Palm Sunday — March 28 — 11 am. Meet at Boyer’s to process (with palms) to our outdoor service. Afterwards, help deliver collected food to the Pantry nearby.

Holy Thursday — April 1 — 7 pm — Home service with footwashing. For info/directions, call Bob at 267.702.4262.

Good Friday — April 2 — 7 pm — Home service / adoration of the cross. For info/directions, call Bob at 267.702.4262.

The Vigil of Easter — Saturday, April 3 — 7 pm — Our contemporary adaptation of this ancient service tells the story of God’s love for us and carries us from the cross to the empty tomb. Location TBA.

Penance as guilt is just what our monkey minds want.  The part of our brain stem that focuses on survival and preservation of the status quo often gets its way by imposing anxiety and fear, and guilt just piles on to its agenda.  But repentance — the ultimate aim of “doing penance” — is about taking action. The word literally means to “turn around,” to “head in a new (right) direction.”  Guilt, though, feeds on our insecurities and need to blame and, left unchecked, leads us to despair.  It is the root of thinking that we’re not good enough, that we can’t do anything to solve a larger problem that causes the guilt, and so leads to inaction — the exact opposite of repentance. 

Read on for more reflections and discussion questions.

Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose

My family has the practice of giving thanks at each meal for the food we’re receiving, as we do before each Kairos community meal.  A recent article at the Sustainable Traditions website got me thinking, though.  How exactly do I give thanks for a burger that contributes to global warming (via cow emissions) or fruits and vegetables that have to be picked by migrant workers and transported to me at great costs of money and fuel?  The author poses a challenging thought:

We cannot properly call these things gifts of God; we must admit that much of what we have and consume are objects that we have obtained through unjust means and an unjust economy.? Surely we can give thanks to God for what he has provided, in spite of the injustices of our economy, but we must at the same time mourn the sustaining of our lives — our eating, clothing, housing, and transportation — through an economy of destruction.? The practice of actively turning our lives from sin and embodying our mourning for sin is called penance — an ancient practice that needs to be recovered in the lives of Christians seeking to live their lives holistically.

A call to grace empowered mourning (image: J Fowler)

Ah, the “P” word.  Penance has gotten a bad rap lately, and with good reason.  Last week at Kairos we marked the beginning of Lent by burning palms and making the sign of the cross on our foreheads in ashes.  This ancient ritual derives from the even more ancient Jewish custom of putting on sackcloth — very rough, uncomfortable clothing — and ashes in times of mourning and atoning for sins and failings.  Through the centuries, Christians have applied the idea of penance to the body (fasting, flogging oneself, etc.) and the mind.  If you were raised in the church you might have learned to recite prayers or other talismans as penance, or you may have just learned to be really good at feeling guilty.

Penance as guilt is just what our monkey minds want.  The part of our brain stem that focuses on survival and preservation of the status quo often gets its way by imposing anxiety and fear, and guilt just piles on to its agenda.  But repentance — the ultimate aim of “doing penance” — is about taking action. The word literally means to “turn around,” to “head in a new (right) direction.”  Guilt, though, feeds on our insecurities and need to blame and, left unchecked, leads us to despair.  It is the root of thinking that we’re not good enough, that we can’t do anything to solve a larger problem that causes the guilt, and so leads to inaction — the exact opposite of repentance.

Indigo Girls sing about the difficulty of overcoming this inaction in their song “Hammer and a Nail:”

Clearing webs from the hovel
A blistered hand on the handle of a shovel
I’ve been digging too deep, I always do.
I see my face on the surface
I look a lot like narcissus
A dark abyss of an emptiness
Standing on the edge of a drowning blue.

I look behind my ears for the green
Even my sweat smells clean
Glare off the white hurts my eyes
Gotta get out of bed get a hammer and a nail
Learn how to use my hands, not just my head
I think myself into jail
Now I know a refuge never grows
From a chin in a hand in a thoughtful pose
Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose.

I had a lot of good intentions
Sit around for fifty years and then collect a pension,
Started seeing the road to hell and just where it starts.
But my life is more than a vision
The sweetest part is acting after making a decision
I started seeing the whole as a sum of its parts.

My life is part of the global life
I’d found myself becoming more immobile
When I’d think a little girl in the world can’t do anything.
A distant nation my community
A street person my responsibility
If I have a care in the world I have a gift to bring.

The imbalances of our economy may be larger than they used to be, but they are nothing new.  Luke’s gospel tells that many people came to John the Baptist seeking to get rid of their guilt with water rather than life change, and records John’s reaction to them:

When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God’s judgment? It’s your life that must change, not your skin. And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as ‘father.’ Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there — children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he wants. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.”

The crowd asked him, “Then what are we supposed to do?”

“If you have two coats, give one away,” he said. “Do the same with your food.”

Tax men also came to be baptized and said, “Teacher, what should we do?”

He told them, “No more extortion — collect only what is required by law.”

Soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He told them, “No shakedowns, no blackmail — and be content with your rations.” (Luke 3:7-14, The Message)

It’s interesting that John’s answers to the people’s question, “What are we supposed to do?” are all about relationships.  There was no United Way or Jerusalem Food Pantry at the time, so for the person with two coats to give one away she had to know someone who had no coat.  Tax collectors were called to honor the dignity of their fellow citizens and not view them as only pockets to be picked.  Persons in power, typified by soldiers, were called to wield that power fairly, and to be content with their pay.

Two-thousand years later, we still struggle with honoring the personhood of people who have less.  If you don’t believe me, consider the first two paragraphs of an article in the Feb. 15 Philadelphia Inquirer:

Last month, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer of South Carolina said that when the government helps the poor, it’s like people feeding stray animals that continually “breed.”

And just last week, Colorado state legislator Spencer Swalm said poor people in single-family homes are “dysfunctional.”

Shane Claiborne, one of the founders of Kensington’s Simple Way Community, spent time working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and quotes her as saying: “It’s very fashionable to talk about the poor but it’s not as fashionable to talk to the poor.”  In a YouTube video interview I saw recently Shane goes on to say:

I think we can (write) all sorts of checks, we can eat all fair trade, we can drive a hybrid car … and still not be in relationship with people who are hurting? The great tragedy of the church is not that rich folks don’t care about poor folks, but that rich folks don’t know poor folks. Because when we have an encounter across class lines the discomfort of the poor becomes our discomfort and it begins to challenge the things that we hold true.

Our always-buzzing monkey minds want to take our discomfort at recognizing our advantages and get rid of it as soon as possible.  Often this takes the form of doing a quick action that reduces our feeling of guilt.  Consider this thought from Sustainable Traditions about the true purpose of repentance:

…(P)enance is not meant to be a sign of our superiority over others; nor is it a replacement for the grace through which we live.?… What penance does is to keep me from simply saying, “oh well, so is the world.”

Questions for reflection:

• What are some of the ways we receive sustainance through an “unjust economy”? What imbalances do we receive benefits from?
• How might we move from “feeling guilty” to “taking action” to recognize and perhaps change these imbalances?
• What can we do in our daily lives to “feel the discomfort of the poor” and talk to and get to know those who have less?

Daily Reading for Tuesday (2/9)
Mark 7:1-13 [M] [NRS]
“You have a fine way of rejecting the commandments of God”

Daily Reading for Wednesday (2/10)
Mark 7:14-23 [M] [NRS]
“Out of the heart come evil thoughts”

Daily Reading for Thursday (2/11)
Mark 7:24-30 [M] [NRS]
“You may go your way; the demon has left your daughter”

Daily Reading for Friday (2/12)
Mark 7:31-37 [M] [NRS]
“He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak”

Daily Reading for Saturday (2/13)
Mark 8:1-10 [M] [NRS]
“Can one feed these with bread here in the desert?”

Daily Reading for Sunday (2/14)
Luke 6:17,20-26 [M] [NRS]
“Do good to those who hate you, pray for those who abuse you”

Our focus will be “Imitating Christ’s humility,” drawing on Paul’s beautiful description of Jesus’ emptying himself for us, taking the form of a slave, in Philippians 2. We’ll look at how our response to Jesus’ kenosis (emptying) plays out on the global stage (as in aid to Haiti and Africa) and how we might express similar solidarity with the poor and marginalized.

Read on for more about the gathering.

Philippians 2:1-11 (NRSV)

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Christ’s emptying of himself, casting off his divine rights and privileges, in verse 7 has spawned doctrines and theological disputes.  Throughout Christian history people have been moved by the sacrifice of Christ made explicit in Paul’s letter, called kenosis for the Greek word for “emptying.”  Scholars have also argued about whether this emptying obscured Jesus’ divinity, stripped it away completely, or whether his “emptying” was an “act” or self-denial.  Theologians have also argued about whether and how Christians are called to similar self-emptying, and worried about whether our imitation of Christ in this regard takes us toward the heresy of making ourselves “gods.”

All that from one little word!

What does this concept of Christ emptying himself for us mean to you?

How might this reality of being on the receiving end of such emptying affect how you see yourself in the world as a follower of Christ?

Last week the American Public Radio program Speaking of Faith featured Krista Tippett’s interview with Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder of the Acumen Fund, which has an increasingly influential profile charting a third way between investment for profit and aid for free.

Against the backdrop of a global outpouring of aid for Haiti, Tippett noted that

“there is also growing scrutiny of the fact that Haiti has remained desperately undeveloped in spite of one of the world’s largest populations of NGOs per capita. Similarly, $500 billion of Western aid to the African continent since 1970 has not yielded a commensurate overall rise in well-being.”

In that vein Tippett also noted that

“The Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo has called for an end to Western aid that she and others argue keeps leaders of developing countries focused on courting foreign donors and breeds corruption. She insists that a future beyond poverty demands instead that governments become accountable exclusively to their own people. And on this program last year, the Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina spoke of the debilitating effect of growing up surrounded by well-intentioned Western projects that defined him in terms of his poverty and his deficits. In her memoir, “The Blue Sweater,” my guest Jacqueline Novogratz writes this: “As a young woman, I dreamed of changing the world. In my 20s, I went to Africa to try and save the continent only to learn that Africans neither wanted nor needed saving.””

How does the idea that Christ has emptied himself for us affect how we could look at relationships with others, especially other cultures and the poor?

A little later in the program Tippet asks the devil’s advocate question:

Tippett: …If we can’t solve poverty, if we can’t ensure health care for every pregnant woman in New Orleans, you know, or the Bronx or parts of Washington, D.C., who do we think we are, going to solve these things for people in other countries, and how can we think that we have that knowledge, do you know what I’m saying?

Ms. Novogratz: From my perspective, it’s not, oh, look at America. We’re great. Let’s go over. I actually see myself as part of a single world that is becoming more divided not nation to nation, but rich to poor. And so I say it in the book, but I really believe that the elites are becoming more like each other across national borders than they are to low-income people in their own countries. And I definitely feel, you know, I’ll meet someone in Karachi, Pakistan, but we went to the same schools, we eat at the same restaurants and very different experience than a conversation with someone from Appalachia or a migrant worker in Southern California.

So I don’t see it as we’re here to solve your problems. I see it as where can we find innovation in the world that is doing the best job at reaching the most people possible at the lowest cost and then can we take those innovations and can we take those business models and can we start exporting them to other countries, to other communities so that we start building blueprints for what it ultimately takes to extend the economy to every person on the planet.

And quite frankly, my dream is that we will find innovations that are serving poor people in the developing world that will come back to the United States. And I think we’re already starting to see where we could learn so much from some of the innovations that we’ve invested in in India, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania.

Do you feel part of “one world,” as Novogratz does?

Do you agree or disagree that we can learn from the developing world?

What kind of self-emptying would be needed to be part of this “one world”?

As we approach Lent, I’m reminded that, for many Christians, this is a season of giving up some “luxury,” like chocolate or blogging.  Because some have found this to be unhelpful, it has become fashionable to “take on” a mission or task for Lent, like serving at a soup kitchen or collecting for Haiti.  I wonder if there can’t be a third way of approaching Lent:

What if we gave up something less peripheral to stand in solidarity with those who can’t count on that same blessing?

What could we take on not as an add-on but as a lifestyle change that would (albeit slightly) reduce the gap between us and the poor?

What might that look like for us?

This is what we are trying to do at Kairos Community. We’re trying hard to be open to those who are watching and waiting and noticing and want to embrace the movements of the Spirit even if they don’t buy the whole package. We serve side by side, people who “believe” and those who balk, and share our journeys and honor those that are not explicitly Christian as well as those that are. We’re hunters and farmers. And we want to sharpen the hunter skills, to foster our awareness of how God is working in and around us every day, and learn to appreciate those moments of distracted noticing and movements of the Spirit amid daily life.

Want to read more? Check out Bob’s blog.

Join Kairos Community for a day of connecting with the Source.

Where: Upper Tinicum Lutheran Church Parish House 1426 Bridgeton Hill Road, Upper Black Eddy (Lat/long for GPS 40.561731, -75.114597)

When: Sunday, February 28 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Chronos, not Kairos time). Please plan on arriving early so we can get our coffee*, etc.  We would like to start promptly at 9 a.m.

Who: Interested adults and teens. Feel free to invite others or bring a friend.  This is an adult event. No child care will be provided.

Leader: Pat Herbst has been a spiritual director for many years and formerly was a pastoral assistant and educator at Assumption B.V.M. parish in Colesville, outside Bethlehem. She’s excellent!

Cost: Asking for donation of $25 per person to cover costs.

For more information contact Bob via email.

Daily Reading for Tuesday (2/2)
Luke 2:22-40 [M] [NRS]
“The favor of God was upon him”

Daily Reading for Wednesday (2/3)
Mark 6:1-6 [M] [NRS]
They took offense at Jesus and he marveled because of their unbelief

Daily Reading for Thursday (2/4)
Mark 6:7-13 [M] [NRS]
“They anointed with oil man that were sick and healed them”

Daily Reading for Friday (2/5)
Mark 6:14-29 [M] [NRS]
“Some said, ‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead’ ”

Daily Reading for Saturday (2/6)
Mark 6:30-34 [M] [NRS]
“Jesus had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd”

Daily Reading for Sunday (2/7)
Luke 5:1-11 [M] [NRS]
“Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men”

In the face of such destruction, many people are moved to ask how a loving God can let something like this happen — again and again — to Haiti.  Aside from the theories of Pat Robertson, this is a question that theologians and regular believers struggle with.

Check out this article in Newsweek which asks “If God is good and intervenes in the world, then why does he make innocents suffer? Why, as Job might have said, would God “crush an impoverished people with a tempest and multiply their wounds without cause? He will not let them get their breath.”"

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Last week we talked about these key points:

• Jesus’ rule of thumb: Do for others what you would have them do for you.
• Jesus’ promise – this expedition with God requires energy and focus.
• God gives different gifts to each of us, and then weaves us together in community to create a beautiful whole.
• God’s gifts are not given as an all-or-nothing thing; we’re all called to embrace what we have, develop our strengths and overcome the hurdles.

Since we’re on an expedition together, we looked at the principles of “Expedition Behavior.” EB means being prepared, on time, organized, flexible and humble; seeing the humor in everything; exercising a tolerance for adversity, uncertainty and discomfort; and putting the needs of the group and others on the same level or above one’s own needs. It’s a tall order but while on expedition it has magical results.

The official definition of EB, put forth by its creators at the National Outdoor Leadership School, is a little dryer:

Expedition Behavior

• Serve the mission and goals of the group.
• Be as concerned for others as you are for yourself.
• Treat everyone with dignity and respect.
• Support leadership and growth in everyone.
• Respect the cultures you contact.
• Be kind and open-hearted.
• Do your share and stay organized.
• Help others, but don’t routinely do their work.
• Model integrity by being honest and accountable.
• Admit and correct your mistakes.

Where have you seen these principles? Does this remind you of anything in Scripture?

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, or “Kingdom manifesto” as some have called it, spells out the way that he sees life in God’s kingdom.  We often look at it in little bites.  This week we will look at several chunks and learn from each other how we might live into this Kingdom (on our own and as a community).

Consider these readings, and see if you can determine one or two “expedition behaviors” that Jesus is talking about in each one:

Salt and Light

¹³“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

^14-16“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.  (Matt. 5)

Empty Promises

^33-37“And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.

Love Your Enemies

^38-42“Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

^43-47“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

⁴⁸“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”  (Matt. 5)

The World Is Not a Stage

¹ “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. ^2-4“When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—’playactors’ I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out. …

^16-18“When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won’t make you a saint. If you ‘go into training’ inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn’t require attention-getting devices. He won’t overlook what you are doing; he’ll reward you well.  (Matt. 6)

A Life of God-Worship

^19-21“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

^22-23“Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!

²⁴“You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both.

^25-26“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

^27-29“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

^30-33“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.  (Matt. 6)