Sacred Companions: Part III

This chapter felt a little long for me, but I am no quitter. Actually, that's not true. It's embarrassing how many books I have started and not finished. I am trying to do better and I am so thankful to be reading this book WITH a dear friend. If it were not for her, I may not have as much perseverance. Yet another reason why "sacred companions" do so much for our souls. I highly recommend reading this book with a friend so you can discuss it together, not to mention the encouragement received just from knowing you are not alone, even in something as small as story time.

Chapter 3: The Ideals of Spiritual Friendship

"The principal reason friendship is so undervalued is probably that too few people have ever experienced a significant, enduring friendship." (p. 61)

"Love. Friendships involve a bond of love, never simply an obligation of love." (p. 65)

(From C.S. Lewis) "...those who are going nowhere can have no fellow travelers." (p. 66)

"Honesty... It confronts illusions and dares to risk temporary discomfort by calling us to truth." (p. 69)

"Love cannot ignore things that are self-destructive in the loved one." (p. 70)

"... honesty is not just something friends try to practice. It is also something they delight in experiencing." (p. 71)

"... friendships do not tend to remain static. They evolve or devolve- grow or shrink." (p. 73)

This last one was hard for me because I know it's true. I want to remain close to everyone I care about. But how can that be? It's one thing to "keep in touch" through email and facebook, but to hold close friendships with everyone I have ever cared about would take away time I give to being a wife and mother. I have recognized different kinds of friendships in my life:
- My closest friends- we remain involved in each other's present lives,
- My close past friends who I treasure our memories together yet that was then and no longer do we hold the friendship,
- My close past friends that we can pick up where we left off in the few and far between sparks of our busy lives that allow us the relive our friendship in the very moment.

I am thankful for each of these relationships in their own special way.

*If you have ever read this book, please feel free to leave your favorite quotes as comments! I would love to see what spoke to you in each of the chapters.

Love - forms, imparts, grants, complicates

I am a fan of words. I cheer when they are used on purpose to bring about a point and I love when they are so good that the reader must re-read to "take it all in". My favorite part of Ryan's article this week has been enlarged because I want everyone to re-read this part.

Notes from the Pastor…
I am constantly grateful to serve as the Pastor of First Christian Church, Ruidoso.  Not only do I live in paradise, and serve a wonderful, caring, welcoming community of faith, but I also get to work with a fellow minister whose background is varied from my own and our perspectives complement. This is why I asked Frankie to preach; through listening to a sermon you hear a minister’s heart, and I selfishly wanted to hear her
heart.  As a result, we all were blessed and challenged. Matthew 5:38-48 is an explanation on Jesus’ command: “Love thy neighbor.”  As Frankie described it, “Jesus imparts a new way of living and loving… seeing others with empathy.” Emily Dickenson wrote:
Love is anterior to life,
Posterior to death,
Initial of creation, and
The exponent of breath.
May we therefore, live in love, which forms life, imparts peace, grants forgiveness, and complicates hate.  May our love mirror the love of Christ  – unbounded, unrestrained, and unrestricted.

Grace,
Pastor Ryan

"Public intent allows others to participate in personal journey..."

Notes from the Pastor…

After worship on Sunday we gathered in our Multi-purpose Room for our 2010 New Members Reception.  In 2010, First Christian Church welcomed 32 new members into our community! This is both a testament to the great work Jesus has done in the church body and also to our loving, inclusive body of believers.  Many thanks are rendered to Pastor Max Jones, who allowed God to work though his efforts, bringing the church to the point of reconciliation and shared vision.As I walked through the reception, I realized that I have never formally presented my views on church membership. Please allow me to concisely do so via my written pulpit:

In Matthew 16:18, when Jesus says, “I will build my church upon this rock”, he is speaking to Peter’s confession – “You are the Christ.”  It is that statement of faith that Jesus chooses to build his fellowship upon.  It is that same statement that we as Disciples of Christ choose to build our fellowship upon – “Jesus is the Christ.”

However, one need not walk down the aisle, or meet in the pastor’s office to make such a statement.

Moreover, a follower of Christ does not have to formally join any organization to benefit from shared fellowship in Jesus. In this way, membership in a local congregation is somewhat like marriage.  Couples who

love one another do not necessarily have to go though the wedding or marriage ceremonies to be considered spouses.  In fact, there are many spouses who live together for their entire lives without being officially or legally married.  I do not necessarily find this the best way to live.  In such cases there can be a lack of public intent, communal support, and accountability.  Furthermore, there is great significance in the exchanging
of vows: promises to love, support, and care in mutual journey though life.Similarly, when we join a congregation, we are promising to love, support, and care for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  While formal
membership is not necessary for such activities, it is vital. Public intent allows others to participate in personal journey, bringing communal support and accountability.  After all, John Donne warned us long ago, “No man [or woman] is an island, entire of itself.”    

Your brother and fellow member,
Pastor Ryan

Sacred Companions: Part II

This chapter was written for me. The following portions underlined in my book left me saying, "Ouch" quite a bit.

Chapter 2: Hospitality, Presence & Dialogue

"... what the person does is secondary in importance to who he or she is. Being must precede doing." (p. 46)

"Spiritual friendship is not primarily a matter of doing certain things. Often, in fact, it is precisely the opposite of doing- not interrupting, not attempting to solve problems, not prematurely or inappropriately advising, not assuming that what has worked for us will work for others. Stated positively: spiritual friendship is a gift of hospitality, presence, and dialogue." (p. 46)

"... soul friends show hospitality by making space in their lives for others." (p. 46)

"... one of the biggest challenges I face in being present for others- being still within my own soul. Stillness is the precondition of presence." (p. 47)

"Soul hospitality is also a gift of safety. Think of feeling safe enough with another person that without weighing words or measuring thoughts you are able to pour yourself out, trusting that the other person will keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away." (p. 48)

"Love is th motive for the gift of presence that the soul host offers others." (p. 48)

"Apart from real love for real people, we will always be dealing with secret (or not so secret) impatience, judgmentalism, disgust, resentment, envy or anger. Real people require real love if we are to give a gift of genuine presence." (p. 49)

"[Presence] also demands I stop analyzing what I am hearing or rehearsing how I will respond." (p. 50)

"To be present to you means that I must be prepared, temporarily, to be absent to me." (p. 50)

"It's so tempting to believe that faking presence is an acceptable alternative to offering genuine presence. But it isn't. And at some level of awareness the other person will always recognize the difference." (p. 51)

"Presence does not demand perfection." (p. 51)

"If I genuinely bring myself to a relationship, I must be prepared to be changed by it." (p. 52)

"When we treat others as objects, even for benevolent reasons, we rob them of their humanity." (p. 55)

"How could I fail to treat Christ with respect? How, then, can I fail to treat a person in whom Christ is present  with the same respect? Respect is the foundation of dialogue, and Christians have a unique resource for offering it: eyes of faith that allow us to see those we encounter as deeply loved by God and bearing his image." (p. 56)

*If you have ever read this book, please feel free to leave your favorite quotes as comments! I would love to see what spoke to you in each of the chapters.

Notes from the Pastor

Ryan has a weekly news blurb in our church news letter and many of you who read this blog don't get our news letter, so I decided to start copying and pasting. I may be a little biased but I always love getting my newsletter so I can read his article. This week's article has a small update from our "Souper Bowl" (not a typo). Church members brought cans of soup for the local food bank and placed their soup in the Packers box or the Steelers box depending on their loyalty or predictions for the game.

Notes from the Pastor…

Super Bowl Sunday has become a de facto national holiday. According to Wikipedia, it is the second largest day for US food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. Sunday’s game was exciting and the results matched our “Souper Bowl” at church. One congregant who wished to remain anonymous when talking about the inner workings of the Souper Bowl said, “I think it was fixed.”

Nevertheless, every year the Super Bowl seems to match the overwhelming scale of the previous year. Utilizing Dallas Cowboy Stadium, Super Bowl XLV became the second highest in attendance; this goes to prove that “Super Bowl” is as much a given name as it is a descriptive name.

Throughout our spiritual journeys it seems that we are drawn to the “super” events and moments. Maybe it is in our cultural DNA, or maybe it is a more human phenomenon; either way, we all seek moments of great awakening in our spirits. This is not necessarily bad, because truthfully, the higher things of God are awe-inspiring and life changing.

Personally, I can point to a few unique moments that have charted a different course in my journey. For instance, when I was 22, I lived in Yosemite National Park, and one sunny, summer day the clarity of the Spirit was as pure as the water in the Merced River – crisp, shocking, real, and nourishing.

Yes, these “super” events and moments are quite powerful; however, it is the simple things that shape our character and spirituality the most. It is the day-in and day-out of living with Jesus that makes us who we are. After all, Thomas Merton said, “How can we relish the higher things of God if we cannot enjoy some simple little things that come along as a gift from Him!”

This week, I encourage you to engage your spiritual senses and notice the simple things that are a gift from God!

Grace,
Pastor Ryan

Sacred Companions: Part I

A beautiful friend introduced me to this book. 

I am loving it! I have been a little spiritually slow lately; this book is reviving a direction in me that I have been wondering hopefully, looking for connection and companionship. 

In the preface, the reader is advised to take on this book with a pen ready to underline. I recommend this book to you, but I will also be sharing here on this blog my underlined portions. Although, it will be hard to not just copy and paste the entire chapters.

Chapter 1: The Transformational Journey

"The distant land to which we are called is not heaven. Nor is it some external, physical place. The distant land is the new creature into which Christ wishes to fashion us- the whole and holy person that finds his or her uniqueness, identity and calling in Christ." (p. 26)

"God doesn't want me to become more loving. He wants me to absorb his love so that it flows out from me." (p. 34)

"Thomas Merton reminds us that the root of Christian love is not the will to love but the faith to believe that one is deeply loved by God." (p. 34)

"The goal of the Christian spiritual journey is not to become less human and more divine; it is to become more fully human. Salvation in not to rescue us from our humanity; it is to redeem our humanity." (p. 35)

"Spirituality is the response of spirit to Spirit." (p. 42)

*If you have ever read this book, please feel free to leave your favorite quotes as comments! I would love to see what spoke to you in each of the chapters.