Conversation with a Rabbi: From Death to Burial

[Scripture]
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

[Reflection]
I asked Rabbi Vered Harris to help me and other American Christians who have an especially hard time thinking about death and mourning.  I believe that the source of our struggle is our lack of meaningful, comfort-bringing rituals around Death.  I want to share what Rabbi Harris shared with me and then share a few brief thoughts.

Death and Mourning
1.  At the time of death, a prayer is made.
2.  The body of the deceased is immediately taken to be prepared for burial.  Jewish funerals usually occur with 24 hours of the person’s passing.  This is because a) Their high respect of the body does not allow them to have a body waiting and b) The Mourning Process cannot begin until the body is buried.
3.  The body is prepared by someone of the same gender.  While the body is being prepared, the whole body is to be covered except for the small section of the body that is being washed.  These acts continue to honor the person’s sacred nudity, even in death. 
4.  After preparation, the body of the deceased must be accompanied at all times.  In Judaism, the act of leaving a body in a funeral home room alone overnight would be considered dishonorable.
5.  For the funeral, the body is not dressed in their best suit or dress.  The deceased instead is buried in a common burial shroud.  Rabbi Harris taught that this signifies “that in death, we are all equal.”  Furthermore, a person is forbidden to be buried with pockets because “you can’t take anything with you.”  I was struck by how powerful an impact these two rules of burial can be for a community.
6. The body of the deceased is buried with the “mourners,” each using a shovel to begin covering the casket with dirt.  (“Mourners” refers to first degree family members to the deceased: mom, dad, husband, wife, brother, sister, daughter and son). The rest of the people at the gravesite join along with
with each person literally taking a shovel until the body is completely buried.  This painful, participatory process enforces the finality of the death. Another cool point, no one is allowed to visit the graveside until 30 days after the burial.  This protects the family from seeing the gravesite until there is new life sprouting up in the form of grass and flowers.  How cool is that?!?
7.  Everyone heads to the house of the primary mourner for food.  At the house, everyone is to remain silent unless a Mourner talks to them first.  Joke-telling and joyous remembering are not allowed unless a Mourner initiates it.  I love the way the Mourners are given precedence and given the freedom to create a mood at the dinner that meets their needs for mourning.

At this point, the rest of the Mourning Process can begin which is one of the most brilliantly beautiful things I have heard in a long time.  I will share the rest of the process in my next blog post.

Looking into these characteristics of Death and Mourning have revealed just how incomplete and awkward are rituals around Death can be.  I am personally struck by the holiness around every detail of the Death and Mourning process in Judaism.   It brings me to the following questions.

[Application]
1.  What is the most beautiful element you learned about the Death and Mourning process?
2.  How can you see any of these elements help you during a future time of Death and Mourning?
3.  Which one thing do you wish churches would apply who are looking to improve how they care for people during a time of death?  (Please share this answer with me)

As always, thanks for reading. Please leave your thoughts and blog post so that I can learn from you.

Conversation with a Rabbi: A Holier Sex Life

[Scripture]
“For they were naked and unashamed.”  Genesis 2:25

[Introduction]
On January 28^th, I spoke with Rabbi Vered Harris from Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, Kansas.  The conversation was so full, so eye-opening that I wanted to share it with all of you in a series of blog posts.  The series of blog posts will cover Rabbi Harris’ words regarding Sexuality and Death.

[Reflection]
The Hebrew word for holy is “kadosh.”  The Hebrew word for marriage is “kiddushim,” which denotes that a marital relationship is designed as a holy relationship.  In marriage, the couple is set apart as a unique relationship.  In marriage, the wife is set apart for the husband and the husband for his wife.  All other women are not set apart for this husband.  They are set apart for another mate, a truth that has a profound impact on why a person should flee from adultery and pornography. 

Rabbi Harris explained that Judaism is about boundaries, there are behaviors that are off limits (ie. eating non-kosher foods, working on Sabbath) and other behaviors are permitted.  She shared that one of her favorite teachings regarding Judaism is “we are held accountable for not taking pleasure in what is permitted.”  She continued: Sex is to be celebrated and we will be held accountable for whether or not we took pleasure in what God permits within a marital relationship.  Rabbi Harris claimed that sex has been treated as animalistic and casual which has reduced the holiness it was intended for. She then cited two ways of restoring the holiness.

1.  A Time for Sex and a Time Not for Sex. Rabbi Harris claimed that Jewish spouses are instructed to not engage in sexual relations from the beginning of the wife’s menstrual cycle until seven days following the end of the cycle.  Following the end of the cycle, Orthodox Jewish women would bathe in a mikvah  to be purified and to begin the seven day cleansing.  Reformed Jews observe this pattern, but often without the use of a mikvah.  This time frame where sex is forbidden could last 10-14 days and should simultaneously focus on other, non-sexualized acts of affection.  Following this time where sex is forbidden, sex becomes permitted and it is highly encouraged that sex be enjoyed often by the married couple as God’s gift.

2.  No Casual Nakedness with Spouse.  Rabbi Harris cited Shmuley Boteach and his book “Kosher Sex.”  http://www.amazon.com/Kosher-Sex-Recipe-Passion-Intimacy/dp/0385494661/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264773414&sr=1-1  Shmuley Boteach argues that walking around the house naked, or letting your spouse see you naked as you are showering or getting dressed can hurt your sexual relationship.  Attaching nakedness to these casual encounters increases the chances for a couple to view sex as casual rather than sacred.   The unveiling of our bodies for the other should be treated as a holy event , which it was created to be.

My head is still spinning after my conversation with Rabbi Harris.  I believe that our views of Sex, Marriage, and Death are very shallow and miss out on God’s greater meaning for us.  Learning from our Jewish sister and brothers offer us a Godly view of our lives which will add a much needed new perspective.  Our faith must go deeper.  My upcoming reflections will unpack Rabbi Harris; words regarding Marriage, Death and Mourning.  I cannot wait to share them with you.

[Application]
1.  What is one new idea you learned today?
2.  What is one thing you can do to respond these teachings?

As always, thanks for reading.  Please leave your thoughts or your blog post below so that I can hear what you have to say.

“Jesus the Healer: Another Dimension”

[Scripture]
“When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.” Luke 4:40

[Reflection]
The Kingdom of God makes you healthy.  The Kingdom of Rome makes you sick.Last week, Pastor Adam Hamilton did a great job unpacking three aspects to Jesus’ identity as a healer.  I want to add a fourth dimension about Jesus’ healing power that couldn’t fit the time constraints by pursuing the question “Why were there so many sick people?”

In Warren Carter’s book “Matthew in the Margins,” Carter explains that the conditions of the Roman Empire made people sick.  Some cities like Antioch had a higher population density than modern day Calcutta.  Ineffective sanitation among the poor (which made up 80-95% of Roman Empire) led to widespread disease.  Sickness developed from a lack of clean drinking water, poor nutrition, and an inability to take a “day off” because most people lived and to mouth. 

Understanding this context, we can see an added dimension to Jesus’ healings.  Simply put; The Kingdom of God makes you healthy while The Kingdom of Rome makes you sick. Jesus feeds the 5000, because Rome left them hungry.  Jesus cured the diseases caused by Rome ignoring the needs of the poor. 

When we reflect on Jesus’ healing, let us reflect also on the ways that Rome makes us sick.  Rome can be synonymous with the forces in this world that kill, steal and destroy us.  On a social level, if Rome creates laws that help keep poor people poor, Jesus’ healing can look like advocacy.  On a vocational level, if Rome demands that you work 85 hours a week and it is making you sick, Jesus heals by commanding that you observe the Sabbath.  On a emotional level, if Rome says you are less than because of your body type or income level and it is making you sick, then Jesus’ healing looks like finding your worth as God’s child.  And so on …

Jesus and The Kingdom of God makes you healthy.  The Kingdom of Rome makes you sick.  Allow Jesus to heal you today.  Let Jesus work through you to heal others tomorrow.

[Application]
1.  What is one way that Rome has made you sick?  How do you see Jesus healing you?
2.  As an exercise, list 2-3 ways that Rome’s ways have led to sickness in the the lives of others around you.

As always, thanks for reading. Please leave your thoughts or your blog address so that I can hear your thoughts.

Doing Resolutions … Ben Franklin Style

[Scripture]
^“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 3:18

[Reflection]
Spiritually, we’re here.  God wants us (for our sake) to be there.  Sometimes we want to be there too, at that place where we have been changed.  We ache for this change so much that we jump on New Year’s Resolutions as a unique, pregnant opportunity to finally embark on that journey from here to there.  The effort is noble … the strategy of starting all this change simultaneously on January 1^st is catastrophic.

In “Everyday Justice,” Julie Clawson notes that ol’ Ben Franklin “conceiv’d the bold and arduous Project of arriving at moral perfection.”  He then compiled a list of thirteen virtues he desired to incorporate into his life.  He found that working on all of them at once was nearly impossible.  Instead Ben Franklin decided to work on one virtue a week.

Our microwave culture builds an expectation that we can be changed overnight, especially when overnight bridges one year into the other.  This is not how God’s act of Sanctification (the process of be transformed into Jesus-likeness) works.  Instead I suggest we all try taking a page from ol’ Ben.

[Application]
1.  Make a list of a set of Godly virtues that you would like to see more of in your life, for your sake and for the sake of others whose life intersects with yours.  Start with the fruits of the spirit and:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Add justice, service, and whatever else you are being pulled to.

2.  Spend your energy and prayer-life focusing on that one aspect from now through Lent and to Easter.  Write the word in a number of different locations and focus on your resolution ol’ Ben style.

As always thanks for reading.  Please add your comments or blog post so that I can hear your thoughts.

Speaking Christian-ese: Understanding “In the Name of Jesus”

[Scripture]
“Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” – Romans 1:5
“Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” – Acts 3:6

[Reflection]
Christian-ese can be a whole other language.  A Roget’s Travel Guide to the Church would include “must know” words such as doxology, liturgy, laity, and Gloria Patri.  One phrase in any Guidebook should be “in the name of Jesus.”

       “In the name of Jesus” is the ancient way of saying “From the Office of the Bishop,” or “From the Desk of the President.” 

“The name of Jesus” invokes two meanings.
1) Authority/Approval – If you are acting on behalf of the Bishop’s office, you are acting with the Bishop’s approval, along with the authority that is attached to the Bishop himself.
2) Purpose – Likewise, “in the name of Jesus” means that you are acting according to his purpose to: save the lost, feed the poor, heal the sick, initiate the Kingdom of God.

Doing things (in addition to prayer) in the name of Jesus attaches the action to the “Desk of the Messiah.”  It invokes his authority, approval and his purpose.  So….

[Application]
1.  Examine your prayers and see if they are really attached to Jesus’ Purpose.  If not, change your prayers.  (For example, Jesus wants to do more than comfort people.  Sometimes Jesus wants to agitate us and prayers “in Jesus’ name should include this purpose as well
2.  Imagine your actions of love as if they are done with the authority of “The Desk of the Messiah.”

As always thanks for reading.  If you have any thoughts, please add them below or include a link to your blog so that I can learn from you.

Avatar and the Church Part 2: Grace Like a Jellyfish

 

[Scripture]
¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Luke 4:18-19
AND
^14”If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” 1 Peter 4:14

[Reflection]
“Grace is a like the floating jellyfish creatures from Avatar.”  Granted, this phrase is not as singable as Todd Agnew’s song “Grace Like Rain,” but perhaps more true.
The image above shows the main character Jake Scully and his love interest Neytiri.  In this scene, a host of floating jellyfish like creatures descend softly upon him.  These jellyfish creatures are expressions of their God.  Their descent upon Jake Scully was a showcase that Jake was special, set apart in some way.

I believe that scene is a great pictorial image of the Spirit of God descending upon Jesus at his Baptism and during his sermon in Luke 4.  God gently descends upon Jesus and sets him apart.  While Jake Scully did not know immediately why God descended on him, Jesus did know.  God sent Jesus and set Jesus apart to preach good news to the poor, release people from their prisons, open eyes, and free people from being stepped upon.”  God’s grace falls on us in the same way and for the same reason.

As you pray for God’s presence today to “be with you,” pray that God’s Spirit descends upon you in a jellyfish-like manner just as it descended on Jesus and Jake Scully.  Then pray that your eyes see the purpose behind this gentle gracing: adamant and invigorated care for the least of these.  Grace is about more than forgiveness.  Even in grace’s gentleness, grace is about pointing people to be part of the Kingdom of God through acts (and thoughts) of service and compassion.

[note:If you are in a deep sadness, it may be most helpful for you to focus on God’s grace softly descending upon you during your prayer.  See 1Peter 4:14 as one example of this picture in Scripture. Enjoy God’s grace before jumping to the purpose behind it]

[Application]
1.  See Avatar in 3D if at all possible!
2.  Imagine God’s Grace falling upon you like a floating jellyfish-like creature !!
3.  Ask yourself, “what is God setting me apart to do for the ‘least of these’ with my finances? Time? Energy? Words?”  !!!

As always, thank you for reading these words.  Please leave your blog address or thoughts so that I can learn from you as well.

Avatar and the Church: Part 1 Worship in 3D

Avatar and the Church: Part 1 Worship in 3D

[Scripture]
 ²²They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”²⁴He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” ²⁵Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.”  Mark 8:22-25

[Reflection]
The aim of Christian Worship is to equip people with 3D glasses to see God and others..  Here’s where I am coming from. Avatar in IMAX 3D blew my mind.  It was a Matrix moment.  Watching Avatar in 3D, I felt like movies would never be the same.  (You have to see the it on IMAX 3D)  The first thought that I needed to type out deals with Worship.

During the movie, I would occasionally take off my 3D glasses to see what the screen looked like.  In the scenes where beautiful, extraterrestrial glowing vines filled the screen in vivid color and clarity, the sight without the 3D glasses was rather hazy and the colors were muted.  Without the glasses, anyone could see the screen and understand what was happening.  However, without the glasses, the story was 2-Dimensional, fuzzy, and rather pale.

The aim of Christian Worship is to equip people with 3D glasses to see God and others… and to have that vision translate into worship of Jesus and love of neighbor.  People can already see God and others, but often the picture they see is blurry and bland.  When worship speaks to and about God with Biblical evidence and with creativity, God jumps off the screen.  God is shown to be 3-dimensional, clearly placed in the forefront while Biblical images of the Garden of Eden, Egypt, Red Sea, Temple, Babylon, Manger, Mount, Cross, and Tomb hover as the 3D image’s backdrop.  Worship becomes 3D when it speaks about the poor, not as a category of people with blurred out faces, but as Cliff, Vincent, and thousands of other homeless in KC and their kids.

People see God and their neighbors all day every day.  Worship’s challenge is to equip people with 3D glasses so that they can see God and others no longer as 2 Dimensional during that hour and then beyond.  To show that God and their neighbor are so close they can be touched, and want to be.

This is a unique challenge for those planning worship, but it is a shared challenge for all worshippers. 
We all “want to see,” not blurry trees, but in full color.  This is how.

[Application]
Ways to Make Worship 3D for you:
1.  Whenever the Scripture or Pastor calls out an attribute of God (Just, Loving, Forgiving,etc.) pause at that moment and think of a real experience you have had with that attribute of God.  (For extra credit, see if you can come up with a Biblical example of that attribute to serve as a background for your 3D picture)
2.  Whenever the Scripture or Pastor talks about your friend/enemy/neighbor, name them.  Look into the details of their life, pains they feel, stresses they hold, and see if they cease to be 2 Dimensional.

As always, thank you for reading.  Please share your blog address or add your opinions below so that I can hear your thoughts.

Christmas Surprise

[Scripture]
“1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world … While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”   Luke 2:1,7-8
[Reflection]
Even though we have been down this path before, Christmas should still reserve some type of “Surprise Factor.”  The earliest Christians  thought of Christmas that way, that is why they placed the Season of Advent before Christmas.  Advent comes from the Latin “adventus” which means “to come (vent) towards (ad).”  Advent celebrates that God comes towards us, not just from above, but from the future.  God’s Advent brings new possibilities that cannot be predicted based upon the past.  Forgiveness of Sin cannot be predicted based on the past transgressions, new compassion cannot be predicted based upon years of not caring.  Advent and Christmas are about surprises, that tomorrow does not have to look like yesterday.  Surprises do happen and can happen for each of us. 

We are prone to repeating behavior and rethinking negative thoughts about other people and our own inability to be loved.  We need a possibility of a new future to come to us, and that is Christmas.  In a backwater hamlet in the Roman Empire, a child was born who would change the world by teaching love, nonviolence, care for the poor, inclusion of the outcast.  Even those with great Biblical eyesight could not see this coming.  Jesus surprised them ….. and can surprise you this Christmas no matter how used to Christmas you have become.

Last year I found the following video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jelfyw3wu3I .  I highly encourage you to check it out and learn more about this surprise. 

[Application]
1. Make room tonight and tomorrow to let God surprise you.  Go to a candlelight service or find some time to yourself and look for something new to happen to you.
and
2. What is the most surprising thing you can do for someone this weekebd for Christmas?

As always, thanks for reading. Please leave your comments or blog address so that I can hear your thoughts as well.  Merry Christmas

No Joy in Kohl-ville

No Joy in Kohl-ville
[Scripture]
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.  He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

[Reflection]
No one smiles in line at Kohl’s.  Simple truth.  Have you noticed it to?  Over the last two days I have had to make some returns and I have found that no one smiles in line at Kohl’s, or Old Navy, or WalMart, or Target.  No one, including me and probably including you.

Why do we do this to ourselves?  A few ideas:
1) We buy gifts so we won’t feel guilty when they realize we have not bought them a gift.
2) We buy gifts because we genuinely love people and yet associate love with buying stuff and receiving stuff
3) We buy gifts because we lack other ways to bond with family and friends
4) We buy gifts so we feel powerful.  “Look at the power I have to get what I want.”
5) We buy gifts so that we can receive gifts.

But the dirty little secret is that none of this creates joy.  We don’t like the process and rarely enjoy the event itself.  This year, Christmas can be different.

If you are ready for a shift in your Christmas, I want to invite you to join in doing something very Jesus-ish.  Care for the poor.  You can do that through the following.
[Application]
1.  http://www.firstgiving.com/bsimpson   Join my friend Ben Simpson raise $500 to provide clean drinking water through www.water.cc.

It take $1 to give 1 person clean water for 1 year.

Try spending $14.99 doing this and see if you feel different than if you were in line at Kohl’s.  For more info on this movement, visit www.adventconspiracy.org.

Tiger Woods and “The King David Effect”

[Scripture] 
¹In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. ²One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, ³and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba…the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her…then she went back home. ⁵The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”  (2 Samuel 11:1-5)

[Reflection]
The Greek gods were sex-crazed and would have sex with as many mortals as they wanted.  They were gods, who would stop them?  King David followed the example of the Greek gods.  King David saw a girl that he wanted, and nothing could stop him.  The idea of anything or anyone being “off limits” woud have been unknown to David. As a king, the rules for other people applied to him as much as they applied to the Greek gods. 

Tiger Woods has just experienced “The King David Effect.”  With his $1billion, his advertising power and skill, Tiger Woods forgot his humanity and started acting like a Greek god or a Isarelite King.  Covenant recognizes that their are limitations in place for very good reasons.  Entitlement imagines that a person is above those limitations.  For Tiger, Entitlement>Covenant.

[Application]
The lesson from Tiger Woods is about more than maritial infidelity.  It is about the timelessness of the Scriptural Message: there is one God and it’s not us.  Consider these questions:
1.  In what ways do you believe that you are above the rules?
2.  What are some limitations to your behavior that are there for your sake?

As always, I would love to hear from you.  Leave your thoughts or your blog address below so I can read your thoughts.  Thanks for reading.