Join the conversation. Follow along on our new blog to see what is happening at EDCC. You'll find ideas for spiritual growth, opportunities to get involved, and links and resources for your own life. If you have questions or comments, email Rev. Nathan at nathanhill@edcc.org.
Guess Who Is Coming to Preach?
0 Comments | Submitted: 02/02/2010 09:43 AM
This Sunday during the 10:50 AM service, Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins will be preaching from our pulpit. Dr. Watkins has been in the headlines a lot over the past couple of years. She preached the sermon at President Obama's national prayer service. She also was recently named as one of the top ten most important faith leaders of our time, according to President Obama.
We are delighted to welcome her.
Dr. Watkins preaches with passion and heart of a pastor who cares for her flock. In this case, her flock is bigger than just a local congregation - it includes all of the congregations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). We know that she prays for us daily and is committed to leading this little part of God's church faithfully into the future.
I hope you can make it Sunday. It's going to be a real blessing to have her with us and be able to share in worship as we gather at Christ's table.
- Rev. Nathan
Spirituality for Your Workday
0 Comments | Submitted: 01/26/2010 01:15 PM
Spirituality can be defined in a lot of different ways. One way is to say that being spiritual is being connected to God. Another way is to say that being spiritual is being grounded in the depths of your soul or of who you are. Kind of like breathing then, spirituality is about pausing in a present moment to realize that you are alive and blessed.
Jesus did this in his life by going alone on a mountain to pray. Mountains are often revered as holy places because of the immediacy and beauty of nature. But there wasn't anything particularly holy about the mountains Jesus would climb. Spending time alone or in quiet doesn't necessarily have to be a holy or spiritual act either.
But for Jesus, I think it was a time to push away the aches of his past and the desires of the future... and just be alive and in God's presence. He breathed, knowing he was breathing in the spirit of God. He listened for the still, small voice rising from the depths of creation. He set aside the yearnings of his body to be attentive to the will of God.
We can experience this kind of present moment prayer in our daily life by doing just a couple of practices.
First, stop whatever you are doing, find a comfortable place to sit, stand, or lie down, and begin to breathe. Part of this process is letting your body quiet down for a moment. As you breathe, imagine that you are breathing in the goodness of God.
Second, think or envision those things of your past that may be nagging at you. It could be a recent fight with a friend or spouse. It could be some guilt or anger over what someone said to you. It could be some memory that is weighing on your heart. As you think about these things, offer them to God.
Next, think about the things of the future weighing on you. Deadlines, projects, and impending meetings may top the list. You could be dreading a conversation with a friend. You might even be worrying about paying bills or running errands. Again, as you think about these things, offer them quietly and gently to God.
Third, with past and future offered to God, sit in silence and be. Pay attention to your breathing. Pay attention to what you see around you. Be aware of where you are, what you feel. Be aware of how alive you are.
When the time is right, you might recite the Lord's Prayer, paying special attention to those many verbs that are all present tense. "Give me this day my daily bread." "Forgive me..." "Lead me not..."
As you close your moment of quiet and stillness, just give thanks to God in whatever words you can muster.
This is a practice you could do in the middle of your workday, maybe to refresh you and refocus you on the tasks you have ahead of you.
Let me know if you try this and how it was helpful for you in the comments below.
- Rev. Nathan
Jonah Is One of My Favorites
0 Comments | Submitted: 01/19/2010 12:00 PM
Jonah has to be one of my favorite books of the Bible.
It was the first book that introduced me to prophetic criticism. Sounds fancy, right? Rather than just a book about a guy who runs from God, gets swallowed whole by a large fish, and then finally goes and does what God asks, it's really a book that serves as a counterpoint to traditional wisdom.
For example, traditional wisdom might say that one reaps what one sows. Or if you do bad things, bad stuff will happen to you. And if you inflict deep harm on a neighboring people, your people will suffer.
The book of Jonah sort of takes a different stance to this traditional wisdom. Of course, it does not say that doing bad things to people is okay or that you will not suffer consequences for bad actions. Rather, Jonah is a prophet sent by God to preach and witness to an enemy people. Jonah wasn't being sent over to a random foreign city - Jonah was being sent to the one city and one people that had never done anything to deserve any ounce of goodness. They deserved no compassion in the eyes of many of God's people.
So first, the very fact that Jonah was being sent there meant that Jonah knew the consequences for showing up in that city. He might be killed on the spot. He might be tortured. Who knows what those people would do?
The second thing was that Jonah may have had a sense that God was up to something else. Jonah thought God should be more interested in smiting Ninevah, not sending preachers in their midst. And smiting could happen from long distance.
In the end, everything goes wrong in Jonah's mind. Rather than being smited into ash, the people of Ninevah begin to repent, including their wicked king. Rather than ignoring Jonah's words, they take them to heart. The enemy of God's people becomes a friend to God.
The final section of Jonah is often ignored, but it reiterates the deeper point of the story. (Not that if you disobey God that God will get you.) Jonah sits outside of Ninevah and gets more passionate about the fact that a little tree wilts away in the sun than the realization that thousands of people had turned to God. Jonah's heart, like many of the people of his day, believed God was their personal God and not the Creator of all people.
The book of Jonah reveals that God is interested in far more than just doling out punishment - God is interested in redeeming people and the world.
That's why I love the story. God's character is sharply revealed against the often distorted views that many hold. Later, when Jesus would command his followers to love their enemies, the pieces fall into place.
I hope to see you Sunday and continue this conversation - or drop your own comments in the new comment section below!
- Rev. Nathan
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