Silence and Speech

The mark of solitude is silence, as speech is the mark of community. Silence and speech have the same inner correspondence and difference as do solitude and community. One does not exist without the other. Right speech comes out of silence, and right silence comes out of speech.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In my world I find that it is much easier to be involved in the speaking of many words and sometimes I wonder if they simply fly on the wind and disappear over the horizon. How many words are truly needed in the deepest sharing with friends and the articulation of my faith? I remember those days of sitting on our front porch with my father and hearing the silence. He was truly a man of few words and but I am not sure I really learned to appreciate the quiet he offered those summer evenings. I make my living in the speaking of many words, and yet sometimes I wonder at what cost to the health of my soul. Have I lost the ability to sit in silence with God and wonder at His creation? Have I lost the ability to know and sense of His love and care for me because of the noise of the many words I speak? Have I allowed the burdens of this life to overwhelm the silence and in the process lost the peace God offers me in quietness of a moment? Sometimes I long for that quietness in the depth of my soul as I commune with my Abba Father.
Wanderer101

The Book I wanted to Read

I was given an excellent book this morning. I opened the book, read a page and knew this was the book I have been searching for this past year. I have been convinced of the power of the narrative in presenting the truth of God, but I had not been able to find a book that described it with the power and clarity I knew I needed for a class text. The author connects the parts of the story, imagination and community and demonstrates how each element contributes to the powerful impact a story can have in a setting.
And, for those with a longer history in church, it gave indirectly the reason why flannelgraph was so powerful a teaching tool. It was the combination of the story, the setting portrayed on the board, and the powerful stimulation of the imagination that allowed good teachers to be powerful tools in the lives of their students.
This is a must read for anyone interested in sharing their faith to the world around them. It provides the tools, understanding and examples that will bridge the communication gap between the modern and the post-modern world.
And who knows, maybe flannelgraph will make a comeback!
Creating Stories That Connect by D. Bruce Seymour, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI
Wanderer101

Power of Symbolism

If the symbol of immersion in baptism is critical, then why would we not guard the critical symbolism of Communion, one cup and one loaf? Or have we actually establish a cultural adaptation of Communion that accurately depicts our setting. It seems that we are very much like the little individual cups in the tray. We are all sitting in the same room, and yet never touching. And the sterile little wafers I have seen in Communion services, sterile, individualized, neat, definitely not portraying the messiness of real life.
I understand the reasoning for not having the single cup, [definitely not hygienic] but then again, if we can change the symbol for pragmatic reasons in Communion, can we also do the same for baptism?
It grieves my heart to see how we have taken the most powerful symbol of the community of faith and changed it to the sterile modern very individualistic version seen in so many churches today.
And yet we wonder why there is so little true fellowship in the church. Maybe believers are simply living out the model they are seeing and experiencing every time they participate in a Communion service?
Wanderer101

Friend of Tax Collectors

Mat 9:10-13 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. (11) And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" (12) But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (13) Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

I wonder if Christ was an enjoyable person to have around. Why did the tax collectors and sinners hang out with Him? How could they feel comfortable with the Son of God? I think maybe we have lost something very significant in our desire to not be touched by the world. Would I want to be with sinners, or maybe more significantly, would sinners want to be with me? Would they understand that I love God and desire to serve Him and at the same time I love them and enjoy their company? I think about God's desire for us to be in the world but not of the world and I realize afresh that Christ lived out this tension in His life.
I pray that I might come to understand the reality of being a saint, a holy one, and at the same time a good guy to hang out with.
Wanderer101

We are Frail Beings

Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV)14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as weare, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

As I sit in my office and listen to Celtic harp music playing I ponder the significance of what it means that Jesus is touched by the reality of my frailty [v. 15]. There are times when I clearly sense the depths of my frail being and the reality that Christ enters into my sorrow and suffering gives me hope in the midst of the deep valleys. My desire is to walk through the valley even as David describes, and yet, there are times when the path seems dark.
And in the midst of the journey God brought wonderful, kind and encouraging words for me from His children. I rejoice that I have friends that can hear the voice of the Spirit and allow Him to lead them to send an email at just the right moment.
Wanderer101