Wednesday, April 20, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: What Talents Did God Give Me and How Ought I Use Them?

Prior to the Reformation, vocation or calling ("What shall I do in my earthly life?") was thought to be only for those who worked for the church as priests, monks or nuns.  An important belief of the reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther was that God calls every person.  Vocation was not just for pastors and those who work for the church, and "vocation" was not limited to the time spent earning a living.

John Calvin had the high expectation that baptized Christians would actively seek the welfare of others in the community of Geneva, Switzerland where he lived, through education, health care and governance.  For example, he dispatched Elders to inspect fireplaces for safety. Imagine if pastors today asked for reports from Elders at each Session meeting on their activities for the community's welfare!  But Presbyterians actually are involved in many such activities ---- the PTA, City Council, literacy campaigns, clean air task forces, etc. ---- so there would be much to report.

Ministers and other ordained leaders of the church are charged with equipping and encouraging all the baptized to respond to their vocational calls.  They also are "talent scouts", always on the lookout for gifts in others that can be nurtured and put to use.  A retiree is connected with Sunday school teaching.  A beautician is encouraged to offer her skills to a women's shelter.  A gifted young musician performs for nursing home residents.

While other church members may influence the call that one perceives, discernment of call often begins within ourselves, with a yearning to follow an inner voice.  So, we might start with the questions, "What gifts has God given me?  What is God calling me to do with them?"

At any age, assessing our own gifts is tricky.  We are not always the best judges of our own talents.  Sometimes we are drawn to a particular path in ignorance of other paths.  Or, out of personal egotistical aspirations, rather than in response to God's call.  There is the old story about the man who saw "PC" in a cloud formation and thought surely he was called to "Preach Christ."  After listening to many of his sermons, some church folks suggested that he was called to "Plant Corn."

We need help sorting out our inner stirrings, to find God's call.  Presbyterians understand that discernment of call is not something we do alone, but in the community of God's people.  The best decisions come out of group appreciations of one's gifts.  We may believe that we have leadership skills, for example.  But, do others see that?  If so, perhaps we are on the right path.

The great "call" stories of the Bible demonstrate that a true call from God is often resisted rather than welcomed.  Our Scriptural role models usually did not volunteer.  They did not want to be called, and they did not think they had the required qualities.  Out minding the sheep, Moses was drafted.  He gave many excuses, but God did not accept them.  Some of the most effective Bible leaders tell stories of being drafted for service, and trying to tell God that they were not the right candidates.  But, they did respond to God's call, and we remember them today.

In today's world, where individuals have many options for the use of their time, with many voices speaking and many career choices offered, the Christian understanding of a "calling" as self-sacrificing service to God and neighbor, is not popular.  Perhaps we ourselves are often like the Bible leaders God called, who initially were sure they were just not the right candidates, because it would mean giving up something they were already doing comfortably.

Discerning one's vocation for God is not just a quest for self-fulfillment, though many do experience deep satisfaction in their vocation.  A response to God's call often does require self-sacrifice and even discomfort.  Living out our vocation may involve going places where we don't want to go, and the denial of ourselves, in order to aid someone else.

But, looking back at the things we have actually done for others can give us a very warm feeling ---- be a source of pleasure, delight and justify our life as a giver.

Perhaps the question is more like this:  "What am I supposed to do with what God has given to me?"  This includes how we earn our paycheck and how we spend it.  It includes how we spend our time outside of work.  It includes looking for ways to help others and then taking action ---- not just with the sick and infirm, but even with the youth in our families and neighborhoods who are seeking direction in their own lives.  A wise man once said, "The best things in life are not things ---- they are people to whom we can relate and help."
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC;s Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this spring at CPC .
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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: What's the Point of Personal Prayer?



I have a few questions about personal prayer:  Is God listening?  Why should God care about me?  If God already knows everything, what's the value in my prayer?  Why do answers to prayers seem so inconsistent, even capricious?  Does a person with many friends praying for him stand a better chance of physical healing than one who also has cancer but with only a few people praying for him?  Why does God sometimes seem so close and sometimes so far away?  Does personal prayer change God, or change me?

Most people pray at moments of crisis ---- when a child is ill, or when death approaches.  But those who pray only at such moments usually experience great difficulty figuring out what they are supposed to say, or whom they are addressing.  Sometimes dying men and women try to bargain with God.  They say, "I'll live my life in a righteous way God, if you will have mercy." They struggle with their preconceived notions of God.  Sometimes they are afraid to lay themselves out to God.   While prayer is no insurance policy against adversity, some of us do pray for forgiveness, for strength, for contact with the Father, for assurance that we are not alone.

Talking about God, which is what theologians do, is not the same as learning to talk to God. There are many ways of talking to God.  Prayers learned in childhood or read from a book, are often used to break the conversational "ice" with God.  However, perhaps here is the best advice: that the most important aspect of personal prayer is to "shut up and listen."

It seems to me that what matters most is not the frequency of personal prayer, but whether those who pray experience inner peace, a feeling of being led by God, or finding other forms of "divine intimacy."  I also wonder if those who do, are more likely to be forgiving of others, and satisfied with their lives?

Many Americans are raised without any habits of personal prayer, and cannot conceive of a God who would listen if they did address Him in prayer.  Not really understanding personal prayer, perhaps they will intellectualize the idea of prayer to such an extent that they "bleach-out" any emotional experience.

Rabbi Harold Kushner, the author of the best-selling "When Bad Things Happen to Good People," says he is tired of prayers that sound like a list of grievances.  "We've confused God with Santa Claus." Kushner charges.  "Every time you have to do something hard and you are not sure you are up to it, that's cause for prayer."  Nevertheless, petitioning God for favors may be one of the oldest ---- and most human ---- forms of prayer.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself is said to promise his disciples that "Whatsoever you ask of the Father in my name will be given to you."  Most Americans who pray believe that at least some of their prayers have been answered, though not always in the ways in which petitioners have sought.

Clearly, there is a difference between turning to God for help and expecting Him to meet our every want.  Jesus' own prayer to the Father was "thy will be done," meaning that God wants us to have whatever promotes our participation in His life ---- our union both now and in eternity.  Yet, it is precisely this distinction that is lost when television evangelists regularly claim miraculous healing through the power of on-air prayer.  Indeed, there is every reason to believe that prayer sent their way, checks enclosed, are posted to the wrong address.

I have also been told, and my experience confirms it, that personal prayer requires making time for God.  Someone once said, "If you're not as close to God as you used to be, its because you moved, not God."

Since no one has seen God, people who pray inevitably draw on their own imagination and experiences.  However, it would seem that their internal representation of God changes throughout one's life cycle in response to other significant people and events.  For example, finding a loving spouse, or holding a newborn baby, may alter an earlier, more distant representation of God.

So, what's the bottom line for those who want to draw closer to God through personal prayer?  Beware!  The religious purpose of prayer ---- communing with God ---- can be lost when people use it only for therapeutic side effects.  For example, if my conversation with God were merely a Santa Claus list of wants.  The challenge seems to be moving from trying to control God, to letting God direct us.

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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this spring at CPC.
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Thursday, April 7, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: How Do YOU Deal With the Temptations of Modern America?

The Essenes were a Jewish separatist group active from about BC 170 until the Roman Legions disbursed them in AD 68.  They had intentionally moved out of Jerusalem and fled to the mountains and wilderness bordering the Dead Sea.  Their goal was to isolate themselves from the prevailing life style of other Jews living in Jerusalem.

The Essenes sought to create a new system of spiritual purity, by isolating themselves from what they saw as the spiritual darkness of the Hellenistic life style that was pervading Jerusalem.  They were seeking a right relationship with the God of the Old Testament, by removing themselves completely from a non-believing society.

The Jewish people had been captives on and off for centuries, so they knew how easy it was to lose one's spiritual purity during forced integration into a different culture and set of religious values.  Their answer had been to bond together, isolate as best they could and support each other in honoring their God, Yahweh.

As Christians, we sometimes think that if we could just retreat from the distractions of "life in the world," we could live a holy life.  Do you think it is possible for normal, ordinary people to live holy lives today in the midst of our present day secular culture, so filled with spiritually dark temptations?

While Christians draw much of their faith from the Old Testament and ancient Jewish practices and tradition, a very striking difference was introduced by Jesus.  After the Crucifixion, Jesus appeared to his disciples and instructed them in The Great Commission:

             "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
              in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
              and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you . . . . ."
              (Matthew 28:19 - 20)

What would the Essenes have said if Jesus had given them The Great Commission

Once Jesus had accomplished his work of redemption (by means of the Crucifixion), the challenge for his followers was to NOT separate from the world, but to take the good news of redemption INTO the world.

In Matthew 5:14 - 16 we see how Jesus illustrated by metaphor the role his disciples were to have in the world:

             "You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
              Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead 
              they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.
              In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may
              see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Turning to some spiritual practices of today, it is interesting to consider the way the Pennsylvania Amish sect of Christianity relates to the secular world.  The Amish are conservative (some would say "old fashioned"), emphasizing humility, family, community and living separately from the non-Amish world.  This includes a reluctance on the part of some Amish to adopt modern conveniences such as automobiles and electricity.  Many Amish wear distinctive Amish-style clothing. It is estimated that some 30,000 Amish people currently live within the area around Lancaster, PA.  In that area, one can see today some practicing Amish driving a horse and buggy on the public highway.

The Amish take their beliefs very seriously.  They call for a conscious choice to accept God, which leads to their belief in the all-encompassing and literal authority of the Bible.  To them, family and community are more important than wealth and fame.

To preserve the Amish identity and maintain spiritual harmony,it is said that members are encouraged to surrender their personal aspirations for the sake of "community purity." These ideals are maintained by keeping all work, play, worship, commerce and friendship within the Amish orbit.  They seek very limited involvement in secular American life.  They prohibit habits that feed individualism, greed and other secular tendencies.

The "extreme" non-conformity of the Amish in the midst of secular cultural/societal values,
could serve as a conspicuous spiritual reminder to the rest of us.  While the Essenes tried to live "spiritually pure" lives by removing themselves from the secular world, the Amish seem to have the much greater challenge of living immersed in today's secular American culture.

Do you think the Pennsylvania Amish are indeed living out the call of Jesus to be "the light of the world; a city on a hill . . . ."?  In today's world, how culturally-different can other people be, before we stop taking seriously their spiritual example?
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal growth this spring at CPC.
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