Unity - How do we do that?

Recently, I had the delight of being a part of God's people in action, thinking of others first, living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ, intentionally giving of ourselves and what we have, to live out our faith serving others - as the human race. This, this is what we should be doing every day of every week - all the time, proclaiming God, being centered in Christ, and thinking of others first. We gathered to love God, love neighbor.

I was blessed to serve as a co-music director for a Unity Service in Aiken, SC that was held Sunday, August 9^th, sponsored by the Phoenix Project. You see, a local church, Glover Grove Missionary Baptist Church, burned down June 26th. While the cause of the fire is undetermined, the members of this church of brothers and sisters in Christ were left without a meeting place, and members of our community came together - acknowledging that we are all in this together, we help each other, what should we do? A temporary meeting place was quickly found for Glover Grove to continue worshiping, and as people began to talk about how to help, the Phoenix Project was born. John Lindsay, a resident of Aiken, SC, chairs this committee. The purpose and intent of the Glover Grove Phoenix Project is first, to assist and support the rebuilding of the Glover Grove Missionary Baptist Church in it's time of need through a variety of community-based strategies, and second, to come together as community leaders and diverse congregations of faith to make a positive and lasting statement about the values of Aiken and its citizens.

One of our Pastors, Pastor Bob Byrne, serves on the Phoenix Project, and I was invited along with others to help plan the music for the Unity Service. It was a real joy to serve as a Music co-leader with Fred Williams – Music Minister of Second Baptist Church as well as with his son Emmanuel Williams, pianist extraordinaire and Joyce English, the excellent organist and colleague from Aiken’s First Baptist Church. And of course the 75 voice choir made up of area choir members was outstanding!  

The Unity service was hosted by Aiken's First Baptist where local ministers, choir members, musicians and several hundred brothers and sisters in Christ gathered as Lutherans, Episcopalians, Baptist, Non-denominational, Disciples of Christ and Christian Methodist Episcopal friends. It will remain in my mind as a snapshot of a portion of the great cloud of witnesses - people of different skin color, backgrounds and vocations, united in purpose. The Holy Spirit blessed us greatly, as we incorporated our diverse worship styles in a basic framework that resulted in awesome worship with brothers and sisters from different cultures and denominations coming together - centered in Christ.

We heard God's Word proclaimed - simply God's Word from Gospel and Epistle - and prayers that bound us to God and to each other. These diverse people from our community gathered in faith and said "we are unified in Christ!" It was thrilling to watch the Clergy process - called by God with all of the congregation to come together to worship God, thank God, glorify God and celebrate God's gifts to us as community.

We rejoiced that as of August 9th, $140,000 of the needed minimum of $200,000 has been raised to rebuild Glover Grove Missionary Baptist Church! We gave thanks and glory to God that Samaritan's Purse provided for the cleanup of the property as they await a time to rebuild. We heard from Ministers that spoke of God's blessings, of our work in the Lord and how we can prayerfully go forward. Sunday, in worship and after - it was clear that our unity as human beings is very important to the Aiken community as we seek how we can walk together and live out the faith we proclaim - regardless of our skin color or our cultural backgrounds. This is a starting place to build more bridges, and find ways to take care of one another. 

This effort is a foundation upon which we can build a healthier and stronger community. Being centered in worship first at this service has not only helped Glover Grove but has given us a foundation upon which to stand to have conversation about our divisions - including racism and other forms of prejudice, and how we confront it! We confront it centered in Christ - in the glory of God's coming to us, and by beginning conversations that strengthen our community. That began in the process of planning, in the service and after - where we all shared faith stories and backgrounds. 

In the rehearsal before worship, we saw the tension in our choir members faces as they strove to merge differing approaches to music together - which went very well. We saw the tension leave and such joy and worship on their faces as they sang from their hearts, minds and souls in worship! The congregation responded in kind - with enthusiasm and beautiful, mindful, intentional singing! 

There was also elation at the end of the one hour service, with people staying after to talk, and create crosses as a gift from all of us to the Glover Grove Church for their new church building. As one choir member said - "I found this to be a profound experience. It was deeply moving and I am so glad I was there!" Another said "This is the way we are meant to be - one Lord, one body." We were church at that service, and oh how I pray we will use this as a place from which to build a more unified community that only builds others up, without tearing anyone down. 

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing." Amen!

On days like this - it is such a gift and blessing from the Lord to have moments to sit back and say "Thank you, Jesus! We are family!" Now, we walk forward...beginning with prayer, and intention - with open eyes to look for opportunities to love God, love neighbor. Or maybe as my Lutheran catechism instructors taught me - "to be as little Christs..." 

Kenosis - Thanks John David!

Kenosis----that whole self-emptying business whereby Jesus is seen in all his humanity and the self-emptying business whereby the world sees in Christians a reflection of the Christ's divinity. We ain't got no time for it, 'cause it's about what pleases us. By Rev. John David Bryant (Thanks John David!)

A reflection about why we struggle with the concept of Kenosis.

Our society (U.S.A.) is based on capitalism. Capitalism is defined by Merriam Webster’s online dictionary as: “an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.”

An “economic system” is a system that is concerned with describing and analyzing the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. That is how many of us see “the economy” of our country today. We look at costs and profits, and we find the bottom line. Profit means we have money to gain, and the higher the profit, the more successful we consider ourselves. We all need food and money for clothes, etc. And we all have concerns about providing for ourselves and our families. So right off the bat, capitalism can become something that taps into those needs, guiding us to look inward – how can this benefit “me?” But as followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. As Christians it is not about looking inward, but looking out in love, acceptance and with humility – in a world that tells us to take care of “self” first, in order to benefit the “self” first! Is it any surprise that we are having trouble emptying ourselves?

The definition of capitalism also tells us this is a system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods. This is tricky for many of us – for as Christians, we know we don’t “own” anything – everything in the world, in the universe is a gift from God. We have responsibilities that come from being stewards of all that God gives us, but again – if we buy into our culture’s social system and treat it as a belief system – we are at odds with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we buy into that particular definition of capitalism, (as a belief system) then we believe all of us have the right to own the goods of this world.

Matthew 6:19 – 21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Greek word used for heaven in this passage from Matthew is Ουρανός. In English, it is ouranos – which means sky or heaven. When that particular form of the word “heaven” is used in the Greek language of the New Testament, it is used in place of saying the Holy Name of God. So verse 21 might better read but store up for yourselves treasures with God...

We work, live and breathe in a system today that tells us that we own our world! So, in order to be successful, our system tells us we must look inward first. However, following Christ, we see all of creation is a gift from God, and that we should only treasure the things that we can return to God – such as loving God above all others and loving neighbor – which includes all of creation. How do we reconcile our culture’s belief system based on false ideas of ownership and rights that are not ours – when as Christians, Christ calls us to love God above all else, and love neighbor?

Maybe we cannot empty ourselves because we do not know if we are God’s or part of an economic system.

I am not saying that capitalism is bad, but how we view it, how we take it into ourselves and sometimes even make it part of our religion – that is something that threatens our very existence on so many levels – physical, emotional, developmental and of course – spiritual!

We can live anywhere and follow Jesus Christ. It is not always easy, but the way to do that IS Kenosis! By learning to empty ourselves of all that is around us – including focusing on ourselves first, we can then fill ourselves up with Christ - which means we are letting in the love of God who comes to us. This is the radical message of love that Jesus Christ brings to us. This is something that we all benefit from, when we make time for it!

Then - we can view all of the systems around us through a more objective lens. For everything, including the systems we devise, are derived from what the Creator of the Universe has given us. Then we might see more clearly.

And the minute we forget, or claim ownership, we are empty of Spirit – for we have let go of Christ and claimed something else for ourselves first.

Think of it this way – who or what do you love more than yourself. Is it your parents, your spouse, your children or maybe your best friend? If you cannot think of at least one person who you love more than yourself in this world – then you are probably the most important thing in your life. Ok – hold on – because, that means that you probably do not see all the people around you who love you more than life itself. You might be missing out on loving them and being loved!

How do we walk away from ourselves, to get some perspective – to look at ourselves to we see what we are missing? We step outside of ourselves and empty ourselves of “self” for at least a moment each day – to let Christ in. Then Christ’s divinity can come through and we are not the system, not the explanation, not the science – we become the vessel of God’s love – and that my friends, is one of the most powerful and beautiful gifts God has given us.

Then, we truly begin to live…

I just got home from an ecumenical conference – the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology’s yearly Pro Ecclesia conference titled: “Remembering the Reformation Together: Commemorate? Celebrate? Repent?”

Some of the presentations and discussion invoked conversation on how we acknowledge pain, hurt - ask for forgiveness and be intentional in how we try to repair the pain of all the damage so many of us have done by asking for, receiving and/or granting forgiveness. Do we celebrate or commemorate? 
One of the phrases we heard this year was “always begin with prayer.” This conference begins and ends with corporate prayer; it is sustained throughout by prayer – in ways that keep us all focused on Christ. Yet, we know that much divides us. So we work to avoid damage, and build relationships and understanding - striving towards the goal of unity. The presentations were terrific, the conversation great and when I woke up this morning – the lack of unity in this world slapped me square in the face!

9 dead in Charleston, two of them alumni from the Lutheran Seminary I attended, one of them someone I knew at seminary – a kind, intelligent brother in Christ who also serves in the State Government – he had a servant’s heart, truly! And every one of the other 8 victims is just as missed, as lost to us as he is. 

My fire went out for a bit, but through the tears and grief for Charleston, for these families, I thought what can I do? And the words from the conference came – “always begin with prayer.” So I prayed, and I have been urging others to pray – through facebook, through conversations, through my prayers. 

Those 9 people will not be brought back through our prayers – but as so many of us were praying today, the suspect was captured. As we continue to pray, others are speaking out from many cultures and faiths and saying, “Not again! What can we do?” In prayer we are in conversation with God. We cry out to God for wisdom, but why is it so easy to sit and be stumped instead of staying awake for God’s response? Why do we cry out for revenge instead of justice? What is justice? Why can’t we get up and gather together to listen and stand together?

Is it because we have convinced ourselves that when something bad happens, it is someone else’s business? That only works until the bad times visit you! Is it fear of people who look or smell different, or have more or less authority? God forbid, will I have to stand with someone who lives a lifestyle that I strongly disagree with? If so, what does that say? 

First - Maybe we break away because we are scared, or we are traumatized, or hurt, or confused, or sick and because we are broken. For many of us, admitting to others that our lives aren’t socially acceptable (whatever that means in your world) is the last thing we will do. So we either pretend it’s not our problem or we sit in this pool of pain and anguish – you know - where it’s easy to sit and moan. We all do it – some of us are very skilled at sitting back.

Second – what do I mean with the questions about standing with someone or disagreeing with someone? Well, standing with someone as a human being doesn’t mean you condone any of their choices/issues/errors, etc... any more than it means they condone yours! This is not an endorsement of someone’s lifestyle or job skills on their part or yours. What we are endorsing is that we are part of the same human race - we are human together.

Maybe we don’t know what to do when someone is hurt or sick or determined to hurt someone else. We think there is security in laying low. And often, if it isn't comfortable, maybe we feel justified in laying low - instead of getting involved. Besides, you might ask - I can't really do anything, can I? But there is something we can all do – reach out to them, talk to them. Invite them to stand with the rest of us as a human being. Let them know someone cares because they are in pain. You don’t have to know someone well to say “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

As a Christian, I believe that God is with us in our circumstances. You and I might not agree on how that happens, or on the name we use for God – but consider this: If you believe there is an almighty creator of the universe, then let’s stand together and pray. 

And if you don’t believe in God, would you mind standing with me while I pray? Then tell me when or how I might stand with you… let’s reach out for that unity. Let’s talk.
R. I. P. 9 beautiful brothers and sisters in Charleston, SC
Your sister, 
Kathleen

The blog name - Struggling Spirit - comes from reading Martin Luther's Works "Sermons on the Gospel of John" Chapters 14 - 16. Luther speaks about the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Truth and reminds us that Christ tells us "The Spirit of truth will guide you into all the truth." As he talks about the struggles and grief that Christians face, he reminds us that the Holy Spirit has the power to guide us and to bring us truth. He also speaks of how the Spirit will continue to convict us in our hearts as sinners, still full of weakness - yet God's dear children and saints. This is often referred to using the Latin Simul justus et peccator - simultaneously just (saint) and sinner.

I feel this sometimes as a struggle within my spirit, because of The Spirit. So to reflect the "both/and" of that statement - I named the blog Struggling Spirit.

These are my thoughts - sometimes they will be framed within a theological construct, and sometimes appearing as I experience them - which may appear random, and objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear.

Struggling Spirit - struggling in the Spirit, or struggling because of the Spirit? Let's see...