I'm doing a series of studies for a spiritual direction course I'm taking. Each one reflects on the life of a biblical character through the lens of spiritual direction. It's slightly long for a blog, but here are my reflections on Jesus from the book of Mark. If you like it, leave a comment or email me and I'll post reflections on other characters.
What does the life of Jesus, as recorded in the book of Mark, teach us about spiritual direction?
Jesus’ Empowerment: The Holy Spirit Power, The Father’s Love and Pleasure
Immediately upon Jesus’ baptism, he received “the Spirit descending upon him like a dove” (1:10). It becomes clear that this Spirit is not an unclean spirit, empowering people for destruction of self and others, but for a powerful ministry of preaching, love and healing. At the same time, “a voice came from heaven saying, ‘You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased’” (1:11, italics mine, of course). Jesus started his ministry from a profound place of the Father’s love and affirmation—nay, pleasure in him. Jesus’ ministry of leading other people to God begins with his own experience of God—the two other persons of the Trinity. Clearly, anyone would be foolhardy to undertake a Kingdom task, such as spiritual direction, without a personal experience of God’s love and empowerment.
Jesus’ Preparation: The Wilderness and Satan
“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness,” where he was tempted by Satan (1:12-13). I’m struck by Jesus’ quick response to the Spirit’s guidance. Spiritual directors need to become sensitive and responsive to the Spirit in order to lead others into hearing and following God themselves.
Jesus’ Core Message: Availability of God’s Kingdom, Repent and Believe
The great news Jesus announced is that God and his reign is now within our reach (1:15). Fundamentally, I think people need constant encouragement that God is near, available, and welcoming. Anyone can grasp the steps into the Kingdom Jesus gives: turn around or rethink your way of life, and live a life of dependence (trust or faith) on God. Throughout Mark, Jesus leads people through those steps: the fisherman drop their nets—their way of life and their job security—to follow Jesus, Levi leaves his tax business, Bartimaeus throws away his cloak—his begging apparatus and blanket—the rich young man is invited to sell all he has. Though simple to grasp, these steps are not easy, and not everyone responds.
Those who do, however, Jesus leads through the same steps in cycles of increasing depth. He takes his disciples on a journey that involves continually letting go of their old ways of thinking and casting themselves more fully on God’s grace:
• going out to preach and heal with no money or bread,
• choosing to feed the five thousand with inadequate resources,
• rowing in a life-threatening storm,
• making the choice to feed the four thousand—Gentiles, this time,
• following Jesus into Jerusalem and to his death.
Spiritual directors can help people hear God’s invitation to enter his Kingdom more fully, and repent and believe in the Good News. What are their old ways of thinking? How is God inviting them into more dependence upon his direct action and love?
Jesus’ Style: Parables
Jesus began to teach in parables (4:1-35). Why? Mark says, “he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything” (4:34). Again, why? Evidently, the individual’s response was critical to Jesus. He gave them the freedom to ignore his teaching by couching it in parables—stories whose meaning is not necessarily clear on the surface. A spiritual director would do well to respect the freedom of the human will like Jesus did.
Not everyone pursued the meaning of the parables, but those who did were given more (4:10, 24-25). We often miss the parables in our lives. A good spiritual director can help people see the parables, and can prod them to search beyond the surface for the deeper meaning. As the disciples needed help interpreting, so do we, and a spiritual director may be able to help bring interpretation.
Ultimately, when understood, each parable gave a challenge. Each one painted a way to repent and believe, challenging old paradigms and calling for a new way of life. If someone wants more of God and his Kingdom, a spiritual director ought to help them hear the challenges God is giving.
Jesus’ Posture: The Unexpected Word
Jesus continually scandalized the religious folks by welcoming sinners and eating with them (2:16-17). He demonstrated the unconditional love of the Father to any who felt scorned, outcast, worthless, or unworthy by his acceptance, welcome, and hospitality. A spiritual director has the opportunity to minister great grace through a posture of welcome, acceptance and hospitality to those they care for. Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins with the warm words, “My son, your sins are forgiven” (2:5). Many times we’re trapped in sin with no hope or expectation of forgiveness. A spiritual director can minister grace through the unexpected word of Jesus’ forgiveness.
The religious people experienced Jesus’ unconditional love quite differently. He unrelentingly rebuked and confronted their hardness of heart (for example, 11:15-18 and 11:27-12:44). Few responded well—though some did, like Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the Sanhedrin (15:43-46).
Those who expected rebuke or scorn received welcome and forgiveness. Those who expected praise and respect received warnings and rebukes. I expect that often the Spirit will follow that pattern, and give a spiritual director the unexpected word for a directee.
Jesus’ Encouragement: Faith
What does Jesus praise and affirm? He was by no means a flatterer, rarely speaking words of praise and respect in Mark, as most of us are accustomed to doing. His words of praise stand out starkly: “My daughter,” he told the woman with the flow of blood, “your faith has made you well” (5:34). He affirms Bartimaeus likewise: “Your faith has made you well” (10:52). He healed the paralytic in response to his friends’ faith (2:5). In his hometown, “he marveled because of their unbelief” (6:6). He chided the disciples in the boat, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (4:40). He encouraged the father of the demonized boy, “Do not fear, only believe” (5:36).
My conclusion is that Jesus was constantly looking for faith; wherever he saw faith, he affirmed it; where he saw potential faith, he drew it out; when he saw a lack of faith, he named it and challenged it. Perhaps a spiritual director should always be on the lookout for faith, in order to affirm it, to draw it out, and to challenge unbelief.
Jesus’ Pattern of Relating: No Formulas
Though I have observed these patterns in Jesus’ interactions, I am struck at how differently Jesus interacted with each individual. He had no Bridge Diagram or Four Spiritual Laws to use in each evangelistic conversation. I can discern no formula in his interactions. Each interaction was personal and unique. Jesus always interacted personally, and he always gave a call to repent and believe in the Good News, but that call was hand-tailored for each individual and group.
This gives me a clear sense that spiritual directors need to learn to interact on a very personal level, to listen to God and the directee in order to respond personally. In this way the director embodies the Kingdom of God, by relating personally to each individual and caring for them in a unique, special way. What a joy it is to join Jesus in this creative process of soul care, and what an unspeakable privilege it is that he should invite us into this partnership with him!
Wednesday, January 25
Friday, November 25
Imposter Reality
To understand true reality, the unseen real around us, sometimes requires unmasking the seen that poses as real.
I like the way my friend Abner put it in his blog on Nov. 2: "This was my train of thought as I stood in line at Ralph’s yesterday; one cashier, and about six people in front of me.
"As Americans we are a physically, emotionally and spiritually obese people. We’re so use to having our way that when it doesn’t happen, we are faster than anyone else on the face of the planet to feel that sense of entitlement. “I want it, I should have it, I deserve it.”
We get angry at having to wait in a line of more than 3 people for groceries, or, as Abner points out, getting stuck in traffic during rush hour. What do we expect?
Or I like the way Dave Barry put it in his column on piñatas. He describes the moment when the piñata opens, "releasing a cascade of candy and cheesy toys. This is when things get really violent, as the children -- who own literally billions of much nicer toys -- dive to the ground and engage in a desperate, life-or-death struggle for items that they will immediately lose."
I try to remember the way Jesus put it, and to quote it to myself often: "Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
I like the way my friend Abner put it in his blog on Nov. 2: "This was my train of thought as I stood in line at Ralph’s yesterday; one cashier, and about six people in front of me.
"As Americans we are a physically, emotionally and spiritually obese people. We’re so use to having our way that when it doesn’t happen, we are faster than anyone else on the face of the planet to feel that sense of entitlement. “I want it, I should have it, I deserve it.”
We get angry at having to wait in a line of more than 3 people for groceries, or, as Abner points out, getting stuck in traffic during rush hour. What do we expect?
Or I like the way Dave Barry put it in his column on piñatas. He describes the moment when the piñata opens, "releasing a cascade of candy and cheesy toys. This is when things get really violent, as the children -- who own literally billions of much nicer toys -- dive to the ground and engage in a desperate, life-or-death struggle for items that they will immediately lose."
I try to remember the way Jesus put it, and to quote it to myself often: "Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
Wednesday, November 23
Everyone a Priest
I was really stirred by a teaching by Paul Kaak recently: What does it mean that Scripture says all believers are priests?
Kaak breaks the role of a priest down into 4 functions:
1. Intercede for the people
2. Image God to the people
3. Instruct the people about God
4. Impart blessing to the people
How can you be a priest as a police officer, accountant, nurse, office manager, or computer programmer?
He says we begin by praying for the people around us. Then we ask God how we can demonstrate his presence and character where we are. Of course, as people ask questions and are curious, we clarify with our words (as Francis of Assisi said, "Proclaim the Gospel at all times. Use words when necessary.") why we are the way we are.
Finally, we continually ask God how we can be a blessing and bring blessing to those around us. Paul told the story of a police officer who asked this question and began incorporating Kingdom principles in his trainees, and of a woman who began challenging her coworkers on their gossip and critical talk behind others' backs. The wisdom of the Kingdom began to transform their workplaces, and eventually people asked, "How did you become so wise?"
To me that's exciting--the practical blessing of structural transformation as those in an office or department gain the benefit of Jesus' teachings even before they meet him!
Kaak breaks the role of a priest down into 4 functions:
1. Intercede for the people
2. Image God to the people
3. Instruct the people about God
4. Impart blessing to the people
How can you be a priest as a police officer, accountant, nurse, office manager, or computer programmer?
He says we begin by praying for the people around us. Then we ask God how we can demonstrate his presence and character where we are. Of course, as people ask questions and are curious, we clarify with our words (as Francis of Assisi said, "Proclaim the Gospel at all times. Use words when necessary.") why we are the way we are.
Finally, we continually ask God how we can be a blessing and bring blessing to those around us. Paul told the story of a police officer who asked this question and began incorporating Kingdom principles in his trainees, and of a woman who began challenging her coworkers on their gossip and critical talk behind others' backs. The wisdom of the Kingdom began to transform their workplaces, and eventually people asked, "How did you become so wise?"
To me that's exciting--the practical blessing of structural transformation as those in an office or department gain the benefit of Jesus' teachings even before they meet him!
Thursday, September 8
Handling Power
Dallas Willard said this in a lecture I heard on an mp3: His main point is that God makes incredible power available to us.
"[There is] no power shortage. But we have to be able to exercise it. We have to grow to the point to where we can be safely given the power of the Kingdom. And the growth is the issue. We have to grow into the kind of person who just routinely does the things that God would have us do."
As he's said many other places, "God wants you to become the kind of person whom he can trust to do whatever you want."
"[There is] no power shortage. But we have to be able to exercise it. We have to grow to the point to where we can be safely given the power of the Kingdom. And the growth is the issue. We have to grow into the kind of person who just routinely does the things that God would have us do."
As he's said many other places, "God wants you to become the kind of person whom he can trust to do whatever you want."
Saturday, August 27
Generous Orthodoxy Quote
Franke ends his introduction with a quote from Hans Frei on his term "Generous Orthodoxy"--a term I instantly liked.
Here's what Frei said: "Generosity without orthodoxy is nothing, but orthodoxy without generosity is worse than nothing."
That seems true. Being "orthodox" about such an extravagantly generous God (doesn't grace mean generosity?) is a vicious lie if it is not accompanied with generosity. "Truth and grace came through Christ Jesus." Stripping the grace from the truth seems to strip the "Good News" from the Gospel.
Here's what Frei said: "Generosity without orthodoxy is nothing, but orthodoxy without generosity is worse than nothing."
That seems true. Being "orthodox" about such an extravagantly generous God (doesn't grace mean generosity?) is a vicious lie if it is not accompanied with generosity. "Truth and grace came through Christ Jesus." Stripping the grace from the truth seems to strip the "Good News" from the Gospel.
Inclusivity quote
I just saw this paraphrase of Lesslie Newbigin in Brian McLaren's book, A Generous Orthodoxy.
"[Newbigin] articulated his own position concerning Christ and salvation along the following lines: exclusive in the sense of affirming the unique truth of the revelation in Jesus Christ, but not in the sense of denying the possibility of salvation to those outside the Christian faith; inclusive in the sense of refusing to limit the saving grace of God to Christians, but not in the sense of viewing other religions as salvific; pluralist in the sense of acknowledging the gracious work of God in the lives of all human beings, but not in the sense of deniying the unique and decisive nature of what God has done in Jesus Christ."
(This paraphrase is by John R. Franke, in the intro of McLaren's book, and he cites Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Eerdmans, 1989, 182-3. I think that's a book worth my looking into.)
"[Newbigin] articulated his own position concerning Christ and salvation along the following lines: exclusive in the sense of affirming the unique truth of the revelation in Jesus Christ, but not in the sense of denying the possibility of salvation to those outside the Christian faith; inclusive in the sense of refusing to limit the saving grace of God to Christians, but not in the sense of viewing other religions as salvific; pluralist in the sense of acknowledging the gracious work of God in the lives of all human beings, but not in the sense of deniying the unique and decisive nature of what God has done in Jesus Christ."
(This paraphrase is by John R. Franke, in the intro of McLaren's book, and he cites Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Eerdmans, 1989, 182-3. I think that's a book worth my looking into.)
Friday, August 26
Inclusivity of the Good News
I'm accustomed to the term "exclusivity of the Gospel" to designate the truth that Jesus is the doorway into the Kingdom of God. But a recent manuscript study in the book of Ephesians has made me rethink this phrase.
"With all wisdom and insight [God] has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." (Eph. 1:8-10, New Revised Std. Version). Paul emphasizes the phrase "in Christ" by repeating it liberally throughout the book of Ephesians.
The book presses, for me, not so much the exclusivity but the inclusivity of the Gospel. God intends to unite all things in Christ.
Now, I still believe God values free will so thoroughly that he allows a place for those who refuse to be included in Christ . . . perhaps that is what Paul means by "under his feet" in 1:22. Then again, he says "and has made him head over all things." In the ancient greco-Roman worldview, the head is the source of nourishment, life, light, and even protection. Hmm. I shall seek further understanding of this.
"With all wisdom and insight [God] has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." (Eph. 1:8-10, New Revised Std. Version). Paul emphasizes the phrase "in Christ" by repeating it liberally throughout the book of Ephesians.
The book presses, for me, not so much the exclusivity but the inclusivity of the Gospel. God intends to unite all things in Christ.
Now, I still believe God values free will so thoroughly that he allows a place for those who refuse to be included in Christ . . . perhaps that is what Paul means by "under his feet" in 1:22. Then again, he says "and has made him head over all things." In the ancient greco-Roman worldview, the head is the source of nourishment, life, light, and even protection. Hmm. I shall seek further understanding of this.
Friday, July 29
Where is Heaven Located?
Ideas are extremely powerful. Our culture's popular notion of heaven is one of the most depressing and misleading, all at the same time. Part of the problem is geography--or should I say "cosmography"--this vague feeling that heaven is located far away in space and probably time.
I was a little surprised and helped by a recent Christianity Today article on Jack Hayford:
Jack Hayford "got up on the platform and read to himself the passage from the pulpit Bible—John's vision of ecstatic worship around the throne of God.
"Ten days later, Hayford says, in the church parking lot, he suddenly caught a mental picture so vivid that he understood God's message. What he saw was an alignment between the throne of God described by John, and the church he pastored on Sherman Way in Van Nuys. One seemed to blend into the other: vast multitudes of praising creatures in John's vision overlapping with the praising people of the Church on the Way. As Hayford saw it, the entire San Fernando Valley, ten miles wide, became an amphitheater of praise surrounding God's throne.
"Reality, as Hayford came to grasp it, is that God works simultaneously in the visible and the invisible, in the physical and the spiritual. The worshiping church stands at the heart of his reign. Thus the church Hayford pastored (and any church, potentially) was more than a gathering of people dedicated to a far-off spiritual kingdom and to somewhat abstract principles. The church at worship became an expression of the power of the kingdom of God, with the literal presence of God in the middle of its sanctuary.
"David Moore says Hayford's theology of the kingdom of God is strikingly similar to George Eldon Ladd's."
Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." N.T. Wright, in a sermon I was listening to (mp3 files here) says that God created two interlocking realities, or maybe it would be more precise for me to say parts of reality, one seen and the other unseen. As I understand it, because we are spirit and animal we exist in both the heavenly and the earthly realm. The so called "enlightenment" (I think of it as the endarkenment) has blotted out the unseen part from our worldview, our consciousness, and blinded us to anything we can see with our physical eyes.
One of my deepest yearnings and dreams is like that of the man called "Son of the unclean" who put it succinctly: "I want to receive my sight!"
I was a little surprised and helped by a recent Christianity Today article on Jack Hayford:
Jack Hayford "got up on the platform and read to himself the passage from the pulpit Bible—John's vision of ecstatic worship around the throne of God.
"Ten days later, Hayford says, in the church parking lot, he suddenly caught a mental picture so vivid that he understood God's message. What he saw was an alignment between the throne of God described by John, and the church he pastored on Sherman Way in Van Nuys. One seemed to blend into the other: vast multitudes of praising creatures in John's vision overlapping with the praising people of the Church on the Way. As Hayford saw it, the entire San Fernando Valley, ten miles wide, became an amphitheater of praise surrounding God's throne.
"Reality, as Hayford came to grasp it, is that God works simultaneously in the visible and the invisible, in the physical and the spiritual. The worshiping church stands at the heart of his reign. Thus the church Hayford pastored (and any church, potentially) was more than a gathering of people dedicated to a far-off spiritual kingdom and to somewhat abstract principles. The church at worship became an expression of the power of the kingdom of God, with the literal presence of God in the middle of its sanctuary.
"David Moore says Hayford's theology of the kingdom of God is strikingly similar to George Eldon Ladd's."
Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." N.T. Wright, in a sermon I was listening to (mp3 files here) says that God created two interlocking realities, or maybe it would be more precise for me to say parts of reality, one seen and the other unseen. As I understand it, because we are spirit and animal we exist in both the heavenly and the earthly realm. The so called "enlightenment" (I think of it as the endarkenment) has blotted out the unseen part from our worldview, our consciousness, and blinded us to anything we can see with our physical eyes.
One of my deepest yearnings and dreams is like that of the man called "Son of the unclean" who put it succinctly: "I want to receive my sight!"
Restlessness
Two books I read recently resonated deeply with me--almost too deeply for comfort. Here are a few quotes:
"Restlessness is another type of loneliness. It refers not so directly to the experience of alienation or estrangement from others, but to the constant dissatisfaction and restlessness within us that perpetually keeps us frustrated and in a state of unrest. . . . this type of loneliness is not caused directly by our alienation from others, but from the very way our hearts are built, from our structure as persons." --Ronald Rolheiser, The Restless Heart, p. 48.
Boy, do I feel this. I think he's right--this loneliness, this restlessness, is a universal experience for human beings.
"The essence of Christian spirituality is following Christ on a journey of personal transformation. The distant land to which we are called is not heaven. Nor is it some external, physical place. The distant land is the new creature into which Christ wishes to fashion us--the whole and holy person that finds his or her uniqueness, identity, and calling in Christ." --David Benner, Sacred Companions, p.26.
Whoa--not heaven?!? Hmm. . . . yes, I think that's right. That is true. Especially if that new creature is a person fully united with God in an eternal embrace of love.
"We find ourselves on this earth as pilgrims, possessing some astoundingly deep capacities, sensitivities, and cravings. We go through life hungering and thirsting for both the infinite and the finite. Our hearts desire not just the infinite, that which is beyond the persons and things we know, but also the finite, the persons and things we know. We want both.
"But what can ever quench that loneliness? Union, communion, consummation. Our loneliness will be fully satisfied by our coming together in radical union with God, others, and physical creation itself; in a union in which we will not be swallowed up, as a drop in the ocean, but in which we will each still have our own self-identity." --Ronald Rolheiser, The Restless Heart, p. 102.
Yes! But wait, wait, wait--radical union with physical creation itself? What does he mean? Hmm. I will have to ponder this. Anyone have ideas? It does sound a little like something C.S. Lewis might have said, but I can't remember where . . . I shall have to re-read The Weight of Glory which I do almost annually. I really would like to understand this more.
Speaking of Lewis, he says, “What does not satisfy when we find it, was not the thing we were desiring.”
I think my feelings about this are best captured by one of my favorite African philosophers, Augustine of Hippo, who cried, “Oh, Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you.” --Confessions
I find myself restless a lot, if I pay attention to my body and feelings. Now if I could remember to channel that restlessness by crying the plea of Augustine whenever I feel it, or of this great quote from one of John Donne's Holy Sonnets: "Batter my heart, three-personed God . . . bend thy force to break, blow, burn and make me new."
"Restlessness is another type of loneliness. It refers not so directly to the experience of alienation or estrangement from others, but to the constant dissatisfaction and restlessness within us that perpetually keeps us frustrated and in a state of unrest. . . . this type of loneliness is not caused directly by our alienation from others, but from the very way our hearts are built, from our structure as persons." --Ronald Rolheiser, The Restless Heart, p. 48.
Boy, do I feel this. I think he's right--this loneliness, this restlessness, is a universal experience for human beings.
"The essence of Christian spirituality is following Christ on a journey of personal transformation. The distant land to which we are called is not heaven. Nor is it some external, physical place. The distant land is the new creature into which Christ wishes to fashion us--the whole and holy person that finds his or her uniqueness, identity, and calling in Christ." --David Benner, Sacred Companions, p.26.
Whoa--not heaven?!? Hmm. . . . yes, I think that's right. That is true. Especially if that new creature is a person fully united with God in an eternal embrace of love.
"We find ourselves on this earth as pilgrims, possessing some astoundingly deep capacities, sensitivities, and cravings. We go through life hungering and thirsting for both the infinite and the finite. Our hearts desire not just the infinite, that which is beyond the persons and things we know, but also the finite, the persons and things we know. We want both.
"But what can ever quench that loneliness? Union, communion, consummation. Our loneliness will be fully satisfied by our coming together in radical union with God, others, and physical creation itself; in a union in which we will not be swallowed up, as a drop in the ocean, but in which we will each still have our own self-identity." --Ronald Rolheiser, The Restless Heart, p. 102.
Yes! But wait, wait, wait--radical union with physical creation itself? What does he mean? Hmm. I will have to ponder this. Anyone have ideas? It does sound a little like something C.S. Lewis might have said, but I can't remember where . . . I shall have to re-read The Weight of Glory which I do almost annually. I really would like to understand this more.
Speaking of Lewis, he says, “What does not satisfy when we find it, was not the thing we were desiring.”
I think my feelings about this are best captured by one of my favorite African philosophers, Augustine of Hippo, who cried, “Oh, Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you.” --Confessions
I find myself restless a lot, if I pay attention to my body and feelings. Now if I could remember to channel that restlessness by crying the plea of Augustine whenever I feel it, or of this great quote from one of John Donne's Holy Sonnets: "Batter my heart, three-personed God . . . bend thy force to break, blow, burn and make me new."
Wednesday, July 27
More on Scientific Prayer
Well, I can now give first-hand testimony that it's tough to blog while on vacation, then packing up house and moving, changing internet service providers, etc. I'm finally logging in once again, sitting in my house, surrounded by boxes.
I noticed a blog entry which gives detail and more theological musings on scientific studies of prayer, which you might like here at Christianity Today's blog.
I noticed a blog entry which gives detail and more theological musings on scientific studies of prayer, which you might like here at Christianity Today's blog.
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