Are you ready?

Once again an email has been circulating entitled 8 Signs of the End Times. This email and others like it usually list various Bible verses which when taken out of context support the author's belief, who then goes on to "interpret" these passages for our benefit. These warning signs usually include false Christs and/or prophets, wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, etc.

One of the earliest predictions about the end of the world can be found within Buddhist scriptures, in which an unknown rabbit (we'll refer to him as Mr. Hare) was disturbed by a falling fruit and believed that the earth was coming to an end. He was able to convert other animals to his beliefs so quickly that he started a stampede. Luckily, a sensible lion halts the stampede, investigates the cause of the panic, and restores calm. There are several western versions of the story, but the best-known concerns a chick (we'll refer to her as Miss Penny) who decided that the sky was falling when an acorn fell on her head. She decided to tell the King and on her journey convinced other animals about her prediction. Occasionally, humans also become obsessed with the belief that the world is coming to an end, as evidenced by these emails and the phrase "The sky is falling"; which is a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent.

The moral of these fables is not to be a 'Chicken' but to have courage, and more importantly, not to believe everything you are told. Yes the world is going to end, and yes if we look at the world around us it does appear that the sky is falling, but Don't Panic! Focus! The message in the Bible is that, when the world is going to end, and why the world is going to end, and how the world is going to end, is not something that we need to be concerned with. Mark 13:32 says, “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father", so it's not something we need to worry about. As Christians, the only question you have to ask yourself, and the only thing you need to focus on is, "Am I ready"?

Christology - Class 3

Tonight our instructor began by defining homoousias as, "of one being" or "one substance", and Theotokos as, "Mother of God". He then discussed a few of the various beliefs that developed as the followers of Jesus moved towards a deeper understanding of who Jesus was. The Ebionites did not believe that Jesus was God, but instead believed that he was a holy man or a great prophet, and that he had been born of man and adopted by God. Docetism did not believe that Jesus was man, and for them he only appeared to be human and pretended to die on the cross. Nestorianism wanted to defend the humanity of Jesus because for them it blurred the reality of who Jesus was. Although their instinct was correct they attempted to maintain a distinction between divine and human. Monophysites tried to insist on the one nature, and Monthelites one will, or one energy, but neither of these fully understood who Jesus was.

As we move from scripture to doctrine the terms become more philosophical in expression. The reason that it is necessary to move to a more philosophical discussion is the need to understand who Jesus is. For instance, are we saved by knowledge or faith? A balance of faith and reason is required if we are to reach a consensus on key truths. This fascination about Jesus causes us to desire more truth, and (naturally) we'll never reach a full understanding, because more answers result in ever more questions. This pursuit of faith and reason however is good, because it saves us from fundamentalism.

Pressure from within and pressure from without resulted in more heresies. These tended to be the result of attempts to rationalize who Jesus was, or deny the mystery, or provide an overly simplistic understanding of who He was. It simply did not match the witness of the scriptures. To accept Christianity is to accept paradox as normal; Jesus was both God and Man. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the light (life)". Christology is first and foremost a pastoral ministry, born in the context of preaching, and an invitation to others which results in catechesis.

The Council of Niciea I, opened by Constantine I, in about 325 AD, was to resolve the rise of Arianism. Arius in N. Africa, in an attempt to maintain Old Testament monotheism, believed that Christ was more than just a man; that he was higher than the angels but not God himself and not eternal. Jesus came into being by God. However, the word Gemetos translates into begotten not made, suggesting that he was eternal. Substance is it's truth, and truth is it's substance. The truth of the Father and the truth of the Son spoke to the oneness of God. If the Father is God, and the Son is God, then the Church had to redefine the number one. They explained that God is one like two people in love are one. Since God is Love the Trinity exists like the two people in love. There is the one who loves, the one who is loved, and the power of love shared between them.

Athanasius was concerned with the question, "What is the meaning of salvation?" Can a creature accomplish (offer) this? He concluded that Jesus must be fully man and fully God to accomplish our salvation. He said that, "God became man so that man could become God", and his image of God was that of a loving relationship, who created us in His image.

The Council of Ephasis was opened to counter the heresy of Nestorianism. Nestorianism had no clear understanding of nature or person, and felt that Jesus shared in a united morality with God as the result of obedience. Unfortunately, this makes Jesus just a man, totally obedient and morally united with God. The heresy of the Monophysites was a conflict between Hypostasis vs physis, or person vs nature. The question of nature is "what is it", implying the nature of Christ as a duality, while the question of person is "who is it", implying the nature of Christ as singular.

The Monothelites idea of one will would mean that Jesus' sacrifice would not apply to us, and that would make His sacrifice meaningless. Who is the person of Christ? There is only one 'who' in the reality of Christ; He is fully human and fully God. So then how does God interact with man? He is one person with two natures, human and divine, in a hypostatic union, which means distinct but not separate, in communication with each other. The story of man's humanity (struggles and crucifixion) becomes the story of God. The story of God's divinity (love and grace) becomes the story of man. Both stories remain intact, and one story cannot dominate. The council of Nicea determined that Jesus was one being (homoousias) with the Father. The council of Chalcedon determined that Jesus was one being (homoousias) with us.

God did not create sin or disorder, sin and disorder came into being by choice; an abuse of freedom and an abuse of love. Freedom and love must be healed to reunite us with God, and because freedom and love exist in the will, man must have free will. Jesus said, "Not my will but yours be done". The mystery is if God has free will why does he choose man? The answer is that in perfect love God does not need man, and in perfect response man does need God. The Trinity is complete in perfect love and communion. The height of freedom is not choice, it is in being the kind of person that God wants us to be. The world is getting freedom wrong because it is not in total obedience to God. In the 1st Garden Adam failed to obey God and lost everything, and in the 2nd Garden Jesus (the second Adam) obeyed God, gaining everything. It's another paradox which is how we know it's true.

Jesus Loves Me

Remember this, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so"? I think this is the first song that my Mom taught me as a child, and later I remember singing and enjoying hymns with her. I grew up in a small town where everyone listened to country western music, but like other kids I wanted to listen to rock music. I don't remember much about it actually; accept to say that it was pretty tame compared to today's rock music. I do remember The Beatles big night on the Ed Sullivan Show, but I'll admit I wasn't too impressed and in all honesty I didn't come to appreciate them until the White Album was released. In college I was exposed to some serious hard rock music, but I didn't like it and in fact it was too scary for me.

Back in "the old days", I listened to the music but I didn't always listen to the words. I've changed a lot since then, and over the years my taste in music has changed as well. Today I still like country western, rock music, and the blues, but I've also discovered christian rock music. Although the music is good what has really hooked me and held my attention is the message in the words! Even as a child, the music of the hymns was nice but the words were far more important to me. One of my all-time favorite songs is Amazing Grace by John Newton, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see". Even reciting these words in silence brings tears to my eyes. Another song that grips me emotionally is the Servant Song by Gillard, "Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you. Pray that I might have the grace, to let you be my servant too".

These and other songs have powerful words that allow us to connect to the message of Christ's love and saving grace. I find them very comforting and compelling, and although I've changed a lot since "the old days", the words of a good hymn still hook me emotionally. I am also inspired by the current wave of christian rock music, but I will never be able to express how much that first little song has said to me through the years, and how much it still has to say to all of us. "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are week but He is strong". Yes, Jesus loves me, and He loves you! His message of love is being sung to comfort and inspire the little one in each of us, and all we need is the grace to let Him be our servant too.

Christology - Class 2

Tonight our instructor opened with some information about the Messianic Secret. Jesus was the long awaited Messiah, He was present in their midst, and yet He repeatedly said, "Don't tell anyone". The problem was that messianic expectation was high due to events and situations, and the term was laden with false expectations and hopes; for instance, no one was looking for a suffering Messiah. The Pharisee's were looking for the new Moses, who would be radical and religious. The righteous would prevail. The Zealots, a political arm within Judaism was looking for the new David, who would rule with military might. He would be their new King. The Essenes were looking for two figures, a new David and a new Aaron to punish evil doers and punish foreigners.

Jesus did not want to be identified with these false understandings. He was not condemning sinners but was instead welcoming the lepers, prostitutes, centurions, and tax collectors. This was a radical deconstruction of Israel’s expectations. The understanding of suffering up to this time was that it was caused by something you did, and was the result of bad decisions or choices. The story of Job explores the problem of innocent suffering. He represents the suffering of Israel and helped the people of Israel understand that how one deals with suffering depends on whether one's faith is gained or lost. Suffering can sometimes be redemptive.

Little is said about the physical suffering of Jesus in the stories of the crucifixion. This is partly because the Greeks honored violence by "not displaying" it, such as in Greek tragedies. The Greek phrase Ab-Saene means off stage, which is where our word obscene comes from, and it's where the violence usually took place during the play. The core of the Passion is complete rejection. Jesus is abandoned by His people and friends, he was abandoned by the fellow revolutionaries on the cross, and He was abandoned by His own Father. This doesn't mean that God was not present, however, or that he was just a bystander. When someone died people would tear their garments, which is symbolized by the tearing of the veil from top to bottom. It's interesting to note that Jesus experienced the loss of God, and that because they are one, God knows what it is like to be abandoned by God. The ultimate human fear is to be abandoned by God.

Mark traced Jesus' genealogy back to Abraham because for Mark, the covenant between God and Abraham was the beginning of the Jewish people, and the God who began with Abraham was the God of the Gospels. Mark calls Jesus Immanuel, which means "God is with us", because for Mark one of the most basic questions was, "Is God near to us or far from us". The righteous and the non-righteous are all surprised because what they expected to be judged on didn't even come up in discussion. The key seemed to be simply to love others. Mark's original ending was abrupt as a challenge to the reader to "tell the rest of the story". Ultimately, we all must take on the life of Jesus Christ. If we take on what is holy and what is good, we will be changed for life. How we treat the poor and the marginalized is a measure of our righteousness.

Matthew felt that the Good News by its very nature must be shared or it hasn't been heard. His stories try to demonstrate that the opposite of love is not hate; the opposite of love is fear. Fear is conquered by the presence of Christ, as Jesus often said "don't be afraid", and "My Peace I give you".

Luke traced Jesus genealogy back to Adam to show that Jesus was for all people. He understood that Jesus was a Jew himself, and he is addressing to what extent saving grace was offered to non-Jews. Eating is a central theme in his stories; Jesus was born in the "house of bread" (Bethlehem), He was laid in the manger (feeding trough), and in the road to Emmaus story when the bread was broken they recognized Jesus. Table boundaries are often societal boundaries. Luke wanted everyone to understand that each of us is a descendant of Abraham, and when we have forgotten the taste of bread we have forgotten who we are. Jesus was able to take in something as terrible as the crucifixion and return love. Our challenge is also to face the cruelty of the world and yet not be conquered by it.

John's genealogy is pretty clear as well, "From the beginning was the Word", and his Gospel is the new Genesis account. When John references a particular day ("it was the first day of the week) we must go back to Genesis to understand what was happening on that day and apply that understanding to the verse. For him the Genesis stories of creation show Christ shedding light to dispel the darkness, and he believed that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. In the story of the Wedding at Cana Mary initiates Jesus ministry, but telling the servants to "Do what he tells you", even though Jesus didn't think His time had yet come. It's interesting to note that Jesus only lost two arguments in his life, both to women. Once to his mother Mary at the wedding and once to the Phoenician woman.

John's community never used the name of their founder, which suggests that there may have been two founders. From the cross Jesus said, "John behold your mother" (not Mary), and someone referred to as the Beloved Disciple. Humans are made for community, but because of something called the satanic principle, communities are often defined by who they exclude (lepers, insane, Samaritans). John deals with this problem of insiders vs outsiders in the parable of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus bent down to write (finger of judgment), and in affect was saying all are outsiders when he said, "He who is without sin". Even in death He is the source of Life, his water and blood was shed for us. The messages we find in John include "vengeance is defeating", "the risen Lord recreates through forgiveness and reconciliation", and "Word + Breath = New Life".

dehsinifnU

While reading a small community newspaper before the holidays I came across an article written by the Pastor of a local church. It caught my attention because 1) I didn't expect to find a page called Spiritual Life in the newspaper, and 2) his reflection reminded me of something I say a lot.

He began by quoting the Apostle Paul when he wrote to the church at Rome and said, "I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate". Paul was admitting to the ongoing struggles in his life and ministry, even 21 years after his conversion to Christianity. Although you might think after all that time walking with Christ, and after all his studying and teaching about how to walk with Christ, he would have gotten his act together; Or at least he would have learned how to hide his faults, like so many of us do.

St. Paul, like every other follower of Jesus Christ who’s trying to make his or her way through this world was living unfinished. Yet he had no interest in acting like he had it all together. His candid, honest, transparent, real-time confession said it all, "I'm not interested in pretending to be something I'm not". The local Pastor went on to explain that he had a T-shirt made with the word dehsinifnU printed on the front, so that every time he saw himself in a mirror he would be reminded that he is also Unfinished.

I believe that each and every one of us is unfinished which is what I mean when I say, "We're all doing the best that we can!"; and by that I mean everyone, whether you attend church every day or only a couple of times per year. We're all on the path, and although some of us are doing better than others we're all (without exception) trying to do our best. St. Paul's willingness to admit his struggles gives each of us an example to follow. Temptation gets in the way of choices, we make mistakes, and we often fail to be the people God knows we can be. My hope is that when you see me you will see me as unfinished, and struggling to be the person that God wants me to be.

Christology - Class 1

Tonight our instructor began by defining Verbo Incarnato as, "The Word Incarnet", and Soteriology, as the "Study of the Saving Word". Christology is the academic study of Jesus Christ, and it is the branch of theology concerned with the study of the nature, character, and actions of Jesus Christ. He noted that we are a people made for knowledge and communion, but he also pointed out that information itself is not equal to knowledge. For information to become knowledge, it must tell a story which allows us to associate it within our own lives. In a similar way we cannot define ourselves apart from who we are or what we do, because people are only understood through what they accomplish. This is also true of our Christian belief, because Christology hinges on a faith in Christ; so as Christology goes so goes our theology. We revere and worship Christ but that is not all there is; intellectual hunger is consummated in an act of love. Our point of reference for this class is Scripture and Tradition.

There is more to scripture than the Gospels of course, but apart from Christ scripture does not tell a story. The word Gospel means "good news", but originally the word evangelion was only used for the emperor’s "good news", whether it was actually good news or not ("Good news, we're raising everyone's taxes"). We understand that the Gospels are not biographies, and we understand that scripture seeks truth in what it says, and in what it does not say. Lots of things were written about Jesus, so why were only some of them "chosen", or why isn't there just one Gospel? The answer is that nothing can be told in just one story, which is the nature of truth. Separate from the fact that the Gospels were written for different audiences, Mark's story is that Jesus was the Suffering Servant; Matthew's story is that He was the Hope of Israel; Luke's story is that Jesus is the Savior of the World; and John's story is that He is the Word of God.

Tradition is essentially a handing over or handing on, and for Catholics' it's the "activity" of handing on. Scripture must become our story and we must pass it on to others. What makes us Catholic is what we have received and what we hand on. Scripture is a living word, and how scripture impacts us as individuals is part of the story. For instance, God handed Jesus on to the world, and then the world handed Jesus over to his enemies. The way a text impacts history is part of its meaning. The extensive treatise on political economy, Das Kapital (Capital) written in 1867 by Karl Marx, was a critical analysis of capitalism. In it no mention is made of secret police or forced labor, but for some reason every country that has adopted this work has also implemented secret police and forced labor. The point is that how Das Kaptial has impacted history cannot be separated from the meaning found in the text.

The spoken word has a privileged place in community, the words and actions of Jesus are inseparable from who He is. Jesus doesn't just proclaim the Word of God; He is the Word of God. Why was there such a long delay between Jesus' death (~33 AD) and the first Gospel (~70 AD)? It was probably the fear of loss that prompted the written text, a fear created by the passing away of the original witnesses; eventually of course the written word allowed normative tradition. It's interesting to note that Jesus begins his ministry with sinners at this baptism, spends most of his ministry associating with sinners as his mission, and ends his ministry with sinners on the cross. During his ministry He redefined the meaning of justice, the meaning of hope, the meaning of the Sabbath, the meaning of neighbor, and the meaning of worship.

We also discussed miracles, which are not simply unnatural events. They are something more than natural because they are accompanied by amazement, just as  Science has the capacity to impart wonder and amazement. Without wonder there is no fascination and no love. Jesus offered hope at a time when the people didn't understand what they were missing. His task was to guide the people and redirect their desires. The purpose of miracles was to reignite the wonder and amazement that had been lost in the people, and to reignite their love for God and each other. This is still true for each of us today. Which is the greater miracle, The feeding the the 5000 or the feeding of 5 billion people today and every day? These are both wondrous and amazing and should continue to fascinate us, and it's a reminder that God is bigger than we can possibly imagine.

Presentation Skills - Workshop

Today we gathered for an all day session, to discuss how to do affective presentations, with an instructor that teaches Theater Arts at Santa Clara University. Actually I hadn't bothered to figure out what this class was going to be until I sat down in the class room, and saying that I wasn't too excited is an understatement. In fact I am not a "front and center" kind of guy, and I panicked at the possibility of any "role play" scenarios. Nevertheless, I resolved to "do my best" and the class turned out to be very interesting, although I was still glad there was no "role play". Evidently, this class hasn't been provided in two or three years. I'm not sure why it hasn't occurred or why it was re-scheduled for this year, but we were told the original purpose for this class was that, "pastors wanted leaders to be more confident in doing presentations to a group".

Throughout the day we explored the answers to questions like, 'How can presentation skills be strengthened by spirituality?', 'What does it mean to speak in a clear strong voice?', 'What does it mean to creatively engage other people?', and 'What does it mean to be comfortable in our bodies?' Each person in the class was asked to write down one goal they wished to accomplish in this class, and then the instructor asked each of us to read that goal out loud. He wrote each one down on the white board and just about everyone had a different goal. Somehow he managed to cover almost every one of the goals in the course of his lecture, including those questions listed above. 'We can be confident that God is calling out our voice and that our voices are to be heard.' 'We believe our creativity connects us with the fundamental creativity of God.' 'We believe our bodies are sacred and beautiful and that they enrich the presentation.'

My goal for the class was, "How to overcome the fear of attention or of being in the spotlight?" Obviously there is no quick solution to my discomfort, but essentially I need to keep in mind that when I make a presentation God is with me. I do not need to "carry" the presentation myself, and I do not need to bear the burden of the presentation. I have to give myself permission to fail, and then simply be present at that moment and in that place. One idea that I found especially helpful was that people are, "put at ease" when the presenter "commands" the space. Another good suggestion is that the presenter should get in front of furniture etc (especially with kids) to engage the listeners. This significantly enhances the connection with the audience, although this doesn't apply to the liturgy, such as when reading from the Ambo.

Awareness of your self is 1/2 to 1/3 of the battle, but of course the question then is how do you prevent this awareness from becoming self consciousness? What are your tics? Your body expresses who you are, and what you do with your hands, arms, and legs indicates your state of nervousness in any situation. What do you do when you stand in a line at Starbucks? What do you do when you sit at a table in a restaurant? It's important not to become obsessed with "what you do", however, self consciousness is a form of reflection but it should not be obsession. Anything that "gets in the way" of the presentation is not good, and anything that does not "get in the way" of the presentation is part of your style. It was suggested that you should hold props, like a book or notes, in your weak hand (left) which will allow your strong hand (right) to gesture. Holding the prop in your strong hand creates a distraction; it "gets in the way" because you're waving it around at the audience.

Physical warm up helps us to know and relax our bodies too. Knowing the moment when you are ready to begin is very important and remember that breath is life. Few of us breathe fully, and breathing problems effect how people perceive a presentation. Don't hold your breath because it will cause rushing of the words. It's OK to use silence to "get back on track" which means it's OK to stop and think for a moment. Think of breathing as being inspired. Breathing produces our voice with the help of the vocal cords, and being heard is fundamental. Not being heard is disrespectful to the audience, because it does not allow people to understand or respond. Being heard is what people appreciate first. The non word "um" is a placeholder that is related to breathing and it and other placeholders like it should not be used; just breathe.

So what is the connection between presentation skills and spirituality? Well for example it's obvious that how you lead a prayer experience affects the quality of that experience. We are people who are (and need to be) "present to one another" even in (and maybe especially because of) this age of disembodied communication. During the day my interest was rallied because I am interested in leading Bible studies, or doing the Breaking Open of the Word for Catechumens, or being involved in the RCIA program again. I was very glad that I was offered this class, partly because (as I've said in past posts) I do not like public speaking and this was an "opportunity" to improve on something is dislike intensely.

Allegorically Speaking

Merriam-Webster defines the word allegorical as having hidden spiritual meaning that transcends the literal sense of the sacred text. The Bible is a collection of ancient writings reflecting the human desire and struggle to understand the sacred. Someone once said that if God were to read the bible, He would probably learn more about humanity than about himself, because the Bible is more an anthropology (study about humans) than it is a theology (study about God). Still, we trust that through the limited expression of humans, God’s Spirit does communicate His truth to us.

The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (1965), Vatican Council II said, “In determining the intention of the sacred writers, attention must be paid to the literary forms, for the fact is that truth is presented and expressed differently in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression. Hence the exegete must look for that meaning which the sacred writer, in a determined situation and given the circumstances of his time and culture, intended to express and did in fact express, through the medium of a contemporary literary form”. This is especially true for the writers of the Bible, because it was written by men with the help of God, and we need to understand their world view.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, says, “In order to discover the sacred authors’ intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at the time, and the modes of feeling, speaking, and narrating then current …” (paragraph 110). In other words, it's important to understand the cultures, beliefs, and lives of the people who became for us the people of God, as well as the people of other nations that interacted with them. Obviously, what their social customs were like, how they lived, and what they believed must be considered relative to understanding them as a people.

We often hear the phrase "don't take the verse out of context", which I agree is extremely important to fully understand the continuous and consistent message of the Bible. Just as a verse should be studied as a whole in the chapter, chapters should be studied as a whole in the book, and the books should be studied as a whole in the Bible. It's equally important to understand that the depth of the meaning within the Bible goes beyond the literal and historical. The inspired word of God is full of allegory in the form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas such as charity, greed, or envy. Our task is to carefully search out the meanings of the stories within the Bible, which was written allegorically, with a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.

Evidently, my amygdala needs work!

It was necessary for me to apologize to one of my daughters the day after Christmas, because I upset her when she was trying to tell my wife and I something about her work that was especially interesting to her. My wife is a better listener than I am, and although I was not particularly interested in the subject, allowing myself to become distracted by something on TV got me into trouble. The problem is she took my disinterest in the conversation as a sign that I was not interested in her as a person. The truth is I am very proud of all my daughters, and like all of my daughters I love her unconditionally.

I found an article in the San Jose Mercury News the next week about a preliminary study published by the journal of Nature Neuroscience. Brain scans of 58 volunteers in this study indicated that the bigger the amygdala, the more friends and family the volunteers reported seeing regularly. The amygdala is a small almond shaped mass of gray matter in the anterior portion of the temporal lobe, which is important for socializing. This network of gray matter helps us recognize whether somebody is a stranger or an acquaintance, and a friend or a foe. But the study couldn't suggest if having a bigger amygdala would lead to more friends, or if socializing with a lot of friends created a bigger amygdala.

Actually, I'll admit I am aware that I don’t connect well with people; it’s not something new, it's just hard for me. It would be nice if I could say, “Sorry, my amygdala is just too small to be of any use”, but that would probably be “a cop out”. This is another gentle reminder that I am not perfect, as none of us are. Just in time for this New Year's resolution I've found another quirk that needs immediate work. Unfortunately like everything else in life, to increase the size and health of my amygdala will probably require some form of exercise. That means working on my socialization skills, focusing on common interests, and demonstrating an interest in others by asking more questions. Even if it doesn't help my amygdala, it'll be good for my relationships.