Tag: Gospels

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Spiritual Affective Disorder

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.” Luke‬ ‭11:33-36‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus launches into a famous discussion about light and darkness. And, it’s an object lesson for all time, all people. It’s pretty hard NOT to know or see the difference between light and dark. We spend our whole life learning it from the natural patterns of the sun. Personally, I love June because it’s the most sunlit month of the year. Contrarily, December is the darkest (more time for Christmas lights).

When you walk into your home after dark, you tend to want to turn on the lights. Of course, ancients lit lamps. Forgetting the idea of modern dimmers for a moment, we don’t normally make light just to dim it. In other words, we let it do it’s work illuminating.

Jesus then uses this everyday experience to jump into a spiritual lesson. He says, your eye is like a lamp. Hmmm, how so Jesus? Our eyes are gateways, inputs, data receptors to our soul. Yes, of course it goes directly to our brain, which flips images, makes sense of what we are seeing, then processes an intense interpretation of what our eyes see. But, Jesus makes it sound like our eyes (inputs) provide light for our body. Does our body need light? Physically, yes, it does. Not getting enough of it in our Northern States can mean mental trouble. It’s called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It also provides a healthy dose of Vitamin D (we’ve heard a lot about that with Covid).

But Jesus wasn’t necessarily talking about the body’s physical health, he was talking about our soul, the actual health of our soul. Can a soul be sick, anemic? Yep, it can. When Jesus tells us to check the clarity (NLT, “healthy”) of our eye, he uses the word, haplous, which means single (undivided) focus, i.e. without a (secret) “double agenda.” He also compares the eye when it is clouded, blurred (NLT, “unhealthy) and oddly uses the word ponéros, which means evil, bad, wicked, malicious, or slothful.

Here’s the kicker, people normally want a healthy body and soul but don’t usually associate those ideals with what comes through our eyes, or the things we focus on. Jesus says there is a direct connection to what we focus on, what we take in and a healthy soul. Then Jesus Bible drops this truth, be careful you’re not actually allowing in or looking for darkness pretending or thinking that it’s light! Whoa. If our eyes are windows to our soul (I think they are), then what comes in those windows has direct access to our bodies and our souls.

Good old OT Job in 31:1, made himself a contract with his eyes, to NOT look at some things. Folks can get a whole different kind of S.A.D. by not tending to what they are letting into their lives. They can find themselves with a spiritual affective disorder.

Prayer

Dad,
Well, even if I’m not in tip-top physical shape, I sure don’t want to be spiritually anemic, especially knowing it’s because of what I’m taking into my view, my focus, my attention. Help me keep my eyes clear, free from evil, free from darkness. Your Word helps tremendously! Your word is a light tending to my feet and to my path forward. Ps 119:105. I will continue to hide it in my heart so I will not sin against you.

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Oh the persistence of a well loved child!

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” Luke‬ ‭11:11-13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

No one knows persistence like a loved child! Warning: Grandchild story. Our three granddaughters are three and under. Once our grands get something they want in their heads, there is no shaking them off topic. If I happen to mention a special treat for them, the oldest is immediately working her charm. It’s starts with the sweetest of asks, “Papa, do you remember the treat you promised?” “Yes, but let’s wait until after dinner,” I say. Scattered throughout dinner are regular checkins both verbal and non-verbal. A increasingly more direct message, “Papa, remember.” Even though the oldest does the heavy lifting to remind, to maintain this gentle, but constant pressure of THE ASK, it is clear that she is asking for all three of them. And somehow our twenty-two month and our seventeen month old have their brilliant listening skills honed well before their verbal acumen. Now it’s all three staring me down. They remember, they ask and ask again.

It’s not only appropriate because it was promised, it’s adorable because they know that I will come through with the request. How could I not? And the fulfillment of a promise, a resolve of the persistence is complete – Papa serves all three of them with the treat! All is right with the world. A promise made, a persistent reminder is applied and most importantly a promise is kept. Jesus, teaching on how to pray leads off with the warmest, most affectionate way possible… “Our Father.” Then he ends with a good father story. You dads, if your children ask… well Jesus knew, we know, that sums up just about every toddler, preschooler persona – it’s more like WHEN your children ask!

Setting aside all the “Dad jokes,” teasing and ill-timed humor. GIVING good gifts is all that every good Dad wants to do. So, maybe we should come to our heavenly Dad much more preschoolish than we do. “Good God, I’m asking and I know you always keep your promises and want to give great gifts, I just want to remind you that I am waiting, believing and dependent on you.”

Prayer

Dad,
Jesus couldn’t have made it more clear. You love to be asked and love to give good gifts to your own. I’m asking for some pretty BIG gifts. Oh, they are not for me. Like my oldest granddaughter asking for her sister and cousin, I’m asking for my family and friends. I don’t mind reminding you that I am waiting and trusting you for the results.

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You must love churchy people too

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke‬ ‭10:25-29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Oh, I love this conversation that Jesus brings up! It’s so theologically deep and very much practical at the same time. Jesus takes two concepts from the Old Testament and smoothly combines them into one. He also has the guts to mess with the Shema. Jesus adds to this age-old, memorized commandment from God and forever enshrined as the most important saying that any Jewish person would ever need to know and repeat every moment possible. Jesus grabs Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 slams them together and forever re-writes everyone’s cross-stitched, meme-plaqued memory verse in every Hebrew home! Love God, Love people. Simple, right?

Love God… so personal, intimate, mostly invisible and completely vertical. Ah, but loving people, that’s so much harder. Loving people is getting outside yourself, getting over yourself. It is very visible and completely horizontal. If I question your love for God, you can say, “how do you know what’s in my heart?” You can say it’s private and quietly so religious. I could say, “prove your love to God, I want to see it” but that sounds so invasive so judgey. But when Jesus lays out the truth that inheriting ETERNAL life is also loving humans, that becomes quite controversial. If I question your love for people, you no longer get to hide behind your internal thoughts and yummy feelings of love in your heart. I can say prove it! Oh, you don’t like people? Oh, your an introvert and God knows you need your sequestered life of solitude. Hmmm. Love people? Where? Who? How is that done? It requires being around others! It requires getting outside our own world of peace and tranquillity and interact with the messy, chaotic, painful, but also joyful aspects of humanity.

Jesus says this is how to get eternal life. Actually this is how to also LIVE life here on this planet. I have a great suggestion and a wonderful place to start practicing this requirement Jesus lays out. How about going to Church! How about getting around other believers, because the gathering of believers IS THE CHURCH. How about practicing on them.? You say you love God? Then practice loving your own brothers and sisters in the family of God. Too difficult? Yeah, some of you have figured out that loving non-church folk is easier than loving church peeps. Sure non-church folk are less judgey about cultural issues, not completely so, if you’ll admit the truth. But they are super hypocritical and judgey about religious types.

It’s ironic to think that hypocrites and judgey folk are only believed to be “in” the church. We’re all human here. All sinners here.

What if I said, to inherit eternal life you’ve got to love God and love church-folk as yourself? How would that sit with your theology?

Prayer

Dad,
Wow. We really are tough on each other. I can see how important it is to not just love you, but be loving and show that love to others. When I do this, I begin to understand your love for me and I begin to look more like Jesus as I work hard to figure that out. It sounds odd to ask if you would help us to love church-folk and religious types. But would you help us please?

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Living with one foot raised.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.” Luke‬ ‭10:5-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Travel was expected. These verses bring back memories. At one point in my life I was, as they say, an itinerant missionary. My travel days were light compared to my boss. I was out maybe 60 days a year, my boss, at least 150 days a year. So, yes, he had more air miles, car rental and hotel perks because he was a frequent traveler and fiercely loyal to his membership status. He also had far more travel stories while staying with people, in their homes. Dogs that guarded his door so he couldn’t use the restroom. Waking up with a cat sleeping ON his neck. Staying with a young couple who was pregnant and the guest room was next to the restroom where the wife had to frequently un-accommodate her stomach contents. Even his hotel stays were a series of midnight mishaps mostly mistaking the main door for the restroom, only to find himself locked out in his skivvies.

My home stays however we’re delightful and memorable. When I stayed with retired couples we would often stay up late into the night (like 10pm 😂) talking about God and the church. When I stayed with families with littles or youth it was a joy just to be a part of the holy-chaos of evening homework or morning exit plans. I always prayed WITH and for the families I had the honor to stay with. Every single one of them were peaceful and the “blessing” stood! Even though I was away from home, in a strange sense I felt like I was staying with family. This is how the body of Christ functions. There was a bond of kinship and care and I deeply appreciated it. Sometimes I was able to return for multiple years and could watch the family grow and change as well.

My boss had this idea that Christianity and followers of Jesus should provide what he called “Radical Hospitality.” I guess he was old-school that way. Having experienced a sense that God’s work is “out there,” and often finding a sense of home where there are these pockets of hospitality.

In the book Heroic Leadership, Lowney writes, “when people see the whole world as their home, they can turn a hopeful, interested, and optimistic gaze toward new ideas, cultures, places, and opportunities. By freeing themselves from inordinate attachments that could inhibit risk taking or innovation, they become poised to pounce imaginatively on new opportunities. And by looking at the future with optimism, they become more likely to find those opportunities and solutions. Loyola called it “living with one foot raised.” Jesus called his followers to live with this idea that our lives should not be so static that we never experience new or unknown, but to live fluid enough to raise a foot and go out – go forward in and with our faith.

Prayer

Dad,
I get far too comfortable when living or existing in one place. I probably yearn for a sense of safety and security as much as the next person, but I tasted adventure. I saw opportunity open up before my very eyes as I got out, or away from the familiar and the mundane. It was odd that after a few years of these “road trips,” I had grown accustom, not exactly comfortable, but prepared for what “travel” brings. Delayed flights, lost reservations or luggage, just the unfamiliarity of my destination. I got used to a loss of control. But in those moments, I was also learning that you are IN CONTROL and had a plan, or an alternate plan. Maybe even a better plan that I could have never made happen. My trust, my faith increased with unfamiliar, unstable, unpredictable moments. Thank you.

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How could religion can be so off mission?

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.” Luke‬ ‭6:7-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How could things have gone so far off-mission? We have the teachers of religious law and we have Jesus, completely human and God. And, they don’t agree on the correct interpretation nor the intent of God’s law. So the gospel writers give us these little “show-downs.”

Over the hundreds of years the scribes appointed by Ezra were asked to fulfill an important role on behalf of God. God never asked Ezra to assign this to a specific class of men, but it started out so simple, what could be the harm? The scribes duties were as caretakers: protect the law, the temple and the priesthood. Don’t MAKE laws or create systems to care for the temple or elevate and secure the priests to positions of power and wealth. Just help Israel keep God’s stuff in good working order.

Then over many hundreds of years through captivity and wars, and two complete cultural collapses of Judaism, the scribes took on the role of the Israeli secret police per se. They were the watchdogs of everything sacred and meaningful to the Jewish people. It is both surprising and heroic that they were successful in their pursuits and that the law, the temple system and priesthood were still in tact and operational by the time Christ is born and Israel/Judaism is still alive!

The names changed from simple scribes to Pharisees and Sadducees, but their roles had only increased in power and authority. By the time Jesus was thirty, these guys ran EVERYTHING. These “religious leaders” were now wealthy, powerful and very politically involved (too involved). I’ve written this before, but I’m kind of surprised Jesus didn’t THANK them for doing such a fantastic job protecting God’s stuff for him! They actually did keep things going!

Ah, but I’m also surprised that Jesus never had a conversation like this, “Did you guys forget who you work for?” You look and behave nothing like any of the prescribed attendants that Moses wrote about. I’m shocked that Jesus didn’t just directly tell them, “you’re supposed to work for me!”

These stories of conflict over the law and its practical application are how we know the religious leaders were OFF MISSION. The law was FOR people. God’s law was created for people, not people created for the law! Jesus question struck at the heart of the conflict about the Sabbath, “is this a day to SAVE life or DESTROY it? This question would apply to ALL of God’s laws really. Was the law created to save or destroy humans? That one is tricky. Of course it was created to save humans. However, it was also created to give us a clear standard of perfection that would prove how selfish and self-centered we really are. No one was able to keep all of the big ten. And anyone that could not keep the entire big ten would be judged and sentenced for NOT keeping ALL of them!

But, back to the story. Jesus was furious that these self-elevated scribes had so twisted God’s intention – that HEALING on the holy day would be even considered WORK! How horribly wrong could they be? As religious leaders they should have been FIRED and smoked!

Luke writes about the audacity of their complete and utter misunderstanding of their mission. They were NOT protecting they were perpetrating! And they were angry, wild with rage AT God for allowing such a flagrant disregard for all the work they done to perfect themselves. How dare God question our laws! Well now you see now what the fight was all about and who wins. Humans will always create their own laws and their own pitiful paths to perfection. Sad huh? So don’t be like that. And, don’t try to hold others to some ridiculous alternative plan to salvation. It will never work and you’ll end up working against God not for him.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Wow! I do not want my pretentious, religiosity to ever create some false system of salvation for me or anyone else. I get why the Apostles were so frustrated and angry at the regular and ongoing attempts to create these alternative doctrines trying to circumvent the mission of Jesus being the only way to salvation. No additions, no subtractions!