From Henri Nouwen's words
Crossing the Road for One Another
We become neighbours when we are willing to cross the road for one another. There is so much separation and segregation: between black people and white people, between gay people and straight people, between young people and old people, between sick people and healthy people, between prisoners and free people, between Jews and Gentiles, Muslims and Christians, Protestants and Catholics, Greek Catholics and Latin Catholics.
There is a lot of road crossing to do. We are all very busy in our own circles. We have our own people to go to and our own affairs to take care of. But if we could cross the street once in a while and pay attention to what is happening on the other side, we might become neighbours.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
'Look for God everywhere'
By PASTOR RORY SWENSON
Park United Methodist Church
Someday I would like to visit Japan. One of the places I would visit would be the Buddha of Kamakura. It is an ancient pilgrimage place near the sea with several monasteries and temples, gardens and museums. I have read that the Kamkura Buddha stands above the trees and buildings. He sits in the lotus posture with his right palm cradled by the left hand. The size of this statue is so big that twelve monks can sit lined up across his two thumbs. The Buddha figure is worn by the weather and there is a story about why he is outside and not covered or protected by a temple as one might expect.
Once upon a time when the Kamakura Buddha was first built, there was a huge wooden temple to house him. But almost as soon as the great structure was finished and decorated, a great storm hit the coast and destroyed the temple. The monks did not want to leave the Buddha uncovered so they began to collect money and materials to build another temple for the great statue. This took decades but again the Buddha was sheltered. A few years later there was a fire that left only the Buddha among the ashes. This happened again; the shrine was built, but then destroyed again in a few years by the elements.
Then, in more recent memory, a priest tried to raise funds and workers for a structure to house the Buddha figure. Money poured in for the project. Then one night he had a dream and in the dream the Buddha was speaking to him. He was frightened at first but the serenity of the Buddha helped him to become calm. The Buddha was clearly saying in the dream that he did not want anyone to build a temple for him. He was told "The temple is a prison. It contains me and squeezes me into a space far too small. It is never a home. Leave me outside with the weather and the elements and the people. Let me be exposed to all the changes and ravages of life, to the warmth of the sun and to the horizons and all the people. I belong here, outside on the earth, with the people in the world. " And so another temple was not built.
I tell that story because I think of my own spiritual tradition. I can hear God, saying in Jesus Christ, "let me be with the people." We call this the doctrine of the incarnation, or we can hear the promise of Jesus to be with us always, or think of the Holy Spirit among us. Our God is still "Immanuel ,God with us": wanting to go beyond the walls of sanctuaries and institutions. Jesus went outside the temple system of his day, traveled the roads and ate with the common and the outcast. He calls us to follow him there. Our spiritual truth says we can look for Jesus in the sick and the homeless, in the ravages of life. As Christians doesn't that mean we should also get out of our "temples" more? We can't keep God to ourselves. Are we being the church outside of our church buildings? Look for God everywhere. That's our homework for the week.
Story adapted from "We Live Inside a Story," by Megan McKenna, New City Press 2010.
By PASTOR RORY SWENSON
Park United Methodist Church
Someday I would like to visit Japan. One of the places I would visit would be the Buddha of Kamakura. It is an ancient pilgrimage place near the sea with several monasteries and temples, gardens and museums. I have read that the Kamkura Buddha stands above the trees and buildings. He sits in the lotus posture with his right palm cradled by the left hand. The size of this statue is so big that twelve monks can sit lined up across his two thumbs. The Buddha figure is worn by the weather and there is a story about why he is outside and not covered or protected by a temple as one might expect.
Once upon a time when the Kamakura Buddha was first built, there was a huge wooden temple to house him. But almost as soon as the great structure was finished and decorated, a great storm hit the coast and destroyed the temple. The monks did not want to leave the Buddha uncovered so they began to collect money and materials to build another temple for the great statue. This took decades but again the Buddha was sheltered. A few years later there was a fire that left only the Buddha among the ashes. This happened again; the shrine was built, but then destroyed again in a few years by the elements.
Then, in more recent memory, a priest tried to raise funds and workers for a structure to house the Buddha figure. Money poured in for the project. Then one night he had a dream and in the dream the Buddha was speaking to him. He was frightened at first but the serenity of the Buddha helped him to become calm. The Buddha was clearly saying in the dream that he did not want anyone to build a temple for him. He was told "The temple is a prison. It contains me and squeezes me into a space far too small. It is never a home. Leave me outside with the weather and the elements and the people. Let me be exposed to all the changes and ravages of life, to the warmth of the sun and to the horizons and all the people. I belong here, outside on the earth, with the people in the world. " And so another temple was not built.
I tell that story because I think of my own spiritual tradition. I can hear God, saying in Jesus Christ, "let me be with the people." We call this the doctrine of the incarnation, or we can hear the promise of Jesus to be with us always, or think of the Holy Spirit among us. Our God is still "Immanuel ,God with us": wanting to go beyond the walls of sanctuaries and institutions. Jesus went outside the temple system of his day, traveled the roads and ate with the common and the outcast. He calls us to follow him there. Our spiritual truth says we can look for Jesus in the sick and the homeless, in the ravages of life. As Christians doesn't that mean we should also get out of our "temples" more? We can't keep God to ourselves. Are we being the church outside of our church buildings? Look for God everywhere. That's our homework for the week.
Story adapted from "We Live Inside a Story," by Megan McKenna, New City Press 2010.
A Possible footnote for the parable of the Good Samaritan
HOW IS IT that sometimes subtly, sometimes with a sudden startle, God breaks through the thick fog of our collective blindness? Our lives confront us with the inevitable experience of suffering: our own suffering, the suffering we cause to others, the pain we experience in and with the suffering of others. “Pay attention,” says the voice of God within us, “Here is an opportunity to deepen your relationship with me! You will find me when your heart breaks open with compassionate love for all of creation. But you must let the suffering touch you deeply enough that you begin to see your own path as a path of compassion on behalf of all living creatures.”
- Elaine M. Prevallet
Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life
From “With Open Eyes: Discerning the Pattern of God’s Presence,” pp. 29-30, Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, vol.25, no. 3. Copyright © 2009 via Upper Room web site
- Elaine M. Prevallet
Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life
From “With Open Eyes: Discerning the Pattern of God’s Presence,” pp. 29-30, Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, vol.25, no. 3. Copyright © 2009 via Upper Room web site
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