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Breaking the Chains that Bind Posts

Friday Bits-N-Pieces

Published by mhelbert on December 20, 2019

I’ve never written a post that consists of bits-n-pieces of happenings and stuff. So, this is a new adventure for all of us! Yippee!

I’m currently on vacation from work. I had quite a bit of time to use up before the end of the year. I like taking time now. It gives me a chance to finish Christmas preparations at a pace that helps me remain sane. I finished shopping, the house is decorated, and cards have been mailed. All I have to do is wrap a few things. Then, Bring it on!!! I’m ready!!!

It’s been an exciting time for writing posts for this blog. Views have been consistent. While I would like to see followers and comments increase, I know that all things happen in their own time. I need to keep trying to produce content worth your time to read.
If any of you who actually do take the time to read what I post, how about dropping me a line in the comments to let me know what you think? I don’t bite. At least not too hard. And, it would be good to know who’s actually out there.

I’ve written a bit about my journey at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church recently. I started attending there regularly a little over a year ago. Since that time I’ve met a lot of people who truly want to follow Jesus. And, not just with lip service. They take seriously the statement that God loves Everyone…No exceptions.
Since last June I have had the privilege of leading a weekly Bible study. Few people come to it. I think partly because it’s before the worship service and many have kids to get ready. Plus, it’s early on Sunday morning. But, those who have been coming are excited about it. It’s not your typical study. I don’t follow a curriculum. Nor, do I pretend to be a teacher. We use the readings from the lectionary for that particular Sunday morning. Then, we discuss what we read. We ask questions of the text. We question God about what was written. Why was it written? Who wrote it? When was it written? To whom was it written? We don’t teach morality or politics. We talk about the text. In leading this way I hope to help folks learn how to read and listen to the Scriptures with a critical mind. We push back on some of the popular ways that the Bible is used as a weapon. Or, how people try to pawn of their certainty that the Bible says this or that.
It has been a fun journey so far.

Speaking of St. Barnabas…
Tomorrow, Saturday the 21st, we are having a special service for those who may be grieving or may have suffered some loss. This is difficult at any time. But, during the holidays loss may be even harder to deal with. So, we are offering this time to reflect, to pray, to walk a labyrinth, and to share our grief with God and one another.
Jesus gave a commandment that we are to love one another. This is just one more way for us to flesh that out.

Well, that’s about all I have right now.
Let me know what’s happening with you in the comments!

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Enlightenment, Spirituality, and the Breath of God

Published by mhelbert on December 19, 2019

Spirituality is something that is embedded deep in my bones.
I have no idea why this is so. Lord knows I’ve tried my best to leave it all behind. The toxic theology that pawns itself off as Real True Christian almost fried me. I could no longer agree with that worldview that states all thing human are totally depraved. The idea that there is no redeeming characteristic AT ALL in the Cosmos is a fatal flaw in that closed, religious mindset.

I turned my mind to think critically about religion, theology, Holy Writ, and what some call spirituality, (whatever that means). I saw the inconsistencies and contradictions that seem omnipresent in all of those things. So, I tried to leave it behind as a relic of a bygone era before what was considered Supernatural became routine science. I began to listen to the voices of the Enlightenment. The collected voices of those people were raised up in a chorus that sounded out the harmony of the Human family. The striking melody of Human Reason cut through the Cosmos. We were on our way to Perfection at last! The Mind was lifted up on a pedestal where all could see it and bow before its magnificence. A whole universe of possibility opened up before us.
Of course, two world wars and the real possibility of nuclear annihilation tempered that idea a bit.

I noticed that a version of this had birthed itself out of the Christian faith. It was named Progressive Christianity. “Wow!” I said. “Rationalism married spirituality and Poof! Look at what came out!”
I was excited. Things were looking up. A theology of the Kingdom of God developed that stated that we, the Church, are the Body of Christ. We are to work for the same things that Jesus did. We are tasked with welcoming the ‘Other’ and caring for the widow, orphan, and stranger. And, eventually, we will see the realization of God’s reign on Earth! Yay!!!

But, even this seemed to lack. It looked like the same view that came out of the Enlightenment. That somehow or other, the trajectory of the Universe is bent toward justice.
That’s a really nice thought. I do like that idea. A Lot.

But, my eyes tell me a different story.
All over the world I see war, hate, distrust, greed, death.
There seems to be something innate in the human character that simply drives us to the most abhorrent actions that we can imagine.
And, no, it doesn’t look like things are improving.

There MUST be another way, I thought.

So, I sat.
In silence.
Listening.
For hours and days.

Slowly, I noticed changes in the way I looked at things.
I no longer saw things in a closed system like those Real True Christians seemed to love. Life, and God, cannot be reduced to black and white. There is a whole rainbow of colors that lie between those poles.
I found that God is a really, really Big God Who cannot be stuffed into those decorator boxes that Real True Christians carry around.

I also found that the Progressives miss the mark as well. Their idea of the Kingdom of God opening up before us as we do the work lacks the Spark of Life that actually identifies the Kingdom.
To simply reduce God’s purposes to humans continuing the outward work of Jesus is just as anemic as the RTC view of God-In-A-Box.

So, what other possibilities are there?

“In the beginning the Cosmos was empty. And Ruach Elohim hovered over the waters.”

Ruach Elohim. The Breath of God.
Hovering.
Seeding God’s Good Grace into the waters.
Order growing out of Chaos.

That is the missing piece.
Yes, the human heart is capable of creating horrible things.
We all know it. We all see it every. single. day.
And, no change of philosophy or theology that pits human will against the darkness in that heart will change it.
Not possible.
Been there; done that.
But, when the Breath of God blows, chaos is calmed. Life germinates and flourishes.
Hope pushes up through the fertile soil of the soul and metamorphosis is possible.

I do think that we all are capable of feeling the gentle breeze of God’s Breath as it hovers above the chaos. I have hope that God will one day fulfill the promises made so many years ago. Promises of peace, justice, life, and Love.
But, it won’t come through human effort alone. Yeah, there must be effort on our part. We must be willing to be open to transformation.
Most importantly, though, we must be open to the voice of the Breath of God.

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Look! Oh, Breath of God!

Published by mhelbert on December 18, 2019

Look!
The breakers pound the shoreline into submission,
Creating sand that a child forms into a castle,
Complete with ramparts and towers where archers
Fire their arrows and bolts at the advancing enemy.

Look!
The hungry person takes bread from the baker!
No money exchanged, the baker raises the alarm.
Stop! Thief!
The hungry person cast into chains and taken
From family, friends, life.

Look!
The rich person snaps fingers and servant scurries.
The rich person nods and gold moves from one rich person to another.
The rich person pays the officer who scatters the poor who hold hands out.
The rich person closes the curtains.
Cheers!

Look…
Ancient stories tell of the Breath of God
Hovering over the deep,
Settling above the chaos.
Order from disorder; life from emptiness.

Look…
See where the Comforter hides
For we cannot see this One anywhere.
Where is the Breath of God?
Chaos reigns in the depths of human hearts.

Look!
O Breath!
See the ruins!
Behold the smoke and fires burning!

When…
Will You calm the chaos that reigns?
Will You breathe new life into these bones of death?
Will You comfort?

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Little Boxes

Published by mhelbert on December 17, 2019

This morning as I sat in the quiet of my office, candles casting a soft luminance across my desk, shadows quietly dancing to the movement of the flames, an image formed in my mind.
The image was of a man wearing a robe with gold woven into it. He was leading a procession down a street.
There were some others wearing similar robes. Someone carried a banner like a flag.
Many people followed in the train of these men.
They appeared to be full of joy, singing together.

I wondered at this for a moment.

Then, I realized that I recognized these people.
They were walking away from a church that had at one time been a place where the Holy Spirit was alive and active.

But, something happened to change that.

The people created boxes.
They were pretty boxes.
There were green ones and red ones. Some purple and still others yellow and blue.
The people I saw marching down the street each held one of the boxes.

“What’s in those boxes?” I asked.

“Why, God, of course,” came the reply.

My forehead furrowed as I looked on, perplexed.
“Those boxes are awfully small,” I said. “How did they get God into those?”

The answer surprised me.

“All of those people shrunk God so that God would fit!” the voice said. The tone was like a person stating something so obvious that the question was just silly.
“They have each imagined God as a small, parochial deity that can only do certain small things.
The God of their imagination cannot accept anyone who has not prayed a certain prayer in a very certain way. This God is not capable of loving the many and diverse people and creatures of the Cosmos. Only people who look like them are acceptable to their God. These people have very strict rules about what their God is allowed to do. God must be able to fit inside of their small imagination. So, naturally, this God must be small enough to fit in the boxes!”

As I sat there considering what I had just seen and heard, I could not help feeling sorry for those people. They had created a god that fit their own idea of what a god was. This god is impotent. It is incapable of expressing divine love because it is constructed out of the paper mache of the human mind. It really is sad.

I can understand it a little, though.
If we allow God to exist outside of our little boxes then God might just do something we don’t expect. God might surprise us with the vastness and ferociousness of Divine Love. We might even find ourselves changed! Our hearts and imaginations might become vast and ferocious as well. We might find that we are compelled to Love Others. If we’re not careful we may find ourselves caring about the Cosmos like it was our very own backyard.

We can’t have that kind of stuff happening…

Can we?

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Monday Musing

Published by mhelbert on December 16, 2019

Awakening, the dawn yet hours away.
Eyes closed, yet wide open as I search for You.
Ears alert to the sound of Your feet shuffling toward the veil.
Will You draw it back today?
Will I feel the warmth of Your Presence as You enter my world?

Only the slight sound of Wind against the windows.
Otherwise, silent.


Wait.
Patience.
Endure.
These are the creatures that inhabit the Cosmos!
I see them with my eyes and hear them with my ears
Every moment.
Every day.

When, my Friend?
Shall we walk together and speak of things long gone?
Perhaps, those yet to come.
Yes. That would be appropriate.
Where shall we go from here?

Here I am.

Walking in a cloud.

Unknowing.

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Advent: Third Sunday

Published by mhelbert on December 14, 2019

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice.

Joy reigns during the modern Christmas season.
And, it seems as though this season gets longer and longer with each passing year.
Christmas decorations seem to sprout from thin air in stores the day after Halloween!

Traditionally, though, the Christmas season begins at Christmas and is celebrated until the day of Epiphany.
Prior to Christmas, as I’ve written before, is the season of Advent.
This is a time of waiting, expecting, anticipating, and preparing for the arrival of the Messiah. It is traditional a solemn time of reflection and penitence. That is why liturgical churches use violet for vestments and coverings. Violet is a color of repentance.

The early Church, however, recognized that one of the defining characteristics of our life after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ is Joy.
The verse at the beginning of this post is from Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi. He reminded the young church to stand firm in the faith, to work together in their struggle in the Gospel, and to Rejoice at all times.


The Church, therefore, chose to remember this during the season of Advent.
In the midst of solemn preparation to receive the King of kings among them, as they sought to cleanse their hearts and make a place for the Blessed Child, they added a time for rejoicing.

The third Sunday in Advent is named Gaudete Sunday. (pron. Gow-deh-tay).
The word is taken from the first word of the Latin mass for this Sunday. It is translated “Rejoice!”

So, on this Sunday instead of the violet of penitence, we celebrate by lighting a Rose colored candle.

Let our joy be made full as we join with the entire Communion of Saints to prepare ourselves to celebrate the Coming Messiah!

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Lover!!!

Published by mhelbert on December 13, 2019

God Loves Us!
We hear that.
We say that.

God Is Love.
Faith. Fullness.
Faith Mantra.

We speak of the Love that God has laser focused on us and the Cosmos.
Jesus, we say, pursues us as a Lover.
We are, in most of our imaginings, the object of God’s Love.
God is the Subject from Whom that Love flows.

” Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
    for your love is more delightful than wine,” the Song says.

” How beautiful you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes behind your veil are doves.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle
    that browse among the lilies.
Until the day breaks
    and the shadows flee,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh
    and to the hill of incense.
You are altogether beautiful, my darling;
    there is no flaw in you.”

These are words that we imagine come from the heart and mouth of the Lover of our souls. Passionate! Lustful! Erotic!

We see this Love as originating and flowing from Heart of God primarily in one direction.
Yeah, we say that we love God.
Why?
Well, because God first loved us, of course.
Then we try to explain how much work we do for God because we love God.
Didn’t Jesus say that those who love Him would obey him?
Our expression of love devolves into doing stuff.

What if we were to actually love God AS God loves us?

What if we take the place of Lover with God as our Beloved?

Then would we not chase God? Consciously? Passionately?

We would say to God,

Awake, north wind,
    and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,
    that its fragrance may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved come into his garden
    and taste its choice fruits.

Would we not be like the Beloved in the Song?

All night long on my bed
    I looked for the one my heart loves;
    I looked for him but did not find him.
I will get up now and go about the city,
    through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.

Could we even imagine saying to God,

Under the apple tree I roused you;
    there your mother conceived you…
His left arm is under my head
and his right arm embraces me…
My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
my heart began to pound for him…

This is the language of Love.
This is the language of Relationship.
Lustful?
Yes!
Erotic?
Absolutely!

Let us shed our prim and proper sensibilities.
We must not allow desire to be stuffed in a neat, little Victorian box where it lies stunted and impotent.

If God is indeed the Object of our Love,
Express it!
Live It!
Embrace it!

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Advent: A Season of Expectation, Pt. 3

Published by mhelbert on December 12, 2019

I didn’t intend that these Advent musings would become a multi-part project. But, you know what they say about best laid plans.
In the first part I looked at the expectations of ancient Israel. They looked forward to the arrival of a Warrior King molded after King David. He would deliver Israel from her enemies and reign over the Earth with righteousness and justice.

Yesterday we saw who really arrived.
Not a Warrior King. But, a Servant King.
In Jesus, God completely disarmed the powers of that day by subverting the very idea of violence with embodied Love.

Ok. So what?

What does the Advent of Jesus 2,000 years ago have to do with celebrating Advent today?

The Church has believed since its beginning that Jesus would return one day. As Jesus stood on a hill with his disciples he gave them some final instructions. Then, the writer of the book of Act recorded,

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

The early believers thought that Jesus would return soon. That He would descend from the clouds and God’s reign would be realized on earth as it is in heaven.

The anticipated return of Jesus is what we celebrate now at Advent.
And, we wait expectantly for His arrival.

But, what do we expect to see?

There are many who look to the Bible and see the same descriptions of Messiah that the ancient Israelites saw. They recognize that the first Advent of Jesus did not look anything like the Warrior King of Scripture. So, that must mean that at the second Advent Jesus will come as the Warrior King and subdue all of His enemies. He will then establish a New Earth and a New Heaven in which He reigns with an iron scepter.

The Bible is chock full of such imagery.
The Revelation of St. John describes this kind of Return of the King.
Tolkien has nothing on John!

These same people believe that when Jesus returns everyone who has not chosen to follow Jesus will be gathered together and cast into an everlasting lake of fire where they will be eternally tormented and punished for their unbelief.

Is this really what we should expect?

I’m not so sure.

Throughout the Bible God is revealed as Just and Righteous, to be sure.
God is also the friend of the humble, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger.
God is patient and gentle.
The image of a mother hen protecting her young is given to describe God.

Jesus came, not as a warrior to seek vengeance on God’s enemies and win vindication for Israel.
No. He came as a servant to deliver the Cosmos from the sting of Death.
He came to give life abundantly to The. Whole. Cosmos.

Do we really think that at Jesus’ second Advent his character will have changed?

No. I don’t think so.

I think that the expectations of those waiting for a Warrior King will be as far off as they were at Jesus’ first Advent.
I think that if Love reigned as the Kingdom of God approached then.
If Love has reigned ever since Jesus disappeared into the clouds all of those years ago.
Then, Love will continue to reign when Jesus returns.

Let’s put aside any image of God that does not welcome sinner and saint together in the Great Loving Heart of God.

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Advent: A Season of Expectation, Pt. 2

Published by mhelbert on December 11, 2019

Yesterday I shared a little about what people at the time of Jesus’ birth expected from Messiah. This person was supposed to show up and lead the people of Israel just as the warrior king David had a millennia earlier. Messiah would defeat Israel’s enemies and ultimately set up an Empire. This Messiah King, according to the Scriptures, would reign in righteousness, justice, and power. The entire world would come to Jerusalem to worship the Messiah and to receive justice from him.

But, what actually happened?

Well, Jesus showed up.
Born among family and animals and placed in a feeding trough.
Escaped as a refugee to Egypt when the existing empire got wind of His existence.
Returned to Israel and grew up in a small backwater town.
Worked with his hands and learned how to deal with people.

Not the kind of king that was really expected.
In fact, as Jesus began to share what he believed was the truth about God and God’s reign, all of those folks who expected a Warrior Messiah turned on him.
Why?
Because he didn’t live up to their expectations.

If Jesus was truly the Messiah, then what exactly did that mean?
If He was not here to defeat Israel’s enemies and set up a Messianic Empire, then what did he actually do?

In the beginning….

At the very beginning of the Bible there is the story about how God made the heavens and the earth. All things were created and the Cosmos set in motion.
After a while, the humans there decided to think for themselves and deviate from the path that God had set before them.
They hid from God.
Then, the story tells us that in the cool of the afternoon, God came walking through the garden. God called out to the people, “Where are you?” This is told in such a way that we are supposed to think that this was something the God did regularly. God walked through the garden with a desire to spend time with them.
This theme of God coming to people with a desire to spend time with them is found throughout the Bible.

That idea found its completion in the person: Jesus.

The writers of the Gospels tell us about Jesus who came and pitched His tent among us. They write about the Jesus who hangs out at weddings and really likes good wine.
Jesus shows up at parties and hangs out with lepers and cripples and women. He held little children on his lap and told his grown disciples that God’s reign was going to be filled with people just like those children.
Not warriors.
Not politicians.
Certainly not Emperors.

It seems that the expectations that Israel had were off just a tad.
Instead of a Warrior King, they got a Servant King.

That Servant King desires to reign over a kingdom filled with people who are like those children that He held.
Childlike faith.
Childlike wonder.
Childlike…you fill in the blank.

I look around us today and see people who still think that a Warrior King is God’s plan.
They believe that Empire can save them.

But, is that what God has shown us?
No.
God desires to walk with us in the cool of the afternoon.
God’s reign is built on Love and Relationships.
Not power and Empire.

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Advent: A Season of Expectation

Published by mhelbert on December 10, 2019

Advent is that time before Christmas that the Church set aside in order to Prepare for the Arrival of Messiah.
In history, that Messiah is recognized as Jesus of Nazareth.
In our time we prepare for the return of Messiah Jesus in Glory.

The people of ancient Israel had their own expectations about the Messiah.
Their prophets told stories about the coming King of Israel.
The Psalmists sang about how God would restore the fortunes of Israel through a King like David. David, a mighty warrior and leader who fought to deliver God’s people from the perils of their enemies.
The “Idea” of Messiah grew into mythic proportions by the time that Jesus was born.
Messiah would be a great military leader who would rally Israel against her tormentors and enemies from Rome. This would establish Israel as the leading military power in the known world.
The Messiah would judge Israel in all righteousness and justice. The poor would be cared for and succor given to the widow and orphan. Foreigners would flock to Jerusalem to hear the Word of God and receive justice.

This Messiah would be, in fact, a King of Kings.

This concept of a Messiah King was ingrained in the cultural fabric of the people of Israel.
Jesus’ own disciples held tightly to the hope of a military and political Messiah.
Throughout the time that Jesus walked with them they questioned Jesus about such things as, “Who’s the greatest among us?” or, “Who will get to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus when he sits on his throne?” or again, “Shall we now call down fire on these unrepentant Samaritans?”
They asked Jesus when his reign as Messiah King would begin. They queried Jesus about times and events that, to their minds, would easily be recognized as the beginning of Jesus’ reign of power on earth.
I can just imagine the hope that arose in them as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we now celebrate as Palm Sunday.
“Yes!” I can hear James and John saying. “It’s happening!!! Finally, the King has returned!”

Expectations of empire.
Expectations of earthly power.
Expectations of God vindicating God’s self on all those “Others” out there who stand against Israel.

You know, it doesn’t seem as though expectations have changed all that much in 2,000 years.

Oh, by the way…
They were wrong then, too.

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