Yeah....what he said.

Mmm...a great meditation on poverty at a favorite blog: The Lord, The Blues, and the Art of Being Smooth

Paschal Mystery

Darkness...Suffering...Pain...Death...

...is a living, growing thing,
to be loved and handled
with diligence and grace.

...easily crushed by control,
smashed by resistence,
withered by defensiveness,
shattered by hurry.

...a gift to be loved,
nurtured,
entrusted to the earth
of God's full knowledge and love
to grow in ways
we cannot manipulate
or neatly manage.

ONLY the Maker knows
how to unlock the treasure
hidden within a seed.
Only One is the power
that explodes
sprout,
root,
leaf,
and blossom...
the form of new,
creative,
redemptive Life.


Life lived in the reality of the Paschal Mystery is a cross-shaped life. A life deeply rooted and upward reaching, extended out with open arms in love for others. A creative, redemptive tension compelling me to ascend the exhilarating heights, to explore the darkest depths of life. Root creeping deeper, branches reaching higher.

Pain will come.

Death is certain.

And new life is born.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. Lead me to the Cross.



"The paschal mystery is the mystery of how we, after undergoing some kind of death, receive new life and new spirit....It begins with suffering and death, moves on to the reception of new life, spends some time grieving for the old and adjusting to the new, and finally, only after the old life has been truly let go of, is new spirit given for the life we are already living....The paschal mystery is the secret to life. Ultimately our happiness depends upon properly undergoing it" (The Holy Longing 146-48).

This is very, very deep....and very, very wide. I need to soak in all of this for a while.

Burning in my heart

Beyond Borders...a 2003 film starring Clive Owen and Angelina Jolie - I watched it last night. The second half seemed to be more...Hollywood-ish, but the first half, and the whole movie overall, was rather jolting. Especially the scenes of famine in Ethiopia...the faces of the people...the babies. So many dying. Raw suffering. Pure need.

Jeremiah 5:27-31...Read it this morning. What a perfect, sickening depiction of what we have become. We have our own "prophets" who "prophecy falsely," and local leaders and congregations who gobble it up as Gospel truth. You hear today's prosperity preachers talking about the good life and great wealth God's just waiting to dump on us...when we already live in such abundance....yet we have "grown fat and sleek...and do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper...[or]defend the rights of the needy."

Compare this...

To this...

We pursue affluence and luxury under the guise of seeking God's blessing...and neglect the starving, oppressed lives all around us. This should put fire in our bellies...

From the IJM...

Dateline NBC this evening will feature a special update on IJM undercover work in Svay Pak, Cambodia that resulted in the rescue of 37 girls. The Dateline NBC story, entitled “Children for Sale,” originally aired in January 2004 and has received significant airtime as well as two Emmy awards.
Tonight’s update will include a new interview with Gary Haugen as well as interviews with several of the young girls rescued by IJM in the original raids.

9pm EDT/PDTDateline NBC
Please watch and spread the word to friends who may be new to IJM!

Gratefully– International Justice Mission


P.S. Feel free to visit www.ijm.org/presscenter for previous Dateline NBC footage along with recent IJM media coverage. For more information surrounding the Svay Pak operation, please read Terrify No More by Gary Haugen.

This is absolutely sickening. Our lives are sooooo sheltered, sooooo far removed from any real problems.

Kenyan children abducted, tortured

Heartbreaking...

"Uganda's children work on dangerous rock pile"

I just read this article...it's so sad, it's so wrong, yet what can be done? Gary Haugen (founder, International Justice Mission) says that the first step is to get over this ridiculous idea that "I can't do anything."

God is a just God...how can we be his hands and feet in carrying out justice in this incredibly unjust world?

Irresistible Revolution (further thoughts)...

As I was reading further in Claiborne's book last night, I realized part of what is making me so uncomfortable with it. There are still things in it that I question...that need to be questioned, I think. But a large part of my discomfort is that I've settled into a different Gospel than the one Claiborne is living--and I'm starting to see that his is closer than mine to the Gospel Christ preashed and lived. He's presenting the Gospel in such a way...it's really, really different. Dangerious, I'd even say. It's not a comfortable message. It's not safe. It doesn't promise safety--physical or otherwise. And I'm beginning to think that it's more accurate to the Gospel Jesus preached and lived. But something in me doesn't want to look at it anymore. I like being comfortable. And safety is paramount. I can't even imagine knowingly making decisions that would really threaten my safety.
This Gospel is not comfortable and it's not safe, and I don't want to look at it. But something in me can't help but look at it. A tiny part of me wants it. A bigger part of me wants to be safe and comfy.
But the Gospel Jesus preached wasn't comfy or safe. It didn't lead Jesus to a safe place (naturally speaking). It lead Him to physical death, and He was ok with that. I see that trait in Claiborne's writings as well...and it irritates me! Because I'm not ok with it! I, like John Wesley earlier in his life, am afraid to die.
So...if I am to be perfectly honest, if the Gospel is a gospel that leads to death--I don't want it. That's my condition. It stinks. I know this. But I find myself unsure how to shake free of it.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds." (Romans 12:2)

It's a complete turn-around in my thinking. That is the only way that I can begin to step into the reality of the Gospel as Christ proclaimed and lived. And a thought revolution can only take place as my mind is bathed in the Word. As Dallas Willard has said, Scripture must become part of the "furniture of the mind." Scripture in all its truth, in its real meaning, no matter how much it offends my current thinking.

Looking deeper...

"Life's problems begin in the root system of the soul." ~Joshua Choonmin Kang

Kang tells about a root disease common in some African orange trees. To the casual observer, the disease is invisible; the tree appears to be healthy, producing what looks like healthy fruit. But something inside is sick-something deeper down brings on slow death.
My life appears in many ways to be healthy, producing seemingly healthy fruit. But something sick--deeper down, beyond my ability to reach or understand. It brings a slow, insideous death.
The cure?

For the African orange trees, the diseased parts of the root system must be removed and healthy root segments grafted in. For me...

"Life's problems are best solved at the root level;
that's where we care for our souls;
that's where the medicine is spiritual discipline."
~Joshua Choonmin Kang

Mother Teresa used to say, "Following Jesus is simple, but not easy" (Check out Irresistible Revolution). The key to bringing restoration to our "root systems" is to seek simplicity, but not ease. Our purpose and goal is simple: to love God and become like Christ. The pathway will not always be easy, though over time it will certainly be deeply good and gloriously full of joy.

"It is through many persecutions that we must enter the Kingdom of God..."
~Paul and Barnabus in Antioch.
(They went there to "strengthen the souls of the disciples and encourage them to continue in the faith. Some motivational speech. See Acts 14.)

"The steed swiftest to carry you to perfection is suffering For none shall attain eternal life except he pass through great bitterness with Christ."
~Meister Eckhart

On the Value of Suffering-Part Two

Is there really comfort and ease to be found in seeking comfort and ease? Or is this pursuit actually the foundation of an unhappy, discontented life?
John Ortberg tells about an experiment, done a number of years back, in which an amoeba was placed in an "ideal," stress-free environment. It died.
Stress, strain, discomfort are catalysts to growth. And growth is what we do--from conception to coffin and beyond.

Maybe....could it possibly be...that joy, contentment, and true meaning in life elude us because because we go about obtaining them in all the wrong ways? Could it be that real joy, contentment, and meaning are found as we accept our lives for what they are, stop trying to escape them, and instead really live them?
I'm not talking about living a passive and defeated life, but rather an actively receptive one. This doesn't mean we should never act to change circumstances, but action is taken from a place of prayer and stillness.

"Can you detect even the slightest element within yourself of not wanting to be doing what you are doing? That is a denial of life, and so a truly successful outcome is not possible.
If you can detect this within yourself, can you also drop it and be total in what you do?"
~Eckhart Tolle

On the Value of Suffering - Part One

I did a lectio (found in Solo) yesterday morning in Leviticus 4:32-35. A seemingly "dry" passage has started an interesting train of thought. I don't fully understand the why behind Old Testament animal sacrifice, but it does give some insight into how seriously God takes sin. The Israelites' pathway to reconciliation with God and atonement for their sins was sacrifice. Outwardly the path may look different for us today, but it is essentially the same: sacrifice.

Sacrifice: the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim (1).

In sacrifice, we are willing to give up something we enjoy, value, or even need in order to be reconciled to God (made compatible with Him, 1). The Israelites gave a chief source of provision; God gave His Son...what am I to give? There are obvious things--like time and money--and there are more essential things. Deeper things. Things that I assume to be basic rights, to which I should and must have complete and continuous access. Like my will. The circumstances I deem "successful" or "meaningful." The schedule and activities that contrubute to what I have determined pertinent to a "decent life." Giving this up for the sake of relationship with God...this is sacrifice. Sacrifice implies suffering. Suffering is not a hot item in today's American culture. We like to be comfortable and in control. We like to have the approval of others--or at least not have to deal with those who don't approve of us. This seeking our own way is what dominates the flow of our lives."What do you seek here, since this world is not your resting place? Your true home is heaven; therefore remember that...All things are passing, and you yourself with them... Let all your thoughts be with the Most High...If you cannot contemplate high and heavenly things, take refuge in the Passion of Christ, and love to dwell within His Sacred Wounds. For if you devoutly seek the Wounds the Jesus and the precious marks of His Passion, you will find great strength in all troubles... Christ was willing to suffer and to be despised; and do you presume to complain? Chist had enemies and slanderers; and do you expect all men to be your friends and benefactors? How will your patience be crowned if you are unwilling to endure hardship? Suffer with Christ, and for Christ, if you wish to reign with Christ." ~Thomas a' Kempis (2) Good, huh? In a recent sermon at MPPC (3) entitled, "Why Faith Won't Feel Like It's Working," Scott Scruggs was sharing on Jesus' often-misunderstood statement, "In this world you will have trouble..." Trouble...is the pressure of being torn between world-conformity and God-conformity.
...is the blind-siding effects of plan taking an unexpected turn.
...is the disappointment and discouragement of realizing your life isn't turning out the way you had expected and hoped.
It's what Peter encountered after he got out of the boat to walk (on the water, mind you) to Jesus. He saw the wind and had a choice to make: look at the wind or look at Christ.
It's what Jesus encountered as he prayed in the garden before He was arrested--an intense and very natural urge to avoid what He knew was coming. He had a choice to make: look at the pain or look to His Father.

I seek to live an easy life. There. The truth is out. I'm attracted to jobs, career plans, schedules, people, activities that will be easy for me and assure the greatest possible comfort and ease. How can I expect to be exempt from "trouble"? I was recently with a friend who is living in a very painful family situation. Through frustrated tears she said, "My life just hasn't turned out at all like I had expected." How can I expect to be exempt from this?

1. http://www.dictionary.com/
2. The Imitation of Christ
3. http://www.mppc.org/