The Language of Poetry

I'm in the midst of writing a Bible study book on three New Testament letters: Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. I just finished writing chapter 11 that is based on Colossians 2:6-15. The focus of this passage is what it means to "live in Christ."

The author uses several images to convey the reality of living in Christ. He uses an agricultural image (rooted), an architectural image (built up), a gastronomical image (filled) and a religious image (buried/raised). Each of these images captures a different aspect of one's relationship with Christ.

Each of these images is a metaphor. When our prose language comes up against its limitations, we are forced to use the language of poetry: metaphor,symbol, and image. Poetry is concentrated language that can convey many levels of meaning in a single word or phrase. For example, the Yin-Yang symbol above expresses far more than words can capture.

I believe that most religious language is metaphorical. When we attempt to describe that which is beyond description, we must use metaphors. This is true of our language about God and about our relationship with Christ. Whenever we talk about the spiritual dimension of life we use metaphorical language.

Once we acknowledge the metaphorical nature of religious language, we are freed from a misplaced literalism about things spiritual. Also, metaphors and images can convey the richness, depth and power of the sacred realm.

"99%+1%=110%"

I wrote my weekly Pastor's Word on the above topic. Here's what I wrote:

"For the past several months the cries of, “We are the 99%!” have echoed from Zuccotti Park to Berkeley. The Occupy Wall Street movement has made us more aware of the inequalities that exist in our society and has expressed justifiable anger over them.

"While this division between the 99% and the 1% is a dramatic illustration of income inequality, there is danger in demonizing everyone in the 1% as arrogant and uncaring. There are several members of the 1% who support one or more of the goals of OWS including President Obama, former President Bill Clinton and billionaire Warren Buffett.

"It occurs to me that the 99% and 1% need each other. The 1% need to hear the challenge to work for a more equal society, including accepting higher taxes. The 99%need the financial and political power of the 1% to change society. When the 99% and the 1% work together for a more just society synergy is the result. That’s why 99%+1%=110%."

A further comment... There is also danger in demonizing the OWS movement as a bunch of disorganized flower children who are stirring up class warfare. As I said above, the 99% and the 1% are interdependent. Each needs the other to accomplish any real or lasting change. I believe that most of us want a society where the values of compassion, justice and equality are embodied. We want equal opportunity for our children, especially our daughters and wives, and equal justice as well.

We need to get past labels and divisions to work together on common goals and changes. I may be an idealist, but I believe such cooperation is possible.

No Guarantees

The beginning of a new year often puts me in a reflective frame of mind. I look back over the year just past and think about opportunities seized (and missed), new relationships started (and ended), and successes (and failures).

I also think about the upcoming year and its prospects. What do I hope to do (and refrain from doing)? What goals will I reach (or fall short of)? What changes will happen to me and what changes will I make (or fail to make)?

One certain truth when it comes to the future is this: there are no guarantees. Health, success, prosperity aren't guaranteed. Neither is life.

We live and act as if we know for certain that we will be alive to enjoy tomorrow, next month or next year. Yet, we don't know, and can't know, what the future holds.

Accepting that we are always moving into an uncertain future isn't easy. It means giving up the illusion that we can control what happens to us and to those we love.

Yet, once we accept this truth, we are free to live and love more fully. As long as we labor under the delusion that we can control the future, we will be continually frustrated and even unhappy. Accepting the uncertainty inherent in life is to recognize that life is a gift with no guarantees.

Marriage Mutuality

I'm in the midst of writing an adult Bible study book on Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. Right now, I'm working on Ephesians 5:21-33. This passage includes these words, "Wives, be subject to your husbands as your are to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church..."

Unfortunately, these words have been taken out of their context to "prove" that women should be submissive to men in marriage and to argue for male superiority in marital relationships.

Yet, nothing could be further from the truth if the entire passage is read. The passage begins, "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ," and continues, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies."

What is being presented here is mutuality in marriage. No member of the marriage partnership is superior to the other. Each is being called to treat the other with respect, dignity and self-giving love.

Granted, these words are put in the terms of a patriarchal society of the first century. That makes it even more amazing that marriage is seen in term of mutuality instead of male dominance.

Passages like the one cited above show why it is so critical to not take biblical verses, sentences or ideas out of their larger context. Doing this is called "proof texting" and is a way of getting the Bible to support a position already taken. You can literally make the Bible say nearly anything you want by this method. That's why we need to allow it to speak its own truth.

Christmas Blues

As a pastor, I've become increasingly aware that the Christmas season isn't a time of joy for everyone. Cries of "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" and upbeat carols can't always overcome feelings of sadness, isolation or grieving. This is especially true if we have suffered the loss of a loved one around Christmas time.

The cultural myth we labor under is that "everyone else is having a great time at Christmas." This can heighten feelings of sadness and isolation. Yet, for many, Christmas is a stressful time of shopping and card sending deadlines. Holiday gatherings with family members can be difficult and challenging. W.H. Auden admitted in his poem, For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio, to "Having tried, quiet unsuccessfully, to love all of my relatives..."

Also, there are those who feel depressed during the darker and colder months of winter. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a documented psychological disorder. That's why most "Blue Christmas" services take place on the Winter solstice, the longest night of the year.

So tonight, I'm participating in a Blue Christmas service. This is a service of solace and comfort for those who find the Christmas season difficult or depressing because they are grieving for a loss or feel alone and isolated. This service acknowledges that Christmas can be a difficult time and offers hope to the disconsolate and grieving.

For those of us who are having a merry Christmas, let's not forgot those who aren't. Christmas can be a time of reaching out to those who need a word of comfort and solace.

Sacred Drumming

Last night I experienced the spiritual practice of drumming for the first time. What an amazing experience it was! The context for the drumming was a Wednesday evening Advent service at the church where I serve as interim pastor.

Our drumming leader, Jenifer, has been practicing spiritual drumming for 20 years. She explained how drumming can focus our thoughts and prayers in a rhythmic way. Drumming can be a form of meditation where the beating of drums shuts out all distractions.

In preparation for our drum circle we heard excerpts from a reading by Layne Redmond: "Handheld drums are among the oldest known musical instruments... The rituals of the earliest known religions evolved around the beat of the drum... It remained a powerful tool for communal bonding and individual transformation..."

Jenifer started playing her drum in a heartbeat-type rhythm and the rest of us joined in. After a few minutes I was lost in the beating of the drums as they blended together in a kind of melody and harmony at the same time. We played for a little over 10 minutes and it felt like just a few seconds had passed.

It's good to be open to new spiritual practices and I'm so glad I was able to experience sacred drumming. Life has its own hidden rhythms and drumming is a way of connected with those rhythms deep within our souls. When we are able to connect with these, we are more able to follow the drumbeat of God's spirit.

A Prayer for Openness

The following is a prayer based on Ted Loder's, "Gentle Us Open," from his book, My Heart in My Mouth.

Lord of life and light,
Help us not to fall in love with the darkness that separates us from you
And from each other.
But to watch with wide yes, open hands and eager minds for your Word.
Let us dream and hunger and pray for the light of you and the life
for each other.

Lord, in the midst of our white-knuckled busyness in this season,
We realize deep within us that your gifts of mercy and light, peace and joy,
grace upon grace, can only be received if we are open and receptive.

So this is our prayer, Lord. Open us. Pry us open any way you can. Shock, beguile, knock, amaze, squeeze any way you can open us.

Open us to see your glory in the coming again of the light of each day,
The light in children's eyes and lovers' smiles, the light of truth wherever
it is spoken and done.

Open us to the songs of angels in the rushing traffic, the rustle
of shoppers, in the hum of hope and the longing within each of us,
In the cries of our brothers and sisters for justice and peace, and in
our own souls' march toward goodness.

Open us to share the gifts you have given us, and to the deep yearning to
share them gladly and boldly. Open us to initiate the exchange of
forgiveness, to risk a new beginning free of past grievances, and to find
the gifts of a larger love and deeper peace,

Open us, Lord, to the miracles of the ordinary,
To the heart-pounding wonder of birth,
To a mother's fierce love and a father's tender guidance.
Open us so that we may born anew in the fullness of your image,
The fullness of a just and joyful human community,
The fullness of your kingdom,
In the fullness of time.

Amen.