Rules

In Acts of the Apostles, Peter, a leader of the Jesus followers, has a vision in which he sees food, forbidden for a Jew to eat, come down from heaven on a big cloth.  A voice says, "Eat," but Peter says such forbidden food has never touched his lips.  Interesting.  Peter was very good about dietary rules, but not so good about the command, "Do not fear!"  What if an observant Jew was one who did not fear, rather than one who ate the right foods.  I suspect there would be a lot fewer observant Jews.

It would be the same with Christians.  We seem to take some commands very seriously, but not others.  We can be real careful about Church attendance or meat on Lenten Fridays, but not make too big a deal out of our lack of trust in God, our fears, anxieties that go along with lack of trust, lying to get out of messy situations, and so on.  There would be fewer Christians saying they are "observant" if Fear were the criterion.

Confession

In the Catholic Church we have something called "Confession."  People go to the priest and confess their sins and ask to be forgiven.  What is that all about?  Well, often it is rather self-serving.  People feel shame and guilt about some action.  They want to feel better.  They confess.  They feel better.  It is not about God or love of God.  It does not lead to humility.  They are sorry for feeling so badly themselves, rather than that they have offended anyone.

Is it not like that in interpersonal relations?  We say that we are sorry, so that we will feel better, so that people will like us or not be mad at us.  How will sorrow, shame or guilt have anything to do with caring about the person we have offended?  When we love them more than we love ourselves.  Narcissism is a short-term solution to our miseries and foibles.

Trust

Today I ran a trail new to me.  It had a lot of hills and seemed to go on forever.  I ran very slowly with much effort up the many hills.  I felt that I had nothing today, no zip. I ran last, way behind the group.  Coming back I was not sure of the way.  But I kept going and going.  Is this not like our spiritual life?  Somedays we feel that we have nothing.  We feel a bit alone and lost.  These are the days that we just keep going forward, one step at a time.  The mind says to give up.  The body says, "No mas!" but the will is key.  The spiritual life in these moments relies on the will, the lonely will.  It has no support from body or mind.  All else says to quit, give up this God stuff.  Whine!  So I decide to pray, do a good deed with no desire to do so.  This is why I do the long hard runs.  It trains the will.  Oh!  The trail was beautiful.  I would have missed that if I had quit too soon to see the beauty that awaited me over yet one more hill!

A People

In the bible, Jews are often referred to by a person's name.  They are sometimes called Israel, or Judah or Jacob.  Why?  Well, they are a people.  They are from a lineage, from a person.  To a believing Jew, American individualism makes no sense.  A person cannot do whatever they want.  A Jew is free, but not to be self-imploded.  They are aware of being part of a group larger than themselves.  They have responsibilities and obligations to the group.  Christians come from a person too.  They come from Jesus, the Christ.  Christians have responsibilities to one  another.  They cannot do whatever they please.  Early Christians shared their wealth.  Freedom means that a Christian is free to be a Christian, with obligations to God and one another.  A mother is part of a family and she knows that her freedom has restrictions in order to care for members of the family.  A child who is immature wants to break away and do its thing, be free to center on themselves with no obligations to the family.  What would be the response of a mature Jew or Christian to this child?  I suspect it would be patience, compassion and hope.  The mature believer never gives up hope in one who they see as part of themselves, though adrift.  Isn't God like that with us?  I hope so.

A New Format

My blog has decided to give me a new format.  It does not give me instructions or even ask if I would like the change.  The blog gives no instructions.  I guess I am just supposed to figure it out.  So i asked for help from a friend.  Jesus rose from the dead and decided to change the lives of some people such as Mary Magdalene.  They did not ask for their lives to be changed.  They could not  really refuse.  I mean what does one do when their dead friend rises from the grave, comes into a room without needing a door for an entrance, and eats with you?  Jesus did not give much in the way of instructions as "how to" go on from there.  They had a friend, The Holy Spirit, and they had one another.  Jesus did not want them to go it alone, pioneer style.  He wanted a people, a community that needed one another.  I will figure out this new blog format.  I have friends to help me.  I will not figure out the Way of Jesus all by myself.  Friends and the Holy Spirit are needed too.  

No Writing?

Why did not Jesus write things down like the prophets did? Well, how much do you remember of what you read, especially if it is challenging you to live in a way that you find rather inconvenient? I forget a lot of what I read. Students cram for an exam and then forget. But you never forget an experience, a profound experience. You may deny the experience, but you will not forget it. So Jesus appeared to his disciples and gave them a simple message. Their early speeches were the interpretation of their experience of the Risen Jesus. In the gospel, Jesus says come to me, and believe. First, you have to accept that your experience is really about God in your life. First, you have to "come" to the experience. Then faith will follow. Some people deny that their religious experience has anything to do with "God". Why? One reason is that a wondrous experience of nature taken as just that and nothing more, might invite you to take more such walks or hikes, but not to change your life in any other radical sense. You can still go on nature hikes, have a powerful experience, deny that God is any part of it, and go on being selfish, petty, and narcissistic. If you accept that God was the experience, hidden in nature, then you might begin to pursue who and what this God is. Then you will have to change your life. Let's face it. Non-belief is so much easier a way to live for many of us.

The Nuns

The Vatican has told the USA Women Religious (nuns) Leadership that they have to spend less focus on social justice issues and more on abortion, same sex marriages and birth control. The Leadership Council represents thousands of nuns who work very closely with the poor. Bishops do not work closely with the poor. They have people to do that The nuns have a particularly unique view of these sex issues because they are so involved with the poor. The nuns focus on social justice issues because they see that poverty has a lot to do with one's decision to abort or use contraception. The women religious want to limit abortions too, but they see it as part of a large picture of poverty and indifference to the sufferings of the poor. The nuns agree that all life is precious, including the people on death row, and those killing one another in wars. Is this an issue of women who are more practical and compassionate versus men who are more into control and power? No doubt there are women religious who agree with the Vatican, but then ask where these women are working? Teaching in seminaries, Catholic colleges, and high schools? Not being ordained, and not working for a bishop, many women religious are therefore beyond the church powers to punish them in any significant fashion. The press is going to have a field day with this stuff.