults of each of us will harm another. Again the test comes in how we respond to these situations.

I guess my conversation with Cree and my reading this morning has given me two directions:
1.) Fantasy says that our friendships will be perfect. But reality says that Relationships ARE messy. Forgive.
2.) In my pride I become fearful that my flaws have possibly ruined relationships. But the above statement needs to be reciprocated. Let the perfect love cast out fear and free us to love courageously. Forgive yourself.

I've been reading through the Chronicles in my quiet time lately, and this afternoon I ran across a king I'm not sure I've ever been aware of, King Uzziah of Judah.

King Uzziah's story is found in 2 Chronicles 26. Appointed to the throne at the ripe age of sixteen, Uzziah begins his reign seeking God's will and is blessed. And even more typically his reign ends in tragedy.

"But after Uzziah became powerful his pride led to his downfall," reads verse 16 and we have a continuing narrative that the king enters the temple of the Lord to burn incense--a duty reserved for the consecrated Levitical priests. A few (eighty-one) brave priests follow him in order to confront the sin. Amidst the confrontation, Uzziah gets angry, waves a smoldering incense stick around, and is immediately struck down with leprosy. He finishes his life in seclusion.

I find Uzziah's story intriguing because his pride does not lead him to forsake God and turn to other gods as we often see in the other Kings' examples. Instead, his pride leads him to make hasty assumptions about God, His worship, and His power.



As I read this story, I instinctively saw myself standing in a most holy place, waving around a smoldering stick, feeling vindicated but looking ridiculous...only to be struck with the holiness of the One I seek to serve. I'm usually the first to jump on the bandwagon of things the church is doing wrong. My cynicism breeds an un-teachable and judgmental spirit. My assumptions about God and His worship are many--tipping the scales away from humble recognition of His power.

Though the church may need reform and God sends prophets to cleanse of corruption; may we all receive the grace of learning from Uzziah's story. Tread lightly, God alone can judge...even our own hearts.

Why I Wish I Were Catholic

Reason Number 1: Catholics seem to have a strong sense of Christ's call to serve the poor and oppressed. Every city I have lived in (exception Gresham...population 200, we barely had a post office)has had a strong presence of Catholic Social Services. Historically, we look at figures like Dorothy Day, who started the Catholic Workers Movement during the Great Depression, and Mother Teresa, a timeless icon of compassion and sacrifice. In sum, I admire those who have set the bar high for Christians to take care of all of humanity (not just the convenient)--and those who have realized that being Jesus starts with human need more than effective argument.

Reason Number 2: Catholics seem to be more aware of God's desire, ability, and right to choose women for His work. Not only are they aware of it, but they also seem to understand that the role of a woman is not less, nor limited to the home. I recently prayed through the Stations of the Cross and was struck by the references to females (Station 4: Jesus meets His mother. Station 6: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Station 8: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem). I'm not saying their inclusion was meant to glorify one sex over the other; as much as I think the frequency of female reference powerfully contradicts the cultural gender-context of Jesus--as well as that of St. Francis of Assisi. And dare I say challenges us to examine if we expect equally powerful views of women in service to Christ, today.

Reason Number 3: Liturgical Chanting. :)

Reason Number 4: There is a depth of material on spiritual development due to Catholicism's embrace of Christianity's historical roots. For example, I had never heard of Spiritual Direction until my time in seminary. There I began hearing more references to contemplative prayer, discernment, retreats of silence and many other practical disciplines for spiritual growth. Catholics have a rich heritage of writing purely on the art of intimately knowing the Creator (St. Ignatius of Loyala, Henri Nouwen, etc.)

Rest

Did you know that there is an entire biblical doctrine of Rest?

I was first introduced to the topic last year at Bethel in my class on the Pentateuch, but recently reminded of the doctrine as I'm studying Hebrews.

It starts with the command to honor the Sabbath or "Shabbat" in Hebrew. The Shabbat fascinates me, and I may write more on it later, but for now I'll settle for recommending Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner--an intriguing description of Hebrew ritual for deeper and more meaningful worship.

The author of Hebrews alludes to the doctrine again in Hebrews 3-4:14. I've been picking out some really cool stuff about Shabbat in these verses. Particularly about Jesus Christ providing us eternal spiritual Shabbat--contrasted with the temporary Shabbat of the earthly promised land, Joshua, and the law.

But another convicting aspect of the Doctrine of Rest for me, is the frequent reference to God's voice in Hebrews.

3:7 "So as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...'"

3:16 "As has just been said; 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.'"

4:7 "...'This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.'"

"Word" and "Spoke" are frequently used as well in the passage. But, you get the point. I'm convicted because I know how quickly my life gets filled with the noise of work, friends, family, and stuff. And I also know how easy it is to hear those voices louder than the voice of God...if I am not careful.

The final irony is that I'm confused when this happens--why am I not feeling the Shabbat of God. The author of Hebrews alludes to the voice of God being foundational for rest. In order to have peace, we must listen.



"The Rest" by Pablo Picasso

A New Mother's Day

Shout out to Doris Heidtbrink! A woman who has lived her love for people, who ALWAYS shows compassion and grace, who shows humility in her honesty, and who quite possibly is the only other individual quite as loud as I am. I LOVE YOU, MOM!



So Mother's Day has taken a new meaning this year to me for two reasons.

We'll start with the first big news--my oldest sister, Amanda (clear left) is expecting the first official child of my siblings around Halloween of this year. Officially putting me in the running for SWEETEST FREAKING AUNT EVER!!! There really is no "running"...I will win.

Additionally, I've been challenged recently to embrace my calling as a woman. Being a woman can often be challenging, confusing, frustrating and oppressive.

However, it can also mean reflecting some of the most unique and powerful attributes of the Creator...including the power to create. I hope to blog more on this later, but for now I am going to end with a HUZZAH to the women I love and feel are extraordinary, who are creating beauty in all parts of the world.

Today was my grandpa's last day as senior pastor at Polk Baptist Church. Amidst the cursed, uncontrollable Burke woman tears (I mean every blasted one of us from grandma to aunts to grand-daughters), he finished 62 years of pastoral ministry with a sermon in 1 John on loving one another.

I'm going to brag for a moment and state that I possibly had THE coolest grandpa in the entire world.

Last night I was studying Hebrews and ran across a passage that he had shown me when I was 15. At 15, I asked about whether or not individuals could "lose" their salvation. And my grandpa took the time to explain to me--in my youthful ignorance--the main premises of Soteriology (no joke). He didn't dumb it down, he used technical terms and gave me outlines of the philosophy behind prevailing views.

Which brings us to cool factor number one: who takes the time to explain Soteriology to a 15 year old?! My grandpa, that's who. And as a result I experienced the living Truth that EVERY one can understand their faith on a deeper level...never insult the capacity of the human heart and mind based on external factors (gender, age, etc.).

Then! And this is what blows my mind. I remember him focusing on Hebrews 10:24, 25:

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love, and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

He explained (to a fascinated and totally mold-able pre-teen) that my actions in loving community would far surpass any theological conclusions I came to. That in the end, theology is just theology--and God is God over it all. But, my call is to encourage and be active.

As my grandpa concludes a long journey of ministry, I consider my own. I hope I have the wisdom to continue his legacy and love others more than my own mind. May our doctrines, our theologies, and our comprehension not rob the cross of its glory. May we stir one another to love. May we stir one another to good works. Let us not neglect meeting together. But, let us encourage one another!

2 (posts) in 1 (week)

This week has been kind of crazy at work. And I got phished on facebook, which was remotely embarrassing, but also amazing for my social life. EVERYONE was thinking of me and talking to me. I recommend its many benefits, except I did have my password changed. And had to go through a dang lot of hoops to start a new husker email and finally re-gain access to my account to change the password. AND I'M TAKING FACEBOOK BACK, EVIL FORCES OF COMPUTER DOOM!

This post is getting kind of weird. So, I'll just wrap it up with a quotation from Mark Twain, “Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates”.

So...

true.