David's People Dancing?

I found this leaf today and became a bit enthralled by it...the symmetry, the intensity, the verigation of color.  I held it up against the sky for this pic.  I stared at it for quite a while.  Where does such beauty come from?

...and then I became a bit more mesmerized.  Is that one of David's people dancing in the dark spot at the right? ...click pic to see close up.

Confession

A friend asked me how I landed on my recent thinking about confession.  Here was my response.  I want to remember it:

First of all, I was struck when you confessed a while back.  I sensed a sincerity, a strength, and a humility as you did it.  It left an impression on me.  Since that time, I've thought often about why that happens so little, so infrequently.  And, this became some of the genesis of thinking for me about who we truly are, which returned me to Nouwen's thoughts.  Who are we really?  And, then, why we don't act like it?  Tom reminded us (confessed) of the truth of our more common commitments, which I translated into our individual and shared commitment to filter what is revealed about ourselves. Hiding significant parts of ourselves from view, from others, from ourselves.  And, so the question emerged, why?  Why do we live out of something other than we are?  Especially when at the right moment, none of us really wants to? 

At this point, I wanted to take this further, to push a little harder on it, by saying that we don't confess very much.  But then your image came to mind and I realized that we do confess.  You did.  I did a bit more...acknowledging what is true about me because you acknowledged your truth.  And, so the idea of invitation introduced itself to this concept and overtook the spirit of chastisement I was headed towards about myself and others.  We are simply invited to confess...and we do well to take up the invitation.  So you were on my mind as I prepared and it become more clear what you did as I spoke -- both intended and spontaneous.

This is the great surprise that we aren't yet familiar with...such things are a joy, powerful, and freeing rather than the version of whatever holds us back from 'jumping from the precipice'. 

So I thank you, for giving me the permission to explore this within myself these last few weeks...because of your confession.

By the way, the last lines of the Lord's Prayer are confession, too:

"For your is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever."

When we acknowledge what is true, we confess just as much as we do when we acknowledge our sins.

Thanks for asking....

Confession

So, a response to a question posed in a recent post.  The question was, "What is hiding's opposite?"

Of course, there is not just one answer.  Like most things, it's not just a "for this, do that" proposition.  It's not a formula per se.  But, all caveats aside, I'm thinking that the opposite of a life committed to self-protection through hiding is contrasted by a life that God seems to recommend to His people -- that is, a life of confession. 

Confession is a term that makes us rather quickly feel something we don't like.  We don't like the idea, as least at first blush.  Perhaps it is what we believe makes confession necessary that we don't like to acknowledge -- that we've done something wrong and need to apologize for it.  This, of course, means that we have to admit it.  We have to admit it to ourselves and we have to admit to someone else.  This is against the notion of keeping others away from the parts of us that aren't nice, tidy, and clean.  Thus the reason we work as hard as we do to filter ourselves in front of others, so that are darker sides are not seen. 

But the problem is that we forfeit something in this commitment to protect ourselves.  We forfeit the opportunity to be known, to be embraced, to discover a level of acceptance that we're afraid we won't get, to live freely...faults and all...with those around us.

God recommends confession throughout the Scriptures, from the design of how to handle things when we do sin against someone, to the practice of asking God to reveal to us where we hurt Him and others, all the way through to fighting the good fight of faith -- described as the 'good confession' -- by the way we live our lives.

Confession really is quite simple.  It is acknowledging what is true.  Both the good and the bad.  It is acknowledging our need.  It is recognizing our dependence on something besides ourselves for our well-being, our dependence on God.  2 chronicles 7 says that confession will lead to healing.  1 John 1 says that confession leads to cleansing, to being pure.  Psalm 51 says it will lead us to health and strength, even joy.

So whether specifically or through our general style of life, God recommends the less-worn path of confession, particularly in constrast to the well-worn path of hiding ourselves.  Perhaps this is why Jesus simply recommended this prayer to be on our lips on a regular basis:

Our father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done.
On earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts
As we have forgiven our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power,
And the glory,
Forever.

This is confession; it is acknowledging who is in charge and aligning ourselves with the implications thereof.  I think it is the opposite of hiding.

Wiser

Keep praying, but be thankful that God's answers are wiser than your prayers!
 
-- William Culbertson

Hiding's Opposite...?

We spend a lot of time hiding. Whether choosing to withdraw from relationships, simply being silent, or working really hard to promote ourselves, we spend a lot of time and energy maintaining what is and isn't presented. Using Facebook or not...we all have, for a long time (beginning of time?) fostered a deep habit of hiding.

So what is the opposite of hiding?

Money

Money has a high price-tag on it.

Blessing of Opportunity

At times, God blesses us simply with opportunity.

Freedom, Authority, Community

Authority is not only compatible with freedom, but it requires it, since the continued existence and excellence of the community is possible only by forming and perfecting new members. Yet freedom is not an end in itself, but the necessary condition for a community to come to a more truthful understanding or itself and the world.
 
-- Stanley Hauerwas, A Community of Character

Funny how we often think about such words in isolation of each other, even in contraction or competition with each other. I like how Hauerwas puts them, as partners with each other.

Humbled

Has there been any truly great human...that has not been humbled along the way?

Let Your Soul Catch Up

The myth of our modern world is that our lives get better the more we do. Actually, the opposite is true:  we become more real, more human, more here, the less we do.

Today, find a bench or stoop to sit still, if only for ten minutes. To sit still is to stop. Literally. To take a break and spend time with God. Practice going to this spot at least once a day just to stop, to quit, and to let your soul catch up with your body.

  -- Unknown

GO TIGERS!

Fall 2011's Choir of Color

What a day...click here.

It was as if creation were singing at the top of its lungs, through its choir of color!

Image of God

Within each of us exists the image of God, however disfigured and corrupted by sin it may presently be. God is able to recover this image through grace as we are conformed to Christ.

-- Alister McGrath

I Don't Care

"I don't care anymore" is a veiled attempt to avoid hurt. 

The problem is that it only adds to the hurt by lying to ourselves...because, in fact, we do still care, whether we want to or not.

Hope

If you do not hope, you will not find out what is beyond your hopes. 

-- Clement of Alexandria

Half my life, I didn't even realize what I was really hoping for.  Thank God for the other half.

UM vs Minnesota 2011