Streams of Living Water: The Social Justice Stream

During this season of Lent, as we have focused on self-reflection and repentance, we have also been exploring some of the spiritual traditions present in the Christian faith. Over the last few weeks, we have discussed Holiness - the virtuous life that focuses on a transformation of the heart and the development of holy habits; the Charismatic life - a life immersed in, empowered by, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit; and the Contemplative life - a life of loving attention to God and the heartbeat of Divine Love. This week we turn our attention to the Social Justice tradition.

When we look at the spiritual streams we have discussed so far, this stream is a natural next step on our journey. We have discussed seeking to be more like God in our personal actions, we have discussed the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and we have discussed a life focused on God’s love for us. So it makes sense to extend that love that God has for us out to other people.

Now, even as I say this, I recognize that in some circles social justice gets used as a bad word. We see people on social media referring to others as SJWs, so-called Social Justice Warriors, as if it is (or should be) an insult.

But this does a disservice both to the concept of social justice and to our own tradition. You see, social justice is very much at the heart of the movement of Jesus in the world, both in the past and in the present.

Jesus, who summed up the law and the prophets by calling on us to love God and to love our neighbors.

Jesus, who constantly centered outsiders and outcasts as heroes in his stories.

Jesus, who told us to not only love the people who believe as we do but to also love our enemies.

Songs for the Journey - The Annunciation (or, God Does a New Thing...Again)

As I continue to listen and look for the theological themes in our everyday lives, as I listen for the words of God hidden in the mostly mundane soundtrack that many of us have playing in the background of our day to day existence, a particular chorus has been catching my ear lately. The song is Happier by Marshmello and Bastille.

Part of the reason it has caught my ear is just because it sounds upbeat and fun. But every time I hear the beginning of the song, I think about God's response to the world and God's decision to come down as Jesus to show us a new way to live.

"Lately, I've been, I've been thinking/
I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier."

Streams of Living Water: The Contemplative Stream

As we continue on this journey through Lent, I've been exploring the different streams of spirituality available to us in our tradition. I opened the season with a look at holiness and some of the common misconceptions we have about what it means to be holy. Last week, I looked at the gifts of the Spirit-empowered life and what it can look like when we use those gifts as a means of loving others.

This week, I turn to the Contemplative Stream, the prayer-filled life. This life of prayer can and does take many forms, though some may have some thoughts already on what this might look like. We may think of monastic communities dedicated to lives of prayer and service. And while that is certainly one example of a way of living a life full of the contemplation of God, it is not the only way to be contemplative.

Thankfully Psalm 63, which is appointed for today, gives us a very good summary of what it means to live a life full of prayer. [Please note the quotations below are from the Common English Bible.]

Streams of Living Water: The Charismatic Stream

Over the course of Lent, we are exploring different streams or types of spirituality found in the life of Jesus and others in the Christian tradition. Using Richard Foster's Streams of Living Water, we are looking at the many varied ways we grow in our relationship with God, as individuals and as communities. Last week we opened our series by looking at the concept of holiness. We discussed some of the most common misconceptions about holiness and looked at some concrete ways we could work towards becoming more holy in our own lives.

This week, we pair Luke 13:31-35 and 1 Corinthians 12-14 with the Charismatic Stream - the Spirit-empowered life. Where holiness centers on the power from God to be something, the charismatic stream focuses on the power from God to do things. Those who are centered in the charismatic stream are infused with and guided by the Holy Spirit in their work in the world. They feel the immediacy of God’s presence around them and act on that power in their lives.

Streams of Living Water: The Holiness Stream

As we enter the season of Lent this year, I am working on leading the people in this congregation deeper into relationship with God using the spiritual streams identified in Richard Foster's book, Streams of Living Water. Throughout his life and ministry, Jesus modeled several ways of being in relationship with God. From holiness to contemplation, from compassion to incarnation, from the work of the Spirit to the sharing of the Word, this relationship does not take on any single form. While Jesus, the only one to ever be perfect, was able to incorporate all of these ways of being into himself, for us it can be a different matter.

So I will be taking on one of these streams each week to explore what they look like and how we can use them in our own spiritual journeys. In some ways, these different streams of spirituality are something like love languages for our relationship with God. (Some may be familiar with the concept of the 5 Love Languages that ha been around for about 25 years now.) And just as not all of us speak the same love language in our everyday relationships, I suspect we will find along the way that no single spiritual language for our relationship with God works for all of us the same either.

This week, we looked at the Holiness Stream using the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness found at the beginning of Luke 4 (Luke 4:1-13).

A House Divided (or, The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same)

I have struggled with how best to publicly respond to the recent General Conference of The United Methodist Church. I have struggled because I don't want to react uncritically to what has happened. I don't want to belittle the actions that have been taken or the very real pain, grief, and sorrow that many, including myself, are feeling right now. I don't want to uncritically lay the blame for this at the feet of others. I don't want to react in an attempt to apply a balm to my own feelings of guilt. I don't want to shame those that don't agree with me (or those that do for that matter).

But I also can't not respond. I can't simply sit back and say that all will be well because as a white, cishet male everything will be fine for me. But I struggle with how best to respond. Not because I don't care, but because I care deeply about what happens next.