seethrough

the original language of the christian scriptures has an interesting take on time.  there are two words that refer to “time”.  chronos refers to the passing of time - the concept of a chronological set of events.  The fascinating word for time is kairos.  kairos refers to “the right time”.  it is used to proclaim the conviction that “the time is now”!

kairos is a way of living.  it honours the present.

I say, if God can’t be found in the present, he won’t be found.

We may be tempted to go looking for God in other circumstances.  We may be tempted to go and sit at the feet of some swami in India.  but God (truth) is not more apparent or real in India or Tibet or any particular holy shrine.  If you can’t find God where you are, you’re not going to find him in India!

We may be tempted to go looking for God in other times.  We may read about the early church in the book of Acts and wish our lives away, desiring to rather have lived in that time. Or we could fantasize about some utopian future and wish our life away in favour of the dream.  but God (truth) was no more present back then than in any other time in history.  If you can’t meet with God today, you’re not going to suddenly awaken to intimacy tomorrow.  Intimacy will begin today with the desire for it.  For even “the desire to pray is prayer itself” (dom chapman)

We may be tempted to wait for a better season.  We may be struggling with pain and despair, a period of depression or physical sickness, or suffering the loss and longings of bereavement.  And we may be tempted to think that the invitations of Jesus are just too hard to be meant for now…  We’ll wait for an easier time to begin to listen and follow.  There will be no easier time.  Nor a better time to begin to listen to the gentle invitations, intended not to constrain but to free, not to confound but to guide and heal…

kairos: now is always a good time to begin…

what does it mean to own something?

“owning” something doesn’t ensure that it can’t be lost or takne by someone else.  and if someone else takes it, does it then belong to them?

do we own the land on which our house it built?  what does it mean to say that the land is mine?  obviously there is a sense in which the land belongs to me because there are soceity rules governing access to that land.  i can restrict access based on my title-deed.  but in the greater scheme of things, can I say that the land is mine?  earth-quakes and floods tend to make fun of title-deeds.

and our bodies?  human rights express the right of every person to safety and the freedom of their own body.  i am fully supportive of the desire to support and protect those basic human rights.  but ultimately those “rights” are again undermined by death.  my body is “mine” until that confidence is undermined by sudden illness or death.

divorce reminds us to be cautious about speaking about “my wife”…  we often speak like a person can own their spouse.

and children…  when they leave home, they challenge our sense that they are ours.

i think we need a huge re-think on the matter of ownership.

(for our own well-being, as well as the well-being of people in the light of increasingly materialistic and consumeristic ways of doing life)

with institutional religion taking on such an awful, authoratative tone in the past century, i think that people have come to resist being told what to do

and then there’s the common resistance amongst protestants to anything Catholic - because of historical fears of unhealthy (and it did sometimes get unhealthy) asceticism. When resistance to attachments leads to all-out rejection of body and pleasure, it has lost the thread of a healthy celebration of creation - balance.

but either way, much of the “christian” spirituality i have experienced spends very little energy inviting people to adopt a learning discipline. discipline has a bad name for the reasons given above, and probably for a whole bunch of other reasons including a simple misunderstanding. when “discipline” is associated with punishment, i believe it has no helpful contribution to a better understanding of God or of the spiritual journey. in fact, talk of punishment (in my not so humble opinion) makes NO helpful contribution to our relationship with God.

but when the word “discipline” is associated with training and learning (the root word disciple means learner or trainee) then I think we can use this word helpfully to guide our way toward better relationship with God. So when the Bible, or some religious person suggests that God is inclined to discipline his children… i believe it is referring to this second kind of discipline - they kind that has to do with training and learning - a restraint or a constraint not for the purpose of punishment but quite the opposite - for the purpose of growth.

freedom is not having no limitations. freedom is found through discipline. e.g. i may be free to run a marathon (unlikely in my case!!!) if i have committed to the discipline of regular training and exercise.

it is in this atmosphere of learning and training that i would introduce the practice of spiritual disciplines. Dallas Willard in The spirit of the disciplines identifies disciplines of abstinence and disciplines of engagement. What can you give up or stop doing that might help you to learn the way of Jesus? and what can you do that will help you learn the way of Jesus?

I was talking to someone this week who struggles with insecurity and a low self-esteem even though she has achieved great things in her life. I suggested some spiritual disciplines. for abstinence i suggested the discipline of rest. in the bible this is called “sabbath” - it simply means in between times for working there needs to be time for not working. but in our driven economy we find it difficult to rest. so a discipline can help us challenge that inner voice that seems to want to drive us to death through endless striving.

for engagement i suggest the discipline of being kind to herself. usually spiritual disciplines are associated with difficulty and removing comforts, but I believe that when people are driven and struggle to receive God’s love and grace - radical kindness is required, and that may start with ourselves (for some of us)!!!

does this approach to spiritual discipline appeal to you or help you in any way?

Last night Ruben and I were playing around the house while we were waiting for the braai-fire to be ready. We found a balloon and began kicking it around the house. I thought of a great game. I suggested we start at the one end of the kitchen and then kick the balloon and see how many kicks it required to get it to hit the Kitchen door.

I started: one, two, THREE!!!!! I took three kicks to get the balloon across the kitchen.

Then it was Ruben’s turn. (more…)

what kind of God would he be
if he did not hear the bangles ring on an ant’s wrist
as they move the earth in their sweet dance?

and what kind of God would he be
if a leaf’s prayer was not as precious to Creation
as the prayer His own son sang
from the glorious depth of his soul - for us.

and what kind of God would he be
if the vote of millions in this world could sway him
to change the Divine law of love

that speaks so clearly with compassion’s elegant tongue,
saying, eternally saying:

all are forgiven - moreover, dears,
no one has ever been guilty.

what kind of God would he be
if he did not count the blinks of your eyes
and is in absolute awe of their movements?

what a God - what a God we have.