Friday, June 18, 2010
From the Heritage Campus Signing Off
Now that I have mowed the grass at the parsonage in Hewitt, I feel like and am officially here, and no longer in Grapevine, and that it is time for me to close this blog. At some point, when we are further along in the unpacking process, I will start a new blog, a blog from Hewitt, the title of which I have not decided on yet. It has been a pleasure serving in Grapevine; thank you to those of you who have followed this blog, sporadic as it has been during a season of change. I look foward to what awaits FUMC and the Heritage campus under the leadership of Louis Carr, as well as to what lies ahead now at Hewitt, except when it comes time to mow the grass! Peace and Good to everyone! R
Monday, May 24, 2010
LESSONS FROM A CONTORTIONIST
Several years ago (it was more like 20+ years ago, but saying it that way makes me feel too old!) I was walking with Naomi in the French Quarter, in New Orleans. In the popular Jackson Square were all kinds of artists--musicians, painters, dancers, magicians, etc.--and one very remakable man, a contortionist; I believe he was from Haiti. He was striking the most incredible poses, with ankles laced around his neck, arms twisted behind his back--he could literally fold himself in half. And for his finale he folded himself right up into a clear tiny box, I'm guessing it was no more than two and a half feet square. They shut him in, and there he was! What a strange and fascinating thing. Even the other performers on the square were stopping to watch him.
He was quite thin, but also muscular, his muscles appearing almost translucent. I remember no little envy on my part: 'Gosh, I wish I had a body like that!' I thought. 'And what does he eat anyway? I don't think he does the steak and baked potato thing that often.'
Since that day I have, off and on, been interested in contortionism, not only for the feat itself, but also because of the association of contortionsists with circuses, and the idealized community that I have (naively I'm sure) always imagined the circus to be and which I someimes compare to the church. When we went to see the Circque du Soleil, in Austin, my appreciation of contortionsists (and circuses) was revived a great deal, for here were not only amazing contortionists but acrobatic contortionists who were able to maintain incredible poses while swinging through the air at high rates of speed, or while balancing atop the strong arms of other contorionists. And here I could not even bend over with knees straight and touch my toes!
A few months ago, the contortioinist bug hit me again, and I began to actually look into it more than I had before, to see it there was some how-to information. Was I too old? Wasn't yoga the same thing? etc. Here are some things that I learned:
--just about anyone, with work, can become a contortionist. True, some are more physically gifted in this regard, but even those persons have to work at it if they want to achieve good results.
--contortionists are some of the healthiest and most long-lived persons around.
--plan to put in about three hours of stretching per day if you want to be a contortionist; it does not all have to be at once; one hour three times a day is fine.
--make sure you are warmed up before you begin stretching.
--if you skip a day of stretching, you lose about a week in terms of how long it will take you to get back to your previous flexibility. If you skip a week, you will, similarly, lose about a month. So you need to be ready for a daily commitment.
Well, so I began. I increased my daily stretching a good bit, and got to where I could almost place my palms on the floor while standing with knees straight. I could sit and stretch and grab my heels with my palms, which I thought was pretty good. I was making progress. Alas, that was a month ago. I just stood up to see where I am currently, and can touch the top of my shoe with the tip of my middle finger.
It seems to me that there is in contortionism a lot of application to the spiritual life, especially in the idea that, if we are not stretching daily, we quickly revert back to a more comfortable (but less flexible) set point. Jesus' disciples had his teaching everyday for maybe three years, and yet, even shortly after his resurrection, they quickly lost their kingdom flexibility: "I'm going fishing,' said Peter. 'We'll go with you,' said the other disciples. In this regard, might Jesus' parables be thought of as contortionist stretches for the spirit that are meant, through continual application, to bring us to the new perceptions and abilities of God's children? How willing are we to have Jesus' life stretch us? R
He was quite thin, but also muscular, his muscles appearing almost translucent. I remember no little envy on my part: 'Gosh, I wish I had a body like that!' I thought. 'And what does he eat anyway? I don't think he does the steak and baked potato thing that often.'
Since that day I have, off and on, been interested in contortionism, not only for the feat itself, but also because of the association of contortionsists with circuses, and the idealized community that I have (naively I'm sure) always imagined the circus to be and which I someimes compare to the church. When we went to see the Circque du Soleil, in Austin, my appreciation of contortionsists (and circuses) was revived a great deal, for here were not only amazing contortionists but acrobatic contortionists who were able to maintain incredible poses while swinging through the air at high rates of speed, or while balancing atop the strong arms of other contorionists. And here I could not even bend over with knees straight and touch my toes!
A few months ago, the contortioinist bug hit me again, and I began to actually look into it more than I had before, to see it there was some how-to information. Was I too old? Wasn't yoga the same thing? etc. Here are some things that I learned:
--just about anyone, with work, can become a contortionist. True, some are more physically gifted in this regard, but even those persons have to work at it if they want to achieve good results.
--contortionists are some of the healthiest and most long-lived persons around.
--plan to put in about three hours of stretching per day if you want to be a contortionist; it does not all have to be at once; one hour three times a day is fine.
--make sure you are warmed up before you begin stretching.
--if you skip a day of stretching, you lose about a week in terms of how long it will take you to get back to your previous flexibility. If you skip a week, you will, similarly, lose about a month. So you need to be ready for a daily commitment.
Well, so I began. I increased my daily stretching a good bit, and got to where I could almost place my palms on the floor while standing with knees straight. I could sit and stretch and grab my heels with my palms, which I thought was pretty good. I was making progress. Alas, that was a month ago. I just stood up to see where I am currently, and can touch the top of my shoe with the tip of my middle finger.
It seems to me that there is in contortionism a lot of application to the spiritual life, especially in the idea that, if we are not stretching daily, we quickly revert back to a more comfortable (but less flexible) set point. Jesus' disciples had his teaching everyday for maybe three years, and yet, even shortly after his resurrection, they quickly lost their kingdom flexibility: "I'm going fishing,' said Peter. 'We'll go with you,' said the other disciples. In this regard, might Jesus' parables be thought of as contortionist stretches for the spirit that are meant, through continual application, to bring us to the new perceptions and abilities of God's children? How willing are we to have Jesus' life stretch us? R
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
I was driving south on Hwy 121, listening to the cacophony that is sports radio, when I noticed a blade of grass growing at the side of the road. Amazing; how did I notice her, in all of her singular isness; surrounded by a billion cousins--who was she that I should notice her? And yet her integrity, her striving upwards to God, her simple enjoyment of the gentle breeze and morning sunshine caused me to turn off the radio and roll down the window so that I might take in the beauty of all her people: no longer green, and soon-to-be-mowed, they were tall and stately nonetheless. They stood silent, but perhaps...could it be possible?...they noticed the attention paid them and returned the favor by bowing their graceful wheat-like stalks?
This fellowship, this commraderie between me and all these blades of grass, was (is) a far richer thing than the radio's continual noisy attacks upon my secret self, or than the continual mental chatter of my own mind. Am I not one of them--a blade a grass, here today and tomorrow perhaps not even a memory to those who speed along the world's highway! Have I, I wonder, ever truly been noticed, even by myself, for who I am? Have you? Thanks be to the God who sees, knows, and loves each one of us for who we are, in whom we have a deep-rooted, eternal and joyous fellowship. R.
This fellowship, this commraderie between me and all these blades of grass, was (is) a far richer thing than the radio's continual noisy attacks upon my secret self, or than the continual mental chatter of my own mind. Am I not one of them--a blade a grass, here today and tomorrow perhaps not even a memory to those who speed along the world's highway! Have I, I wonder, ever truly been noticed, even by myself, for who I am? Have you? Thanks be to the God who sees, knows, and loves each one of us for who we are, in whom we have a deep-rooted, eternal and joyous fellowship. R.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
'TAKE, EAT; THIS IS MY BODY'
In his commentary Aramaic Light on the Gospel of Matthew Rocco A. Errico says the following about the phrase 'Take, eat: this is my body:
This affectionate expression of Jesus was common among Semites at a fraternal supper. Sometimes the men will declare to each other such sayings as: 'My life and my blood are for you; take the very sight of my eyes, if you will.' They will also use other similar expressions. It was not a strange thing that Jesus, whose entire life was a living sacrafice, should say to his intimate disciples/friends as he handed them the bread and the cup, 'Take, eat; this is my body;' and 'Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood.'
I have always thought that Jesus' words to his disciples about the bread and wine would have been new to their experience, as if Jesus were instituting a new thing that they had never heard of or considered before; but instead of being new, these words were likely very familiar to the disciples, words that they themselves had perhaps said to others at ordinary meals where Jesus was not present, but words that were now all the more intimate and powerful because of when and where Jesus was saying them.
It is comforting to me to consider that, at his last meal, Jesus chose ordinary, intimate expressions to convey his love for his friends, rather than feeling the need to institute a religious program that they would, henceforth, be obligated to perpetuate. 'Do this in remembrance of me, whenever you eat and drink' now (as I am thinking out loud about it) takes on the opposite meaning of what it had for me before: the idea is not to turn our ordinary meals into religous observances but to see them as occasions for intimacy with the risen Christ who is indeed present at every meal. R
This affectionate expression of Jesus was common among Semites at a fraternal supper. Sometimes the men will declare to each other such sayings as: 'My life and my blood are for you; take the very sight of my eyes, if you will.' They will also use other similar expressions. It was not a strange thing that Jesus, whose entire life was a living sacrafice, should say to his intimate disciples/friends as he handed them the bread and the cup, 'Take, eat; this is my body;' and 'Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood.'
I have always thought that Jesus' words to his disciples about the bread and wine would have been new to their experience, as if Jesus were instituting a new thing that they had never heard of or considered before; but instead of being new, these words were likely very familiar to the disciples, words that they themselves had perhaps said to others at ordinary meals where Jesus was not present, but words that were now all the more intimate and powerful because of when and where Jesus was saying them.
It is comforting to me to consider that, at his last meal, Jesus chose ordinary, intimate expressions to convey his love for his friends, rather than feeling the need to institute a religious program that they would, henceforth, be obligated to perpetuate. 'Do this in remembrance of me, whenever you eat and drink' now (as I am thinking out loud about it) takes on the opposite meaning of what it had for me before: the idea is not to turn our ordinary meals into religous observances but to see them as occasions for intimacy with the risen Christ who is indeed present at every meal. R
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER?
So each episode of Star Trek begins. Where is the final frontier, really? Is it in outer space? Is it going the other way, in microscopic space? The familiar saying comes to mind: that 'Wherever you go, there you are!' It seems to me that any frontier to which one travels, and which leaves onebasically intact as himself or herself, cannot really be the final frontier. The final frontier, it seems to me, would be God--the one in whom, when we are in him, we cannot say 'Here I Am' and 'There He Is'. R
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM!
I went to a large all-boys public high school, and am one of the relatively few persons in the U.S. to have that distinction. It had its plusses and minuses, as you can imagine; one of the plusses was that, without girls on campus, things were far more laid back--fewer fights, less showing off, easier to concentrate on school, etc. This I see only in retrospect; at the time, no girls on campus was a definite minus!
Anyway, one day the head of the Drama Department, who had connections with all kinds of off-Broadway companies, brought in this great show--it was a revue of the musical Cabaret, and there were all of these provacatively-dressed gorgeous women in it. The all-male student body was roundly impressed to see this, and despite the principal's admonitions beforehand, there was quite a bit of hooting and hollering, wolf-whistling, etc. during various parts of the performance.
At the end of the show, as these hot babes were taking their bows, there was great cheering and applause, until...they, in unison, pulled off their wigs to reveal that they were all guys! This action definitely had a dampening effect, and left us all rather stunned, because, guys though they may have been, they sure put on a good show, and it was still worth a clap--kind of impressive really; and yet we had all just previously been thinking less than pure thoughts about these...guys!
As stunning as the end of this performance was for a bunch of high school guys, I would like to suggest that it was nothing compared to Holy Week drama and God's scandalous ending of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It was not something that Jesus' disciples, or anyone else, was prepared for; and it would be something they would never forget. And yet it seems to me that we are no longer that impressed with it, and have turned it into something tame, acceptable, religous.
It's interesting how things come to mind. I had not thought about this high school show for years, until this morning. Now maybe it will help me see the drama of this season with fresh eyes! R
Anyway, one day the head of the Drama Department, who had connections with all kinds of off-Broadway companies, brought in this great show--it was a revue of the musical Cabaret, and there were all of these provacatively-dressed gorgeous women in it. The all-male student body was roundly impressed to see this, and despite the principal's admonitions beforehand, there was quite a bit of hooting and hollering, wolf-whistling, etc. during various parts of the performance.
At the end of the show, as these hot babes were taking their bows, there was great cheering and applause, until...they, in unison, pulled off their wigs to reveal that they were all guys! This action definitely had a dampening effect, and left us all rather stunned, because, guys though they may have been, they sure put on a good show, and it was still worth a clap--kind of impressive really; and yet we had all just previously been thinking less than pure thoughts about these...guys!
As stunning as the end of this performance was for a bunch of high school guys, I would like to suggest that it was nothing compared to Holy Week drama and God's scandalous ending of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It was not something that Jesus' disciples, or anyone else, was prepared for; and it would be something they would never forget. And yet it seems to me that we are no longer that impressed with it, and have turned it into something tame, acceptable, religous.
It's interesting how things come to mind. I had not thought about this high school show for years, until this morning. Now maybe it will help me see the drama of this season with fresh eyes! R
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
HAPPY LENT!
Lent has become my favorite season of the year; but not for the reasons you might think! I am not, for instance, a glutton for punishment, or discipline; and I ain't giving up chocolate for nobody! Often Lent is associated with these kinds of things, and it becomes a season of heaviness, of putting more 'to do's'--be they spiritual or otherwise--on one's plate. And, indeed, I used to look at Lent that way myself--in football terms, Lent was training camp--the brutal time of two-a-days that gets us ready for Easter.
I no longer look at Lent in this way. Lent, now, has become the season of 'laying the burden down' and living more lightly with life. The burden I attempt to lay down (and it is not easy) is not work but my own sense of importance, the self-judgements, the many standards that I have set for myself, and others, but which God has not laid down for me, ot for them. Lent, for me, is the season to enjoy living lightly as God's child rather than as the king of Randy World with all of the responsibility that that entails!
This year, we are encouraging ourselves to think of Lent differently: instead of 'giving something up' we are invited to 'take something on'--to do something to help someone and that will connect us more directly with the poor among us, in keeping with our study of the book A Hole in Our Gospel. At first, as I thought about this, it went against my Lenten grain, and I thought 'Training Camp', and said to myself, 'Well, if I am going to 'take on' something, then that is going to weigh me down, and it means I will need to give an additional something up beyond what I normally give up, so that my plate continues to be appropriately light for Lent.'
But the more I think about it, the more this 'taking on' something is right up the ol' Lenten alley.
For all we are really asked to 'take on', in the end, is our identity as the children of God, and to let all the other ways in which we have come to think about ourselves fall by the wayside. And one of the ways in which we live lightly and joyfully in this world as God's children is to be connected meaninfully with the poor. There will be crosses in the foyers of both campuses this Lent that will have on them opportunities to help others. Consider them as the clothes of the children of God; they are the clothes we were born to live in! I wish us each and all a light and happy Lent!
Randy
I no longer look at Lent in this way. Lent, now, has become the season of 'laying the burden down' and living more lightly with life. The burden I attempt to lay down (and it is not easy) is not work but my own sense of importance, the self-judgements, the many standards that I have set for myself, and others, but which God has not laid down for me, ot for them. Lent, for me, is the season to enjoy living lightly as God's child rather than as the king of Randy World with all of the responsibility that that entails!
This year, we are encouraging ourselves to think of Lent differently: instead of 'giving something up' we are invited to 'take something on'--to do something to help someone and that will connect us more directly with the poor among us, in keeping with our study of the book A Hole in Our Gospel. At first, as I thought about this, it went against my Lenten grain, and I thought 'Training Camp', and said to myself, 'Well, if I am going to 'take on' something, then that is going to weigh me down, and it means I will need to give an additional something up beyond what I normally give up, so that my plate continues to be appropriately light for Lent.'
But the more I think about it, the more this 'taking on' something is right up the ol' Lenten alley.
For all we are really asked to 'take on', in the end, is our identity as the children of God, and to let all the other ways in which we have come to think about ourselves fall by the wayside. And one of the ways in which we live lightly and joyfully in this world as God's children is to be connected meaninfully with the poor. There will be crosses in the foyers of both campuses this Lent that will have on them opportunities to help others. Consider them as the clothes of the children of God; they are the clothes we were born to live in! I wish us each and all a light and happy Lent!
Randy
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