tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63090610340596731532024-03-13T10:49:22.682-07:00Story in the MiddleHarriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-78459579194656878792015-01-08T15:21:00.002-08:002015-01-08T15:51:02.832-08:00Since Ferguson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I
mentioned in my <a href="http://storyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2014/12/six-sermons-later.html" target="_blank">last post</a> that two sermons landed in the middle of current
events that shook the nation and the world, the most recent being Ferguson. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
teaching team at my church, of which I was a part, had decided in early fall to
do an Advent series on “Interruption” – how did Advent interrupt the world? We
laid out the specific topics and the schedule. The topics included Advent’s
interruption of our personal plans, of silence and darkness, of social order,
of violence and finally of religion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I
volunteered for social order thinking I would address women’s issues in the
church and society since I had been involved in that conversation for a number
of years. But Ferguson changed my plan. Ferguson changed me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In
the weeks that followed I struggled with conflicted feelings similar to <a href="http://kathyescobar.com/2014/12/01/race-ferguson-what-might-be-swirling-around-in-our-heads-and-hearts/" target="_blank">Kathy Escobar's</a> and I read the articles, blogs and Facebook posts that
responded to the tragedies in Ferguson, Cleveland and New York as well as to the
protests in cities all over the nation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As
I read I noticed there were parallel tracks of reactions, defenses and
frustrations between black experiences and women’s experiences in the church. I
made a list of points of contact between the two spaces of injustice and came
up with thirteen pretty quickly. My list included discussions of <a href="http://m.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/05/what-we-mean-when-we-say-race-is-a-social-construct/275872/#ad-jump-ad-mobile-instream-1" target="_blank">race</a> and
gender roles as social constructs, the problem of <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/12/26/7443979/racism-implicit-racial-bias" target="_blank">implicit bias</a>, white/male
privilege, inability to respond with <a href="http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/07/8-things-white-people-race/" target="_blank">authentic, non-defensive listening</a>, lack
of meaningful relationships that allow for stories of the other, inability to
empathize or grieve with the other, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Observing
these parallels and knowing how the struggle against the institution of slavery
both <a href="https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/rightsforwomen/abolitionandsuffrage.html" target="_blank">historically</a> and <a href="http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/is-abolition-biblical" target="_blank">biblically</a> impacted the struggle against hierarchy and
male dominance in the church, I knew I could not remain in the shadows any
longer in the struggle of my black brothers and sisters to find justice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So
I have turned my face toward what is a new arena for me of advocating for
racial reconciliation and justice. It began with my sermon on December 14.
Since then a group has formed of people from my church who want to engage this conversation and figure out what it means to be a faith community that continues
Christ’s mission of interrupting sin and hell on earth and participates in
works of justice and reconciliation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I want to share with you
below an edited version of the sermon I shared with my faith community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w6mvYaKSWtQ/VK8OrXYYcuI/AAAAAAAABHo/oMvNRUM8YWY/s1600/Advent%2BGraphic%2BInterruption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w6mvYaKSWtQ/VK8OrXYYcuI/AAAAAAAABHo/oMvNRUM8YWY/s1600/Advent%2BGraphic%2BInterruption.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our Advent theme this year is “Interruption.”
Two weeks ago, Bob started us off by focusing on how Advent interrupts our
personal plans. Last week Sarah talked about Advent’s interruption of silence
and darkness. The question for us this morning is: <i>How did Advent interrupt
social order?</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This has been a difficult teaching for me to
prepare, for obvious reasons with what’s happening currently in cities across
the country including Portland. Opinions of the grand jury decisions in
Ferguson have been divided and the facts confusing. But I think we can all
agree on one thing. The issue of racial injustice is complex and it is not
going away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I am convinced that we need to talk about
justice issues that affect the black community. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And we need to talk about it in church.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Following Ferguson, the grand jury decision in
the case of Eric Garner exposed even more the reality of injustice suffered by
blacks. And for many, New York erased whatever doubts were at Ferguson,
including for many <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/december-web-only/united-evangelical-response-system-failed-eric-garner.html?utm%5C_source=ctweekly-html&utm%5C_medium=Newsletter&utm%5C_term=11144030&utm%5C_content=319539974&utm%5C_campaign=2013" target="_blank">evangelical Christian leaders</a> who are now voicing concerns about justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Last week Sarah asked us to respond to the idea
of the church being "midwives in a world pregnant with hope" as she phrased it.These recent events have raised some questions for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Is this a time for the church to step up and act as midwives of hope, of justice and reconciliation? Is God breaking the collective silence that African Americans have felt from white, to be honest, a silence that most of the church has participated in? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: windowtext;">Dr. Christina Cleveland,
associate professor of reconciliation studies at Bethel University, in an <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/amyjuliabecker/2014/august/white-christians-its-time-to-stand-in-solidarity-with-your-.html" target="_blank">article</a> </span><span style="color: windowtext;">published in <i>Christianity Today</i>, wrote this: "The American church, plagued by its own racial divisions, offers little in the way of healing and hope." But she says it was never meant to be this way. She asks whites to intentionally listen to and stand in solidarity with black brothers and sisters. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then Dr. Cleveland makes this bold statement, "The unified family of God is the answer to the problem of race in America." I'd like you to sit with that statement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext;"><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The unified family of God is <u>the</u> answer to the problem of race in America.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If true, it has huge implications.</span></div>
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<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If Dr. Cleveland is right, then how did the
church become the answer? How can she say this? I want to lay out why I
believe she is right by going to the Bible. If we are to step up, we need our
actions to be grounded solidly in Scripture.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Have you ever thought about Jesus/God being born
a baby, vulnerable to the choices of others, vulnerable to the systems and
social orderings in place at that time? No human has a choice of where and when
to be born. But only in this one birth was there a choice. God chose a
particular time, a particular place and a particular social system to take on
human flesh. Behind that choice was a human history of social ordering and
divine interruptions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m going to take you on a wild roller coaster
ride through the grand narrative of the Bible to give us a historical context
for Advent and how it interrupted social order. I want to focus on two
questions – what did social order look like and where was God in relationship
to it? Buckle up and get ready. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Old Testament and
Social Order<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Starting with Genesis we
have the story of one man and one woman, created in image of God. They were
co-stewards of creation, commanded to procreate a society, which we can assume
will have perfect order, perfect harmony between God, humans, animals and
earth. Creation harmony included an intimacy of divine presence in which God
walked with humans in the garden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But then in Genesis 3
Adam and Eve make a bad choice and sin enters the world. Their relationship
with each other is damaged and their relationship with God is broken as he
removes his intimate presence. As sin shatters creation, humans begin to create
hell on earth. But even though God takes a step back to allow chaos to once
again form on the face of the earth, he is still attentive to human society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Hell on earth begins in
Genesis 4 with the first murder when Cain kills his brother Abel and God hears
the cry of Abel’s blood from the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then in Genesis 6 we
read of the first annihilation of humans. But this catastrophic event occurs
after we’re told God’s heart has been broken because evil has completely
saturated humankind. So the floodwaters come while Noah’s family is spared for
the reboot of a new society, hopefully one that chooses good not evil. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But that doesn’t happen.
We get to Genesis 11 and read the story of the first division of the human race
when God confuses the people with different languages because they have banded
together to create a structure, the Tower of Babel. God interrupts their
building project because that tower represented an organized, structured
society in rebellion against God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So God initiates a new
plan in Genesis 12, a new beginning through one family that he will eventually
form into what God calls “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Through this
nation, the world is supposed to be blessed and is supposed to witness what
social order looks like under the rule of God. This begins the story of
Abraham, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob with his 12 sons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Eventually this family
ends up in Egypt. After many years Jacob’s family has grown into a very
powerful force that threatens the current Pharaoh. God hears the cries of his
people suffering under Pharaoh’s oppression by sending Moses to lead Israel’s
escape. On the way to the Promised Land God gives Moses the Law on Mt Sinai,
which lays out the rules for this new nation and just society. Moses also
builds a tabernacle, a new place for God’s presence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But once they get to
their land and settle in, they fail to follow the rules and honor God. Social
disorder sets in as each one does what is right in their own eyes, which we see
in the book of Judges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Eventually Israel is fed
up with social chaos plus they feel vulnerable to outside enemies, so they
abandon theocracy for a monarchy. This is the story of David and his efforts to
build a nation with a just king ruling a just society. But it doesn’t work. His
son Solomon starts off well, building an impressive temple for God’s presence.
And he asks for wisdom to rule justly. But Solomon in his old age doesn’t end
well. His sons and the kings that follow fail to be totally devoted to God and
once again there is a social spiral downward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">During this period of
the kings, prophets are sent one after another, condemning Israel of pride,
idolatry, and specifically social injustice. The prophets warn them of two
things: a coming judgment and a coming Messiah. But they refuse to believe or
change. So the monarchy is stripped from Israel, the people are carted off into
exile to Assyria and Babylonia, and God leaves the temple. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Eventually the Jews are
allowed to return to their land under Persian domination but they lose the
throne forever and they continue to suffer under foreign rule. All they have
left are their priests and a sad looking temple rebuilt under Ezra and
Nehemiah. This ends the Old Testament story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Between Old Testament
and New Testament, we have what many call the 400 “years of silence” when there
is no recorded word from God, at least none that make the final cut to be
included in the Bible we have now. However there is a lot of activity during
these transition years. There is a final purge of idolatry in Israel and the
rise of powerful religious leaders. Social order is restored but it’s under the
burden of extreme law keeping which unfortunately leads to religious oppression
and exclusion in a social hierarchy that’s set up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Gospels and Social Order<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is at this point in
human history that Israel and the world is interrupted with Advent, the coming
of a long awaited Messiah. The Jews know the Messiah will be Emmanuel, “God
with us” but when Jesus actually comes, they don’t even recognize God. For us,
on this side of Advent, we do have a different perspective of this Messiah. So
I’m going to slow down our ride for a bit and gaze briefly at the one who
interrupted human history. What did Jesus show us about God?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In Advent, we see a God
who identified with those in the margins of society because that is where he was
born</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Jesus
was illegitimate at conception, his family was poor and they were refugees in
Egypt to escape Herod's massacre of male babies. In his ministry Jesus remained
homeless and dependent on others, including women, to feed and house him. And
he gathered misfits as disciples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In Advent, we see a God
who advocated for those excluded from mainstream society</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In
Luke 4, Jesus stood up in the synagogue and declared his mission from Isa. 61: <i><span style="color: windowtext;">The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind
will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s
favor has come.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In
the gospel stories of Jesus’ engagement with people, you see someone who
consistently advocated for those excluded from the temple and for those
excluded from community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In Advent, we see a God
who reached across social barriers for the purpose of reconciliation.</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Jesus
embraced and elevated Samaritans, lepers, and Roman soldiers, and women. He ate
with the tax collectors and sinners…but he also ate with hypocritical religious
leaders. Even as Jesus was suffering on the cross he welcomed the criminal next
to him to be with him in paradise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As
we look at his life, we can see that Jesus made a distinction between story and
system, between individuals and the social structures they lived in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He
responded with mercy and compassion toward people who were at the bottom of the
hierarchy, who were the powerless in society, the outsiders: people like the
blind man, the widow who lost her son, the woman caught in adultery, the hungry
crowd of 5000.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He
was compassionate toward the individual. But when it came to the system, Jesus
had a completely different reaction:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Jesus
challenged religious systems that neglected mercy by healing on the Sabbath,
purposely breaking their rules. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Jesus
challenged economic systems when he angrily overturned the tables in the temple
that were selling goods and inhibiting worship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Jesus
challenged political systems but not by conquering them as the Jews hoped a
Messiah would do. Instead he established a new but subversive Kingdom. A
Kingdom hidden in the hearts of people transformed by God’s love and loyal to
the rule of God above any human authority. A Kingdom where love and justice and
reconciliation would be evident and inviting... and confrontational. Jesus’
coming inaugurated a Kingdom with a new social order where the last are now
first and the outside are now inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Let’s finish out our big picture ride through
the Bible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Church and Social
Order<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We see that Jesus did not meet the people<span lang="FR">’</span>s
expectations. Instead of overthrowing the Romans, Jesus suffered and died at
the hands of his oppressors. But in doing so he dealt a permanent blow to the
power of death and sin and hell, both in hearts and in social systems. But
these did not change overnight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Instead his followers
had to wait until after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension when there would be a
second advent, the coming of the Holy Spirit. It was at Pentecost that people
from every culture, every economic level, both men and women, received the Holy
Spirit who became the presence of God in bodily temples. At Pentecost, Babel
was reversed. And at Pentecost a new humanity was created and unified in order
to change the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">From Pentecost on, the
story of the church has not been an elimination of diverse cultures or even an
absorption into the Jewish culture. Instead we see cultural identities being
preserved at the same time that an alternative community is formed and united
by faith in Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A game-changing verse is
found in Galatians 3:28: <i>There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free,
male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.</i> This verse is not
about eliminating these social categories (I am still female) but about
eliminating the social hierarchies that obstruct people <u>from</u> the Kingdom
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> discriminate between people or
diminish their voices <u>within</u> the kingdom of God. The hierarchies have
been turned upside down and the field has been leveled because we are a new and
alternative creation, not only in our identity but also in how we live our
lives as neighbors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally we come to
Revelation 21 where we read of heaven’s return to earth, where we see a vision
for the whole world in which there will no longer be any social ordering of the
powerful over the weak. There no longer will be any death, sorrow, crying or
pain. Jesus will complete his mission of reconciliation and justice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On that last day will the church, Jesus' hands and feet, be told, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!"? (Read the context of this praise from Matthew 25 and note the connection to social justice.)</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Church and
Interruption<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Advent interrupted. Jesus interrupted. I am sure
the church is supposed to interrupt too. We already have examples in our own
community of interruption, places where you are engaged in compassion for
individuals and challenge of systems. We have examples like the <a href="http://koin.com/2014/11/06/parents-buy-strip-club-to-better-neighborhood/" target="_blank">Sugar Shack</a> <span style="color: windowtext;">strip club in which our church
decided to match any donations you made to the Indie Go-Go fund (BTW the
fundraiser was successful and Evergreen made up almost 10% of the total needed!);
we have Jason Fileta in our community who heads up <a href="https://www.micahchallengeusa.org/" target="_blank">Micah Challenge</a> </span><span style="color: blue;">t</span><span style="color: windowtext;">o end poverty; many of you bring meals and serve the
homeless through <a href="http://www.homepdx.net/" target="_blank">Home PDX</a>.</span><span style="color: windowtext;"> Recently I became aware of some <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByoKszYpslP9TFpyYUJwVFo1aXc/view" target="_blank">statistics</a> </span><span style="color: windowtext;">showing the impact of
organizations like <a href="http://epikproject.org/" target="_blank">EPIK</a> t</span><span style="color: windowtext;">o end
sex trafficking in Portland</span>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I am grateful for so many of you who are
involved in these examples of interruption. But I have to ask this question: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Is God asking us to do more?</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In these opportunities for involvement,
Evergreen has already shown a willingness to become what Walter Brueggeman
calls an “alternative prophetic community,” one that both criticizes what<span lang="FR"> i</span>s
broken and lives an alternative social order. Having women elders and teachers
is a demonstration of that kind of community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Last week we interacted with the thought of the
church as midwives. Now I'd like you to consider how we can be an alternative
prophetic community for racial justice. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">How
do we stand with our black brothers and sisters, as Dr. Cleveland implores us
to do? </span>I have one suggestion on how we can start. No, how we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should </i>start. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Brueggemann, in his book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Prophetic Imagination, </span></i>suggests
we start with grieving, with lament alongside those who suffer. He says that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">grief is the most radical criticism of a
social order</b>. Collective lament has the power to break collective silence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Grief
also has the capacity to interrupt what Brueggemann calls a “denying and
deceiving kind of numbness.” It is this numbness that keeps us from feeling
compassion and shields us from the pain of those who suffer under systemic
injustice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Grieving requires a
willingness to look inward for spaces that need interruption.</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We
not only grieve for the sin and death around us…but also for where it’s in us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We
grieve when the system fails people…but also when we are part of the system. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We
grieve when we hear the stories of injustice...and when we act unjustly toward
our own neighbor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We
grieve other’s experiences of discrimination…as well as our own hidden racism
and microaggressions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Standing
with our black brothers and sisters will require willingness for our hearts to
be broken in order to grieve alongside of them. One of the ways we can open
ourselves up to lament is to read stories of the black community, to read their
stories of pain and loss, of how they have felt the sting of injustice, in
their history and in the present.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Table of
Interruption<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As we prepare for communion, I invite you to
consider how Jesus ended up experiencing the very suffering of his own mission
from Isaiah 61. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the <b>poor</b>...</span></i></blockquote>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2 Corinthians 8:9 says: "Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich."</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He has sent me to comfort the <b>brokenhearted</b>...</span></i> </blockquote>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jesus' own heart was broken as he was betrayed by one disciple and then was pierced with a soldier's spear. </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">and to proclaim that <b>captives</b> will be released and <b>prisoners</b> will be freed.</span></i></blockquote>
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jesus became a prisoner, whipped and mocked and spit upon.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He has sent me to tell those who <b>mourn</b> that the time of the Lord's favor has come.</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jesus grieved for Jerusalem. In the garden of Gethsemane with sweats of blood he mourned what his mission would cost him...and it cost him his life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In coming to the Table, I</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">’</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">d like you to consider
this: taking communion is both an </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">act of
solidarity</b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> with our brothers and sisters and an </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">act of subversion</b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> against a social order that dehumanizes the poor,
the brokenhearted, the captives, and the mourners.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Heb. 2 tells us that Jesus is not ashamed to
call us his brothers and sisters.</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If
taking communion is identifying with the life and sacrifice of Christ then it</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">’</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">s also
identifying with brothers and sisters around the world, across the country, in
our city.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So I invite you to come
to the Table in solidarity and subversion.</span></b><br />
<div class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-12975180229995294762014-12-30T23:06:00.001-08:002014-12-30T23:06:45.988-08:00Six Sermons Later<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-03jz-MCkOQ8/VKOd0PdrL-I/AAAAAAAABG8/LqWj_F8vp60/s1600/stars.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-03jz-MCkOQ8/VKOd0PdrL-I/AAAAAAAABG8/LqWj_F8vp60/s1600/stars.jpeg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<i>Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God...</i><span style="font-size: x-small;">1 Peter 4:10-11a</span></blockquote>
<br />
Recently I prepared and delivered my sixth and last sermon for 2014. I started my adventure last January with a schedule of preaching about once every two months. During the year I was mentored by a pastor/elder of my church. As I reflect on this past year I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak into my faith community, a desire that had burned within me for a very long time.<br />
<br />
I posted my first sermon <a href="http://storyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-first-sermon.html" target="_blank">here</a>, but now I'm a little embarrassed because I'm pretty sure I am not preaching the same way now.<br />
<br />
During the year I found out a lot about myself -- my fears (like having a senior moment in the middle of a sentence or teaching heresy), my idiosyncrasies (read OCD and perfectionist and hours of writing, rewriting and practice), my internal processes (oh sooo slow), my insecurities (I'm not good enough or humorous enough).<br />
<br />
But I have thrived even as I found out how difficult it is to "speak the very words of God."<br />
<br />
Here are some of my thoughts as I reflect on my journey to becoming a preacher.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Words are difficult to form and painful to cut. </b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
I haven't posted on my blog for a long time which has been typical of my pattern of writing. To tell you the truth, most of the time writing feels like hell. So I would tell people, "I'm not a writer. I hate writing!" I only started blogging because it felt like my head was about to explode with all the words dammed up inside since I wasn't allowed to preach.<br />
<br />
Until I found a church that wanted everything I had to offer including the words in my head. Once I started speaking, I thought the words would just flow out easily and naturally.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Except I found out the agony of forming words following me into preaching. Or more accurately, the agony of cutting words. I cannot write a short sermon.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
But as the year progressed I became more comfortable with not saying everything there is to say. For the first time in my life speaking is a regular occurrence. For the first time, what isn't said is not because my voice has been silenced but because my voice is welcomed and I am trusted to hear from God and speak only the words that are necessary for the moment.<br />
<br />
What isn't said can be wrapped and stored for a future sermon. Because sermons are in my future now.</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>All my senses come into play before speaking.</b><br />
<br />
I have noticed a fascinating pattern every time I prepare my sermon. Because I am a slow processor I need weeks to chew and ponder and chew some more the topic or passage I have to unpack. Most of the time I initially have no idea what I am going to say.<br />
<br />
Then something mysterious begins to happen. At first it feels like I'm looking up into the night sky overwhelmed by the vast number of stars. Then a certain group of stars appears to belong together like a constellation, but one I've never seen before. The text is speaking. My thoughts are forming.<br />
<br />
As the days pass and the deadline approaches, I begin to see lines connecting the stars in a dot-to-dot picture. I begin to see things around me, overhear conversations, or read articles that are mostly random but connected to my yet unspoken sermon. Sometimes I laugh because it feels like pure luck that I came across a certain blog or that my brother-in-law/pastor is preaching on the same topic in Kansas. I don't hear voices from God but it sure seems like he is helping me out with other voices to guide me just at the right time to the words I need to speak and the picture I need to paint.<br />
<br />
I try to pay attention to my surroundings, being present as fully as I can as I ponder the text or topic and listen for words of wisdom or insight. But I also try to pay attention to my inner self, to how the text is connecting to me personally. I spend time with memories especially those experiences which brush up against the text. Memories inevitably connect me to God. And suddenly as the text reads me and connects to me, I <i>feel</i> the words of God.<br />
<br />
Preaching is telling other people what I saw in the stars, what I heard from God through the messengers he sent. Most importantly preaching is telling others what I see through <u>my</u> eyes and hear through <u>my</u> ears when I read the sacred text because I have a history of the text reading me, informing me, changing me. (Yes, I know. This is after I've the done the work of studying and observing through the eyes and ears of the biblical authors.)<br />
<br />
So I see, I hear and I feel before I speak. As slow as I am in processing a sermon, this is when I feel closest to God.<br />
<br />
<b>When it's not clear what the answer is, lead people toward love.</b><br />
<br />
I imagine that most people have a particular caricature of a preacher. A person standing behind the pulpit, Bible in hand raised, mouth opened with certainty written in every line of the face, eyes glowing with intensity as it bores into every soul seated in the pews. I had that picture.<br />
<br />
But not anymore. That preacher hasn't been me.<br />
<br />
For sure there have been moments of certainty. The good news of Jesus' life, death and resurrection for forgiveness and salvation and a relationship with a holy God. The unconditional, unwavering, uncompromising love of God for every single person. The upside down, inside out message of hope and justice and reconciliation.<br />
<br />
But there have been sermons when the answers were not clear, or the text was obscure or at face value confusing, even inconsistent. While studying one particular parable, I wanted to throw four different commentaries across the room because their face value interpretation was unacceptable, unhelpful and inconsistent with the rest of Jesus' teachings.<br />
<br />
If that wasn't difficult enough, two sermons, with topics scheduled months in advance, landed in the middle of current events that were land mines of controversy and debate, especially among Christians (the Gaza/Israel conflict and the Ferguson grand jury decision). I could not ignore the connections to the sermon topic (the story of Hagar and Advent's Interruption of Social Order, respectively). Nor could I ignore the front page news or the Facebook posts. As much as I wanted to take a detour around the minefield, I could not. So I chose to go through. I was filled with fear and uncertainty.<br />
<br />
Whether it was obscurity, inconsistency, or controversy, eventually I found a path through them. And it consistently turned out to be a path of love. Love for God and love for others. It's more clear now why those are the two greatest commandments.<br />
<br />
<b>Does it matter that I'm a woman preaching?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
In the broader picture, no. The gifts of the Spirit are gender-blind. Maybe I and the other women preachers in my church bring a particular feminine perspective to the sacred text and to life with God. But gender-specific perspectives relies on stereotypes that always have exceptions. I have never fit the stereotype of women. Thankfully since the culture of my church is one of equality in theology and practice, differences are rooted in personalities and personal stories, not gender.<br />
<br />
Yet it does matter I am a woman. I have had particular experiences as a woman. Because I am a woman. And my experiences will partner with the sacred text and the Holy Spirit in ways that differ from a man.<br />
<br />
And it matters that I am a woman preaching because there are men and women who need to see and hear from a woman in the pulpit, who need to know women are to be valued and empowered in the body of Christ and who need to believe women are capable of studying the Bible deeply and thinking theologically. </div>
<div>
<b><br /></b>
It's been quite a year and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I'll probably say the same thing next year.</div>
Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-40518930633838669292014-03-29T13:32:00.000-07:002014-03-29T13:32:53.197-07:00My Hands Tell a Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M2-3xG7GzzE/Uzcsw2DxcWI/AAAAAAAABBE/0jiBmRsP93k/s1600/My+hands+B&W.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M2-3xG7GzzE/Uzcsw2DxcWI/AAAAAAAABBE/0jiBmRsP93k/s1600/My+hands+B&W.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I confess I’m a little embarrassed to show my hands. They
look so…old. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can’t hide them like I can the silver strands in my hair.
I can only stuff them in pockets or cross my arms and hide them under my
armpits. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But my hands can’t be hidden for very long. I have to expose
them at the cash register or under the lights of the manicurist or at the
dinner table with guests. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t know if they even notice, but I do. And I see…and then
reflect…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I see joints deformed from calcium deposits and aching after
holding a trowel too long. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then I reflect. I still have plants I want to plant.
Dreams I want to dream. And I protest that I’m not ready to give them up. So I
will push through the pain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I see loose skin creating wrinkled landscapes on the back of
my hands.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then I reflect. These hands tell my story of learning to
work hard and being willing to get them dirty. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scrubbing out diapers in the toilet was hard.
Keeping my sister clean while she lay dying was harder. I have always resisted
wearing gloves and reached to touch whatever God placed in front of me. I’ve
learned that life’s crap is fertilizer for life's fruit. And getting myself a manicure is a waste of money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I see age spots like permanent cloud shadows on my hands,
consequences of too much time in the sun. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then I reflect. I don’t regret soaking in the rays. Each
age spot holds memories of playing under the tropical sun of my childhood and
under the Northwest summer sun with my children. And new memories are made as my
hands push gently against the backs of my grandchildren while they can swing as
high as they can to touch the sky. I wonder under which sun they will find
God’s purposes for them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I see and reflect and then decide there is no shame in knobby,
wrinkled, spotted hands. Ask me how they came to look so old and I will gladly
tell you their stories.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-50029950421018971172014-02-06T15:03:00.001-08:002014-02-06T15:03:31.432-08:00My First Sermon<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8dlzAfQR5Hw/UvPbFME_EvI/AAAAAAAABAQ/9OgdOd7rkWA/s1600/Evergreen+gathering2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8dlzAfQR5Hw/UvPbFME_EvI/AAAAAAAABAQ/9OgdOd7rkWA/s1600/Evergreen+gathering2.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evergreen Community at the Lucky Lab Pub in the Pearl District</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><br /></i>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>In my last post I wrote about </i><i>finally </i><i>being in a church with egalitarian views and practices. I had just delivered my first sermon in my own home church. It was a moment of healing and redemption considering what my journey had been to get there. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>On the Monday following I met with the lead pastor and we made a plan for me to grow as a preacher. He also gave great encouragement as well as constructive criticism. I am EXCITED and GRATEFUL for the opportunity.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Many friends asked if the church had recorded my sermon but apparently something went wrong so there isn't a way to listen to it. (It may be cool to meet in a local pub in Portland on Sunday morning but the audio-visuals are challenging.) So the best I can do is offer the written form of my sermon which is definitely longer than I normally post for my blog. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>P.S. Most of the questions I ask in the sermon are actually not rhetoric. I am able to engage the people in conversation and responses which I thoroughly enjoy since my main spiritual gift is teaching. Also, after communion, I went back up to ask the closing question asked every Sunday by the preacher: "What do you hear God saying to you this morning?" I love this part of the service!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>So here it is, my sermon from Luke 3.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6bH8gTBwb0/UvQTmPUVh-I/AAAAAAAABAg/Ufszazzjv4s/s1600/Repent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6bH8gTBwb0/UvQTmPUVh-I/AAAAAAAABAg/Ufszazzjv4s/s1600/Repent.jpg" height="244" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
early December an article was published in the Daily Beast after an interview
with a Portland businessman named Grant Chisholm. Chisholm does street
preaching on the side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
writer said this about him: “<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According to his
sidewalk rhetoric, God hates strip clubs, “homosex”, Catholics, football, and
probably most Portland residents.<span class="apple-converted-space">”</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
title of the article was “The Hipster Fred Phelps,” meaning Fred Phelps of
Westboro Baptist, the ultra-conservative church with the website
"godhatesfags.com." They also made national news when they picketed
military funerals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
Chisholm’s stated opinion was that Phelps was <span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">a
horrible person. He told the interviewer, “He’s a hate-monger. I absolutely
despise his existence.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A follow up article in
the Oregonian a few weeks later revealed that as a result of the connection to
Phelps, there's been a call in Portland to boycott Chisholm’s business. The
article described the painful economic and emotional toil on him. But in the
article Chisholm admits this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="indent" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 3.0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“I love controversy. I love arguing. I love
being in people’s faces because then I see more evidence of lives being changed
than I ever did handing out sandwiches or free haircuts.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
don't want to judge his motives so let’s assume that Chisholm loves God and
sincerely cares for people's souls. What is your response to this? Or to any
street preacher you run into? What feelings or tensions do you have when you
listen to hellfire and damnation preaching? <b>(Responses ranged from admiration to embarrassment to rejection from the congregation.)</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This
morning we will be taking a look at Luke 3, a pivotal chapter in this gospel. We'll
be reading the story of John the Baptist the way Luke tells it. I have heard
some preachers refer to John to support their confronting style. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ll
just say up front I don’t believe Luke is giving anyone permission to use John
as a model of preaching, at least not in the way people typically understand
him. Pay attention to any details that stand out to you as we read the passage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Luke
3:1-20<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">It was now the fifteenth year
of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over
Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></i></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></i></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></i></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">At this time a message from
God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></i></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan
River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented
of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></i></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">“He is a voice shouting in
the wilderness,</span></i></span><span class="text"><i>‘Prepare the way for the</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><span class="small-caps"><i><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></i></span><span class="text"><i>’s coming!</i></span><i> <span class="text">Clear the road for him! </span></i><i><span class="text">The valleys will be filled,</span> <span class="text">and the mountains and hills made level. </span></i><i>The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth. </i><i><span class="text">And then all people will see</span> <span class="text">the salvation sent from God.’”</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i>When the crowds came to John for baptism, he
said, </i><b>(This is where I had a little fun. I got up on a footstool and yelled at the top of my lungs this part of John's rant along with some finger pointing.)</b><i>“You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath?</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><span class="text"><i>Prove by the way you live that you
have repented of your sins and turned to God. </i><b>(I quit yelling and got down after this, not wanting to push my luck.)</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="text" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i>Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><span class="text"><i>Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="text"><span class="text" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i>The crowds asked, “What should we do?”</i></span><b><i><sup> </sup></i></b><span class="text"><i>John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry."</i></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, "Teacher, what should we do?" He replied, "Collect no more taxes than the government requires."</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i>“What should we do?” asked some soldiers.</i></span><i> <span class="text">John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i>Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to
know whether John might be the Messiah.</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><span class="text"><i>John answered their questions by saying, “I
baptize you with<b><sup> </sup></b>water; but someone is coming soon who is
greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and
untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
with fire.</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><span class="text"><i>He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat
with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering
the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i>John used many such warnings as he announced the
Good News to the people.</i></span><!--EndFragment-->
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What
are some things that jump out at you in this passage? What comparisons or
contrasts would you make between Chisholm and John? What questions come to mind
as you read this?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's work our way through the passage as best we can. I can't unpack it thoroughly but I want to highlight some thoughts including the ones you have offered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><b>Historical Setting </b></span><span class="text"><i>(Luke 3:1-2a)</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m not going to go into
detail on who all these people were and what their titles meant but there are a
couple of things to understand from this list.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First of all the historical details
tell us that Israel was in a really bad place. They were suffering under tremendous
political oppression under Roman rule. In fact they had been under foreign
domination for nearly 800 years. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There also was turmoil in the
religious community. Several groups including the Pharisees and Sadducees were
competing with each other on what it meant to obey God and how they could go
back to being one nation under God or rather how they should respond to Roman
rule. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also apocalyptic literature
was flourishing during this period. Along with their dualistic views of good
vs. evil and God vs. Satan, apocalypticists warned that the end of the age was
coming soon and the Jews would finally be vindicated. But it wasn’t going to be
pretty. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It had been 400 years of
silence since the last prophet or visitation from Yahweh. The people were
losing hope and getting desperate. The biggest question on their minds was,
“Has Yahweh abandoned us and forgotten his promises to Israel?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">John’s Calling</span></b></span><span class="text"><span style="color: black;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Luke 3:2b-3)</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the midst of oppression,
poverty and a spiritual wilderness, John enters the landscape with the voice of
a prophet. Considering their history of failure as a nation, prophets usually equaled
judgment. Meaning not so warm and fuzzy messages. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So the word of God comes to
John setting him apart as a prophet. But this time the message seems different,
even hopeful, maybe comforting. Really Harriet? Where do you get that? OK so let
me explain why street preachers shouldn’t use John as support for their rhetoric.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">Everything about John was different. And not
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">John’s role was to prepare the people to take
a certain heart posture that said, “I will abandon my ways to find security,
wholeness and even favor with God and I will be ready to walk the new path God
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">Darrell Bock in his commentary on Luke
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">His
ministry in the Jordan River region is designed to get people ready for the
arrival of God’s salvation by having hearts open to respond to the coming
Messiah</span></i></span><span class="text"><span style="color: black;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Understanding John as a prophet and transitional figure is so important
that 3 out of the 4 gospels connect him to Isaiah 40. But by quoting a few
verses from there, the gospel writers intended to use the broader Old Testament
passage to inform the reader. For a culture that relied on oral history, these quotes
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">If you’ve read the book of Isaiah you know that there is a major
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">Let’s read some key passages from Isaiah 40 and see if anything that
helps us understand John’s message in a different light:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><span class="text"><span class="text"><span class="text"><i>“<b>Comfort</b>, comfort my people,” says your God. </i></span><i>“<b>Speak tenderly</b> to Jerusalem. </i></span></span></span></span><span class="text"><i>Tell her that her sad
days are gone</i></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><i> </i></span><span class="text"><i>and her <b>sins
are pardoned</b>.</i></span> <span class="text"><i>Yes, the</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><span class="small-caps"><i><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><span class="text"><i>has punished her twice over</i></span><i> <span class="text">for all her sins.” (40:1-2)</span></i></blockquote>
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<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then comes the passage quoted in Luke:</span><br />
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Listen! I hear the voice of someone shouting,
"Make a highway for the LORD through the wilderness. Make a straight,
smooth road through the desert for our God. Fill the valleys
and level the hills. Straighten out the curves and smooth off the rough spots. Then
the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together.
The LORD has spoken!" (40:3-5)</i><!--EndFragment--></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Verse 9 offers the first OT reference to the “good news” or gospel:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Messenger of <b>good news</b>, shout to Zion from the
mountaintops! Shout louder to Jerusalem -- <b>do not be afraid.</b> Tell the towns of
Judah, "Your God is coming!" Yes, the Sovereign
LORD is coming in all his glorious power. He will rule with awesome strength.
See, he brings his <b>reward</b> with him as he comes. He will
<b>feed his flock like a shepherd</b>. He will <b>carry the lambs in his arms</b>, holding
them <b>close to his heart</b>. He will <b>gently lead </b>the mother sheep with their young. (40:9-11)</span></i></blockquote>
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<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The crowds in our story have
been living in the first half of Isaiah, in the doom and gloom. John’s job is
to transition them to the second half, to bring comfort and hope not fear. God
is a shepherd, not a judge. He has not abandoned them. He has seen their
troubles and things are about to change. Just not in the way they expected.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
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<o:Company>Reynolds High School</o:Company>
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">Luke is the only one who quotes
a few more verses from Isaiah 40 than the other gospels do. <i>(Luke 3:5-6) </i>Last week Dustin pointed
out the bookends of the theme that God’s salvation is for all nations which can
be found at the beginning of the gospel and the end of Acts of Luke's
two-volume set. This theme is found again in these verses from Isaiah 40 with
the metaphor of leveling the landscape so all peoples will see God’s salvation.</span></span><br />
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">But there’s a twist in the
plan of salvation. The leveling is not quite so benign. Leveling requires the
removal of the obstacles and the obstacles turn out to be the Jews themselves. The
plan of saving all nations will have collateral damage, not by God’s choice but
by their choice. His own people will reject Jesus and this becomes the means
for saving the world.</span></span><br />
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">Let me insert a caveat
here. I recognize that not all Jews rejected Jesus. Many believed and became
disciples. So I am referring to the rejection mostly of those in power,
especially the religious leaders.</span><!--EndFragment-->
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<span class="text">The cause for Jesus’
rejection is Luke’s secondary theme. Whereas the other gospel writers build up
to Jesus’ rejection, Luke introduces it much earlier – we see in the next
chapter when Jesus is nearly thrown off the cliff in his hometown.</span></span><br />
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Confrontation </b><i>(Luke 3:7-9)</i></span><br />
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">In
this next section of our passage we get a clue to the “why” of the rejection. These
verses are also found in Matthew nearly word for word except for one detail.
Matthew identifies the “snakes” as being the Pharisees and Sadducees. But Luke
says “the crowds”. Why does the difference?</span><!--EndFragment-->
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">Because
a broader group fits into Luke’s theme of how Israel as a nation will respond
to God’s new plan. John’s rebuke to the crowds is pointed to all the Jews who
are relying too heavily on their connection to Abraham to be spared God’s
wrath, a wrath that is probably being preached more by the apocalypticists than
John who is preaching hope from Isaiah 40.</span><!--EndFragment-->
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="text">Luke
makes clear God’s new plan has nothing to do with heritage. The old covenant
tree, the Law, never produced the fruit God intended and it must be cut down.
This is an obstacle to be removed from the landscape to bring God’s salvation
to the nations. And most of the Jews are not going to accept this.</span><!--EndFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><span class="text"><span class="text"><br /></span></span></span>
<b>Practical application</b> <i>(<span class="text"><span style="color: black;">Luke </span></span>3:10-14)</i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text">Luke
goes on to describe a scene that is only in his gospel – the response of the
crowds. Their question is a direct response to John’s exhortation to <i>“prove by the way they live
that they have repented of their sins and turned to God.</i>” I personally prefer the more literal
translation: <i>“Produce fruits worthy of
repentance.”</i></span><!--EndFragment-->
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Their question “What should I do?” becomes the
natural response to being told Judaism is no longer the path to God’s favor.<!--EndFragment-->
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">John
can’t answer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” since
Jesus hasn’t started his ministry yet. So he tells them, the kind of fruit that
is worthy of repentance is the kind that shows how well you treat others.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
Jews should not have been too surprised by John's answers. Everything from the
Torah was intended to impact their relationships with their neighbor in a
redemptive way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
essence I believe his answer means this, “The Messiah is soon coming with
salvation. While you're waiting for him, one thing has never changed in his
plan. Those that want to show they are on board with God, that they have
repented and turned to God, can obey what he has always commanded: Love your
neighbor.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Interestingly
only Luke tells the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan in which Jesus
identifies the good neighbor – it’s the one who shows mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
each of John’s responses you see that the nature of one’s fruit is specific to
the individual and their particular sphere of influence or impact. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
don’t hear a voice of condemnation or judgment. I hear a preacher responding to
people who are trying to process this shocking news. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Luke
is very much concerned with social justice issues, which you see throughout his
gospel and into Acts where the young church shares all their possessions with
each other so no one is needy. But Luke is careful to address social justice
from the beginning point of a repentant heart. The heart behind any social
action should be, “I am just as much in need of mercy as the person I am
feeding.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If
you notice, you don’t know if the crowds followed through with John’s
suggestions. The question still hangs in the air, “What should I do?” Both
John's and Luke’s ultimate answer is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Look at Jesus. Listen to Jesus. Soften your hearts towards
Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately,
we know later in Luke that the Jews reject that answer. They repeat the mistake
of Isaiah 30:15:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel,
says, "Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In
quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>John the Messiah?<i> </i></b><i>(<span class="text"><span style="color: black;">Luke</span></span>:15-18)</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
people sense that things are about to change, so they think John must be the
Messiah. But John quickly squashes the rumor that his baptism is the end game. He
points to the Messiah who has a greater baptism, a baptism of the HS and fire,
which anticipates the Day of Pentecost. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
interpret the metaphor of the threshing floor to mean the same thing as the ax
at the root of the tree. Jesus’ baptism is the real deal now, the wheat, not the
chaff of the OT system, a new branch not the old tree of the Law. This repeated
warning again sets up Luke’s explanation of Jesus’ rejection. The religious
leaders are not going to like this twist in God’s plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Luke
further foreshadows Jesus’ rejection by telling us of John’s not-so-happy
ending <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(<span class="text"><span style="color: black;">Luke </span></span>3:19-20):</i></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black;">John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee,</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black;"> </span></i></span><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black;">for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other
wrongs he had done.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black;"> </span></i></span><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black;">So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.</span></i></span></span></blockquote>
</div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Jesus' Ministry</b> <i>(Luke 3:21-23)</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here
is the turning point of Luke’s story – the beginning of Jesus’ ministry that
will now take center stage.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One day when the crowds were being baptized,
Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and
the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. And a voice from heaven
said, "You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you. <a href="" name="a"></a>" Jesus was about thirty years old when he began
his public ministry.</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In this one brief description of Jesus' baptism, all three persons of the Trinitarian Godhead are present. But all eyes are only on one - Jesus, the dearly loved Son of God.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is going to play out
in Luke’s gospel is the inconceivable but historical event that heaven meets
humanity in the form of the God-man Jesus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So
Jesus comes to John to be baptized. Does this raise a question for you? It did
for John. We know from Matthew that John wanted Jesus to baptize him. But Jesus
insists John do the baptizing. Here's the question: Was Jesus baptized as an
expression of repentance? Well, yes and no. I see the significance of Jesus’
baptism as two-fold.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First,
as a connection to the OT through John. We get this from Matthew’s account
where Jesus tells John he needed to be baptized in order to fulfill all
righteousness. Jesus is the fulfillment of the hope and promises of God given
in the Old Testament, especially Isaiah 40. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
second, yes, as a baptism of repentance…but not from sins. This is where we
need a deeper, more robust understanding of repentance. Remember, the essence
of repentance is not a change in behavior or remorse for sins, though it
certainly can include those aspects. It's much more than that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
essence of repentance is a posture of the heart, a heart ready to respond to
God and Jesus does that without sinning. In the rest of the gospel we see Jesus
living a human life with a heart always turned upward, in complete obedience to
the Father and dependence on the HS. Jesus did not repent or turn away from sin
because he was sinless. But he set aside, or “turned away from” his divine
powers (see Philippians 2) and lived humbly and obediently as a human.<u><o:p></o:p></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Luke
gives us a glimpse this heart orientation toward God by telling us the heavens
opened while "he was praying," a detail left out of the other
gospels. In fact Luke has more references to Jesus praying than any other
gospels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Genealogy
</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Luke 3:23b-38)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
want to stop here because what’s next is a genealogy that’s no fun to read out
loud but it’s still significant in Luke’s overall purpose to his gospel. There
are a number of differences between Luke’s genealogy and Matthew’s, which I
don’t have time to get into. But one main difference is important.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Matthew
starts with Abraham and moves forward through David to Jesus but Luke goes
backward in time... through David... past Abraham... and on to Adam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Luke’s
main point is to connect Jesus to Adam to prove he is fully human and representative
of all humanity. By linking Jesus to the first Adam, Luke subtly but forcefully
moves past the arrogance of those who think their connection to Abraham gives
them a privileged and protected place in God’s plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
he doesn’t stop with Adam. Luke keeps going and says Adam was the “son of God,”
an echo of the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism. With his genealogy, Luke
drives home the point that God from the beginning of creation has had all of
humanity in mind in his plan of salvation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He
also spells out the ultimate reason for Jesus’ rejection. Jesus is fully human
as son of Adam, but also fully divine as son of God. And the Jews are <u>really</u>
not going to like this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So
what I see in John’s life is not a model of preaching hellfire and damnation. When
I listen to him I don’t hear words of wrath but words of comfort and hope. When
I hear the word “repent” I don’t hear a judgment but an invitation to be open
to God’s plan and presence. When I consider what sins require repentance, I shouldn’t
think about a certain list of sins, which only give me reason to think I am
superior to others who have greater sins. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
should think first about one sin, one that levels the playing field – my efforts
to control my own life or as a friend of mine likes to say, "my way rather
than Yahweh." Yeah, I groaned too whenever he said that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When
I look at Jesus I see God who enters into humanity to show us how to become
more human the way he created us to be, to model dependence on God through the
HS, to walk with us in the midst of our dark places, to show us God’s heart,
not one of wrath, but of compassion, gentleness and humility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It
took me a long time to really believe this for myself. I have a personal
metaphor of a dark tunnel to describe the difficult periods of my life. I’ve
learned that every tunnel has an end where I come out into the light, even if
the tunnel is life threatening and the end is stepping into eternity, something
that helped as I journeyed with my sister and her cancer until she passed away
last spring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s
not so much the end that causes me to doubt. What’s difficult is knowing how to
walk in the dark until I get there. I have the type of personality that says,
“I will figure it out myself. I will fix whatever is broken.” And then my
strategies don’t work and I am miserable and angry. Or in one dark tunnel that
lasted 7 years, I lost my faith. What I have discovered in each tunnel is that
repentance from my strategies opens the door to God’s presence. His wisdom,
strength and love are all the light I need while I finish the tunnel with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Communion</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From
our passage this morning, I invite you to consider two questions. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) What is
my heart posture today?</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) And what should I do?</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These
questions are the starting point for every single one of us whether you're
contemplating a faith in Jesus or you have walked with Jesus for many years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It
doesn't matter who you are...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">your ethnicity or
your education, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">your social or economic
status,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">your gifts and
passions or your sexual preference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What matters most
to God is fruit coming from a heart of repentance, fruit that naturally grows
from the mercy of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A
willingness to repent with a heart posture that is open to God and a response
of "What should I do?" may lead to a question that Luke hopes you'll
ask, “What would encountering Jesus, the son of God and the son of Adam mean
for you, especially since he came with hope, not wrath?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As
you come to the table, another place where heaven meets humanity, please come
to engage God in whatever way you need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As
you take the bread and the juice or wine, which represent Jesus' body and
blood, I invite you to ask Jesus what you need to understand about Him. Open
your heart to Him. Repent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Father, open our ears to receive a word from you.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jesus, open our eyes to see you in the place we are this
morning.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Holy Spirit, open our hands and move our feet to love others
in the places we need to go.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God, give us hearts of repentance. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-18224439516642030092014-01-17T22:15:00.001-08:002014-01-17T22:15:44.622-08:00One Word: Grow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NPJAgQrVX44/UtoV5_1dDsI/AAAAAAAAA_I/tKyx-Bw_-Ds/s1600/Early+hyacinths.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NPJAgQrVX44/UtoV5_1dDsI/AAAAAAAAA_I/tKyx-Bw_-Ds/s1600/Early+hyacinths.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It's only January but it feels like spring in Portland. I see my hyacinths poking up in my yard which is bad news if we get another cold spell. But seeing the little shoots in the dead of winter is the perfect metaphor for where I'm at right now.<br />
<br />
It has been a long time since I have posted on my blog. Nothing new really. I've been sporadic for quite a while as I journeyed with my sister through chemo treatments and then a stem cell transplant. When she passed away last spring, my world stopped spinning and I grieved deeply. It was hard to restart it.<br />
<br />
Eventually I felt small movements under my feet. But I still did not feel like writing. In fact I questioned why I was blogging at all. Nothing felt right. After a year of flying back and forth to Florida to help care for my sister, I suddenly was faced with an empty calendar. I had nothing to look forward to. I had nothing to say. Until last Sunday.<br />
<br />
Last Sunday I preached for the first time in my own church. I felt like a shoot daring to defy the season of death and reaching for life. It felt so good to emerge from the soul-crushing dirt and breathe the fresh air of freedom and hope once again.<br />
<br />
I had preached before - for women's retreats, for workshops at conferences, for churches in the area. But never for the church I attended.<br />
<br />
Though I loved preparing "talks," I did not aspire to be a preacher. I took the one required preaching class in order to get through seminary. Instead I focused on developing as a teacher in a church. That changed a few years ago when I preached my first Sunday morning sermon for a church in a nearby town. The second time I preached, same town but different church, a man came up to me and said, "Harriet, people need to hear your preaching."<br />
<br />
I didn't know what to do with that affirmation. I had never been invited to preach in my own church and probably never would. I wasn't sure I had a gift for preaching and I wasn't sure how I could find out. I caught myself most Sundays reworking in my mind the sermon I heard into my own voice. I was terrified at the thought of preaching but the longing to do it grew stronger and stronger. So when I asked a pastor if someone would take me under their arm and teach me, it hurt that he kept forgetting my request. Or ignoring it, despite the church's public policy that women could preach.<br />
<br />
Disappointed and confused, I decided to leave. To be honest, it was partly because of how I was treated. But mostly I came to the realization that I no longer fit in a church without complete equality for women. It really wasn't the pastor's fault or the church's fault. They were clear on this issue. Women would never be viewed as fully equal and my expectations to be treated as such were unrealistic. Now entering the latter years of my life, I decided I did not want to spend those years always feeling frustrated, wondering if I was fully living God's purpose for me.<br />
<br />
So I left because I was tired of feeling caged and fighting the system. I left to search for a community with whom I could grow old and deeper still. I found one and it has been great. Evergreen Community is not perfect but it has become home. I finally can rest from hitting gender barriers and being hit by gender insensitive remarks.<br />
<br />
The difference women elders make for a community is discernible. The value of keeping small and planting if it gets too big means every voice counts when making decisions. Power is given away rather than forced from the top down. The elders talk of the "community tax" which means the church is committed to investing in others so that those who are exploring gifts are given opportunities to exercise them. That may mean imperfect lessons, forgotten details or awkward sermons.<br />
<br />
I preached for the first time in my church and it wasn't perfect. But in that moment I realized and accepted God's wisdom and grace in my journey to this place. What's been amazing is the style of preaching at Evergreen, which is more teaching-preaching. It so fits me! I can exercise my primary gift while I'm learning another so it feels less intimidating to try this new thing.<br />
<br />
Because I believe in God's sovereignty, I believe this is where he wanted me all along. I just had to take a few detours along the way, detours that included important growth experiences, some of which were painful but necessary. I had to discover who I really was and what I really believed.<br />
<br />
I know I still have a lot more to learn but I see now that God used the hurt and the humiliation, the misunderstandings and the mistakes of these past years to bring me to the starting point of a season of new growth. As one friend put it, "God takes the shit in our lives and turns it into fertilizer to grow beautiful things." I don't know if I'll grow into a preacher but at least it's a safe, nurturing place to try.<br />
<br />
It feels like winter is finally ending. I smell spring in the air.<br />
<br />
And I think I found my <a href="http://oneword365.com/" target="_blank">one word</a> for the year: <b>grow</b>.Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-29416494931880119242013-10-31T18:38:00.000-07:002013-10-31T18:38:48.837-07:00The Gospel In An Alabaster Jar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gp0cS4Ie1y8/UnMF1TjKvDI/AAAAAAAAA9o/6uBWQeKmpiE/s1600/Lady-K%E2%80%99abel-alabaster-jar-front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gp0cS4Ie1y8/UnMF1TjKvDI/AAAAAAAAA9o/6uBWQeKmpiE/s200/Lady-K%E2%80%99abel-alabaster-jar-front.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="Body1">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached
throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">My guess
is, if I were to ask you who Jesus is referring to and what she did, you would
have to scramble into the deep recesses of your Bible memory to come up with
the story. Or most likely, the connection between his statement and her story
has never stuck though you may know the story well. It is recorded in Matthew
26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9 and John 12:1-8. (Luke 7:36-50 is a story of a different
woman.)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,
a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she
poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">With that
one act, a firestorm of angry words were loosed as the disciples argued the
value of the perfume and where it should have gone. But Jesus defended her. He
validated her expression of devotion and reframed it as part of his journey
toward the cross.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Wherever</span></b>
<b>this gospel is</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">preached</b>,
her story is to be told. How many times have preachers been obedient to these
words of Jesus? How could such an amazing tribute be so forgotten?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Ever
since my Greek class in seminary where I wrote a 20 page paper dissecting this
story, I have been on a mission to wipe away the centuries of dirt and dust on
her epitaph. What she did should inspire and encourage every woman who knows
the transforming power of the gospel.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Usually
the gospel is associated with the twelve male disciples who walked with Jesus,
heard his teaching, witnessed numerous miracles, gathered to eat the last
supper with him, and then changed the world after the resurrection. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">But you
also have to embrace twelve disciples who lacked faith in the threatening wind
and waves (Matt. 8:26, 14:31), who had no compassion on the hungry multitudes
(Matt. 14:15), who were dull when it came to parables (Matt. 15:16), who were
stumbling blocks to Jesus' path to the cross (Matt. 16:23), who divided over
greatest among them (Matt. 20:24), who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of
silver (Matt: 26:14, 27:3), who fell asleep when Jesus needed them most to pray
(Matt:26:40), who chose violence instead of trust when challenged by a soldier
(Matt. 26:52), who chose denial rather than loyalty when challenged by a
servant girl (Matt. 26:70), and finally, who were absent when Jesus was laid in
the tomb and were absent when he was resurrected (Matt. 27:60, 28:10).</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">In his
gospel account Matthew often is less than favorable in the depictions of his
fellow disciples. But when it comes to the story in chapter 26, he shines a
brilliant spotlight on a woman who, sandwiched between stories of betrayal,
represents the ideal disciple.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Though
John identifies her as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, Matthew keeps
her unnamed for the purpose of setting her as the example of discipleship for
everyone, both male and female. Interestingly, Matthew never refers to any
other of the stories of this significant family trio nor names them. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Yet we
know Mary well from the other gospels as the woman who has already broken a
serious cultural glass ceiling by sitting at the feet of the Rabbi Jesus. The
male voices of complaint are strangely silent. The voice you hear is Martha's
and her complaint leads to a gentle rebuke from Jesus concerning priorities.
This story is often used to encourage women who identify with her to be more
like Mary, to take the time to stop and sit at the feet of Jesus in private
devotion.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">But we
could take this story further and encourage women to sit at the feet of Jesus <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">with the men.</b> Or encourage women
to not criticize women who are called to be in the room with the men rather
than in the kitchen.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">So many
layers of meaning...but back to Mary and her alabaster jar.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">In
Matthew's one snapshot of her, Mary does not disappoint us in showing us again she moves
outside men's boundaries and lives in the freedom of Christ. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">For
Matthew, she is the personification of devotion, loyalty and extravagant love.
Her simple act is transformed into a sacred act by Jesus. What the disciples
misunderstand and judge is received by Jesus and elevated alongside the gospel. When they think they have a handle on Jesus' teaching especially
concerning the poor (they had just heard the parable of the sheep and goats -
Matt. 25), a woman<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>steps into their man
cave and with one act, upsets their rules and rearranges their priorities. She
does not utter a single word, yet she teaches the men. She seeks no glory, yet
now her story is to be remembered by preachers until the end of time.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Among the
stories of these disciples, her story must not be lost or forgotten lest we
disobey Jesus. Among the stories of leaders and disciples today, our stories as
women must not be lost or forgotten lest we disregard what Jesus set out to do.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord
has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from
darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">s
favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and
provide for those who grieve in Zion</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"> to bestow on
them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called
oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div align="right" class="Body1" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Isaiah 61:1-3</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Women are
also oaks in the forest in a mutual display of his splendor.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Long
defined by the curse and confined by earthly traditions, our stories have been
redeemed by Jesus and elevated alongside the stories of men. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Often
misunderstood and judged, our acts of discipleship and gifts of service are
sacred, being ordained by our one, true Master.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Between
the stories of failure or betrayal or abuse by men are women who quietly enter
the room with courage, head straight to the feet of Jesus and declare without
words their place as an equal disciple.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Matthew,
Mark and John were three men who obeyed Jesus by including Mary's story in the
gospel accounts. But his command went beyond the historical borders of the
written word to the wherever preaching of the spoken word. With his statement,
the picture of a most favored and faithful disciple took feminine form.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Any church
who takes seriously the words of Jesus should tell Mary's story each time the
gospel is preached. Even more, in considering the broader implications of his
tribute, every church should validate the presence and stories of women in
their midst.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Otherwise
the image of a Christ is incomplete and unbalanced just as the image of God
would be incomplete without the Genesis creation of male AND female.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
As for me, I will never forget Mary's story. I will keep walking into the room with my "alabaster jar" in obedience and devotion to my Jesus.</div>
Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-6570095617884499522013-07-02T07:26:00.000-07:002013-07-02T07:26:05.245-07:00Eulogy for My Sister<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8uYC62IT4Zc/Ua4cQDkN46I/AAAAAAAAAaE/Zp0cQCYd6Ek/s1600/Pat+Memorial+Invite+large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8uYC62IT4Zc/Ua4cQDkN46I/AAAAAAAAAaE/Zp0cQCYd6Ek/s400/Pat+Memorial+Invite+large.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The thought of writing a eulogy for my younger sister, Pat, was a daunting one for me. So a couple weeks ago I decided to flee Portland and go to our family beach house where there would be fewer distractions. I had no idea how I could condense into a few minutes a lifetime of memories and include with those words some measure of comfort and closure. At the least I had narrowed my thoughts down to one thing – my perspective as her one and only sister.<br />
<br />
I began by searching for all the quotes I could find on sisters. So today I offer a few of the ones that helped me decide what stories to tell and thoughts to share. It seems appropriate to borrow words from authors since Pat was such an avid reader.<br />
<br />
Here is my first quote from Charlotte M. Yonge, which is also my disclaimer:<br />
<br />
“Elder sisters never can do younger ones justice!”<br />
<br />
But for Pat, I will try.<br />
<br />
It is so true what Susan Merrell says: “Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk.”<br />
<br />
In our particular dawn to dusk life as sisters, however, there was a long period in the middle when we were not very sisterly. It started in high school where our personal tastes in activities, friends and values went in separate directions. It continued through college years, weddings, births and the raising of our children with occasional intersections reminding us that we did share the same family. Communication was minimal.<br />
<br />
All this to say I didn’t know my sister very well during those years.<br />
<br />
Cali Rae Turner said this about her own sister: “The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend.” Unfortunately I didn’t realize Pat could be my friend for much of my life. But that changed when our father passed away in 1993 not long after he retired to Florida. Pat and I became responsible for our mother’s care.<br />
<br />
So my sister-stories are broken into two parts: our growing up years on Okinawa and then our grown up years as Mom’s caregivers.<br />
<br />
I was 2 years old when Pat entered my world on September 23, 1958. Most of my memories come from the black and white photos now fading in our albums. Some are imbedded in my brain. But others were refreshed as Pat and I reminisced about life on Okinawa in more recent years.<br />
<br />
I laughed when I read this quote by Barbara Alpert: “Sister. She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway...Some days, she’s the reason you wish you were an only child.”<br />
<br />
I have no memory of this at all but Pat told me she used to push my buttons so badly that Dad gave me permission to slap her if she didn’t stop. Apparently the slapping got out of control and he had to withdraw his permission. I don’t know if that reveals I was a potential sister abuser or that Pat was a real pain in the ass as a kid.<br />
<br />
I really don’t remember the slaps or even how annoying she was but I do remember the fun we had.<br />
<br />
We both loved the hill behind our house where we climbed aboard our cardboard boxes to race over the bumps and knife-sharp blades of waist-high grass.<br />
<br />
We both loved the annual carnival organized on the military base. We might watch a snake and mongoose fight or jump out of the parachute tower but Pat and I spent most of our time racing go-carts. Still in grade school, our favorite thing to do was to challenge the macho servicemen to a race. If we won, they had to pay for our next ride. We hardly spent any money those summers. Of course we didn’t tell the guys that we were such regular patrons at the go-carts the operators would secretly tune our carts for greater speed.<br />
<br />
Pat and I also loved roller skating. We spent many weekends on the outdoor rink. You guessed it. We were always up for the races and often won in our separate age divisions. But we also had some differing skills. While I gravitated toward figure skating, Pat was incredibly good at limbo. I could never match her balance and strength.<br />
<br />
During middle and high school our interests diverged even more. She became the athlete and I became the nerd. I’m not sure which was more profitable. I may have earned more money for my grades but Pat avoided more punishment. While I found myself grounded for a month at a time every other month during my teenage rebellion, Pat used her athletic skills to her advantage during hers. Whenever she got grounded, she would plan a father-daughter time of shooting hoops and then casually challenge Dad to a game in which every shot she made would be one day deducted from her restriction period and every shot he made would be one day added. Pat ended up never staying grounded.<br />
<br />
Even so she turned out all right.<br />
<br />
When I left home to attend college in the U.S., I would say Pat and I were not really friends. Mainly we just didn’t understand each other very well. But we slowly made up for those lost years after our mom moved to Oregon 17 years ago to live with my family.<br />
<br />
In fact in our later years, our divergent tastes and values began to converge again, sometimes to the point of weirdness. Like the time we picked the same pattern and color of material to recover furniture unbeknownst to the other. Or the time Pat came to Portland wearing the identical sandals I had also purchased from Macys.<br />
<br />
Margaret Mead said, “Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but when the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship.” Her observation was true for us.<br />
<br />
As much as I love our mother, it hasn’t been easy to know how to care for someone when communication is very limited and challenging. My appreciation for Pat grew tremendously as she became my sounding board and support whenever I needed her.<br />
<br />
Carol Saline nails what Pat was really good at doing. She wrote, “Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other.” <br />
<br />
In a scene in the book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern where a woman has lost her younger sister in a tragic accident, the character confesses this in her eulogy: “I do not mourn the loss of my sister because she will always be with me, in my heart. I am, however, rather annoyed that my Tara has left me to suffer you lot alone.” <br />
<br />
I confess as well I am annoyed that my sister has left me to care for Mom alone, but then I trust that she has helped me build enough courage to handle the rest without her. For those of you who experienced Pat as a safety net, I hope you also believe that you have enough courage to live life without her.<br />
<br />
When Pat called and asked me to come after her diagnosis was made, there was no question in my mind I would be there for her as well. Louisa May Alcott said, “Help one another, is part of the religion of sisterhood.” I’ve learned that to be true as our hearts were knit together in a strengthening sisterhood and friendship.<br />
<br />
I don’t want to spend time right now recalling everything from the last 9 months as she battled this horrible monster called cancer. Many of you have followed her journey through the Caring Bridge site. Obviously the last few weeks were the most difficult as death came sooner than any of us expected or wanted.<br />
<br />
But I want to summarize those weeks by borrowing the words from Charlotte Bronte who describes the last days of her dying sister, Emily. They seem appropriate for Pat.<br />
<br />
“My sister Emily first declined. The details of her illness are deep-branded in my memory, but to dwell on them, either in thought or narrative, is not in my power. Never in all her life had she lingered over any task that lay before her, and she did not linger now. She sank rapidly. She made haste to leave us. Yet, while physically she perished, mentally, she grew stronger than we had yet known her. Day by day, when I saw with what a front she met suffering, I looked on her with anguish of wonder and love. I have seen nothing like it; but indeed, I have never seen her parallel in anything. Stronger than a man, simpler than a child, her nature stood alone.”<br />
<br />
Before I close I have a couple more stories to tell you, one that I only learned about soon after Pat was diagnosed with lymphoma. These are especially for those of you who surrounded her with your faith and prayers.<br />
<br />
Her journey with cancer included a path of embracing a faith in Jesus Christ. She began to ask me questions about God, Jesus and the Bible maybe because I have been a friend of Jesus since high school and have my master’s degree in theology. Despite the lack of religious discussion in our home, I realized , like me, Pat possessed a natural inclination toward God and spiritual things for a long time. In these past 9 months her inclination developed into a confident faith.<br />
<br />
I also believe God had his loving hand on Pat for a long time. She told me the story of one particular night many years ago when the children were very small.<br />
<br />
She woke up to find a young, well-dressed man in her bedroom. It startled her but for some reason she felt no fear. Silently the man left her room. She decided to get out of bed and follow after him. She never once thought she needed to wake Chuck up. After a brief pause in the living room and a long gaze at Pat, the man exited out the front door. Still without any sense of alarm, Pat turned to go back to her bedroom, but as she passed through the kitchen she smelled gas and saw that one of the burners on the stove had been left on. She quickly turned it off and realized if she hadn’t gotten up the family would have been in danger.<br />
<br />
Pat asked me what that experience meant. Was he an angel? I could tell she had wanted to ask that question for a long time.<br />
<br />
I answered her that I did believe in angels and perhaps what she saw was indeed an angel. I then told her this experience revealed to me one thing – God had his eye on her and her family. However I also explained this experience could not be taken as a guarantee of continued protection. God would not always provide escape from suffering or death. But no matter what she faced in the months ahead, she could lean into his promise that he would always be present with her.<br />
<br />
A few weeks later Pat decided she wanted to watch one of the Katie Couric shows that had been recorded on her DVR. She randomly picked one. The show’s topic happened to be “Heaven.” Katie interviewed several guests who had died but then after a short period of time came back to life. All of them testified they experienced some form of what they believed to be heaven during that period. After the show Pat and I talked about heaven.<br />
<br />
From that point on she never waivered in her belief that God was with her and that heaven was her destiny.<br />
<br />
One day while we were waiting for test results in Tampa to find out why Pat was declining after the transplant, she called me into her bedroom. She wanted to tell me her last goodbyes, tell me how much she loved me. I was not ready for this. I refused to give up on her treatment. I wouldn’t let her say her goodbyes.<br />
<br />
Exasperated she gave me that look she gives when people don’t take her seriously. Then she cupped her hands around my face, drew me close and declared, “Harriet, I’m going to be alright!” I knew what she meant. After gazing into her eyes for a few seconds, I conceded and said, “Yes, Pat, no matter how this turns out, you are going to be alright!”<br />
<br />
In the moment of her passing, Pat’s face showed no pain and no fear. It was a moment of sacred peace. And I imagined when God welcomed her into heaven, he took her face into his hands and said, “You have done well, my brave daughter!”<br />
<br />
I miss my sister terribly.<br />
<br />
These words from Louise Bernikow express my moments of deep grief:<br />
“Between sisters, often, the child’s cry never dies down. “Never leave me,” it says, “do not abandon me.” <br />
<br />
But then I choose to say these words from Katherine Mansfield:<br />
“Bless you, my darling, and remember you are always in the heart – oh tucked so close there is no chance of escape – of your sister.”<br />
<br />
I hold Pat in my heart now but some day I will see her face to face. Pat, you cannot escape your sister.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-52518889044768954742013-05-18T10:08:00.000-07:002013-05-18T10:08:10.037-07:00Departures: A Reflection on Death<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I am sitting next to my sister as she lays in her hospice bed dying, not from the cancer she's been fighting since August but from a side effect of her most recent chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant. So devastatingly ironic. Pat beat the cancer but not a side effect and it has blindsided us. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The family is working hard to keep her comfortable. She hasn't had any water for a week so we know her time is very short.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I am grateful to be present with her just as</span><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"> I have been for most of the last nine months. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Once in awhile she'll open her eyes and I think perhaps she recognizes me. </span><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">It's so hard to let her go.</span><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Her body is not letting go too easily either. But without water it will be forced to release her precious soul to God.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I know if Pat were to suddenly become conscious of her surroundings, she would be so disappointed to still be here. She had expressed that disappointment the morning after she started hospice. A few days later she lamented how much harder it was to die than she thought. I think she underestimated the strength and will of her body to stay alive.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Waiting with my sister in this very difficult time has stirred up many reflections on death and the process of dying. </span>If you were to look at Pat's face, you'd never know she is dying. She is as pretty as ever. As I gaze at her face and stroke her beautiful bald head, I can't help but think about one of my favorite movies, "Departures," which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2008 (it's on Netflix streaming).<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It caught my attention for two reasons. First, it is set in Japan (I am half Japanese born and raised on the island of Okinawa). Second, the story centers around a cellist (my husband plays the cello).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The cellist loses his job in the symphony which forces him to sell his beloved instrument and look for another job. He falls onto a completely unexpected career path, training to be a "nakanshi" or one who prepares the dead for burial. He also falls into disfavor with his wife and friends who are abhorred by his "unclean" work.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I have watched it 4 or 5 times now, most recently with Pat's husband and their adult kids. I am continually struck by how differently death is treated in America compared to Japan. Or more specifically, how different the perspectives are concerning the body when the spirit has departed.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I have been to a few memorial services. I have been to even fewer viewings of the body. In my experience people stand in line and spend very little time, usually seconds, to capture their last memory of their beloved family member or friend. Not once have I viewed a body prepared in such a way that it captured the essence of the living person. I never had the expectation that a body could look the same on either side of death.</span><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Until now.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In "Departures" as you watch the young cellist transform from a vomiting apprentice to a professional, you quickly sense the Japanese have a different view of the body. It is treated with such tender care in a ritualistic preparation for burial. It is beautiful to watch.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">One thing that caught me by surprise was the location of the ritual. It is not performed in a cold room of a mortuary. No, in Japan, it is a community affair as both family and friends gather in a home to watch the nakanshi prepare the body of their loved one.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As his training progresses, the cellist learns there is a story behind every departure. His job is to make space for that story to emerge and provide what the subtitle suggests: <i>the gift of last memories</i>.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The ritual is done very slowly, giving time for the onlookers to respond to each movement of his hands as well as to the other people in the room. Eventually there is a noticeable change in their response to the departed one. The facial expressions and verbal exchanges reveal stories either filled with conflict and pain or filled with love and wonderful memories. Certainly all are filled with deep grief and loss.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Another thing that caught me by surprise was the goal of the nakanshi to capture the essence of the life of the departed. For the first time I realized how little value we place on our physical bodies once the spirit departs. We hurry to bury or cremate it. We minimize its place in our journey of grief, in our loved one's journey to eternity.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As the cellist/nakanshi gently shapes each face to its previous living resemblance and meticulously applies makeup, I begin to see each body as a redeemed, restored vessel for all the memories of both the departed and the left behind. A vessel with its own unique glory shaped by the years it lived with a soul. No matter the story, the last memory for the onlookers will be the memory of the departed's best self.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Pat was prepared for and unafraid of death. One of her first statements after receiving the diagnosis was, "I have lived a good life. I am ready to die." Even now as death approaches, her beautiful face still celebrates the good life she had. Her current unconscious state of transition into eternity still betrays her incredible strength.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Both "Departures" and being with Pat in her dying has changed me in profound ways. I want to be able to say at the end of my life, as Pat did, "I lived a good life and I'm okay with dying." And I want my body to tell my story. I want my body to display the glory of a life filled with love and beauty and God.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Recently a high school classmate of Pat's posted a quote on Facebook:</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><em style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It takes a heart-filled person to live,</em></span> <em style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">a courageous person to fight to live, but the ultimate instance of honor and bravery comes to those who are willing to face the end of life.</em></blockquote>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
It's rare to find one like Pat who displayed all three. Her lasting memories are reflected on her face and in the faces of the multitude of friends and family surrounding her. Her glory is the extravagant love she so freely gave and the faith she embraced in the last months of her life.<br />
<br />
<strong style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pat, I honor you, my brave little sister. May your departure be filled with peace and grace.</strong></div>
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</li>
</ul>
Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-3520739908027493962013-04-28T10:09:00.001-07:002014-06-27T13:47:17.431-07:00There Is No Middle Ground for Women in the Church<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.wylio.com/credits/flickr/2308968745/"><img alt="Night Seesaw from Flickr via Wylio" height="214" id="Flickr-2308968745-1403901774878" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3173/2308968745_cf9990b05b_z.jpg" title="'Night Seesaw' by Peat Bakke, released on Flickr under the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), found via Wylio" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">© 2008 <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/mistermoss/" title="'Night Seesaw' published on Flickr by Peat Bakke">Peat Bakke</a>, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mistermoss/2308968745/" title="from Flickr">Flickr</a> | <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" style="font-size: .8em;" title="Creative Commons Attribution License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC-BY</a> | <a href="https://www.wylio.com/" title="Easily credit free 'seesaw' pictures with Wylio.">via Wylio</a></td></tr>
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When it was time for recess in grade school, I usually made a beeline for the seesaws. I loved flying up and then dropping suddenly to hit the ground with a thud.<br />
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But I loved even more the challenge of keeping the seesaw suspended in mid-air with a playmate who weighed the same as I did. For some reason the gravitational stalemate gave me a sense of satisfaction.<br />
<br />
Perhaps my fascination with playground physics was useful in helping me accept theological tensions such as the sovereignty of God and the free will of humans. I try to hold two seemingly contradictory views together in balance.<br />
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But it doesn't work for me as an evangelical woman with a passion for ministry in a church community.<br />
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There was a time I tried to keep both a hierarchical view of authority in the church and a freedom for women to use their Spirit-given gifts as they felt called by God.<br />
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I had started the journey of wrestling through the issues of a woman's place in the life of the church. But then I got caught in the middle where I was undecided how far I would go along the spectrum of beliefs about women.<br />
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I was certainly moving away from complementarian theology (women can only be teachers and leaders of other women; husbands lead, wives submit) which took shape during Bible college and was reinforced in my church. Years later I progressed to believing women could teach men and preach behind the pulpit.<br />
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But it was hard to cut the cord to nearly 30 years of believing the absolutist doctrine of ordained male leadership. Surely women could be truly valued and free under the authority of male elders. Godly male elders. Really really kind gentle male elders. And if they had a family, elders who loved their wives and daughters and therefore understood other women enough to pay attention to their voices in the community. (Hmmm...I could never figure out why single male elders were allowed despite the plain reading of 1 Timothy 3:2.)<br />
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I was trying to find a middle ground, that sweet spot on the seesaw that kept my complementarian theology balanced with my egalitarian heart. I even found a church that was trying to do the same thing with their "soft" complementarian position.* They really believed that it was possible for complementarians and egalitarians to worship and serve together in one community. I really wanted it to be possible too.<br />
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But after six years of disappointments, I quit straddling the fulcrum between egalitarianism and complementarianism. I lifted my foot off the one side and planted both feet fully on the side of full freedom for women and what I believed to be the real vision of the Kingdom. I couldn't run fast enough down the plank to search for a fully egalitarian church, one with women elders, which I found.<br />
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I love seesaws, but on the issue of women, the metaphor doesn't work. I cannot be an egalitarian and worship in a complementarian church anymore. And as moderate as a "soft" complementarian church may be, it is still a hierarchy with power vested in men alone.<br />
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Eventually my seesaw had to tip to one side or the other. I made the choice of which side with full integrity as I searched through Scripture and with discernment in how the Spirit had been moving in my life all along.<br />
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The middle spot is unsustainable on this issue. Gravity will win and one side will crash.<br />
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<b>It will crash because theology and Bible interpretation has been and will continue to be a place of disagreement.</b> In other words humans will always pick and choose what they want to believe and practice. Churches that try the middle spot will find that it is a place where theology is suspended or ignored or compromised. But it doesn't work for the long term because theology cannot be kept private when the practices of the church are public. A church cannot avoid practicing their doctrine of women. So complementarians walk out of services when a woman preaches and egalitarians grieve where women are absent or silenced.<br />
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<b>It will crash because we are sinful.</b> In other words humans are limited and fallible and will always struggle with loving well. So there is no such thing as truly benevolent male elders. Sin has distorted perceptions of women as well as perceptions of men. The only way to overcome sin's impact on gender relations is to distribute the power equally and create a leadership space where every voice has authority and choice to submit to one another. Without women in the room, hidden misogyny or damaging attitudes may not be exposed. As long as men hold absolute authority there is always the possibility for blind spots and an inability to hear women accurately. And maybe even the possibility of abuse. How can a church address justice issues in the world if it's not willing to address justice issues in its own house?<br />
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<b>It will crash because we can't rid ourselves of our cultural influences and agree upon one lens through which we view and interpret the world or Scripture.</b> In other words humans will always have their biases. But many biases have changed through the course of history. Much of God's will in heaven and the movement of the Spirit on earth is a mystery but if we pay attention to what He has been doing through time, we can glimpse the path we should take culturally. If God created male and female to rule together at the beginning and if there is no gendered hierarchy in the new heavens and new earth, then the middle time of the church should be an increasing transformation into what God intended and will bring about in the end.<br />
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The transformation may be slow, but it's unstoppable. And it's better understood in hindsight.<br />
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Luther's Reformation tells us that the church got it wrong at one point. When it comes to women, they have it wrong again. But I believe there's another reformation in the air. It may be hard to find evangelical, egalitarian churches now but I sense a tipping point ahead.<br />
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<b>The seesaw has a slight tilt to one side. </b><br />
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*The "soft complementarian" position is articulated by Craig Blomberg in his essay found in the revised edition of <i>Two Views on Women in Ministry.</i> The doctrine and its practice is established by loosening up on some biblical passages while holding fast to others. Women are free to use their Spirit-based gifts in teaching and preaching but they are excluded from positions that hold the highest level of authority in the church whether it's an elder board or a senior pastor position.<br />
<br />Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-33254733532143226552013-04-20T13:24:00.004-07:002013-11-06T10:32:40.746-08:00Faith's Menopausal Moments<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>CAUTION: Men may find this post offensive or confusing or possibly enlightening. Consult an older woman if counsel or education is needed.</i></div>
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I haven't picked up a feminine pad for a long time. I am so happy to be done with that aspect of womanhood.<br />
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During perimenopause my husband bravely accompanied me to see <i>Menopause the Musical: Celebrating Women and The Change</i> so that he could be better prepared to survive this stage of my life. We both got more information than we wanted.<br />
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As it turned out, compared to other women who have gone through menopause, I really had an easy time with "The Change." But I did have my moments of hormonal craziness. Unfortunately it landed during a time of spiritual craziness too. Not a good combination. It created a lot of bad memories, deep hurts and an unreconciled relationship. <br />
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But recently, because I love metaphors, I was able to reconcile menopause with spirituality.<br />
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I've been reading <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Bright-Abyss-Meditation-Believer/dp/0374216789/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366469651&sr=8-1&keywords=my+bright+abyss" target="_blank">My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer</a></i> by Christian Wiman just released earlier this month. Wiman wrote this after being diagnosed with an incurable blood disease at age 39. Last fall he received a bone marrow transplant. (You can read a CT interview with Wiman <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/january-february/god-between-lines.html?start=1" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
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Since I am currently doing caregiving for my sister who just went through a bone marrow transplant, I was curious about how his faith fared in this crisis. I'm not done with the book yet but I have been touched deeply by his transcendent and life-giving words even as he was "standing at a cliff." Wiman poetically makes sense of faith even while we are insensitive to its latent presence.<br />
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I love this paragraph in the first chapter:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In fact, there is no way to "return to the faith of your childhood," not really, not unless you've just woken from a decades-long and absolutely literal coma. Faith is not some half-remembered country into which you come like a long-exiled king, dispensing the old wisdom, casting out the radical, insurrectionist aspects of yourself by which you'd been betrayed. No. Life is not an error, even when it is. That is to say, whatever faith you emerge with at the end of your life is going to be not simply affected by that life but intimately dependent upon it, for faith in God is, in the deepest sense, faith in life--which means that even the staunchest life of faith is a life of great change. It follows that if you believe at fifty what you believed at fifteen, then you have not lived---or have denied the reality of your life.</blockquote>
I am in my fifties and I definitely do not believe now what I believed at fifteen which is about when I first responded to the gospel.<br />
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I have always loved change. And I have loved the process of growing and changing in my faith, my understanding of God, my spiritual perceptions and biblical knowledge.<br />
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What I haven't loved is the connection between pain and growing, between challenges and changes. (Insight into my weird brain: Immediately I saw the "lle" inside the word "challenge" which, when removed, becomes "change." Then I started thinking of words that begin with those letters to further the connection. I came up with <i><b>l</b>ife and <b>l</b>ove<b> e</b>merge.</i> I am so nerdy.)<br />
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At first I wanted to forget and move on from those painful, challenging events. But it didn't work. The more I tried to forget, the more the memories haunted me and the anger resurfaced like the bubbling of a backed-up sewer line in the basement.<br />
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Eventually I realized that forgetting was a form of denial and it was keeping me from moving on. So I quit calling them memories and referred to those experiences as stories, stories to remember, to tell and to submit to the healing presence of Christ.<br />
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My past stories have contributed to my "story in the middle" but this middle keeps changing because I haven't lived all my stories. I will keep changing as long as I continue to have faith in Christ and as Wiman points out, faith in life. I am on the other side of the middle of my years, but when it comes to faith, I am always in the middle.<br />
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Wiman used a masculine metaphor to describe what living a life of faith <u>is not</u> and the impossibility of going back to a childhood faith if you are really living and not in a coma. I couldn't help but think of a feminine metaphor to describe what living a life of faith <u>is</u><b>.</b> At least in my experience as a woman.<br />
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Enter Menopause the Moment.<br />
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For me, experiencing change includes one or more of the following:<br />
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<ul>
<li>a shift in my universe (most of them are smaller than that, but some have been pretty darn hard)</li>
<li>imbalance (spiritual, not hormonal...or maybe both)</li>
<li>times when I feel like I'm going crazy (or I want to believe everyone else is)</li>
<li>anger (can I call them spiritual hot flashes?)</li>
<li>depression (I know I'm not alone here)</li>
<li>sleeplessness (I have my most significant conversations in my head at 3 a.m.)</li>
<li>irritability (this is an external sign that I am wrestling with God internally)</li>
<li>mental fuzziness (amazing how biblical knowledge, including a BA in Bible and an MDiv in theology escapes the synapses in my brain)</li>
</ul>
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The more significant the change required, the longer the menopausal moment. The more significant the developing story, the longer it takes for me to process its place in my imaginary memoir.</div>
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But then <b>the change </b>happens. Sometimes it happens slowly. Sometimes it's instant. Almost always it involves an encounter with God. </div>
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And the shift in my universe becomes a shift towards Christ. Towards repentance. Towards knowing I am beloved. Towards knowing others are beloved. Towards trust. Towards life. </div>
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Each spiritual menopausal moment is an opportunity to move on and deeper into the life God intends for me.</div>
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Eventually the moment becomes a memory and the memory a story and the story a chapter in the memoir of my faith in God. My faith in life.</div>
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(If you think this metaphor was rather lame, wait until I write about "senior moments.")Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-44416439417625607892013-04-18T15:48:00.000-07:002013-04-23T13:22:07.432-07:00Why Patriarchy Keeps Women From Growing Up<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Daddy and Me</td></tr>
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There have been many moments in my life when I thought or spoke these words out loud: <em>I don't wanna grow up! </em>I've said that even in my fifties.<br />
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It's human nature to want periodically to shed responsibilities and lean into others to tell us what to do, make our decisions or take care of us. When I'm really old and this becomes a possible reality, I wonder if I'll feel irritated or relieved.<br />
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Sometimes I want to return to being a little girl with her Daddy by her side, oblivious to the adult world.<br />
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But then I remember my Daddy. He worked hard as a parent to ensure I would fulfill my own adult responsibilities well. He did all he could to help me grow into a strong, self sufficient woman (maybe sooner than most kids if you want to read<a href="http://storyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/04/lost-on-my-own-island.html" target="_blank"> that story</a>). <br />
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This meant he gave me increasing freedom to make my own decisions. This meant he kept loosening the boundaries around me and encouraging me to explore new territories on my own. This meant he understood his job as a parent was to nurture my inner strength so that I would step into the world without any sense of entitlement or inferiority.<br />
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My daddy wanted children badly but he didn't want children forever. He was committed to raising me to be a fully functioning adult, confident of my abilities to maneuver through life and confident of my standing as an equal member of the human race. <br />
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No one I know would suggest remaining in parent mode well past the normal formative years. No one would think this is healthy for anyone, whether the child, the family or the community at large.<br />
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But this is essentially what patriarchy does to women in the church. <br />
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When women are denied equal authority, equal responsibility and equal voice, they are being treated like children and are denied adulthood in its fullest sense.<br />
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When leaders have important conversations and make significant decisions without full representation from over half the church, then women haven't really grown up.<br />
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When women are barred from sitting at the table of leadership, they are being barred from the table of adults.<br />
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When men restrict a woman's sphere of influence or define the Spirit's calling in her life, they presume to be her "fathers" when she should have only one, her Heavenly Father. Never once have I heard a father dedicate his daughter to future male church leaders to spiritually guide her through life.<br />
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Patriarchy <span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">perpetuates a church culture in which girls never leave the watchful eye of a father and never really become adult women with full freedom and equal value or voice under Christ's reign.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Patriarchy is a problem for women. And it's a problem for the church because in reality without the full adulthood of women and full partnership with men, the church is crippled and adolescent. </span><br />
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Voices are increasing in number as they expose problems with male-dominated church leadership. As a woman, I offer my voice, small as it may be, but determined:<br />
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<em><strong>I refuse to remain a child in the church or be treated like one. I am an adult!</strong></em>Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-36557505478910943562013-02-13T11:38:00.000-08:002013-11-06T10:34:22.191-08:00What I Wished I Learned from the Church as a Single <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Valentine's Day. My husband and I were engaged on that day 34 years ago. We are celebrating with Roberta Flack and the Oregon Symphony.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I know this particular day is rather difficult to get through for single women. Once you get past grade school and the required distribution of Valentine cards, the delivery of red roses from an admirer is a fantasy and all the commercial hoopla makes it more painful.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There has been a lot of blog chatter lately addressing the struggles of singles in the church. Or rather, the struggles of singles WITH the church. At the same time I have been having or overhearing conversations around me with single women who are raising questions or revealing the pain the church is inflicting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My beautiful and single friend, Kaitie, invited some FB responses to an <span id="goog_1029086371"></span><a href="http://geekinafghanistan.com/the-iceberg-that-will-hit-the-church/" target="_blank">article written by Ryan McRae</a>, a single man in his 40's<span id="goog_1029086372"></span> who dropped the pursuit of his call to ministry because a church job was dependent on his marital status. He had these strong words:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The church tells us that being married is a spiritual barometer<i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">—and that is a total lie from the pit of hell. </i></span></b></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now add the topic of sexuality into the pot and the stew really gets hot. Delving into the seven deadly sins as part of the Lenten season, last Sunday my pastor addressed the first: lust. I couldn't help but think about the added weight some churches put on single women to bear the responsibility of a man's lust.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past week several bloggers including <span id="goog_315022011"></span><a href="http://deeperstory.com/i-am-damaged-goods/" target="_blank">Sarah Bessey</a> and <a href="http://www.elizabethesther.com/2013/01/virginity-new-improved.html" target="_blank">Elizabeth Esther</a> addressed the persistent double standard in the church that boys will be boys when they lose their virginity but girls are "damaged goods" when they succumb to a boy's touch. The message is clear: the Gospel does not apply to a woman's vag...I mean, virginity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read the blogs but did not comment. What could I say? I was married when I was supposed to in my early 20's. Now I'm middle-aged and happily married to the only husband I've ever had sex with. I stayed home to raise our children, setting aside my own desires for a career or a ministry. I have been validated and deemed worthy in the eyes of the church.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I have also mentored many young women in my Christian lifetime. I have seen their anger and I hurt alongside them when leaders, teachers and preachers speak and act in ways that makes them feel small and invisible, even doomed to lifelong singleness or a less-than-perfect marriage because of past choices. One young single woman told me how it hurt deeply when her pastor stated in a sermon that married couples understand the Gospel more clearly. A single, never-been-married woman now in her 70's who was a Wycliffe missionary in Peru for most of her adult life shared about a male pastor who insisted God wanted him to talk about marriage at a conference despite the presence of 40 single women.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a single I did not dream of getting married. I hardly gave it a thought. But I did like boys a lot and fell into unhealthy patterns of fantasies, manipulations and breaking hearts. It was a miracle I ever married a wonderful man at such a young age of 23. I had a shallow faith and a lot of patterns to change. My 33 years of marriage had its times of doubt, loneliness, loss of desire, temptation to cheat and spiritual pits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are some things I wish I had learned before I got married. There are some things I believe the church could have said and done to help better prepare me and perhaps spare me from some of those rocky places.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me say at this point that I also know that God in his grace carried me through those rough times, taught me what I needed to know, replaced lost dreams with new ones and transformed me, along with our marriage, into the wonderful partnership it is today. I embrace the rocky places as part of my story now. But that doesn't mean I can't share what I learned after the vows or wish the church had said to those who feel pressure to get to the altar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Marriage and/or children do not define you.</b> Your identity is one of being part of a transformed humanity, redeemed by Christ, adopted by the Father, and empowered and indwelt by the Spirit. You are called to pursue Christ and serve others until you meet him in heaven where your resurrected existence will know nothing of marital status.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A husband is not a savior.</b> No human being, even your most intimate friend, can be held responsible for your spiritual life. You own your own spirituality. A healthy interdependence of any community, including a marriage, is only as strong as each member's absolute dependence on Christ alone. As I wrote in a <a href="http://storyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/06/deconstructing-marriage-metaphor-of.html" target="_blank">previous blog</a>, one must be careful in considering the analogy in Ephesians 5 to not make the correlation between the husband and Christ too closely. A husband’s love cannot accomplish for the wife what only Christ can do. A husband does not make a wife holy – only Christ does. A husband cannot cleanse her through the word – only Christ does. A husband does not present his wife to Christ as a pure and blameless bride – only Christ does. Husbands are NOT like Christ in this way and the husband is NOT responsible for the wife’s spiritual state. This is an inappropriate extrapolation from the metaphor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b>
<b>Marriage is not the only place you can become holy and blameless. </b>In 1 Corinthians 7, the Apostle Paul wholeheartedly supported those who remained single and even encouraged it for those who wanted to pursue Christ undistracted. Those who seek to understand and experience the depth of the Gospel do not have to be married in order to do so. Profound spiritual formation can take place anywhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />Marriage is not a required qualification for your ministry resume. </b>According to the Apostle Paul, ministry can be enhanced by remaining single, not diminished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The heart of a church is not families but individuals who are first brothers and sisters, not husbands and wives.</b> The current state of marriages and families requires attention in the church, but an equal if not greater emphasis should be made on the singles in our culture. The inclusion of singles into as many aspects and activities of church life as possible is the best way to communicate their value as co-laborers and members of the faith community. A church that works hard to build healthy friendships between women and men, both married and unmarried, more closely fulfills God's design that his family reflect his image in their mutuality. Genesis 1 focuses on the social interconnectedness of male and female when they are created. Genesis 2 spotlights a subset of those relationships in terms of a one-flesh union of a man and a woman. A healthy relational and spiritual community that is inclusive of singles is the best way to prepare those who may eventually get married and those who remain single do not miss out on satisfying levels of intimacy within such a community.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are some of the things I wished I heard from the church before I got married. Maybe I would have taken it to heart and been spared some of the rocky places. Maybe not. But at least I would have started with a healthier and biblical perspective of spirituality, ministry and marriage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So these are things I would say to any single friend.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And maybe we should prolong grade school and distribute Valentines to everyone we know and love, especially the singles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What would you add to my list?</span>Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-12014577007515335352012-12-23T18:05:00.000-08:002012-12-23T18:05:32.781-08:001000 Cranes<div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rne06x6Dh6Q/UNdzj8liEfI/AAAAAAAAAUU/dn-DVsdqD9Q/s1600/Cleve+and+cranes2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rne06x6Dh6Q/UNdzj8liEfI/AAAAAAAAAUU/dn-DVsdqD9Q/s400/Cleve+and+cranes2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Something special happened yesterday.<br />
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<br /></div>
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1000 origami cranes were delivered to my sister by a high school classmate who had enlisted other graduates to contribute to the project and show their support for her battle against cancer. A<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">ccompanying the huge pile of colorful cranes with wings spread wide was a plaque with these words burned into the wood:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Senbazuru - 1000 Cranes</i></b></div>
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<i>The ancient Japanese tradition of Senbazuru promises</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>that if a person folds 1000 Origami Cranes or if their</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>friends and family perform this labor of love on their</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>behalf, that person will be granted a wish.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>These cranes were folded with Love and Hope for</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Pat Reed Tanner</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>By her Dragon Brothers and Sisters</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">The project was deeply meaningful because of our Japanese heritage and wonderful memories of growing up on Okinawa.</span></div>
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What struck me about this symbolic gift was how a community can impact one individual in simple but profound ways. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">When a community joins hands, something powerful, even miraculous, emerges.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Encouragement. Hope. Solidarity. Healing. Courage. Strength. And most of all, LOVE.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
There are many ways a community can express support. Often they are rooted in cultural traditions like a quilt created by a group of women for a wedding shower or a "barn raising" to help a family whose home was lost. For the Japanese culture, 1000 origami cranes.<br />
<br />
Makeshift public memorials have become more popular as a way for a community to share in the grief and loss of a member.<br />
<br />
Whatever expression is chosen by a community, it can help to infuse hope into the one who needs to know she is not alone in what she faces. But it's also redemptive for the community.<br />
<br />
Besides a way to deal with their own grief, a community needs to see visible signs of their own compassion. It gives hope that all is not lost, that there is still good in the face of evil, that we are still capable of loving well.<br />
<br />
One paper crane is fragile but when you see 1000 paper cranes, a miracle happens and one's own fragility is transformed into strength.<br />
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Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-2561618182110032002012-12-14T15:39:00.000-08:002012-12-14T15:39:57.939-08:00Tears for the ChildrenMatthew 2:18 (NIV)<br />
<i>“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”</i><br />
<br />
Innocent children. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Evil intent. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">A gun instead of a sceptor.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Grief shared across 2000 years, one in the Afterbirth, the other in the Advent. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Shocked. Helpless. Angry.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">We weep.</span>Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-90138499285281961952012-12-08T08:25:00.001-08:002014-06-27T14:10:04.655-07:00The Real Elders Among Us<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.wylio.com/credits/flickr/5761031999/"><img alt="Beaver Lake Dam - Open Floodgates from Flickr via Wylio" id="Flickr-5761031999-1403903374107" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5109/5761031999_068b4e2df2_z.jpg" title="'Beaver Lake Dam - Open Floodgates' by Doug Wertman, released on Flickr under the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), found via Wylio" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">© 2011 <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/nanoprobe67/" title="'Beaver Lake Dam - Open Floodgates' published on Flickr by Doug Wertman">Doug Wertman</a>, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nanoprobe67/5761031999/" title="from Flickr">Flickr</a> | <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" style="font-size: .8em;" title="Creative Commons Attribution License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC-BY</a> | <a href="https://www.wylio.com/" title="Easily credit free 'dam' pictures with Wylio.">via Wylio</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
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<br />
I sat with my new friend, a sweet soft-spoken woman with graying hair. We were sharing prayer requests and it didn't take long for her share her experience in the church where she and her husband had attended for years. With some hesitation and tears on the verge of spilling, she said this: "In all these years, no one has asked me where I can use my gifts."<br />
<br />
Immediately I had a deep feeling of empathy as I remembered one of my own church experiences. For over a year I had been advocating for women but never once during that time did the elders ask me what God was calling me to or where I wanted use my gifts. I got the message.<br />
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<i>Don't question where we put you - we are the gatekeepers of the Spirit's work among God's people.</i><br />
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But that's not how I read my Bible. Rather than listening to the Spirit and growing the church toward maturity, leaders can act like a dam on a river that restricts its flow. Asking and listening well to the Spirit AND the people will help to open the floodgates.<br />
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On behalf of my friend and others like me who are in this middle place<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">between birth and death,</span><br />
between our stories of youth and our last chapter of life,<br />
between the journey of growing into our unique take on life and faith<br />
and the final journey to heaven:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><b> God is not done with us yet.</b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
His Spirit is moving, transforming and empowering the elders among us. (Here I am referring not to church leadership but to those in the pews who are 50+.)<br />
<br />
In fact, as I wrote in an <a href="http://storyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/04/hipster-heart-in-boomer-body.html" target="_blank">earlier post</a>, not affirming this hurts the church and grieves the Spirit of God "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">who more often than not waited until His appointed leaders were well past youth before they were called to enter into their most significant leadership and ministry roles." Remember Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Anna.</span></span><br />
<br />
This is what I used to hear from the older church population when I was younger and seeking to empower others in ministry: <i>I've done my duty in the church. It's the younger generation that needs to step up.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Looking back I wonder if the problem was not lazy elders but discouraged ones. Elders tired of being used and not known. Elders drained from working in expected roles rather than serving in their gifted roles. Elders used to duty and discipline but not freedom and joy.<br />
<br />
Today, with the emphasis on the younger generation and the real need to disciple them well toward maturity, there is a danger of ignoring the elders into the margins, of misinterpreting the movement of the Spirit in their lives, of forgetting that dreams and visions do not die at age 50.<br />
<br />
There is a danger that as the population of baby boomers swell within the ranks of the retired, these neglected servants and mentors shrink within the church.<br />
<br />
We can't afford the same mistake.Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-6852844261414896452012-12-01T22:46:00.000-08:002012-12-01T22:49:53.939-08:00It's a Small World Afterall<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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My toes wiggled through the damp sand as I stood at the edge
of the Pacific Ocean. It was finer than the sand I had always known. At least
the water was warm like what I was used to. But the landscape behind me was foreign.</div>
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It was my freshman year of college. Across the vast ocean
was home where my family remained while I settled into dorm life. The adventure
of leaving home and being on my own didn’t take long to evaporate into the warm
salty air of San Diego. </div>
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The university was situated on cliffs overlooking the ocean.
I would stand and gaze out towards the horizon overwhelmed by the vastness of
the separation that was at times unbearable. I wanted to go home so badly. But
each time I turned around and walked back to my new world. Eventually it became
home.</div>
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The hardest thing to adjust to was the size of the United
States, almost 4 million square miles. The island of Okinawa where I grew up is
only 464 square miles. The more I realized how big my new home was the smaller
I felt inside and the smaller I got, the more lost I became. </div>
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But the one thing that helped press back the looming
lostness was my new faith in Christ. My journey of navigating this country is
in some ways a metaphor of my journey into the vastness of God and his love for
one small person.</div>
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Each step, each move, each tear, each embrace of
whatever and whomever God put in my path has enlarged my world both inner and
outer. God has grown and stretched me into the space he ordained from the
beginning but waited and worked patiently to fill in my 56 years. </div>
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The last 12 years have been especially trying and stretching.
They were years of regaining a passion for ministry in the church, of earning a
masters in theology, and of discovering and using my gifts. But they were also
years of wounding, of disappointments, of being misunderstood, of resisting
efforts by others to keep me small, and of being named and shamed.</div>
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It meant I had to leave two churches that I loved dearly.
But I found another church and it felt like I had finally landed on a friendly
shore. I was ready to engage my new community and find my niche.</div>
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Then just as I thought I was going to fill out the rest of
the space God had for me, he had something else for me to do. I found out my
sister had lymphoma and she needed me to be a caregiver. God had another battle
for me to fight, the beginning of which I described in <a href="http://storyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-different-battle.html" target="_blank">my last post</a>. </div>
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Since then the events have carried me like a whirlwind to
another place. Only recently have I had the time to begin processing where I
have landed. </div>
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My world has become small once again. It consists of only
two places, my home in Portland and my second home in Florida. There’s no other
place I’d rather be as I have walked on holy ground journeying alongside my
sister and her battle against cancer.</div>
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But I am on an “island” once again. I have to say no to the
yearnings I feel when I stand at the edge of this new ocean and remember the
land I once inhabited. I have had to put all future plans on hold. I constantly
remind myself that being inwardly large is not directly proportionate to
outward achievements. I struggle to believe that my value, my identity, and my
gifts are intact and that God will continue to grow me whether I’m constrained
on an island or roaming a continent.</div>
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For now my world is smaller but I am choosing to believe that I am not.</div>
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<br />Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-39632376241586696062012-09-01T19:49:00.002-07:002012-09-02T16:05:31.897-07:00A Different Battle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Yi_22bbVzk/UELH8l-8s0I/AAAAAAAAASE/LEZygLsk3jc/s1600/harriet+and+pat+kubasaki+reunion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Yi_22bbVzk/UELH8l-8s0I/AAAAAAAAASE/LEZygLsk3jc/s320/harriet+and+pat+kubasaki+reunion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
There are times when you need to turn around and walk away. <br />
<br />
Retreat from the conflict. <br />
<br />
Reflect on the events and conversations. <br />
<br />
Reframe your story and a new direction. <br />
<br />
Restore any cracks in your identity to its resurrected condition.<br />
<br />
Reconcile the disappointments to the bigger Story of Jesus and the Spirit's movement in your life.<br />
<br />
In the past two months I've started doing all of these. <br />
<br />
It meant leaving a church and leaving my blog in order to regroup. During that period the fight I was engaged in on a small scale was being duplicated on a larger scale in blogs that have a national and worldwide following. <br />
<br />
As I listened to conversations about what women in ministry can or cannot do or whether wives should or should not desire mutuality in marriage, I struggled with deep emotions and wondered if God was going to ask me to continue the fight.<br />
<br />
I seriously wanted to walk away forever.<br />
<br />
I'm in a church now that has women elders. So far what I see is giving me hope that I can do life with this beautiful, raw, vulnerable, imperfect, compassionate community. I feel wanted. I believe I can contribute with my gifts and strengths. <br />
<br />
No more battles to fight, right God?<br />
<br />
Well, the answer wasn't what I expected. <br />
<br />
<strong>I'm in another battle but it's not mine.</strong> It's my sister's. My younger sister. My only sister.<br />
<br />
<strong>Pat has cancer.</strong><br />
<br />
God has called me into a season of helping her fight for her life, of serving her in ways I have never done for anyone else. <br />
<br />
My friend Ed recently <a href="http://inamirrordimly.com/2012/08/30/my-hazardous-faith-how-to-stop-fighting-other-people/" target="_blank">wrote a blog</a> to encourage us to walk away from the battle and choose to serve others for the Kingdom's sake. Instead of fighting people, fight the darkness of this world. <br />
<br />
I believe he has wise words to offer those who are battle-weary or those who are fighting for the wrong reasons. <br />
<br />
There are times when God will call one into battle against thoughts, arguments and pretensions that are set up against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5). Arrogance and a lack of Christian love will mistakenly meld the person with the argument. As Ed eloquently points out, fighting people will not grow the Kingdom of God. <br />
<br />
<strong>But humility and authentic Christian love will serve the other -- even in a battle. This may be tough, confrontive love or this may be patient, quiet love. This is Christ both washing the feet of Judas and then identifying him as a betrayer.</strong><br />
<br />
Then there are seasons in which God calls one away from the battle, away from those who might betray you or cage you in places where they might feel safe but you are not. So you leave to be safe, to be free, to be loved by a different tribe.<br />
<br />
But I am discovering that just because I walk away from one battle in order to serve does not mean there isn't another one to fight.<br />
<br />
Currently I am not fighting people or belief systems. I am fighting alongside my sister against a consequence of fallenness in the world, against cancer.<br />
<br />
I entered battle by going to her when she called for help. <br />
<br />
I will battle the cancer in my sister's body just as fiercely as I have battled against injustice and inequality.<br />
<br />
I battle with prayer every night while I tuck her into bed. I pray over every cell of her body to submit to the regimen of drugs in order to return to normalcy, over her mind to face this with faith, hope and courage and over her heart to believe that she is not alone.<br />
<br />
I battle with truth as I read Scripture and Sarah Young's <em>Jesus Calling </em>to help her believe that Jesus sees her, knows her, loves her and is present with her.<br />
<br />
I battle with love when I shampoo her long hair knowing she may lose it soon and when I massage her feet which have felt the sheets of the hospital bed for too many days.<br />
<br />
When I do what God has called me to do, no matter what it is I battle those forces that fight to thwart my calling. It may be traditional views of women. It may be spiritual arrogance or ignorance. But it can also be fear or loss of health and hope. <br />
<br />
Right now I am fighting with my sister against unseen forces gone awry in her body.<br />
<br />
<strong>I battle through serving. </strong>Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-57142603165645288302012-08-08T20:44:00.000-07:002013-11-06T10:35:09.123-08:00In Search of an Adult to Grow Into<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
In my <a href="http://storyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-life-that-needs-no-translation.html" target="_blank">last post</a> I described a delightful visit from two Japanese relatives who judged our lives to be joyful and productive. Intersecting with us for three days prompted them to ask me, "What is your power?" I gave a pretty short answer but if I had more time and they had indicated a desire to go deeper, I would have explained that the Jesus-kind-of joy is usually juxtaposed with pain. That grief, tears and disappointments deepen the well for joy to fill. That an abundant life does not mean an easy life but it's a life that makes even the poorest on earth feel rich.<br />
<br />
Their question helped to remind me of the life Jesus has called me into, which I especially needed at this time.<br />
<br />
During the recent transition from one church to another, my husband and I worked hard to leave well. We met with the elders to plan an exit strategy since we were very involved at several levels. The discussion went well but the execution of the plan hit a snag and in the process, I was deeply hurt in two very painful conversations.<br />
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It was a disappointing ending to six years of loving and serving in this church. A period of depression and withdrawal followed but it was very brief. I came out stronger and more confident of who I am as a woman and follower of Christ. The pain was felt, grieved and then released. In the aftermath I have felt more alive and clear of what life means for me. It is filled with people I love and who love me and is superintended by Christ who loves and delights in me. </div>
<div>
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Often I will reflect on my past journey taking note of patterns and significant felt changes. I am amazed that after each point of pain and disappointment, there has been a greater awareness of and sensitivity to people, a growing clarity of my values and purpose in life, and a deeper experience of God's love and acceptance. I feel more alive today than last year and the years before that.<br />
<br />
Put another way I feel like I've taken another step from adolescence toward adulthood.<br />
<br />
I admit I am still waiting to grow up and be an adult. Not adult as in physical development, educational achievements, job security, family responsibilities or age of majority. Adult as in emotional and spiritual maturity. The reality? I will always be adolescent in some way.<br />
<br />
As much as I want to get past adolescence, progress is not something I can totally control. The next painful event exposes another childish way, whether mine or someone else's, and it's not easy to put it behind me as the Apostle Paul exhorts in 1 Corinthians 13:11. Those "childish ways" insist on playing peek-a-boo.<br />
<br />
Despite the continuing threat of emotional and spiritual growing pains, becoming an adult means being more comfortable in my own skin, accepting others where they are and embracing life along with its gut-wrenching, take-the-air-out-of-you moments. I have taken comfort in knowing that Frederich Buechner confessed at the age of 80 that he had not yet become an adult.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I am not a past participle but a present participle, even a dangling participle. I am not a having-grown-up one but a growing-up one, a groping-up one, not even sure much of the time just where my growing and groping are taking me or where they are supposed to be taking me. I am a verbal adjective in search of a noun to latch onto, a grower in search of a self to grow into.</blockquote>
An "adult adolescent" he calls himself. The adolescent ignores the pain or is trapped by it. The adult will grow through the pain without burying it or succumbing to it. Pain puts you in touch with your emotions which makes you more human. It is not how much you know or how well you reason your way through life. It is pain that grows you up.<br />
<br />
Buechner describes what I have found to be true:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We are never more alive to life than when it hurts - never more aware both of our own powerlessness to save ourselves and of at least the possibility of a power beyond ourselves to save us and heal us if we can only open ourselves to it. We are never more aware of our need for each other, never more in reach of each other, if we can only bring ourselves to reach out and let ourselves be reached...We are never more in touch with life than when life is painful, never more in touch with hope than we are then, if only the hope of another human presence to be with us and for us.</blockquote>
What is my power? It's not "what" but "who."<br />
<br />
Christ saves and heals me, binds me to a community, takes the yoke of my adult burdens, teaches me how to carry them with gentleness and humility, gives me permission to be emotional and fragile.<br />
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Christ takes me from infancy through adolescence into maturity, into the fullness of Himself so that I am less and less tossed back and forth by men.<br />
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That is when I am most human and most like Him.<br />
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That is when I feel most alive and most adult.<br />
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Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-7218100425960780872012-08-07T21:20:00.000-07:002012-08-07T21:22:49.316-07:00A Life That Needs No Translation<i>I've been on a two-month hiatus from my blog, taking the time to realign my heart and readjust to this new place I am entering. I have transitioned out of one church to another where I am no longer fighting a patriarchal system. This means I'm trying to get back on track on why I want to write and what I want to write. It is going to take some time. In the meantime...</i><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DrYWUxOPnjI/UCHkXDwzAOI/AAAAAAAAAQM/gZantFMv-Ms/s1600/2012-08-07+19.44.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DrYWUxOPnjI/UCHkXDwzAOI/AAAAAAAAAQM/gZantFMv-Ms/s320/2012-08-07+19.44.33.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
I admit I was a bit nervous and a little stressed about the two strangers who were coming to stay with us for three days. Strangers but also family from the other side of the world whom I had not seen for many years. I had met my Japanese cousin only briefly 15 years ago on a trip to Osaka with my mother. His daughter had visited our home 27 years ago. There had been no communication since then because my deaf-mute mother could not call long distance nor write a letter, having never learned how to read or write. I did not know Japanese either. My cousin and his daughter were now 72 and 46 years old. Our lives had changed drastically on both sides of the world.<br />
<br />
The time spent hosting them in our home turned out to be surprisingly fun despite the challenge of translation between English, Japanese and sign language. They responded to every new experience with "Ahh!" and "Ohh!" in harmonious squeals of delight. Rejecting offers to take them to Japanese restaurants, they preferred the real American thing, preferably Portland-style. So we introduced them to <a href="http://www.mcmenamins.com/Edgefield" target="_blank">McMenamins</a> one evening and <a href="http://www.multnomahfallslodge.com/" target="_blank">Multnomah Falls Lodge</a> the other. They especially loved craft beers. We capped off their final night with a late evening firepit and roasted s'mores. Everything was captured on their digital camera.<br />
<br />
In between expressions of gratitude for caring for my mother, they made frequent references to one particular observation. My cousin lamented that the Japanese worked too hard and did not know how to enjoy life like the Americans did. I assured them that Americans had the same problem. But according to their observations of our home and never-ending fun projects, our children and grandchildren, and our hospitality, they insisted that Jon and I knew how to live life with exuberance and joy.<br />
<br />
Now granted, we have had more time to enjoy life since Jon retired from teaching three years ago. Even that amazed them because Jon was able to retire at the young age of 55. My cousin had no thoughts of retiring even in his 70s. Believe me, we keep pinching ourselves that we are in this particular season of life.<br />
<br />
On the day they departed, we spent a few hours enjoying our last three-language conversation on our deck under a billowing, yellow canopy that shaded us, along with the forest of 150-ft Douglas fir trees, from the hot sun. Then during a lull in the craziness of broken English and gesturing hands, my cousin turned to his daughter and asked her to translate a question to me. He saw our productive, happy, love-filled lives and wanted to know what our "power" was.<br />
<br />
Our power? You mean motivation? Her head nodded. I thought for a minute and gave two answers. In short, my father and my Father. I had a father who taught me I could do anything and I am a Christian who loves Jesus. They accepted my answer happily and offered their own Buddhist faith as a point of mutual contact and respect. I accepted in return.<br />
<br />
Since that exchange I have reflected on their question some more. What does not need translation is a life that is enjoyed and filled with people who are loved. Maybe that's why Jesus insists we treat each other with his kind of love and live his kind of abundant life. Such a gospel-life "speaks" so loudly that it prompts the question, "What is your power?"<br />
<br />
My Japanese relatives only saw a very small slice of our life. When I have guests I'm like any other person - I behave my best and put a lot of effort into my hospitality. But my hope is that what they saw was the real thing, the Jesus-kind-of-life that comes from loving Christ with every fiber of my body and every intention of my heart. I don't have the gift of evangelism but perhaps my gift of hospitality is close enough.<br />
<br />
I don't live that life well all the time but there are moments like those spent with my relatives from the other side of the world that tell me I am progressing with my translation skills.<br />
<br />Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-77691274752041093872012-06-14T20:34:00.000-07:002012-06-14T20:34:55.740-07:00The Unwritten Story<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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Eden and Eternity. The Beginning and the End of the Story.</div>
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Eden. Perfect man and perfect woman created in the <i>imago dei </i>to live in a perfect world. Created
to rule and steward the earth together. Created to love perfectly both in
friendship and if married, in one-flesh union. Created for community with God
and with a world filled with perfect men and perfect women together imaging a creative,
loving God who sits on a heavenly throne and walks in a lush garden.</div>
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Stop. Fast forward.</div>
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Eternity. A new heavens and a new earth converge as the Holy
City, the place of the heavenly throne, comes down to dwell among the community
of the <i>imago Christi.</i> The Second Adam
comes for his Bride and wipes the tears from her eyes. No death, no mourning,
no pain, no night. Instead there is dazzling beauty, shining glory, and thirst-quenching,
healing life from a river and from a tree. The new earth is not the old Eden restored.
It’s completely replaced by a far more glorious creation. </div>
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<i>The old has passed
away; Christ makes everything new</i> (Revelation 21:4-5). </div>
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In the meantime we live in the middle story between Eden and
Eternity, bookended by perfection in creation and then recreation. The
challenge lies in trying to anticipate the story yet to be written because
those who consider themselves to be characters in God’s story tend to want to
write the future script based on the past script, especially the sacred script.</div>
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<b>But God is not one to
be scripted by any human. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts; his ways are
higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9; Job). God may change the rules
(Deuteronomy 23:1 to Isaiah 56:3-6; Old Covenant to New). God will dismiss
former things to do a new thing (Isaiah 43:18-19).</div>
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Furthermore the sacred script is often silent on many social
issues, which begs the question, “Why, if the text is inspired, did God not
make his thoughts more clear from the beginning?” Thoughts concerning polygamy
or slavery or the treatment of women. Those who care about these issues and
then read the script at face value conclude it is flawed and therefore God is an
imaginary character.</div>
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I think on these things and wonder if the sacred script is
ambiguous or deeply complex on purpose. Perhaps the flow of the story in the
sacred script is indicative of how the script will progress throughout
humanity’s history. Perhaps God intends ambiguity and has actually inspired
more descriptions than prescriptions than we allow. For a good reason. </div>
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<b>God continues to give
us choice in this middle place of grace. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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I wonder if God’s intention is to invite us to obedience
rather than demand it, to give us enough clues about his heart and character so
that we choose to obey out of love, not law. I see this in the story of Jonah
which has an unwritten ending, an unanswered question. Did Jonah ever repent of
his anger and choose to love the repenting Ninevites? Not knowing how Jonah
ends his story forces us to examine our own and consider where we fall short of
compassion. It allows us to write the rest of the story based on who God is and
how he acts.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Christ came to reveal the Father through his teaching and
his works. He gave us enough clues to figure out what following him entails,
what it means to love a community and love God. But not everything is laid out.
Not every question is answered. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So the early church has to figure out the rest of the story
according to Christ’s clues. It’s rough. It’s messy. Things have to be figured
out on the fly. Adjustments are made and roles are created. The church evolves.
I think we forget that the church was an infant in need of time to grow up and
wrestle through the implications of Christ’s Kingdom in their cultural context.
<b>The priority was not to get everything
right the first time. It was to listen to the Spirit only for what the next
step should be.</b> And every step was counter-cultural, even if a very small
step. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
History tells me we are still on the journey of more
accurately understanding God’s thoughts and ways. Otherwise we wouldn’t have
needed the Reformation. History tells me silence does not mean approval on the
part of God. Otherwise we would be supporting slavery today. History tells me God
gives space to our broken social structures that may change over time.
Otherwise we would still be engaged in polygamy and concubinage. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As each generation reads the same words on the pages of the
sacred script, a different story may emerge from their new perspective. This
requires discernment of God’s invitation to a more mature faith, a more loving
community, and a more powerful witness to the gospel. This is what the Jews in
the Old Testament understood when the author of Chronicles reread Israel’s
history recorded in Samuel, Kings and other accounts and then rewrote their
history in light of their post-exilic context. The changes are subtle but the
changes are there. Israel needed to move on and adopt new practices in their
new situation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A new perspective always invites a new reading. (Otherwise
seminaries would quickly become obsolete.) This principle was pictured for me
by a modern sculpture that I encountered in Washington, DC. The sculpture is an
optical illusion in which the artist created a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHGqTClu6tU&feature=related">3-D image
of a corner of a house</a>. But as you walk from one side to the other, the
house appears to move and change in perspective. Each step forward requires
reinterpreting the house you are observing. Perhaps the sculpture is a metaphor
for Scripture. The words on a page don’t change but their interpretation may
with each change in perspective. And each new, Spirit-illumined interpretation
gets closer to the “new thing” Christ is making.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this middle time between Eden and Eternity I believe God
allows ambiguity, contradiction, unanswered questions and changes in the sacred
script because he wants us as a faith community to wrestle with the unwritten
script. It forces us to ask important questions of identity, both of God and
ourselves. It requires that we seek the Kingdom of God and not our own
kingdoms. And if Christ is the only one who most accurately represents the
heart and character of God, then it demands that we see life, both people and
circumstances, through the lens of Christ, through his life, death and
resurrection. It is the gospel that guides us through the unwritten script of
the middle place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps in this middle time between Eden and Eternity, God
the Father is growing humanity, like a child, toward maturity so that past
systems, past cultural dynamics, past patterns are not what write our script but
only Christ and his Kingdom. It is the vision of eternity that drives our story
forward. <i>Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done on earth as it is heaven.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is a Kingdom vision that drives my passion for mutuality and equality on earth. I believe it is time for all the church to grow up into what has always been present in heaven. It is time to reread the sacred script from our current perspective and take a step closer to our new creation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He
is also the Middle. In the space between Eden and Eternity, our story is still being written. Who is writing it for you?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-13263116499230297092012-06-03T22:29:00.000-07:002013-11-06T10:36:18.662-08:00The Dance of Mutuality in Ephesians 5<i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have revised and consolidated my previous three posts on Ephesians 5:21-33, "Deconstructing the Marriage Metaphor in Ephesians 5", into one post here in order to contribute to Rachel Held Evan's <a href="http://rachelheldevans.com/announcing-week-of-mutuality" target="_blank">WEEK OF MUTUALITY</a>. I encourage you to follow her as she makes a case for egalitarianism.</span></i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Metaphors are powerful. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gQbMzRTkb6Y/T8ww30fVuxI/AAAAAAAAAPo/3K1X2axD0WQ/s1600/groomhead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">With a picture that’s worth a thousand words, a metaphor can translate the unknown and abstract into concrete and known. It gets our attention and engages our emotions and imaginations. However the meaning of a metaphor can be perplexing, especially when it’s used within an ancient cultural context.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Understanding metaphors takes work because they
are imprecise by nature. The image demands patience as it invites us to a leisurely
stroll around it, looking at the metaphor from all angles like a sculpture in a
museum. It is a picture to be pondered, not to be passed over quickly without
questioning assumptions and initial perceptions. Metaphors require thoughtful
examination but they resist efforts to reduce it to a statement of facts or a
dictionary definition. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like the one in Ephesians 5. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: center;">By tradition, the metaphor in
this passage has been reduced to a </span><b style="text-align: center;">model</b><span style="text-align: center;">
and a </span><b style="text-align: center;">mandate</b><span style="text-align: center;">: The husband is the
authoritative head to which the wife, his body, submits. In everything.
Therefore the husband must be the spiritual leader of the home and the wife
must be the respectful follower. Lately conservative interpreters have conceded to adding a
halo of loving sacrifice on his head in connecting the husband to Christ
in order to soften the current cultural resistance to submission.</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No mystery here. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem is Paul says there is
a mystery. In fact there is a PROFOUND MYSTERY. In verse 32 Paul explicitly
ascribes it to Christ and the Church. But he also clearly links the mystery to
the “one flesh” union of a husband and wife in verse 31. The quote from Genesis
2:24 occupies a special place in the immediate context which serves then to
inform the head and body metaphor used by Paul. But before I address the significance
of verse 31, let me back up to the previous verses and suggest an alternative
understanding of those verses. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Ephesians 5:22-27 the
relationship between the head and the body, or the husband and the wife, cannot
be understood apart from the reigning paradigm of verse 21: “Submit to one
another out of reverence for Christ.” (Verse 21 supplies the verb “submit” for
verse 22, which is verbless.) This verse is critical to understanding the rest of the chapter. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like a pair of reading glasses that have been left on the table for too many years, the verse has been ignored to the detriment to our understanding of the metaphor. Once the glasses are put on, you gain an alternative reading of Ephesians 5 and a vision of a mutuality that God intended from time of Genesis 1 and 2. Paul takes his command in verse 21 and fleshes it out in the following three spheres of relationships:
marriage, parenting, and slavery. In each of these spheres, Paul applies the
principle of mutual submission, which would have been counter-cultural to his
audience. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me start with the last and
work my way back. Slaves submit by humble obedience and wholehearted service
while masters submit by treating their slaves with kindness and fairness.
Children submit by obeying and honoring their parents while fathers submit by
not exasperating their children but instead by being involved in their nurturing. Assuming
consistency, Paul also applies the principle of mutual submission to the
husband and wife relationship. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The issue at hand is not <b>who</b> is
in authority but <b>how</b> we are to treat one another within the current cultural
context of hierarchical relationships. Paul is not prescribing an authority structure (otherwise we would accept slavery today) but is fleshing out mutual
submission within those relationships. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Interestingly when Paul addresses
the marital relationship, not much is offered as to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>how</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the wife submits to the husband. This
is conjecture on my part but perhaps the readers of Paul’s day know fairly well
what submission looks like for wives since they have been submitting for
hundreds of years and that is why Paul’s instruction to wives does not need
further explanation. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is new to his readers is the
inference that husbands are to submit to their wives. So Paul spends more time on submission
for a husband who seeks to follow Christ. Such a husband will love his wife
like Christ loves the Church. That kind of love sacrifices for the other and
puts the other before him. The words of Paul describe a kingdom-defining,
culture-defying relational dynamic unknown to the typical first century Christian
husband. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, care must be taken to
not make the correlation between the husband and Christ too closely. A husband’s
love cannot accomplish for the wife what only Christ can do. A husband does not
make a wife holy – only Christ does. A husband cannot cleanse her through the
word – only Christ does. A husband does not present his wife to Christ as a
pure and blameless bride – only Christ does. Husbands are NOT like Christ in
this way and the husband is NOT responsible for the wife’s spiritual state.
This is an inappropriate extrapolation from the metaphor. In fact Paul has already
stated that only Christ is the Savior of the church, which includes both husbands
and wives. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>During the first few years of my marriage, I had a very clear
picture of what I expected from Jon – a knight in shining armor come to rescue
me from my slide into a spiritual pit where I was slowly losing my passionate
love for Christ. I had hopes that Jon as my “head” would lead me back to
Christ.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>That didn’t happen. And for good reason. Jon was not my “savior.”</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>As my spiritual state deteriorated I began to panic. I did
everything I could to avoid the slide down, digging my heels deep into the side
of the hill through counsel, mentoring, reading, and praying. I tried to
respond to Jon’s attempts to lead but he had his own spiritual journey and he
didn’t know how to lead me. It was painfully awkward for both of us.</i> <i>When I
gave birth to three sons in three years, our family devotions became
child-friendly but not desperate-wife-friendly.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>I finally quit taking communion. That’s when it hit Jon that I was
in deep spiritual trouble. He felt helpless. Seven years into our marriage I
hit bottom and abandoned my faith in Christ.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>But Christ did not abandon me. With the help of a woman who
eventually became my mentor, Christ revealed himself to me and I was
transformed. That transformation not only impacted my journey with Christ but
it also impacted my journey with Jon. We began a new dance.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>A dance of adults in which we individually took ownership of our
own spirituality.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>A dance of equals in which we respected each other’s unique form
of spirituality and leadership.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>A dance of lovers in which we shed our facades and grew in love
and knowledge of each other’s true selves.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>A dance of full humanity in which we faced our weaknesses and
leaned into each other’s strengths.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>In those years after my transformation, our dance was really
awkward, at times painful as we stepped on each other’s toes. But with each
passing year we got better at dancing. And it’s still getting better. Sometimes
he leads and sometimes I lead. In our understanding of mutuality in partnership
we believe the leader is the one who is stronger and more gifted. The follower
is the one who humbly accepts limitations and trusts the other. </i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Over time the dance has become smoother. It’s become more
graceful. Thirty-three years later it’s definitely more fun!</span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So how IS the husband like
Christ? If he is not the wife's savior, then how is he to love her? How does he "give himself up for her"?</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paul goes on in the next section,
5:26-33, to explain how the husband’s relationship with his wife correlates to
Christ’s relationship with the Church introducing it by the phrase “in the same
way.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paul
takes the correspondence of husband-wife and Christ-Church to a deeper and more
profound connection – the mysterious one flesh union. The head/body metaphor is
not a model for setting the husband above the wife in authority or
responsibility. It is a metaphor for unity, one that is founded on their marriage union
as equal partners of grace in a relationship of mutual submission. Notice that
Paul does not exhort the husband to <i>become
</i>the head of his wife. He states what <i>is</i>
the reality of marriage – the husband is connected to his wife as a head is to
the body. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Paul, the mystery of this
union is best pictured by a human body that is viewed holistically. Using a
Jewish literary device called a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-chiastic-structure.htm">chiasm</a>, Paul connects the concrete metaphor of a head with its body to a
theological mystery. (Many New Testament scholars acknowledge Hebraic or
Semitic styles employed by the NT authors.) Here is how these verses are laid out as
chiasm: </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-left: 27.0pt; text-indent: -27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(A) <i>husbands ought to love their wives as their
own bodies. He who<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><u>loves his
wife loves himself</u>.</i> </span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-left: 81.0pt; text-indent: -27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(B) <i>After all, no one ever hated their own body,
but they feed and care for their body, just as<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><u>Christ does the church</u>—for we
are members of his body.</i> </span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(C) <i>For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.</i></b> </span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-left: 81.0pt; text-indent: -27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(B) <i>This is a profound mystery—but I am talking
about<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><u>Christ and the church</u>.</i></span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(A) <i>However, each one of you also must<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><u>love his wife as he loves himself</u>,
and the wife must respect her husband.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe many make a mistake in
applying linear thinking to this passage of Paul’s writing.
The main point is not at the end – husbands love your wives and wives respect
your husbands. The main point is in the center, identified by the chiastic
structure: <b>A husband is to leave his
family of origin and be united with his wife in a one-flesh union</b>.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surrounding the main point of the one-flesh union are the layers of implication. First, the one flesh marriage union is a
picture of the “marriage” union of Christ to the Church, his Bride. It is as impossible
to separate a husband from his wife as it is to separate Christ from his
Church. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second, it is impossible for the husband to hurt
his wife without hurting himself. A husband is united to his wife in a mysterious
and organic way such that he must love his wife like it is assumed he loves
himself. A husband’s headship is defined as a nurturing role of feeding and
caring, not as a leadership or decision-making role. It is the same nurturing role described by Paul as defining Christ’s headship
in Ephesians 4:15-16. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If Paul had wanted to perpetuate
a patriarchal model of marriage, it would have made more sense to appeal to the
order of creation or the deception of Eve which he uses in 1 Timothy 2:13.
Instead he appeals to a verse that defines the core of a marriage – the
mysterious union of husband and wife where two individuals become “one flesh,” a
metaphor that corresponds to the head-attached-to-body image. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
relationship of the head to the body is not a function of authority but a function
of unity and a necessity to life. You can cut off an arm or leg and you still
have a body that lives. But cut off the head and you kill the body. Paul is
exhorting husbands to embrace what has been true since the day the vows were
exchanged and the marriage was consummated. A husband is connected to his wife
in a mysterious union of one flesh, of one body. Therefore he must act out
that union by submitting to his wife and loving his own “body” by giving
himself up for her. A husband cannot treat the marriage as if he is independent
of his wife.<br /><br />I do not believe Paul is exhorting the husband to step <b>into</b> a role of spiritual leader (note: “lead” or “leader” is never used in this passage), but to step <b>with</b> his wife in a partnership of unity by connecting to his wife like a head needs to connect with its body. Disconnection from his wife hurts her, even “kills” her as it would if a person was beheaded. It will also "kill" him.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>This is what it felt
like for me during a very rough time in our marriage. Our dance had stopped.
Jon was overwhelmed with fulltime teaching and parttime management of a program for the school district. He was hardly home.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>And I kept myself busy as well, first with homeschooling and later with
seminary and church ministry. We quit spending time together just for fun and
for romance. Jon was focused on juggling his work and his students and he was
happy to have me take care of everything else. We were managers living as
housemates in a disconnected dance.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Finally one evening I
told Jon I had lost my feelings of love for him. I told him the long-term
disconnection left me numb and unable to respond to him with any feeling. I
also assured him that I had no intention of leaving him. I was committed to our
marriage. But I could no longer maintain my façade of happiness and needed to
be completely honest. There were no demands, I said, just a deep desire for him
to really know me, for him to know how empty and broken my heart was.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>It was terribly
difficult for me to say these words to him. I knew it would hurt him deeply.
Jon didn’t say much but with his eyes and his embrace, he received my words
with grace and humility. And then in the following months he acted.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Within one
year our marriage was completely transformed and our hearts were reconnected.
Our one flesh union was no longer just a theological statement but became a deeply felt
reality.</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paul’s metaphor for marriage is
not a model or a mandate. It is a PROFOUND MYSTERY in its image of unity that
cannot be fully explained but is intended by God to be experienced. This is
true of both marriage and Christ and the Church. (If you want to consider
something that will really blow your mind, especially if you still insist on
equating headship with leadership, read Alan G. Padgett’s <i>As Christ Submits to the Church</i> where he argues servant leadership
IS mutual submission.) </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Understanding of the head and
body metaphor for marriage as a picture of unity rather than leadership makes
more sense to me within the immediate context of Ephesians 5:21—6:9 as well as
within the whole book where unity is a main theme. I offer this alternative
understanding of Ephesians 5 to couples who want an alternative story for their
marriage. I offer it to couples who actually live this kind of unity and
co-leadership despite the story they have been told in the church. I
respect the decision of those who choose to remain loyal to the traditional
story but I suggest that a husband’s role of leadership be assigned by gifting
and agreed to by mutual consent rather than a mandate based on a possible
misreading of Ephesians 5. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read this quote
recently:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i><b>“Therapy is the art of changing a person’s controlling metaphor.”</b></i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to offer a different
controlling metaphor to those marriages which struggle with the burden of an
oppressive interpretation of Ephesians 5. I think Henry Wadsworth Longfellow captures the intent of Paul’s metaphor in his poem,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Song
of Hiawatha</i>, and offers a 19<span style="font-size: x-small;">th </span>century version of the metaphor:</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i>As unto the bow the cord is,</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>So unto the man is woman;</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Though she bends him, she obeys him,</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Though she draws him, yet she follows;</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Useless each without the other!</span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></blockquote>
Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-79871850218731375452012-05-22T10:51:00.000-07:002014-04-18T10:10:38.425-07:00On the Eve of the Evangelical Woman<br />
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I am amazed by the power of naming.</div>
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Though I do not agree that the <a href="http://storyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/01/naming-of-eve.html" target="_blank">act of naming</a> equates with greater authority, I have to admit I appreciate how sensitively
Adam named his female partner. Twice. Once in Genesis 2 and once in Genesis 3.</div>
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<i>This is now bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken out
of man. </i>Adam totally got it. He instantly recognized the wondrous creature
before him as sharing his humanity and solving his aloneness. And he fell in
love. </div>
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Then after the fall Adam named the woman a second time. <i>Eve. </i>The name means <i>living. </i>It’s as though he was defying the final curse – <i>for dust you are and to dust you will return</i>.
But I don’t believe it was defiance. It was hope. The first breath exhaled in
response to the consequences, the terrible curses unleashed by sin. <i>Eve</i>. Not “<i>We’re sorry.</i>” Not “<i>Please
forgive us.</i>” Just “Eve.” A woman’s name that embodied hope for the newly fallen world. </div>
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But ever since Genesis 3, women in general have struggled
with being named by others in ways that have nothing to do with a given name. </div>
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<i>You can’t teach
because women are more easily deceived.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>You can’t lead because
women are weak. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>You’re not invited
because women are too distracting sexually.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>You can’t question
because women want to domineer.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>You can’t say anything
because women are too emotional.</i></div>
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How ironic that Eve was the “mother of all the living" yet
so many women in the church do not feel alive, at least not in the sense that Jesus intended. Instead of feeling like God's handiwork and free to do the good works prepared by God (Ephesians 2:10), many feel caged and unable to break out of gender
stereotypes, to find their place in the faith community and to shed shameful
names.</div>
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Carol Kuniholm commented on a <a href="http://storyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/05/where-is-voice-of-evangelical-woman.html">previous
blog post</a> in which I encouraged women to not silence their voices because
of theological intimidation by men. She points out that the lack of biblical
knowledge is not the only reason women are reticent to speak up. Carol identifies several other barriers:</div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222;">In thinking about why I
sometimes find myself silent on the issue of women in the church, or on other
issues of importance, I find it has less to do with theology, or lack of
confidence, and more to do with the way women who don't fit the common mold so
quickly suffer personal attack. Even in secular politics, women who dare to
speak their mind find themselves accused of being strident, unfeminine,
"sluts," or worse. Women who have chosen the path of acquiescence are
often threatened by women who speak up, and use gossip as an avenue to force
conformity. Men who like to hear themselves talk can make life hard for those
who object to being constantly shut down or interrupted.</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></i><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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These are all attempts to name women in damaging ways, to
shame them into silence. These are violations of relationship within the family
of God. This is not Christ-like. This is not love.</div>
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So I encourage women to help each other reject these names,
live into your new name in Christ and combine your voice with other men and
women who believe in freedom and equality. Like Adam realized, I want you to
know you are not alone. So I say again…</div>
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<i>TEACH! You bring much
needed wisdom and creative theological insight. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>LEAD!</i> <i>You are <a href="http://deeperstory.com/burn-ladies-burn/" target="_blank">ezer kenegdo</a> – women of strength
called to partner alongside our brothers and fight the Enemy together.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>BE PRESENT! Your
femininity is not responsible for keeping men from lusting. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>CHALLENGE! You can
disagree with a gentle and quiet spirit and speak the truth in love.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>SPEAK! Continue to be
vulnerable even if it makes others feel uncomfortable. </i></div>
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Sisters, you are daughters of Eve and your name is not
“deceived” but <i>LIVING.</i> <b> </b>Through you I believe there will be unleashed a fresh
movement of the Spirit in the Church because <b>Christ is alive in you.</b></div>
Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-56116397310236717732012-05-11T18:43:00.000-07:002012-05-12T10:18:46.402-07:00No Ordinary Mother<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_fk44txnzBc/T6274C4mfII/AAAAAAAAAO0/sMWklQLmM04/s1600/virgin+mary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_fk44txnzBc/T6274C4mfII/AAAAAAAAAO0/sMWklQLmM04/s320/virgin+mary.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have always been struck by the absence of the Virgin Mary in sermons, Bible studies or conversations about role models that take place in evangelical churches. My hunch is people want to avoid anything that sounds Roman Catholic. Which is unfortunate. Mary is an extraordinary woman.<br />
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Yet Mary, in some ways, is caught in the middle. On one hand, she is one who should be venerated. For crying out loud, SHE WAS CHOSEN BY GOD TO BEAR HIS SON! Her response to the angel Gabriel revealed a remarkably mature faith for such a young girl. She doesn't wiggle out of her calling like Moses did: <i>Gabriel, can I skip the being pregnancy part and use a surrogate mother? </i>And after she seeks out her relative, Elizabeth, Mary breaks out in a song that echoes Hannah's prayer (1 Samuel 2) and reveals her understanding of God's bigger story. But unlike Hannah who handed Samuel over to Eli, Mary does not ask Elizabeth and her husband-priest Zechariah to raise her unborn child in the temple. (The continued connection to Hannah cannot be missed however when Mary has to retrieve her young boy from the temple.) She knows her calling is to raise the Son of God herself. She deserves to be called "Blessed."<br />
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On the other hand, Mary was also an ordinary woman. Her humanity is most evident when you compile all the references to her in the gospels and observe her through the lens of motherhood. I did this a few years ago and I was pleasantly surprised to see a normal mother struggling with the same problem all mothers have - <i>letting go of our children</i>. <br />
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I tried to imagine what it would be like to be in her shoes, to raise what I assume to have been a perfect child. Did her heart jump each time Jesus the baby cried for her breast milk? Did she panic when Jesus the boy fell and marred the skin that wrapped the Messiah? How did she handle the pressure from the town mothers to hook him up with their daughters?<br />
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My study resulted in a poem about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Which I would like to share with you. Kind of. It's a bit intimidating to post a poem when I do not claim to be a poet or even aspire to be one. So please bear with my juvenile attempt and listen to the story of Mary, an ordinary mother learning to let go of an extraordinary son, the Divine Son.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-azlx9-Xd7sg/T63ACVHqTYI/AAAAAAAAAPA/7YsxugyGLoM/s1600/MaryAtFootOfCross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-azlx9-Xd7sg/T63ACVHqTYI/AAAAAAAAAPA/7YsxugyGLoM/s320/MaryAtFootOfCross.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<b>A MOTHER’S SACRIFICE</b></div>
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Imbedded nails and lifted post,</div>
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That dreadful cross bore my son.</div>
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Nerves entwined, in a silent scream,</div>
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Mind and soul were now numb.</div>
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Gazing upon his battered face,</div>
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Grief swelled with each drop of his blood.</div>
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In this final test of a mother’s love,</div>
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Memories rushed in like a flood.</div>
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A virgin message to virgin ears,</div>
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Yeshua, Immanuel, his name.</div>
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And Simeon spoke of hearts exposed,</div>
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But mine would be pierced with pain.</div>
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And like the prophecy Simeon spoke,</div>
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My own heart rose and fell,</div>
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Filled with wonder, then drained with fear,</div>
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From a humble birth to death’s knell.</div>
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As I nursed the God-man in my arms;</div>
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My heart he did fill, my life he did bless.</div>
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I gave up my will and gave him my womb,</div>
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But he wasn’t mine to possess.</div>
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Raising Jesus was a mother’s dream,</div>
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A perfect child indeed.</div>
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So when he delayed for days at the temple,</div>
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I was confused at my young son’s need.</div>
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Upset at what seemed to be disrespect,</div>
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Worry is every parent’s right.</div>
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But he was surprised we were anxious for him</div>
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Since he had been Home each night.</div>
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I heard, I treasured and pondered those words;</div>
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I must not possess was his warning.</div>
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Many more years he remained in our home,</div>
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But I knew it could change any morning.</div>
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Strong in body and wise in mind, </div>
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I knew he had power from heaven.</div>
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Years passed as I mothered God’s Son,</div>
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Waiting for a sign to be given.</div>
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Then one day, Jesus departed</div>
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For the river baptism by John.</div>
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I expected much more than a Voice from above,</div>
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Instead for forty days he was gone.</div>
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Surely there would be a miraculous sign</div>
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When the Messiah was revealed.</div>
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So when the wine ran out at a wedding, </div>
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I went to my son and appealed.</div>
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With a subtle hint, I mentioned the need,</div>
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But he knew what I wanted to say.</div>
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Again with a gentle rebuke in his words,</div>
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A mother’s voice he would no longer obey.</div>
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From seas to cities, he gathered disciples,</div>
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I watched him with heart full of pride.</div>
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But pride turned to fear as I heard words of evil,</div>
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“He’s insane, he’s the devil!” they cried.</div>
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How dare they accuse him of being possessed!</div>
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I know who he is, what he’s worth.</div>
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So I had to see him and rescue if needed,</div>
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And tell them of his holy birth.</div>
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The crowds were too great to even get near</div>
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I demanded a message be sent.</div>
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Instead of a welcome or a look of relief,</div>
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He had words to confront our intent.</div>
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“My family are those who do God’s will.”</div>
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He pointed to all gathered near.</div>
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I knew he was saying the voice of the Spirit </div>
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Is greater than a mother’s to hear.</div>
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Memories faded as I stood on that hill,</div>
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Against the nails my son strained.</div>
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Surely God would deliver His Beloved,</div>
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But with each hour my hope drained.</div>
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Must a mother let go even to death?</div>
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What good has my sacrifice been?</div>
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I know Jesus saw my questioning eyes</div>
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And to John instructions were given.</div>
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In the final hour as he hung on the cross,</div>
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He gave one last push on the nail.</div>
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He cried, “It is finished,” and his spirit departed,</div>
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I felt my heart tear like the veil.</div>
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When the spear of the soldier pierced his side,</div>
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The words of Simeon came true.</div>
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With his blood darkened by the sins of the world,</div>
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The sword pierced my own soul through.</div>
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After the cross and the nails released him,</div>
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I held his body so lifeless.</div>
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Why should God give but then take hope away,</div>
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And a tomb and not me possess?</div>
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Little did I know what three days would bring,</div>
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Even the tomb would release.</div>
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And later the gift of the Spirit would come,</div>
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All works to salvation would cease.</div>
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My heart he does fill, my life he does bless,</div>
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He rules from his heavenly seat.</div>
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No more letting go, I finally possess Him,</div>
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A mother’s sacrifice now complete.</div>
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<br /></div>Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-91943102918325625472012-05-10T13:31:00.000-07:002012-05-10T13:31:28.603-07:00God My Mother<br />
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A few years ago I was reflecting on motherhood. Or more
accurately my own mothering. It was painful as I faced the reality of my
less-than-perfect attempts to raise three sons. I knew they carried the wounds
and scars of my humanity and I prayed they would navigate life in such a way to
find healing through the mercy and grace of God as I had. I promised myself
that if they ever were in town together on Mother’s Day, I would take THEM out
for dinner to celebrate the fact they survived my motherhood.</div>
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My three sons. My amazing, gifted, loving three sons. Now
they are all married to strong, gifted, incredible women and they are raising
their own children with the grace and mercy I wished I had displayed more often
as a young mother. </div>
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I am deeply grateful. I am humbled. I am awed by God’s gift
of my family.</div>
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But it was not always how I felt many years ago when I had
no clue what being a mother meant. As a young teen my babysitting career ended
after my first job. I had fallen asleep after the kids were in bed and the unreasonable
parents were furious with me. I never babysat again. Nor did I ever volunteer
in a church’s nursery or children’s department.</div>
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I never had dreams of being of a mother. </div>
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Until I woke up with three sons under the age of 3.
Literally woke up. Three C-sections in three years. Their arrivals were not
quite part of my overall plan. My plan was to build our home, pay off the
mortgage and then start a family. </div>
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Instead we moved into our unfinished house a couple of weeks
before our first son was born. The boys were teenagers before the last detail
of the house was completed. And they were out of the house and married before
we made our last mortgage payment. </div>
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Nothing worked out the way I had planned. Of course in
hindsight everything worked out much better. However it involved living what seemed
at times to be a bad dream. </div>
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The first five years of surviving babies are a blur in my
memory bank (I didn’t have a single full night’s sleep during those years). The
toddler-preschool stage was a nightmare because the boys were out of control,
or more accurately, I was out of control. Then God called me to homeschool them
through junior high. (Seriously God?!) It was really rough when they entered
high school. </div>
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Thankfully God gave me a husband who was one of 12 children.
He knew how to change diapers, loved playing and wrestling with the boys,
taught them how to drive and basically, stayed calm while I nearly went insane.
</div>
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But then an amazing thing happened as each left home. I
began to have hope that indeed we would all survive my motherhood. And we did.</div>
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For all the potholes I describe above there were more often stretches
of laughter at funny antics, adventures on camping trips, evenings of family
devotions and Jon’s storytelling, celebrations of achievements and many other
moments of togetherness.</div>
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I look back in awe of God’s wisdom and mercy. The road
through motherhood was pretty rough for me but it shaped me in profound ways. </div>
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I have been transformed through motherhood, even “saved.” Being
a mother has taught me more about God than any other life experience and has
been the most powerful context for “working out my salvation” (Philippians
2:12). </div>
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I think I get a sense of what the Apostle Paul means in 1
Timothy 2:15, one of the most perplexing verses in the Bible for women.</div>
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<i>But women will be
saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with
propriety.</i></blockquote>
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When my third son was born I was in a spiritual pit, not
sure whether I was still a Christian or if God existed. A motherhood crisis was
coinciding with a faith crisis. It turned out that as I struggled to respond to
the cries of my babies, God responded to the cries of my heart. And he saved
me. He met me in the pit and restored faith.</div>
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Since the years that followed my faith rebirth, I read my
own story into that verse and I see how childbearing has helped save me from
myself. My anger. My efforts to control my life and others. My selfishness. My
discontent. Childbearing helped me to find my heart and it led my heart straight
to Christ who mothered me through motherhood.</div>
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I know that Mother’s Day is a day for children to celebrate
their mothers. Some can do this more than others. Many have mothers who were
absent or inflicted great damage. Others have no children with whom to
celebrate. But we all have a perfect Father who is also a perfect Mother, One who
answers our cries, nourishes our souls and walks us through life. Where I have failed as a mother, God will be to my children.</div>
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Happy Mother’s Day, God.</div>Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6309061034059673153.post-50421664944923833742012-05-05T13:22:00.000-07:002014-06-27T14:23:02.657-07:00The Deaf-Mute In All of Us<br />
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People have often asked me what it’s like to grow up with a
deaf-mute mother. Before she came to live with me after my father passed away I
would respond with a puzzled look and say something like, “Uh, I never thought
much about it.” Seriously. Then I’d try to lighten the awkward moment by
telling the inquirer what an advantage I had as a teenager. I could say whatever
I wanted and my mom would never hear it. </div>
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On the serious side, communicating with my mother is very
difficult, often frustrating. She doesn’t read lips. In fact she doesn’t read
at all since she never had an education. My father made up a sign language for
our family that is much like charades. If you have played the game you know how
difficult it is to be understood. Concrete words are not easy. Abstract ones
are nearly impossible without a common point of reference. </div>
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When I left home, I slowly came to realize that my growing up years were anything but normal. It wasn't until my mother came to live with me that I began to understand how her silent, unhearing presence impacted me in profound ways.<br />
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I have never had a deep “conversation”
with my mother. In our relationship, I am as deaf and mute to her as she is to
me. Now that she has lived with me for the past 15 years I am painfully aware that loneliness and isolation is her normal. I grieve for her inability to connect with the world in meaningful ways.</div>
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Lately I’ve
come to the conclusion that life with a deaf mother in some ways is not all
that different from life with normal hearing people.</div>
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Occasionally I run into people who hear my words but act
deaf. I have conversations with people and I can tell I have not been heard. When
I have something important to say I am treated in such a way that makes me feel
like they wish I came with a remote and a mute button. Attempts at dialogue end up being a game
of charades with large amounts of emotional energy expended to make limited
points of connection.</div>
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Being deaf or mute doesn’t have to have a physical cause. It
can be a state of the mind and heart. For the person who is trying to speak,
the blank stares in response can have any number of causes.</div>
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A closed belief system. Fear. Preservation. A position of
superiority or privilege. Lack of trust. Exclusion. Pride. Lack of empathy. I
have been guilty of all of these and more. I know I have been deaf to the
stories of others, to their attempts to connect with me. </div>
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And I have often stopped my ears to God.</div>
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This phenomenon is described in Scripture often where the
loss of physical senses is a metaphor for the spiritual, emotional and mental
state of a close mind and hard heart.</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">Psalm 135:15-18</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"> The
idols of the nations<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="29"></a> are silver and gold, made by the hands
of men.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="30"></a> They have mouths, but cannot speak,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="31"></a> eyes,
but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="32"></a> in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and
so will all who trust in them. </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">Isaiah
6:9-10 </span></b><span style="color: #333333;">Go and tell this people: " 'Be ever
hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make
the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their
eyes.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="a"></a> Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with
their ears,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="33"></a> understand with their hearts, and turn and be
healed.</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b>Jeremiah 6:10 </b>T</span></span>o whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.</span></blockquote>
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In the Old Testament, the main Hebrew word for “to obey” is
the same word for “to hear, listen, pay attention, perceive.” The Jews
understood that deafness is the lack of deep understanding, accurate perception
and immediate responsiveness. Hearing is the prerequisite to obedience and to
action. </div>
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And hearing is necessary to a transformative community, a
community that listens well to God and to each other.</div>
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I’ve been in a season of articulating some concerns,
expressing my passions and advocating for gender reconciliation. It’s been a
season of refinement, of clarity and of growth. The result has been further
shaping and a deeper confidence of who I am and who God is to me as a woman. I
am finding my voice and speaking up. But I know that it is not my
responsibility to open deaf ears. </div>
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It’s fruitless to keep speaking to closed ears. It’s
exhausting to keep participating in a “charade.” It’s time to turn my attention
and energy to those who are listening and need a listening ear, to those who
need encouragement to speak because they have muted themselves among the deaf. </div>
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God is shaking up the church. For those who are willing to
abandon their trenches of tradition, he is unstopping ears, unmuting voices and
powerfully reconciling men and women along the Way.</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Isaiah 35:1-6 </b></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">The desert<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="1"></a> and the parched
land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="2"></a> Like
the crocus,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="3"></a> it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice
greatly and shout for joy.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="4"></a> The glory of Lebanon<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="5"></a> will
be given to it, the splendor of Carmel<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="6"></a> and Sharon;<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="7"></a> they
will see the glory<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="8"></a> of the LORD, the splendor of our God.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="9"></a> Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="10"></a> that
give way; say<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="11"></a> to those with fearful hearts,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="12"></a> "Be
strong, do not fear;<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="13"></a> your God will come,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="14"></a> he
will come with vengeance;<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="15"></a> with divine retribution he will
come to save<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="16"></a> you." <b>Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf
unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6309061034059673153" name="21"></a> shout for joy. </b>Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. </span></span> </blockquote>
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Harriet Reed Congdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313395805579478225noreply@blogger.com2