Presby-Musings

In the fundamentalist churches that I used to attend when I was younger, there was a great deal of suspicion about what we called "New Age" beliefs.  We were taught that Christians ought not to practice yoga, meditate, or recite prayers like a mantra because it could very well open our vulnerable souls to the work of the Devil.  We were also told that these things were "escapes" from reality and also distractions from our true purpose as Christians, which was to tell people they were going to Hell if they weren't one of us.   I had all but forgotten those things until y ears later, I worked in a Presbyterian church where yoga classes were proposed, and roundly shot down by the church leadership because they were too "Eastern."  By that, they meant that they believed that they were too Buddhist or Hindu, and had no place in a Christian church.   I've often wondered why these things were so threatening to many Christians, especially as I began to rea...

I've been doing my best to practice gratitude in my daily life as a way of working toward peace and surrender.  It's not as easy as it sounds.  Come to think of it, nothing that is worthwhile is ever as easy as it sounds, no matter how much I wish it to be different.  However, I will say that the more I'm intentional about practicing gratitude (even when I'm having a hard time feeling it), the easier it becomes to let it be my default way of seeing the world.  Like most things, practicing gratitude is an exercise in letting go of whatever might be keeping us from being our best selves.   In our busy and oft-challenging lives, it’s easy to become caught up in the pursuit of control, striving to shape our days, outcomes, and futures into the molds we envision.  Yet, true peace and deeper understanding come when we embrace gratitude, recognizing that every moment is a gift from God. Living gratefully helps us surrender our need to dictate every outcome an...

I've been struggling a lot lately to let go of my desire for certainty and my frustrations with God regarding the path I've been on for a while, which has led me into the unknown.   I've done my best to be patient and discern what there is to be learned on the journey, but there are some days when I feel like I'm tired of learning and wish that I could finally see an end to the current season of unknowing I'm experiencing.  In my worst moments, I wonder all kinds of things about how God works, and whether I might need to atone for my sins or something before I finally see my circumstances resolved.   But there are days when things seem a bit clearer, even though the end is not in sight.  There are days when I find hope that doesn't make sense, and peace that is beyond my understanding.   The difference between good and not-so-good days comes down to my willingness to stop trying to figure out God and to surrender to whatever purposes God has in st...

It’s Still Easter!  He is risen! The Season of Easter offers us a chance to experience the implications of the Resurrection and to trust Jesus as we follow him.   Today, we will conclude our series with a reading from Jesus' final discourse with his followers: a prayer that is difficult to understand, but one that gives us a glimpse into what it means to choose uniformity of belief over love.   Guess how many Christian denominations there are in the world?   The number exceeds 47,000, which is a substantial amount.  You might be shocked by this number, I know that I was.  I would have guessed much lower.  The fact that it is so high speaks to the capacity of human beings to be complete jerks.  What causes these divisions?  Why are there so many?  It ultimately comes down to a few key factors, but in the end, it's largely about how people choose to interpret the Bible.   The fundamentalist movement in the early 19...

I've been reflecting a great deal this week on the fragility of life and the impermanence of things.  It's just something I do from time to time, especially when I've been having more than a few conversations with people who are dealing with grief and loss.  Those conversations inevitably lead me to an examination of my own life and circumstances, and the many losses I've endured, combined with the uncertainty about the future, and a host of other things that bring emotions to the surface I'd rather not have to deal with.   Maybe that resonates with you.  Perhaps there are some readers today who are experiencing what I'm describing and feeling the same way.   In the trying moments of our lives, when despair seems to overshadow hope, it can be difficult to understand why we are burdened with such heavy sorrows.  We feel small, fragile, almost invisible, as if our capacity to endure is limited. Which is why the following words of the 13th-century po...

One of the more eye-opening things I learned about St. Mother Teresa came when I read portions of her secret diaries, which were published not long ago.   I was shocked to discover that for almost 50 years of her life, she lived without a sense of God's presence, and struggled with her faith in ways that were hard to imagine for someone who was widely thought to be one of the most faithful and fervent Christians on the planet.  Yet, despite her struggles, Mother Theresa was able to write beautifully about what it meant to be God's instrument, and to follow in the Way of Christ. She wrote:  “A sacrifice to the real must cost, must hurt, and must empty ourselves. Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your weakness.”   These powerful words remind us that seeking God's purposes for our lives involves sacrifice—an offering of ourselves that may require pain and vulnerabil...