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Gold, Common Sense and Fur

December 28, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

The nativity story as you have never seen or heard before! By Linda C. Stafford

My husband and I had been happily (most of the time) married for five years but hadn’t been blessed with a baby. I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if He would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with His Word as my guide.
God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son. The next year God blessed us with another son. The following year, He blessed us with yet another son. The year after that we were blessed with a daughter. My husband thought we’d been blessed right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was only four years old. I learned never to ask God for anything unless I meant it. As a minister once told me, “If you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella.”
I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had entrusted me with four children and I didn’t want to disappoint him. I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks.

I tried to be understanding when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three frogs.

When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humor rather than the mess. In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty inutes at a time, I still thank God daily for my children.

While I couldn’t keep my promise to be a perfect mother – I didn’t even come close – I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God. I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to “wash up” Jesus, too.
Something was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God to give us his “last wife.”
My proudest moment came during the children’s Christmas pageant. My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This was their moment to shine.

My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his line, “We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.” But he was nervous and said, “The baby was wrapped in waddling clothes.” My four-year-old “Mary” said, “That’s not ‘waddling clothes,’ silly. That’s waddling toes.”
A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing. I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, “Mama-mama.” Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived.
My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, “We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur.”
The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation. “I’ve never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one,” laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes. “For the rest of my life, I’ll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur.”
“My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing,” I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin.

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Orthodox Christmas Liturgy

December 19, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Christ is born; glorify Him.
Christ comes from heaven: go out to meet Him.
Christ descends to earth: let us be raised on high.
Let all the world sing to the Lord; let the heavens rejoice and let
the earth be glad, for His sake who was first in heaven and then on
earth.
Christ is here in the flesh: let us exult with fear and joy –
With fear, because of our sins;
With joy, because of the hope that He brings us.

Once more darkness is dispersed; once more the light is created.
Let the people that sat in the darkness of ignorance now look upon
the light of knowledge.
The things of old have passed away; behold, all things are made new.
He who has no mother in heaven is now born without father on earth.
The laws of nature are overthrown, for the upper world must be filled
with citizens.
He who is without flesh becomes incarnate;
the Word puts on a body;
the Invisible is seen;
He whom no hand can touch is handled;
the timeless has a beginning;
the Son of God becomes Son of Man – Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
today and for ever.

Light from light, the Word of the Father comes to His own image, man.
For the sake of my flesh He takes flesh; for the sake of my soul
He is united to a rational soul, purifying like by like.
In every way He becomes man, except for sin.
0 strange conjunction!
The Self-existent comes into being;
the Uncreated is created.
He shares in the poverty of my flesh,
that I may share in the riches of His Godhead.

From the Orthodox Christmas Liturgy

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Christmas Liturgy – Orthodox

December 19, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

> From the Orthodox Christmas Liturgy

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Moses and Bushes

December 18, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

Recently, while going through an airport during one of his many trips,
President Bush encountered a man with long gray hair, wearing a white robe
and sandals, and holding a staff. President Bush went up to the man and
said, “Has anyone told you that you look like Moses?”
The man didn’t answer. He just kept staring straight ahead. The president
said, “Moses!” in a loud voice. The man just stared ahead, never
acknowledging the president.
The president pulled a Secret Service agent aside and, pointing to the robed
man, asked him, “Am I crazy or does that man not look like Moses to you?”
The Secret Service agent looked at the man and agreed.
“Well,” said the president, “every time I say his name, he ignores me and
stares straight ahead, refusing to speak. Watch!” Again the president
yelled, “Moses!” and again the man ignored him.
The Secret Service agent went up to the man in the white robe and whispered,
“You look just like Moses. Are you Moses?”
The man leaned over and whispered back, “Yes, I am Moses. However, the last
time I talked to a bush, I spent 40 years wandering in the desert and ended
up leading my people to the only spot in the entire Middle East where
there is no oil!”

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The Delusion of Sin

December 14, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

We have a spiral staircase in our home that connects the basement with the two floors above it. It is a steel staircase (made by US Steel – it says so right on one of the railings). In it’s nearly 30 years of existence, these stairs had never been painted. We decided a nice coat of black Rustoleum would greatly improve it’s appearance. Six hours later, the stairs were looking pretty good. However, an unfortunate splatter on a new carpet, a few unintended spots on the otherwise white ceiling and inky black cuticles were vivid reminders of my amateur status.
Not knowing any better, I dabbed the carpet stain with Mineral Spirits. Did the same with the spot on the wall. To my horror, the black oil spread making the stains even worse. My on-line search yielded many solutions, including cutting the carpet out and gluing a new patch in it’s place. But I was determined not to go that route.
Application after application of Mineral Spirits and gentle dabbing, the carpet looks almost like new. Hours of soaking my hands in mineral spirits and then my fingers in nail polish remover eventually yielded minor improvement. It’s taken days of washing and a professional nail technician to restore my cuticles to some semblance of normalcy.
What does this have to do with the delusion of sin? Have you ever known a recent convert or a reformed addict? When newly “born again” we think we understand it all and that we will never be deluded again. But in reality we’re looking pretty much like that black stain in my carpet. Just a layer of delusion wiped away and we think we are in the clear. Yet the confusion remains – we are most in danger when we think we’ve finally “got it.” Instead, we’re just spreading the ink.
Each moment we spend in the presence of God, in prayer, in silence, in Scripture, in praise is like the mineral spirits dissolving the inky delusion just a little bit more. Time after time, day by day, the delusion gets a little less messy and the light of God that is there inside at all times shines through.

Posted in Fine Lines, Grace in Unanswered Prayer | 1 Comment »

House

December 4, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

I have become enamored with the TV show “House.” The main character, Dr. House, is an obnoxious but brilliant diagnosticians. His bedside manner is almost hateful but not quite. One suspects that underneath it all is a man who cares deeply about life. Dr. House is in chronic severe pain and can only function when on high doses of Vicodan.
Dr. House has a younger assistant neurologist who was recently transformed by a near-death experience. As a result this doctor has become a peaceful, contented, rarely angered human being. Dr. House cruelly tries to break his new found equanimity. I don’t have this quote completely right but it went something like this: “I need you to be angry. People who are at peace are happy to live in mud huts and meditate all day. Only people who are out-raged make a difference and change things.”
I can relate to Dr. House. I, too, am in chronic pain and I have days when Vicodan is the only thing that keeps me from total panic. I also can relate to his assistant. Every day I spend several hours in prayerful meditation. I am at peace with myself and with this world. I’m not so angry these days. I don’t have such a need to change much of anything except those things I am able to change. Only chronic illness could teach this to me.
But I wonder sometimes. I believe that the depth of prayer and conscious-living that I have come to know make a difference, probably much more difference than all my frantic activity of the 30 previous years. But I wonder. I used to be a change-agent. In any given situation, I knew how to make it better and I usually busted my butt to do so. Now, I don’t really care so much. I’ll do what I can but I don’t feel that I need to do so. I have more of a sense that things happen all in God’s good time. My efforts might be helpful once in awhile but only in a fleeting way, like the vapor of a burning candle.
I used to say “I’d rather burn out than rust out.” Perhaps I’ve done that. Or perhaps I have found a way to flow with the Spirit. Life is much better and I certainly don’t miss being angry. Still, I think of the t-shirt my daughter once gave my husband: “If you aren’t totally outraged, you aren’t paying attention.”

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Living in the temple

October 10, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

“I beg you therefore, my brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God – which is your spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world system but be transformed by the renewal of your minds so that you might know for yourself what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2

I memorized this verse when I was about 12 years old and it has been a guiding principle in my life all these years. At times, this verse has been a corrective to destructive eating behaviors. At other times it has been a motivation to exercise and to dress well. At all times it has been the “how-to” of remembering that my body is a temple of the holy spirit.

I Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. “

A little over six years ago, my body became racked with pain and anxiety. I could not control much of anything – my weight, my ability to walk much less exercise, or to put my thoughts into words. Somedays I couldn’t even hold a book. My heart beat became erratic as a reaction to the pain. Even now, there are days this is my reality. Where once I could simply close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, easing into a state of meditaion and practicing the presence of God, suddenly, I could not.

At that time, I was introduced to chanting. At first, I listened to Gregorian chant but it became too busy with sound for my nervous system. Then I spoke the Jesus Prayer “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner” but even that caused my mind to wander to my own errors and to focus on my failures rather than on Christ. About this time, I was introduced to Jerry Thomas who sent me a CD with the Jesus prayer in latin “Om Jesu Christi” and it transformed by ability to be in God’s presence.

Since that time, I have been blessed by several Sanskrit chants, most importantly the Gayatri Mantra. What began as an occassional spiritual practice has become a daily longing and joyous hour or two of meditation. I have begun to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit as actual Presence in my body. I experience this holy energy and purification of self and this old verse comes back to me. And I know that this is what it means to present my body as a living sacrifice and I know, truly know, perhaps even within the very cells of this body, “what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

I haven’t been writing much on this website. The knowledge that I am abiding in doesn’t always have words. The words without the experience could be confusing. Please let me know if what I write is helpful to you in anyway. Or if you have specific spiritual longings or questions for which you would like my prayers and perhaps what wisdom I might be given. My present life is a life of devotion to Christ through prayer and meditation. My understanding of Christ is far beyond what I learned in seminary or what is taught in the churches of institutional Christianity. But my beloved One is the One who was, who is and always will be the light of all creation.

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USA a Christian Nation?

August 30, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

We often hear that this country was founded by Christians for the purpose of freedom of worship. We hear this so often that to question it’s historical accuracy is sometimes seen as apostacy. I recommend the works of David Korten to learn a more accurate history. In the American Baptist seminary from which I graduated in 1986, I learned a bit of this. First, we were not founded on the separation of church and state. The various colonies had their own state religion and the determination to force ones’ religion on the rest of the state (whether that religion be Puritanism or Catholicism or whatever) was a part of the plan. The Baptists were quite the minority out there in the dinky state of Rhode Island. They literally fought for the separation of church in state with their lives.
Thomas Jefferson was himself a Deist Deism rejected religion in general and Christianity in particular. Their understanding of God was God as the clockmaker of the Universe who then left the Universe to function on it’s own.
There is clearly a movement away from the separation of church and state in our current political winds of the USA. If we lose that, we lose the freedom to seek and to speak of God who speaks to us. A politically acceptable religion and sets of approved beliefs and ministers is not the Way of Christ. The god projected through a state religion is more like Zeus than like Abba, the Father God revealed to us by Jesus Christ, the Divine Lover who is not owned by any nation or any race, the Creator who seeks us, the One who cannot be captured by words or images but embraced by faith alone.

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Aged Wisdom from Graham and Taylor

August 24, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

I happened to read and hear the musings of two aging spiritual giants this past week: The Rev. Billy Graham and The Rev. Gardner Taylor, both men in the 80’s. Graham is featured in this week’s Newsweek and Taylor was interviewed on PBS Relgion and Ethics Newsweekly Each man spoke of a similiar regret in life. This is my interpretation of their regret: that they did not spend more time in simply being in God’s presence. In Taylor’s words:

Taylor keeps busy, but in recent years, he says he’s begun to practice what 19th-century British pastor Alexander McLaren called “sitting silent before God.”

Rev. TAYLOR: This is not praying, it is not reading, it is just opening oneself. It’s a mystic kind of thing. But we do so little of it, and we who preach are likely to engage ourselves in so many things and to neglect that aspect of being open to what God has to say. And I wish to heaven I had practiced this more early on in my ministry.

Graham speaks more of a desire to have studied more but returns each night when he wakes from a restless sleep, to repeat the 23rd Psalm. The writer describes Graham this way:

“A unifying theme of Graham’s new thinking is humility….I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the whole world and I think he loves everybody regardless of what label they have.”

I’m about three decades short of these men’s years and likely eons short of their wisdom and paltry in terms of effectiveness in ministry. But I certainly do know of what they speak. The sweet priviledge of simply sitting in God’s presence is something that doesn’t have to wait until we leave this earthly realm. God longs for us to just be present and life becomes so much less chaotic and confusing when we do.

Simply put: Either embrace the Mystery or be destined to confusion.

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The Mystery of the Trinity

August 10, 2006 by thepracticalmystic

The Divine Dance: Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity is a CD of Richard Rohr, OFM lectures on the Trinity. It is by far the most profound and helpful discussion/explanation of the doctrind of the Trinity I have ever experienced.
In my research about mystical traditions across cultures and religions, I have been surprised to find the concept of the trinity to be central to each. It is a doctrine that has been central to the teaching of the church from early on and I believe the Church universal has suffered from ignoring this mystery of the divine. This prayer by Richard Rohr gives a glimpse of the mystery:
God for Us, we call you Father
God Alongside us, we call you Jesus
God Within us, we call you Holy Spirit
You are the Eternal Mystery
That enables, enfolds and enlivens all things,
Even us, even me.
Every name falls short of your Goodness and Greatness
We can only see who you are in what is.
We ask for perfect seeing.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, Amen

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