Wednesday, October 26, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: How Can I Obtain Spiritual Growth?



Does spiritual growth require some kind of hormone, like other efforts to enhance performance?

Some of us may be disappointed with ourselves, like my brother Richard.  Not so much with particular things he has done, as with aspects of the person he has become. Richard lives in Colorado, and we met and talked at a family wedding this summer.

I did not know much about Richard's private life, but after a few wedding toasts he was willing to talk freely about his pain of not being the person he had always thought he would become.

I told Richard boldly that we are called to become the person God had in mind when he originally designed us.  Richard listened politely.  I asked Richard if perhaps he had removed God from the central role God longs to play in our lives.  I told Richard, "Perhaps you have refused to let God be God, and have appointed yourself in his place." 

Later, we had a  chance to talk, away from the distractions of the wedding reception. I told Richard that perhaps what he was missing was some of the mysterious process called "spiritual growth."  The goal of spiritual growth, I told him, is to live as if Jesus held unhindered sway over our bodies.  Of course it is still we who are doing the living.  We are called by God, I said, to make daily life choices as the uniquely created selves which each of us is ---- with our own particular temperament, our own gene pool, our unique history.  But to grow spiritually means to make those choices increasingly as Jesus would have.

John Ortberg, a teacher, writer and the pastor of Menlo Park (CA) Presbyterian Church, agrees that we may be missing the life we were appointed by God to live. Too often, says Ortberg, people think about their "spiritual lives" as just one more aspect of their existence, alongside and largely separate from their "financial lives" or their "vocational lives."  Periodically they may try to get their spiritual lives "together" by praying more regularly or trying to master some other formal spiritual discipline.  It is the religious equivalent of going on a diet, or trying to stick to a budget, Ortberg says.

The term "spiritual life" is simply a way of referring to one's whole life, says Pastor Ortberg, every moment and every facet of it ---- but from God's perspective.  "Another way of saying it," continues Ortberg, "is that God is not interested merely in our "religious life" ---- God is really interested in our lives as a whole.  He intends to redeem one's whole life!"

As Pastor Ortberg sees it, "God holds out the possibility of transformation, and the possibility of transformation generates hope.  Hope is the primary goal of spiritual life."  The goal of spiritual transformation can and should be pursued full-time, he says.  Often we reduce our "tools for spiritual growth" to a few activities, such as prayer and Bible study, or a few periods of the day called "quiet time." However, every moment of our lives can be an opportunity to learn from God how to live like Jesus.

Getting clear on what the "spiritual life" looks like is not a casual affair.  How do we know if we are settling for false transformation instead of the real thing?  Here are a few warning signs offered by John Ortberg:

1.) Am I spiritually authentic?  One would be "inauthentic" if preoccupied with appearing to be spiritual.  Sometimes we may work harder at making people think we are a loving person than we do at actually loving them.

2.) Am I becoming judgmental or exclusive or proud?  Pride is a problem for anyone who takes spiritual growth seriously.  As soon as we start to pursue virtue, we begin to wonder why others are not as virtuous as we are.

3.) Am I becoming more approachable, or less?  In Jesus' day, rabbis had the mistaken notion that their spirituality required them to distance themselves from people.  The irony is that the only rabbi that outcasts could touch was Jesus ---- he was the most approachable religious person they had ever seen.  The other religious leaders had a kind of awkwardness that pushed people away.

4.) Am I growing weary of pursuing spiritual growth?  Conventional religious goodness manages to be both intimidating and unchallenging at the same time, and this is tiresome.  Intimidating because, for example, it might involve 39 separate rules about Sabbath-keeping alone.  Unchallenging because we may devote our lives to observing all the rules and not ever open our hearts to love or joy.  Conforming to some particular religious subculture may simply not be a compelling enough vision to captivate the human spirit. 

5.) Am I measuring my spiritual life in superficial ways?  God's primary assessment of our lives is not going to be a measure of the number of our prayers, Scripture readings or meditations.  Rather, the question is whether we are growing in love for God and other people.  The real issue is what kind of person are we becoming? Practices such as reading Scripture and praying are important ---- not because they prove how spiritual we are ---- but because God can use them to lead us into the life He desires for us.

Pastor Ortberg summarizes these thoughts by saying that spirituality refers to the Spirit of God and the fact that we are actually spiritual creatures.  So, Christian spirituality has to do with having our inward person (our mind, our will, our desires and intentions) formed and shaped by the words of Jesus, into a character that will honor God, not simply honor ourselves.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage your pursuit of personal spiritual growth this fall at CPC.
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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Do You Find That Self-Control Has Become Harder For You?



It's ten o'clock in the evening and I am headed for bed.  But, I detour through the kitchen, seeking a bed-time snack.  A jumbo-sized piece of chocolate cake beckons me.  Five minutes later, the cake is gone and I am feeling a little over full.

For many of us, the daily struggle with temptation centers on food ---- the temptation of fats and sweets that are so readily and effortlessly available.  Human nature probably hasn't changed much over the centuries, but the landscape of temptation surely has changed.  

In the future, for more and more of us, our greatest challenge may be managing our own appetites and addictions in an environment of expanding freedom and affluence. Technology is a leading culprit.  From refrigeration to credit cards to automobiles to the internet, technology makes it possible for more and more people to live surrounded by appealing stimuli in greater array.

The good news is that the problem of self-control is hardly a new one, and we can learn a lot from those who have wrestled with it before us.  There are some tricks we can use to help us be strong, but we must provide the needed inner strength, and not all of us are equally endowed.

Self-control is the ability to override impulses in favor of longer-term goals.  The heart of the problem is always the same: The conflict between short-term rewards, which we seem hard-wired to value heavily, and our longer-term goals.  A pan of just-baked chocolate brownies sitting right in front of us, in other words, is simply a lot more compelling than the long-term desire to be slim.  And we understand, perhaps instinctively, that one brownie ---- or one cigarette, or one more drink, or just one hour of procrastination ---- will have no material effect in the long run.  Except, to some extent that first exception leads to another, and we eventually find ourselves some place we never intended to be.

Today's culture promotes independence and non-conformity, and celebrates a world full of options.  Every day, people make innumerable choices ---- from what to order at the corner coffee shop, to which of their 263 cable TV channels to watch on the weekend.  With so many choices, the guiding principle for decision making often becomes "what's in it for me, right now?"  In a 24/7 world of endless opportunities, obligations and information, many adults now base their time management on immediate, tangible rewards.  So, for example, they will no longer dedicate one hour to worship on Sunday mornings ---- something that would really promote their long-term goals of spiritual growth and peace.  Instead, some people choose the New York Times and a cup of coffee.  Others choose their child's soccer game or swim meet.  Some choose the golf course, or a bike ride or the Farmer's Market.  They forget that we now have an agreeable alternative worship service at 5 p.m.,
called The WAVE Worship Service.  So much for the long-term goals of spiritual growth and peace!

Support from other people will always be essential for making our self-control effective.  The support of our long-term goals by others is something that we can find in church worship.  If we do not find it on Sunday mornings, or at the WAVE Service, perhaps we need to sharpen the long-term goals we have for ourselves ---- sharpen what we are seeking, by becoming more fully involved and integrated into the church community.

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These thoughts are brought to you by the CPC Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage your spiritual growth this fall.
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: We May Bring Some Blindness To Our Bible Understanding



Consider the origins of Biblical Scripture.  Some of it is more than 2,000 years old, was written in various languages by authors who may not have compared notes very carefully, and has been translated for us by people of different cultures and different eras.  Should we be surprised that Bible text is sometimes confusing, or even beyond our belief?

Nevertheless, many of us believe that Scripture is divinely inspired and contains very important guidance and truth on how we should live our lives.

But, some "outside factors" may also color a reader's interpretation of the Bible. Let's examine four such "outside factors," to keep them in perspective when we read the Bible.

1.) Failing to distinguish between the Bible's major themes and message, and its less important ideas.  

Some people say, for example, that they cannot accept what the Bible says about gender roles or politics, so they are not sure about any of the other things the Bible tells them.  However, Christians all agree that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.  Are the doubters saying that because they do not like what the Bible says about gender roles, let's say, that Jesus could not have been raised from the dead? If Jesus is the son of God, then we must take his teaching seriously.  If he is not whom he says he is, then why should we care what the Bible says about anything else?  In short, people should not worry about such things as gender roles as presented in the Bible, until they have decided whether they believe that Jesus' teachings are central to our faith.

2.) Forgetting that the New Testament is actually all about Jesus.

If you think the Bible is only about you ---- what you must do and how you must live ---- then you do not need Jesus.  All you need are the rules.  Actually, there are just two ways to read the Bible:  a.) you can read the Bible as if it is all about you and what you must do to please God and be a good person; OR  b.) you can read the New Testament as if it is all about Jesus and what he has done for us.

3.) Jumping to conclusions that may be false, about what a Bible passage is actually teaching.

Be patient with the text.  Many of the things people find offensive can be cleared up with a decent commentary reference book that puts the issue into historical context. The Bible text may not be teaching what you first thought.

4. The culture in which one grows up may uniquely shape how we "hear" what the Bible teaches.

This can be the source of some misunderstanding.  Perhaps one is offended by certain biblical texts because of an un-examined assumption of the superiority of one's own cultural moment.  The Disciples traveling on the road to Emmaus misunderstood the prophesies about the Messiah because as Jews they were thinking of the redemption of Israel, and not the redemption of the world.  It is so easy to unconsciously read a Bible passage through one's cultural "blinders" and therefore misunderstand what the text really teaches.

Some people may say a passage is regressive and offensive because it creates a conflict with principles in their particular culture.  But other cultures may think the same passage is perfectly acceptable.  For example, in some cultures, what the Bible says about sex is a problem, but there are no issues with what it says about forgiveness.  In other cultures, there may be acceptance of what the Bible says about sex, but what the Bible says about forgiveness is considered ridiculous.  Why should one set of cultural sensibilities trump everybody else's?

If the Bible really is the revelation of God and not the product of any one culture, why wouldn't it be inevitable that someone's cultural sensibilities will be offended at some point?  Could the interpretation problem with some Biblical texts simply arise from an un-examined belief in the superiority of one cultural moment over all others? Furthermore, if the Bible was authored by persons inspired by the Holy Spirit, could the spiritual message be clouded to some extent by the "blinders" of today's readers? 

So, here's a suggestion.  Might there be value in reading and re-reading, discussing and pondering, a Scriptural passage over and over, in hopes of weakening our reader's "blinders".  Through the use of such "cultural humility", gradually the truer meaning of the Scriptural teaching may become more clear.  For many Bible students, part of the thrill of reading and studying Scripture is precisely wrestling with the text and pondering the questions with which it leaves us.

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These thoughts are brought to you by Central's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some personal growth this year at Central.
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Tuesday, October 4, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Two Ways To Seek God's Forgiveness of Our Sins



The other night I was walking near the Summit Train Station, when I bumped into a neighborhood friend.  After some "small talk," my neighbor Ben sighed and remarked that Rosh Hashanah would begin at sundown on the next day, which was Sunday, October 2.  "It is the Jewish New Year's, and my family always celebrates it in the full Jewish tradition," Ben told me.

I was curious about this event.  Being a Christian, I really did not understand much about it, so I asked Ben to tell me more.

"The Jewish New Year differs in some fundamental ways from the secular New Year," my neighbor said.  "The observance, for example, is far more muted.  This is because the Jewish New Year is largely a period of introspection that begins with Rosh Hashanah and extends for ten days until Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  This ten-day period is meant to be a time of stock-taking, of self-reflection."

"It is customary during this time, for example, to seek out in person those whom we may have offended in the preceding year and ask forgiveness.  So, this period of ten days is a time principally to reflect on how we are conducting our lives, and specifically how we may have messed up.  Given the scope of that task, sometimes I think ten days is not nearly enough time!" he said.

I had to say that as a Christian I regularly search for the same things in my life, and then I ask God to forgive me.

"The ten days beginning on Rosh Hashanah concludes on Yom Kippur, October 12," my friend continued.  "If there is any day of the year when even the most non-observant, non-believing Jew goes to Temple, this is it.  Anyone my age remembers with pride when in 1965 Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers refused to pitch in Game One of the World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur."

I asked Ben, "Why do virtually all Jews in the world go to Temple on Yom Kippur?  What happens there on that day that is so compelling?"

"Well," Ben said, "in the broadest sense, what Jews do in Temple on Yom Kippur is to stand as a community and publicly confess their sins.  The Jewish concept of sin differs in some important ways from that of other religions.  Judaism teaches that humans are born with free will, and are born morally neutral, with both an inclination toward goodness, leading to a productive life and being concerned for others ----- but, also an inclination toward evil, the baser instincts and selfishness.  The moral laws in the Torah ----- starting with the Ten Commandments, but including hundreds of other commandments, are meant to help steer one's behavior toward the good.  To Jews, sinning is like an arrow missing the target.  Sinning, in short, is missing the mark."

My friend continued, "The ways in which individuals can miss the mark during the course of a year are many, and in the Yom Kippur service we stand all together and recite them out loud. The list we recite ----- and we do it multiple times ----- runs through the alphabet with each letter corresponding to a different sin.  This does not mean we have committed only 24 sins (the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet) but that as the confessing group, we have committed the whole range of sins (from A to Z), the full gamut of possible human failings.  For every mark that could have been missed someone among us surely has missed it, and sometime in our lives, we have missed it.  So we stand together and say aloud, 'We have been arrogant, we have betrayed, we have stolen, we've corrupted our own character, we have corrupted the character of others, we've been deceitful, we've ridiculed good people, we've made misleading statements.' And every seven or eight sins or so, we stop and ask God for forgiveness (presumably we've already asked forgiveness from the people we've actually hurt).  We say, 'Forgive all these sins. forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.'  And then we continue with the list of sins."

Ben added that this full day at Temple is done while observing a complete 24-hour fast!

My friend was silent for a few moments.  Then he said, "I like the Yom Kippur ritual because it presupposes that human beings are fallible, that we all miss the mark sometimes, and that with effort, we can control some of our baser urges and maybe do better next year.  I find reciting the litany of possible failures is a good way to take stock ---- as I say the list out loud together with the congregation, I often think to myself, "Yup, did that one.  Yeah, did that one, too.  Oh, there's one I'm not guilty of ----- at least not this year.'  For me, there are always more 'guiltys' than 'not-guiltys,' but it is interesting year to year to see how my failings either remain consistent or shift with circumstances," he said.

We had just reached my street and I wished there was more time to talk to Ben about the management of sin.  As a Christian, I did not believe that I was born morally neutral ---- it seemed that I was born biased toward sinning, so I was grateful that someone named Jesus had made a very great sacrifice to redeem me.  But, both Ben and I are in possession of free will. The problem is that often we don't use our free will effectively to live as God directs us.

As I walked toward my house, I began comparing these two very different styles of sin management.  As Ben described the Jewish approach, there is intensity and depth, with sins specifically named and acknowledged.  But, it is done formally only once a year.  However, I do assume that Jews are always free to make a "sin self-examination" informally at any time.

In my experience as a Presbyterian, I recall that every Sunday in Worship we formally acknowledge in general terms that we are sinners, without publicly being specific about the whole range of sins we may have committed.  But, we do this every week.  Perhaps we only give our sinfulness a glancing blow, but we do it frequently.

I began to wonder if there might be some real value in each approach.  Do we Presbyterians need a little more intensity and depth, while perhaps the Jewish practice would benefit from a little more frequency, in seriously addressing personal sinfulness?  But, one solution does not fit all people!  Each of us must find our optimal intensity, depth and frequency to address our inherent tendency to sin..
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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 fall at CPC.
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