Occasio

Ancient Spiritual Practices

I wrote an article for our monthly Mennonite Brethren publication, Christian Leader, entitled "The New Old Spirituality." The result was a fair amount of critique and criticism and three months worth of letters-to-the-editor. My intent was to demonstrate how teens and young adults are vitalized by new forms of prayer, forms which have their roots in ancient practices. Here's a thrilling image: teens waiting in line to pray! Somehow that got lost amongst a discussion of what is orthodox or pagan. Prayer, it seems, is only to be practiced in certain approved fashions.

Here's what I've learned:

• There are many MBs who are anti-Catholic; my apologies to my Catholic friends, people who are deeply committed to following Christ and his teachings.
• There are many MBs who are afraid of anything new. Many complaints came from those saying that Menno (Simons) would never do this (whatever "this" practice might be). They point back to a standard that was set by Menno and must be maintained. Hmm, but didn't Menno himself start new practices? See http://rollovermenno.wordpress.com/ for more critique at this level from a group of folks who are self-proclaimed gatekeepers of Menno-traditions. [Update: I just discovered that this site is now password protected - not quite sure why.]
• There are many MBs who are afraid of anything old (or older than 1525). Prayer labyrinths, lectio divina,the Jesus Prayer - not acceptable, they're not found in the Bible. Hmm, tell me again what verse the organ is found in? (I do think I saw some cymbals and tambourines mentioned a number of times however.) How about a sanctuary, pews, the sermon, the baptistry, the professional pastor, etc.?
• Paranoia spreads quickly and anything a person disagrees with can be labeled heresy.
• We're becoming more Southern Baptist by the day; my apologies to my SBC friends, people who are deeply committed to following Christ and his teachings.

If you are interested in reading the article that started the controversy, here is is. Here's a teaser as well:

Imagine this scene. Teens silently form a line in a hallway, patiently waiting late into the night to enter a room in which they will experience an ancient spiritual discipline: contemplative prayer. When they emerge from the prayer room an hour later, many have tears in their eyes, smiles on their faces and peace in their hearts. They have just walked a prayer labyrinth, an interactive eleven-station experience in which the participants learn to practice the presence of Christ.  Scenes like this are happening again and again in churches, camps and conferences all over North America.

Interested in reading some of the letters-to-the-editor? Here are a few snippets and links for full texts.

"As MB congregations are moving further away from a historical connection with their Anabaptist heritage, they may be hindering their ability to present the gospel to a postmodern world." full text

"Why is the prayer labyrinth, an ancient pagan practice, entering into MB circles?" "We need to remember that Menno Simons wrote a renunciation of the Roman Catholic Church...." "These 'new old practices' you are advocating are dangerous and experiential of old forms of mysticism. It sounds no different than promoting Ophraism and her influences with new age gurus." full text

"All this makes me think that perhaps a practice's origins in pagan culture or its absence from biblical text isn't the guiding principle for whether we reject or accept it, but rather whether or not it reflects biblical truth and principles and either draws us to Jesus and each other or not." full text

Please leave a comment if you would like to add to the conversation. Here's a previous post I did on a prayer labyrinth.

Here's a picture of Menno. He really was an amazing and inspiring man of God. In this picture he appears as preacher and theologian.

The Economic Stimulus Payment: how will you spend yours?

I will receive $1,800 this May. The IRS will pay me $1,200 because I’m married and $600 for my children. The money comes with no strings. And therein lies my quandary—how will I use my economic stimulus payment?

Through the Economic Stimulus Act, Washington wants 130 million recipients to spend $168 billion in an attempt to bolster the economy. The prescription is consumption.

The message is striking. The American economic engine requires an ever-increasing rate of consumption to remain functional. Good Americans are good consumers because when they stop consuming, the system fails. Like a junkie in search of a fix, the economy needs an injection of cash.

Is consumption really a viable answer? I find two problems with this approach: one practical, one theological.

This is the intro for an article I wrote for FPU's Scholars Speak feature. I raised the issue at faculty prayers the other day and was surprised by the vigorous amd engaging reactions I got. The dilemma is this: as Christians we claim that material possessions should be low priority and that our "treasure is in heaven," but our government is telling us that spending and consuming is the answer to a weak economy. This raises all sorts of questions: Should good Americans be good consumers? Can an economy continue to grow and can Americans continue to consume in greater quantities at an endless pace? Is there also a place for saving and sharing our money? Is it un-American not to spend the stimulus rebate? Are there any theological implications? What should Christians do with the stimulus checks that will be sent out in May?

In my recent research I have been shocked to discover that no one is raising these questions. I suspect that there are people who are interested in the theological ramifications of the stimulus package, I simply can't find a public place of discourse on the issue.

I offer the following suggestion in the spirit of being transparent, certainly not to be haughty.... Tracy and I are giving our rebate away. We'll split it between an urban ministry in Fresno, a transitional home for homeless families in Pasadena and a HIV/AIDS clinic in Jos, Nigeria.

What will you do with yours? Would you consider giving a portion to a ministry or charity? Would you leave a comment and let other readers know about your issues, dilemmas, concerns, and suggestions? I know money is a private matter, but maybe on the advent of May's stimulus rebate it should be a public discussion.

Here's the full article to spur other thoughts and conversations.

Urban Los Angeles Immersion

I spent the past weekend leading students from Fresno Pacific University on an urban Los Angeles immersion. We took a significant amount of time to process a couple of biblical texts (Luke 4, Amos 8); learn about systemic injustice, sweatshops, immigration, etc.; visit ministries and agencies in downtown L.A.; walk on skid row; and talk with the homeless. Here are a few snapshots of the weekend.

Dinner at a Peruvian restaurant, complete with Inca Kola.

Learning about and praying for L.A.City Hall.

Los Angeles City Hall.

Downtown Los Angeles.

9th Street Elementary School - children who attend here are all on meal assistance and walk daily through gang territory to attend school. Many are classified as homeless since they live in the skid row hotels. Notice the lack of grass, the high fence and the signs in multiple languages prohibiting intruders, drugs and alcohol, and weapons. Here's an article from the L.A. Times about what a student faces on a daily basis as he tries to attend high school.

Filming is quite common in inner-city L.A. These trees were brought in and the street was swept clean for a Subaru commercial. In other areas of downtown we watched the filming of a movie staring Jamie Fox and Robert Downey Jr. The movie is about the life of Nathaniel Ayers, a Juilliard-trained cellist who now lives in poverty on the streets of L.A.(read here for a 12-part L.A. Times feature on Ayers) Ironically, we watched as the police kept movie sets free of local homeless people while actors who played homeless people lined up for a shoot at a mock soup kitchen. Caitlin made an insightful comment as we were walking down the street, "I'm starting to wonder what is really real in this town."

 

Another irony. The tattered and weather-beaten mural reads, "When kids read, anything's possible." There's not much hope on skid row.

Our new friend, Donny, a homeless man who helped us understand what life on the streets is like as we had breakfast. Here's a moving five-part video series discussing life on skid row (also includes footage from Central City Community Church, see below).

Debriefing at Pershing Square.

Cleaning at Central City Community Church, the only church on skid row. This congregation is comprised almost entirely of homeless people. They received a grant to install a youth room and kitchen. One of the most creative church programs I have ever encountered happens at this church. Every Wednesday night 200-300 homeless people come to the church for Karaoke. It's the happiest and strangest crowd I've ever been with. It reminds me of Jesus partying with the "sinners and tax collectors" at Levi's house.

Painting at Central City Community Church.

Sunday afternoon at Olympic Convalescent Home. It's the elderly and the children who are the most neglected. They are the widows, orphans and aliens the prophets warned Israel to care for.

Painting nails at Olympic.

A group photo at the Center for Student Missions.

The gang with Tim Peters at the Door of Hope (read a previous post on Door here). This is a Christian transitional home for homeless families. Up to eight families live at this 106-year old facility. We heard story after story of families who have made it off the streets and into stable living situations. It was a wonderful and hopeful way to end our trip.

God's Christmas graffiti

Merry Christmas! Last night I gave a meditation for North Fresno Church's Christmas Eve service. The inspiration for the short devotional came from a sermon by Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Christmas Day of 1999 in the National Cathedral (see The aWAKE Project). He noted that the birth of Jesus is like God's graffiti announcing, "I love you with a love that cannot change."

For most of us the Christmas story has lost its jarring sense of surprise. It no longer shocks us like it should; like graffiti scrawled across a freeway overpass, school building or sanctuary wall. If we forget about the cards, carols and dramatic presentations we're left with a very simple text full of odd twists and surprises.

If you are interested in reading an abbreviated version of my message click here (this is a piece I published through Fresno Pacific University's "Scholars Speak" forum). Here is an excerpt:

Where would God show up? I do not know, but there is one thing I am sure of: He wouldn’t be in the places or with the people I would expect. This is the danger of discrimination. Nazareth, Bethlehem, unwed mothers, stables, shepherds—all the stuff of first-century discrimination. I wonder, would God appear with the people I am most prejudiced against? Will He continue to come to the places I and others might find offensive?

An ancient practice

I'm blogging tonight from the Prayer Path at FPU. I and my Worship Ministries class present this annually. The Prayer Path is an adaptation of an ancient practice. Labyrinths were used in medieval cathedrals in Europe. Our path is a 21st century re-imagining of a 12th century practice.

Participants walk the maze of the labyrinth and engage with eleven separate prayer stations while listening to music and narration on a personal CD player. At one station they grasp a rock and drop it into a bucket of water symbolizing the release of anxiety, doubt or sin (I just heard the unmistakable "plunk" of a stone falling...); at another they gaze at a reflection of the self in a mirror and fathom the work of the Creator; at still another station they watch a giant projection of the Earth rising in space while planting a seed and contemplating God's (and humanity's) connection to the planet (I'm watching that one right now as I write this). At the center of the labyrinth the participants celebrate communion.

The path is really about three journeys: an inward one in which the focus is on the self in relation to God; a centered one where communion happens; and an outward one in which the focus is on our relation to the world. In America the Prayer Path has been made available in a kit from Group Publishing. If you would like to experience the online version of the labyrinth check this out.

The eleven stations of the Prayer Path are: Inward Journey, Noise, Letting Go, Hurts, Distractions, Holy Space, Outward Journey, Self, Planet, Others, and Impression.

Some comments from tonight's journal:

• This is absolutely peaceful, tranquil and I feel like I just had a shower!
• This experience was amazing. I can't say how much I needed this. God really spoke and touched me during this experience and I would love to spend time doing this labyrinth more often. I feel so at peace and I've been tingling with goosebumps for the past hour. As followers of Christ we don't do this sort of thing often enough. We have such busy lives and such short attention spans. Our world is so loud, but God deserves this special time.
• It made me stop or pause and get away from the business and craziness of life. I felt relaxed and in God's presence. Who would have thought that something as simple as this could have such a tremendous effect.
• I had a chance to realize that the world does not revolve around me. I had a chance to stop - pause for a time in my busy schedule and simply hear God, re-position my life/thoughts/priorities. I had a chance to spend time with God in a way of communion. I really loved the station with bread and juice. I did not want to move from that spot becuase I felt that I was at a dinner table with God!

Can Christians support Buddhist monks?

Here's an excerpt from a recent article I published for FPU's "Scholars Speak" feature. It also landed in a couple of local papers. The article is based on my post "Remember Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi."

Cultures are colliding at an unparalleled rate. As the globe continues to shrink via media, Internet and other communications, there is increased awareness of similarities and differences between groups of people. This new understanding can lead to fresh questions, particularly with regard to theology. As a follower of Christ I have witnessed the recent atrocities in Southeast Asia and have been forced to ask, “What is the Christian’s responsibility toward the Buddhist neighbor?” Surely we must do something.

The full article is here.

Mystery, Eucharist and Sister Titziana

This is my friend, Sister Titziana.

 

See that smile on her face? That's the real deal. I'm not sure I've ever met such a peaceful woman. She is a little Italian who speaks in broken English and often asks "How do you say...?" or "What is the word for...?" As I was taking the above picture she was showing us the statue of Jesus at the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master Liturgical Center. The book in Jesus' hand is scripture and it reads "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Her enthusiasm in this picture comes from reciting those words out loud and having us do the same.

For half a dozen years I have been having Sister Titziana visit my Worship Ministries class. After she gives us an orientation to Catholic worship in one session, we take the next day to visit the convent where she lives and works as a spiritual director.

Most of the students in my class come from evangelical backgrounds and know nothing of liturgy, not to mention the Catholic mass. It always seems there is a bit of anxiety the first time I bring Sister into class. But by the time we are through with a couple of class sessions with her they are glad for the opportunity.

Sister Titziana's ability to teach matches her ability to bless and encourage. We learn about the mystery of Jesus through the holy communion of the Eucharist. Though she points to the Lord's Supper as the high point of the worship service (Protestants have almost completely replaced this with preaching of the Word as the high point, while relegating communion to a ten minute experience once a month), she is quick to convey that all of life is communion with God through the mystery of the Spirit in Jesus Christ. Protestants love to make Jesus their best friend and often reduce God to something that is reasonable, rational and tangible. Sister has helped me understand that worship is most powerful when we understand that God is transcendent, ineffable and unknowable. There is both a horizontal dimension (more Protestant) and a vertical dimension (more Catholic) to understanding God.

So many people believe that a formal-liturgical style of worship is cold and meaningless. That's because no one has ever taught them the meaning of the rituals. There is a reason that college students have a growing interest in liturgy (example: thousands of college students make the journey to Taize, France, to experience ancient practices of silence, chants, meditation, etc.). The postmodern pilgrim is hungry for the spiritual, the supernatural and the mysterious. Ancient disciplines often bring the depth and meaning they seek.

When we drive away from the convent I like to ask my students a question, "Do you think Sister Titziana loves Jesus?" After spending time with her, there's no doubt about it.