Forgiveness With Punishement?

Most of us are aware of the punk rock group Pussy Riot who was arrested in Russia for disrupting a Russian Orthodox Church worship service to demonstrate against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The protesters were sentenced to two years in a labor camp. Church leaders tried to clear up what they consider to be misconceptions about whether or not they forgave the group for their riot.

‘The church has been accused of not forgiving them,’ the cleric said. ‘We did forgive them from the very start. But such actions should be cut short by society and authorities.’ His view was shared by Archpriest Maxim Kozlov: ‘We are praying and hoping these young women and all the people shouting in front of the court building realise their acts are awful. And despite this the church is asking for mercy within the limits of law.’ ...Read More

There are two issues--the first, which we will consider later this week is the relationship between church and state that made the church an appropriate place to stage a protest against state leadership. However my question today is:

Is it possible to truly forgive someone and still desire their punishment?

Archpriest Kozlov's statement, "despite this, the church is asking for mercy within the limits of law. I think the apostle Paul would reject limiting grace to the confines of the law. The confines of the law are precisely what grace circumvents. Christian forgiveness is radical. It no longer seeks restitution because it believes restitution has been paid. It no longer seeks punishment because it believes punishment has been applied. We either believed Christ's sacrifice was sufficient or we do not. We can't believe Christ's sacrifice was sufficient enough that we can forgive so long as the one we've forgiven still has to suffer for their misdeed.

Treasures

Sorry for a second post today, but I read this poem that Kristin posted on facebook and wanted to share it here as well:

One by one He took them from me, All the things I valued most, Until I was empty-handed; Every glittering toy was lost. And I walked earth's highways, grieving. In my rags and poverty. Till I heard His voice inviting, "Lift your empty hands to Me!" So I held my hands toward heaven, And He filled them with a store Of His own transcendent riches, Till they could contain no more. And at last I comprehended With my stupid mind and dull, That God COULD not pour His riches Into hands already full!

- "Treasures" by Martha Snell Nicholson

Making Preparations

As humans, it is part of our nature to prepare for everything we do. This can be especially true for certain events and certain circumstances. For instance, I learned a whole new level of preparation needs when I became the parent of young children. Simple outings required going through a significant checklist: Diapers? Change of clothes? Snack? Drink? Portable toy? Books? Carrier? Stroller? etc. Now the kids are bigger, fewer things need preparation, but can take more effort--socks and shoes on? - this alone could take 10 minutes. Did everyone go potty? Another 5-10 minutes. Graciously, the daughter of a church member watched the kids for us so Kristin and I could make the church health team meeting this past Thursday. So... checklist, have they eaten, are there snacks and drinks prepared, activities? etc. During the holidays most of us clean house to prepare for visitors. So why would we think that we can arrive on Sunday morning without preparation, find a place at the last minute, or perhaps even a few minutes late, and experience the full joy of God in a worship service? Theologically we talk about the Sunday morning worship service as a "Foretaste of the feast that is to come!" Wouldn't we typically prepare for such a feast? So today as I make final preparations for worship--I know, I am the preacher, I have more to prepare..., but I wonder if my congregation is also making preparations. Getting ready for the celebration that awaits us. I hope so. And if not--I hope we learn. If we will all come to worship having prepared our hearts, minds, and spirits to encounter God what a passionate time of worship we can have. Individually we make ourselves ready, then coming together in community we pour that prepared energy into worship. How do you ready yourself to encounter God on Sunday morning?

Speaking and Listening With Grace

"Consider ships: they are so large that strong winds are needed to drive them. But pilots direct their ships wherever they want with a little rudder. In the same way, even though the tongue is a small part of the body it boasts wildly. Think about this: a small flame can set a whole forest on fire. The tongue is a small flame of fire, a world of evil at work in us.... Brothers and sisters, don't say evil things about each other..." (James 3: 4-6 and 4:11). James knew what many of us have come to know: our tongues can get us in trouble. As I consider both the nature of public conversation as well as the way many of us are inclined to speak to on another both in the church and among our circles of friends there is a great tendency to let our tongues speak with words and in tones that create destructive fire rather than with words and in tones that foster an atmosphere of God's grace. Warren Smith, a college and seminary professor of mine, used to encourage his students to read books with sympathy for the argument being made before allowing ourselves to read with criticism for the argument. His point was, you can't fully understand the argument until you have read it with sympathy. Can you imagine our world if during a political election year our elected officials and the entire society spoke and listened as if we were mutually learning together how best to address the problems that face us? Instead we see leaders pouncing on momentary lapses of judgement or the most poorly worded arguments in order to paint the opposition's worldview and personal character as far worse than they truly are. And they do this because we respond well to it... This is not only true in politics, but also in life and in the church. How often do we stop listening when we hear something that we think we might disagree with? How often do we speak in ways to sound dramatic and biting rather than uplifting one another with love and grace. Among denominational leaders there are always discussions about what the church does well and not so well. Unfortunately these conversations tend to focus on what the church does not so well, and the language used is often sarcastic and mocking. It is one thing for the church to laugh at its failures and move on towards perfection and quite another for us to get so down on ourselves as to fail to remember the grace in which we stand, the power of God to which we testify, and the lengths which God has brought us thus far. This is also true in our personal lives, is it not. A wise person has said, "Once you can laugh at how you used to be, you know you've grown." That is true so long as the laughter is filled with the grace of forgiveness. If we are to speak to one another in grace, perhaps it begins by speaking to ourselves in grace. God has loved each one of us in our most unlovable states, surely we who are created in the image of that loving God can find it within ourselves to speak to one another in loving and up-building ways if for no other reason than to extend the grace that has been given to us. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, "The peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise." Loving words will lead to loving relationships, which will lead to loving engagement in our community.

Spiritual Gifts

Tonight the Natural Church Development (NCD) team will be meeting at 6 pm in the Chapel. One topic that has come up in each of the core areas is the need to understand Spiritual Gifts and use people in ways that highlight and encourage the use of their particular gifts. Naturally, many of us are inclined to include a "Spiritual Gift Inventory" as part of the action plan to address this need. I have used inventories in the past and have had mixed feelings about them. Ultimately I return to the thought that the best way to discern spiritual gifts is through spiritual discernment rather than inventory "tests". I consider the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. They didn't take a test to find out they had the gift of speaking in all the native languages of the people who had gathered there--they were simply moved by the Spirit to do so. Paul didn't take a test to find that he had gifts of preaching and apostleship (starting new faith communities). Rather God said "go" and he went. Thus far as I look at the people in our congregation who have taken on leadership in the NCD process they have fallen into leadership in quality characteristics that completely make sense for them. They have responded to the call to get involved in taking ownership of the church and are following their passions to the characteristics where God is equipping them to serve. It seems to me fundamentally flawed to thing of Spiritual gifts as natural gifts that we all have if only we could take a test find out what they are, and use them. Spiritual gifts are "Spiritual" because they are given by the Spirit--in other words they are not natural. They are given by God to equip us for the ministry to which God has called us. God does not call the equipped, Rather God equips those who are called no matter how ridiculous the call might appear. Moses couldn't speak well, but was called to go to Pharaoh. Paul persecuted the church, but was called to lead it. Peter was a stumbling stone to Jesus, but became the rock on which Jesus built the church. We are called, then we are gifted. Sometimes there is evidence of the gift before the call, but not necessarily. So... my inclination is to as members of the congregation not to discern their gifts so we can put them to better use, rather to ask them to discern their call so we can look for ways to develop the necessary gifts that God will surely give to those whom God has called. Whether your are a member of this congregation or not, Let me know your thoughts...

In their book on Youth Ministry, The Godbearing Life, Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster suggest that an important part of the Rhythm of Life is breaking the rhythm on occasion. They call the process of breaking our rhythm of life "Dehabituation." For instance, they write,

Sometimes we need to break out of our usual dinner routine to develop a true appreciation of those with whom we dine. We have a picnic; we set the table with good china and candles; we try a new recipe. These interruptions in our usual daily flow cause us to experience dinner anew and attune us to aspects of the meal and one another that we normally take for granted.... In our church, the senior pastor takes youth out to a "dress up restaurant" every fifth Sunday, just to remind them that--despite the snack menu usually served at youth meetings--they are as worthy of God's excellent fare.

How do you break rhythm in your spiritual life? What kinds of things outside of the ordinary ways you connect with God do you work in so that you can "dehabituate" and rethink your understanding of who you are in relation to God?

Watering the Garden of Your Soul

In her writings on prayer, Teresa of Avila used the image of our soul as a garden in need of watering. According to Dwight Judy, she imagined our souls as "barren soil, full of weeds. God pulls the weeds and plants the seeds, but our part is to cultivate the garden (Judy, D. Embracing God: Praying with Teresa of Avila, p.78)." About watering the garden, Teresa writes:

You may draw water from a well (which is for us a lot of work). Or you may get it by means of a water wheel and aqueducts in such a way that it is obtained by turning the crank of the water wheel. (I have drawn it this way sometimes--the method involves less work than the other, and you get more water). Or it may flow from a river or a stream. (The garden is watered much better by this means becayse the ground is more fully soaked, and there is no need to water so frequently--and much less work for the gardener.) Or the water may be provided by a great deal of rain. (For the Lord waters the garden without any work on our part--and this way is incomparably better than all the others mentioned.

How do you understand this metaphor? What does your spiritual life/prayer life look like when you are trying to draw water from a well, or turning the crank of a waterwheel? What does your prayer life look like when the nourishing moisture comes from a river or stream? And finally what does it look like when you are nourished by rain sent from God? In what ways are we at work, if at all, when receiving nourishing waters in this way? Please share your insights in the comments so we can all benefit from each other.