The Lake of Galilee

There are times when by the lake, you stop; no noise, no words, no nothing, just silence and peace. No rush, just stillness. And at that time, understand and reflect on this new way, this touch of love. Rush and you miss it; speak and you won't hear it. Love just waits for your response.

Further Reflections

Viewing and visiting the sites of Jerusalem I ponder that some add layers to protect the sacred while others seek to remove these layers in order to find the sacred, including the layers of religiosity.
...to be in-step with God or with religion, for one I must choose and with one be -out-of-step...

Reflections on Jerusalem

How strange that as I look over all the temples, churches, shrines and sites of man-achievement laying claim to God, to their version of God, to their God, fighting to lay claim to God and their religious heritage that it is actually God who is the one that fights for and over us and lays claim to us.
How strange that we compete against each other for His attention (with bells, calls to prayer and so on) when it is He who competes to get our attention and therefore has to compete with our distractions of bells and calls to prayer and so on.
In many ways Jerusalem is like a snow-globe, a microcosm of humanity; its passions and possessions, its fervour and ferocity. A city built on religious fault-lines; religion, identity and politics that can erupt into devastating destruction at any moment. Dividing walls separating communities and families, each claiming possession and heritage. All symbols of the best and worst of humanity. To pray for the peace of Jerusalem is not only about the literal city but also about the microcosm of humanity that it represents.

Clergy vs Laity

The Abolition of the Laity by R. Paul Stevens
'...in the 2nd and 3rd centutries a definite clergy-lay distinction arose largely from three influences: (1) imitation of the secular structures of the Greek-Roman world not unlike the professional-lay distinction in the modern world; (2) the transference of the Old Testament priesthood model to the leadership of the church; (3) popular piety which elevated the Lord's Supper to a MYSTERY which required priestly administration' (p39)

VS

Priests in a People's Church by George Guiver et al
'When Christian ministers lead us in the Eucharist, they are leading us into MYSTERY...' (p29)

Paul Tillich

'ectasy of being grasped unconditionally' (1948, p81)
Faith is not technological realism, where in order to discover the really real, it is objectified into something that can be measured and expressed in human reason
NOR
is faith mystical realism, where in order to discover the really real, one has to escape the 'now' seeking 'the inner power of things beyond, essence and intuition
BUT
rather faith is historical realism, where the really real is asked for in time and space.
And when the unconditional reveals and transforms the conditional, a state of ectasy or faith occurs as it is grasped by the unconditional, as it is contemporeous to the 'here and now'.
True ectasy is united with faith, and faith transcends what seems to be real, because it is in the presence of the really, the ultimately, real (p80).
The man today who feels separated by a gulf from the theistic believer, often knows more about the 'ultimate' than the self-assured Christian who thinks that through his faith he has God in his possession, at least intellectually (p82).

Lord save us from your followers

Watch this trailer: click here

The alchemist

It's not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind. And it's not love to see everything from a distance, like you do (the sun). Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World...when we love, we always strive to become better than we are...

The boy turned to the hand that wrote all. As he did so, he sensed that the universe had fallen silent, and he decided not to speak. A current of love rushed from his heart and the boy began to pray. It was a prayer that he had never said before, because it was a prayer without words or pleas. His prayer didn't give thanks for his sheep having found new pastures; it didn't ask that the boy be able to sell more crystal; and it didn't beseech that the women he had met continue to await his return. In the silence, the boy understood that the desert, the wind, and the sun were also trying to understand the signs written by the hand, and were seeking to follow their paths, and to understand what had been written on a single emerald.

The ultimate religious sacrifice is to give up God

click here

come on, it is good!

click here

Worth the listen

Open the mp3 clip. It is a rather long clip but profoundly challenging...take the time to lisen
- what needs to change?
- how?
click here

The main thing, is the main thing

The main bit is at 2:10 to 2:46 in the clip.....listen carefully
- what is the main emphasis in our faith expression?
- what is the priority?
- how can we move others towards such an ideal?
click here

think forward

What we believe emanates from who we are. And who we are is not about dogma, or even about moral behavior, but about dying to ourselves. This is part of the conversation between ThinkFwd host, Spencer Burke, and Pete Rollins, author of How Not to Speak of God and The Orthodox Heretic. They explore the ideas of truth and God, of resurrection and insurrection.Truth, says Rollins, is not one extreme or the other; its not the middle of the extremes. Truth is at both extremes. While traditional Christians say, God is present. God exists, and Christianity is true; atheists say God isnt there and Christianity isnt true. These two extremes push Rollins to explore a 3rd position and he likens it to the story of Jesus on the cross, when He felt forsaken by God-- God not present--and yet God was completely present. And so the 3rd position dwells in the very place in between. Rollins says Christians are called to dwell not on one side of the other, but in the very split that Christ opens up: between old and new; between Judaism and Christianity.
- do you live in the tension that is the split?
- how can we live more in balance?
- how can we bring movement towards balance in our faith expressions?

Jay Bakker

I am moved by the emotion in this clip click here

Brian Mclaren answers the million dollar question

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/brian_d_mclaren/2010/07/let_there_be_peace_in_our_individual_identities.html