Category Archives: spirit

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Greatness is Within

The power to be
The power to give
The power to see

Suddenly I see
This is what I wanna be

“Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall

In 1916  Russian Greek Orthodox priest Father Grigori Rasputin was a feared and hated man.  He was thought to be many things: a mystic, a psychic, a hypnotist, a faith healer who could work miracles, a crazed man, a lecherous and dangerous person, a demon, and a political threat.  His closeness to the Royal Tsar (as the faith healer supposedly keeping the Romanov’s son Alexi from dying of hemophilia) and his wild ways drew scorn and blame when Russia plunged into war, poverty and famine.  In fact, when a prostitute who claimed he gave her syphilis stabbed him two years earlier in 1914 she screamed, “I have killed the anti-christ!” and no one argued.  Except – she didn’t kill him.  He miraculously lived through the stab wound that actually severed his intestine, which furthered the idea there was something unnaturally powerful about him.

That spiritual, physical, mystical power myth wouldn’t end with his death, but grew larger when the details of his eventual murder came to light.  On the night he was killed by a group of Russian noblemen – they reported the following dramatic tale:

At the palace of  Prince Felix Yusupov Rasputin was taken to the basement for a talk with the prince. He was fed cakes and wine laced with cyanide. After what seemed like a very long time of pointless chatting, Prince Yusupov went upstairs and told his friends that the poison was not working.  He went back downstairs and shot Rasputin in the back.  Elated, the Prince ran back upstairs claiming he had “killed the devil” but when they went down to see him – he was very much alive and tried to strangle the prince. The group of friends shot him 3 more times.  While figuring out what to do with his body, he lunged at them – proving once again to be living. They took a chair and wooden implements in the basement a beat him badly.  With Rasputin seemingly finally dead they tied up his body, wrapped him in a carpet and threw him off a bridge into the freezing Neva River.  To their horror –  a still alive Rasputin got out of the bonds, and the carpet.  Eventually he drowned in the turbulent water of the river.

There were, of course, questions about this amazing story – however the written autopsy of Rasputin, which was an open record until the Stalin era, recorded that the body “contained poison, 4 bullet wounds, bruises from a bad beating, evidence of being restrained, and water in the lungs from drowning.”   Talk about having 9 lives!

The world's creepiest Superman

Rasputin clearly had some kind of personal strength most people didn’t understand. It wasn’t the powerful people around him that gave him power, it was something within him.  I’ve always wondered – with that kind of constitution and passion – if he had just stayed a local priest and not gotten involved with fame, politics and royalty – what an amazing ministry he might have had.  Truly, having “something within” is not helpful unless you are within something good.

The boxing equipment I use comes from Everlast and is emblazoned with their slogan:  Greatness is Within.

One of the bags I use for cardio punching practice is a heavy rubber bag covered in nylon with nothing put air inside so I have to chuckle when I see that logo even though I understand they are trying to inspire me into the thinking the “greatness” is within me, not a bag of air.   I have quite a love/hate relationship with exercise so this is how I prefer to think of greatness within:

Why do they even bother with that cookie part?

But no matter how you see internal greatness – the strength of a mystic, the power to strengthen your body, or appreciating the joy of a simple dessert there is still the truth that what is inside you matters most depending on what you are inside.

In American culture we value individualism and that value doesn’t just play through our politics, families, parenting or consumer habits – it plays out through our interpretation of theology as well.  We tend to spend a lot of time focusing on God with us or God in us.   What is the first thing churches invite you to do? Invite Jesus INTO YOUR HEART.  It’s clear from our earliest faith memories of songs we sing, that aged fading picture on a sunday school room wall of Jesus knocking on the door with no handle, the way we are taught about salvation and the ways we are taught to teach others about Christ that our focus is recognizing the greatness of God within us.

And we miss the point.  Relationship with God is not simply about having the spirit of Christ within you. It’s about YOU being within God.  Let me say that again, in case you were distracted by the cookie picture (I know I am…).   Faith life is not simply about God being in you.  It’s about you being within God.

What does it mean to be in God?  It means to recognize ourselves as part of a whole being and joined inherently with the creation, goodness, compassion, grace, abundance, giving, healing and freedom that is the very nature of that being.  We are not always  graceful people but we are people who live in grace and do well when we remember it.

Psalm 100 is thought to be a Psalm of praise – but it is also a good reminder of how we should understand ourselves not through the lens of individualism, but through the fountain of beloved belonging.

 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

We are God’s people, sheep in God’s pasture. We are within God.

How does that help us to know that?  It gives us a chance to truly reflect and re-prioritize our life and the message of God we carry to a world that needs to hear it.  When we seek to be the people God made us to be, we can find comfort and inspiration understanding that we don’t have to reach to something inside us and find God – but God is around us and we have that love of God in abundance.  When we need to be forgiving we are surrounded by forgiveness. When we need to be compassionate in circumstances we don’t like or with people we are challenged to care for – we don’t have to dredge it up from inside – its around us – we need to take it in, learn it and live it.  When we are unsure or feeling unwise, we can pray and admit we don’t know what to do – then remember we are in a pasture of wisdom with a shepherd who wants to walk with us as we forge ahead together.

It also says something about the way we view “evangelism” – and maybe why it’s not really working.  Churches in our mainline modern day don’t really seem to do much gospel teaching and good messaging as much as we focus on discipleship development (always worthwhile). We don’t bring people in as much as we “people swap”.  When was the last time someone came into your church and said, “I didn’t know who God was” or “I have never been a Christian but now my eyes are opened.” and you knew it was the first time they really got the gospel?   More likely the last 2 or 20 or 200 people came in saying, “I used to go to “X Christian Church” but I like your youth program, or your preacher speaks to me, or I want to be part of your mission.”    There’s nothing wrong with people moving about faith places finding a field in which they can both feed and be a feeder.  But there’s not much evangelistic about it either.

People who haven’t seen or heard of God’s love aren’t really ready for a message that they need to bring Jesus into them. Many of them feel (or have been told) that Jesus or God or the whole christian family wants nothing to do with them.  But the message that they are within God’s pasture – already there – not waiting to change or needing to take 3 membership classes and a bible quiz –  is something they have been waiting to believe their whole lives.  And once they realize we are God’s created people – the changes God desires, the wisdom they require and the beauty of community will all come into being.

In sharing the gospel:

It’s not our job to bring people into church.

It’s not our job to bring people into our view of “right”.

It’s not our job to bring people into agreement with us and what we believe.

It is our call, and our great joy, to show people they are already brought in – created and loved by God, and that from within God they will forge the relationship with God that can heal, change, encourage, and grow in them.  Then the community of the church, the discipleship and development  and the empowerment to share their witness can begin.

Greatness is Within.

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Christians, Stop Shoving!

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.

“Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

A number of years ago, before Chris Tomlin was a praise band must-know, Cathy and I went to a Steven Curtis Chapman concert which featured Tomlin and Jeremy Camp as openers.  Tomlin absolutely “stole the show” creating a worship space out of a concert center and leaving the audience so tired after standing and singing with him that when Chapman came out, we mostly just sat and listened politely.  We were apparently all thinking the same thing, “when Chapman finally stops singing, I am going to find that tiny Chris Tomlin booth in the lobby and buy his CD.”  And so, after the last prayer (for a safe ride home) we stormed the lobby where a crush of people were all trying to get to the swamped table at the same time.  As Cathy and I were being pushed, gouged and jerked around there was one of those odd unplanned moments of quiet, and then we heard a voice thick with 100% pure, honest, adolescent sarcasm say, “Christians, stop shoving!”

Of course, I know Christian people are still people and act accordingly but the memory of that night brings about a question I have been asking myself, God and others since I walked into Highland Park Baptist Church at the age of 17 and heard the gospel for the first time.

Why aren’t Christians more peaceful?

In Christianity we seem to have a long-distance relationship with peace.  We treat it like a spouse who happens to be in Antarctica doing research. We show peace’s picture around, telling people all about it and how much we love it and miss it, but we don’t have any real plans to make the journey to get it or unite with it full time.

Oh, good! Satellite radio! Now peace and I can Skype, or play a game of checkers together.

The key to the question seems to be that Christians don’t really have a place for “peace practices” as part of their expectation, liturgy or understanding.  Churches are full of programming – book groups, Sunday School, Youth group, Divorce Recovery groups,  Chronic Illness Support Groups, Mommy Groups, and Christian men’s breakfasts. We have plenty of space and  time devoted to Upward Sports and downward spirals.  But not peace.

Let’s face it – church worship is anything but peaceful.  We have so much stuff crammed into that hour (50 minutes if you go to the early service) – music, pastoral prayer, announcements of more activity, sermon, communion, children’s sermon, offering, special music – that churches who do “passing of the peace” often give the practice a very generous 2 minutes where people turn to the person next to them, shake hands and tersely mumble, “peace by unto you” before sitting down and waiting for the worship train to leave the station once more.  In church peace is simply a rest stop.

Every once in a while, a “peace trend” will hit the church. A few years ago it was Labyrinth walks – encouraging church members to come and walk the maze of contemplation gathering peace.  Some churches even committed all the way into digging up the grounds and building replicas of the Chartres labyrinth into their property. Others used the easier and more fleeting “Labyrinth In A Can”.

Just make sure to pack the peace up and put it away before the Swinging Seventies group comes in for tea and bible study.

But the labyrinths grew over or got put away because the Lenten family fair needed the fellowship hall floor.  Taize is another peace practice churches flirt with – holding it once a year as a special service and making sure to warn people there won’t be any talking.   We adore Buddhist monks and invite them to speak whenever possible, because we secretly envy their seemingly solid, enlightened peace.  We love peace – but our love for it and our church’s ability to encourage it don’t often work together.

Churches are made of people. And so, if we want a church and a faith more centered in peace – then we as the building blocks must have peace in ourselves first.  Jesus seemed to know we as a faith community would have problems with peace.  I think that’s why he said, “MY peace I give you.”  Because he knew we weren’t very likely to get some of our own. Listen to his words:

 “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  John 14:25-27

So what can we do to become a peace-filled people?

1.  Take responsibility for your peace.  Don’t expect the church to hand it to you or create a program for you to accumulate peace like so many glass beaded crosses we get from the Women’s Mission Project.  Don’t expect a TV guru or  a book with a lotus on the cover to overwhelm your heart with calm.  Jesus tells us the Holy Spirit will “teach you all things” — that means YOU have to learn.  Set aside space, time, attention for peace practices in your life.

Oh Geez – I can already hear you shouting, “Are you crazy? You must live in a fantasy world. I have KIDS, WORK, DOGS, CHORES, CHURCH, CHURCH CHORES, LIFE. I don’t have time for peace!!!”  Stop yelling, it’s not very peaceful. And stop making excuses while you’re at it.  People with children can still find peace.  Work with it.  Work with your kids – maybe teaching them to meditate (if only for 5 minutes) or sit a listen to a nice peaceful song with you would start them on a better road.  Ultimately – how are you gonna do it?  I don’t know.  But ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how — don’t just leave the spirit standing at the door while you say, “I’m too busy to learn peace today.”

2. Don’t be ashamed of your peace.  In America we value stress and productivity. The more stressful and harried you are – the more important you must be.  We have lifted Steve Jobs up as the pinnacle of American success and then mumble quietly, “he was a work addict, mean-spirited, and isolated.”   All this push for activity makes it seem as if you are some kind of freak or socialist-communist-hippie-loser if you manage to get to work on time, walk in calmly, and smile because you feel at peace.  It’s not popular to live at a sane pace – and sometimes it even takes sacrifices (sorry, I can’t be in another book club, take on another bible class, start another jogging group).  But the solid joy and peace it provides makes it worth it.

“I do not give as the world gives,” says Jesus.  The world gives with strings. The world gives with false promises.  The world gives with “karma” (what you do comes back to you). The world gives with stress.  Jesus gives unconditionality, truth,  grace, and peace.  Don’t be ashamed to have those gifts.

3.  Lose your peace when it matters.  Jesus wasn’t some prozac driven happy guy who never lost his cool. He was angry (we love that temple story, don’t we?), he was sad, he was annoyed, he was argumentative.  But, all of those times we see his less-than-overtly peaceful side — were for good reason.  Jesus got angry over corruption, sad over loss, annoyed with stupid entrapping Pharisee questions, and argumentative with anyone who tried to say the Kingdom of God should leave someone out.

Don’t lose your peace over political differences with your neighbor, whether the youth group spilled juice on the new carpet, or who at work doesn’t have to use a copier code like you do.  Don’t give up your peace fighting over whether God helps football players, or which translation is the ONE TRUE TRANSLATION of the Bible.   Lose your peace over the millions of hungry people in the world, the physical violence toward women and children that happens in countries large and small, the spiritual violence of intolerance aimed at so many vulnerable people.  You want to be upset? Be upset where it matters.  Leave the guy who cut you off on the freeway to God (and accept that he may get grace instead of karma).

I heard a young man say not long ago, “As far as I’m concerned Christianity is just another hate group.”  I grieved his opinion, but also saw the logic by which he had achieved it.  We have been so busy allowing the loud, angry voices of faith dominate the media, the church, and the grocery store that we are playing catch-up in trying to show the world that we really are a love group – that has somehow lost its peace.   Let’s make an effort as individuals who make up the body of Christ to get it back, and this time – stay with it.

Christians, stop shoving.

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Will the Real Superman Please Stand Up?

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

We like to look back in time and marvel at the things folks used to believe and act upon. The people of  Salem believed in witches and executed people. The people in the Dark Ages believed water spirits lived inside stone wells, and they took the Roman aqueducts apart.  People in the 1500′s believed touching a piece of wood that might have been Jesus’ cross could heal them from sickness and they gave everything they had to touch it.  Witches, fairies, relics — they all have gone out of favor now.  Yet, in our marvelous technologically blessed world with virtual pets, friends, and connections it is getting harder and harder for us to distinguish what is real.

  • Is a facebook friend a real friend?
  • Is an ad you see online an opportunity or a scam?
  • Is a movie “based on a true story” really true?

No matter how superior we think we are, we – like our ancestors centuries ago – struggle to know what’s real.  That struggle came to light for me this week on facebook when a gentleman trying to convince a group of comic book fans that demons don’t exist accidentally stumbled into quicksand when he blurted out that Superman was not real.

What do you mean I'm not real? I'm on a US Postage Stamp! Can YOU say that?

It started innocently enough. A comic book store owner posted an article by a Catholic priest who is an “expert on exorcisms” about the idea that maybe Heath Ledger had somehow been possessed by a demon during his performance in the Batman movie.  It wasn’t an idea I put much stock into, but it spawned an interesting conversation.  A self-proclaimed atheist was the first person to post.  He started us off by saying, “How does one get to be an “expert” in something that isn’t real? I swear, we get stupider and stupider.”

The argument went on from there.  He stated that anything real had to be tested for, proven, and verified – or it was not real.   I offered the idea that not everything could be proven by a test or confirmed by a physical reaction.  For example, there were diseases that did not have tests which confirm their presence but were diagnosed by exclusion – by ruling out other things.  MS is one such disease.  That prompted this exchange (his identity concealed):

The rest of thread went on quite as you might imagine. People on the spiritual side claiming the devil is real and possibly possessing people and people who were more skeptical claiming the whole thing was a bunch of hocus-pocus-mumbo-jumbo.  I got busy doing something else and left the conversation.  However, if I had stayed I wouldn’t spend time arguing over the devil (doesn’t Satan already get enough press?), but assuring the post writer that Superman was indeed real.

As a child reading comic books to escape the chaos of the dysfunctional family and world around me – Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman all stood up for things I desperately needed to know were true. They proved to me that there were beings who would stand up for people who couldn’t defend themselves. They gave me the understanding that sometimes personal sacrifice is required to make a difference in the world. Their 16 page adventures gave me the solace to know that even in a big, frightening world like the one I lived in – it would all be okay in the end.  Those characters were more real to me that people I saw on a daily basis because I needed them to be, and I needed to believe.

The New Testament writer to the Hebrews was writing to a group of people who also needed to believe. Having left Judaism to forge ahead in this new relationship with God called “Christianity” – the people Hebrews was written for were struggling with that question about what was real.  Judaism was very real to them. They had temples and traditions, they heard the stories of the patriarchs and even clothing and customs all designed to solidify their faith experience.  But this new way – following Jesus and proclaiming salvation through him – didn’t have the hand-holds they wanted.

There wasn’t an established Christian culture, there weren’t special clothes or long standing stories. The stories of Jesus were told from person to person – not written like Torah – and instead of the “Law” there was this idea about love.   They also weren’t seeing much payoff for their new faith. Christians were being persecuted by Rome, by Pharisaic courts and Jewish councils, by outsiders who did not want/understand a new religion growing in the  midst of an already full religious landscape. Disciples of Christ were killed, tortured or cast out.  For many of the early converts even family members called them “race traitors” and reacted with rejection to the acceptance of this new faith.  Watching so much struggle — these Hebrew people began to ask, “Is this Christianity stuff REAL? Where’s the power? Where’s the promise? Where’s the Lord?”

The letter to the Hebrews answers that – the first 10 chapters go back through the gospel – who Jesus was and is now, why he should be followed, and what Christianity is all about.  Then comes the famous chapter – Chapter 11 – the faith chapter.  Most people with even the slightest experience with church know Hebrews 11:1 – “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.”   But there is a more intriguing passage than that.  After listing the great faithful people of the Old Testament – the writer says:

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

Hebrews 11:13-16

So – after all these acts of great faith – these people died before the promise (of the messiah, most likely) came true. So — they didn’t get what they wanted. They didn’t see in person what they expected. And yet — God is their God and is making their city.  They didn’t have empirical evidence, a balance sheet or even a research study. They had faith, and it was real. Because it was real – they went on in the relationship and life God made with them.

Today we live in a world where people who go to church and people who don’t are asking that same question. Is any of this real?  That’s what the Jesus Seminar – the group of professors and scholars looking for the “historical” Jesus were asking. How much of what we believe was “real” and how much was narrative?  That’s what post-modern teachers and learners are asking. What do I believe and how can I know it is real?  And at then end of a long hard day or a spiritual let-down we ALL – saints and sinners alike – wonder “what real difference does it make?”

The answer to this great philosophical and personal queries according to the Bible is, “Yes.”

  • Jesus is real.
  • Narrative is real.
  • Facts are real.
  • Stories are real.
  • The meaning is real.
  • The difference it makes in our lives is real
  • The difference it makes in our world is real.
  • We are real.
  • God is real.
  • Love is real.

Faith isn’t about knowing God loves us because we are blessed with a nice home, good job, and perfect teeth.  Faith isn’t about thinking God made you win a football game because you prayed, or thinking God made you lose a football game because you had a lusty thought the night before.  Faith isn’t about the payoff, the payroll, or the pay forward.  Faith is about knowing what is real.

As a child, I knew there wasn’t a physical being named Superman (or Batman) who was ever going to walk into my world. But those things Superman embodied – strength, morality, truth, justice, sacrifice, and helping one another – even if the “other” is a stranger – were very real to me and still are.  And so, I encourage you – even in the darkest or most questionable times to remember  you don’t need a sworn statement or a sudden blessing to know the Velveteen Rabbit became real, Superman is real, and the God who made you, knows you, and loves you is real.  That’s faith.

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Spirituality is … A Choice

The pathway is broken
And the signs are unclear
And I don’t know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I’m gonna walk through the valley
If You want me to
Ginny Owens, “If You Want Me To” 

Years ago, the church I attended had a “spirituality class” they were promoting as part of an adult Christian education event.  It was the usual fare — Potluck dinner, games for the kids, and class for adults.  What was supposed to make this so special was the spirituality expert the church had contracted to lead the event.  Instead of relying on in-house/in-region talent – the church had been given a donation to bring in a certified spiritual guru who taught classes in spiritual formation, ecumenical understanding, and meditative practices at a well known seminary.  Wow.  

We gathered for class full of anticipation and excitement. Around the room he had a gong, some chimes, colorful prayer flags, and an incense burner.  He talked in one of those lisping gentle voices and kept his eyes half-closed when he spoke of the Spirit – which made it look as if he could see Heaven itself or he was strung out on opium.  He clanged the gong at certain intervals, lit the incense, and chimed the chimes. He talked of history and mysteries. He lifted his hands to the heavens and drew a circle to bring us in.  It was, without doubt, the worst education experience I ever had.  What happened?
  • The gong  gave me a headache
  • The colorful flags distracted me (and one was hanging crooked, which really challenged my concentration)
  • The chimes were atonal, and annoying
  • The incense stirred up my asthma and its putrid smell hung in that room for days
Later that night someone asked me, “Well, what did you learn?”
“What I learned,” I replied still rubbing my aching head. “Was that you can’t ‘make’ something spiritual. It either is or it isn’t.” 

A few weeks later an elder of the church named Myra needed a ride to the doctor’s office and invited me to lunch afterward. I didn’t know her very well, and am generally awkward around people who are new to me. However, she put me at ease. She talked about her husband and how she had only known him 2 weeks before she married him, because he was going overseas to fight in WWII. He didn’t write many letters, but did send her post cards from places far away.  She told me the night almost 2 years later when he returned home from the war was as nerve-wracking and exciting as their wedding night. She talked of getting to know him while already having been married to him, of raising kids, and the challenges of living on very little then living on more.  She told me how she missed him since he passed away, and how she knew the night she arrived in Heaven and saw him again would be as nerve-wracking and exciting as those nights before.  It was, without a doubt, one of the most spiritually enlivened lunches I ever had.  
Reflecting, I realize now that the main difference between those two events was me. The Holy Spirit was in both rooms but I was annoyed and uncomfortable with the guru. I chose to block out a lot of what he said. I was open and interested in Myra and chose to take what she said in.  He drew a circle that I did not want to enter. She drew a circle that I willingly stepped toward.  Spirituality – particularly allowing spiritual moments – is a choice we make.


Sometimes we tend to think of spirituality as something that “happens to us” or “happens around us”.  However, our conscious choices determine whether the door is open or closed. We choose whether or not to be open and receptive to the call of God, or the inspiration of the Spirit.  We choose whether or not to make space in our lives for such encounters. We choose whether or not we will do what God tells us.  One of the great gifts of spirituality is the understanding that God doesn’t push or puppet us. God gives us the choice.

  • When pain and loss happens – we can walk away angry, or we can run to God for comfort.
  • When joy and new life happens – we can congratulate ourselves, or we can share the blessing with God.
  • When we have a test – we can study but not pray, pray but not study, or put both together.
  • When we need some direction – we can search and reach, or stop and wait, or wander.

God has ideas about what God would prefer we do – but the choice is still up to us.  So, if you find your spiritual well seeming low or your heart of faith less than inspired – look at some of the choices you are making and see if you can discern which ones can open the doors a little wider.

How do we know what choices help us along a spiritual journey? In his closing comments to the Philippians the Apostle Paul gives us a good list.

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.  Philippians 4:8-9

 When Myra and I finished our lunch that day I told her that was one of the most spirit-filled, fun lunches I had experienced. She laughed politely and said, “Oh, I’m not sure I’m a very spiritual person.”
     “How can you say that?” I asked, surprised.
     “Well, you remember that spirituality fellow we had at church a few weeks ago?” she asked, lowering her voice as if she intended to tell me a huge secret. 
     “Yes, I remember,” I responded, my head feeling a phantom pain.
     “I must not be very spiritual,” she continued. “Because I sure didn’t get a thing out of that!”


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Spirituality is….Asking

(c) 1993, 20th Century Fox, The Simpsons. 

In the Simpsons episode “Homer and Apu” the Simpson family travels to India so Apu can ask for his job back from the guru of gurus – the head of the Kwik-E-Mart. When they arrive – he is sitting crossed legged on top of the Himalayas – like the stereotypical wise man.  He only allows petitioners to ask him three questions.


Head Of Kwik-E-Mart: You may ask me three questions.

Homer: Are you really the head of the Kwik-E-Mart?
Head Of Kwik-E-Mart: Yes–
Homer: Really?
Head Of Kwik-E-Mart: Yes–
Homer: You?
Head Of Kwik-E-Mart: Yes. I hope this has been enlightening to you. Thank you, come again.

Poor Apu never gets to ask his question! That’s a shame, because the act of asking is one of the best pathways we can find in spirituality. 

We often see or hear of spiritual people  much in the same way The Simpsons represents them. Whether or not they are sitting on a mountain top – we tend to think of spiritual people as peaceful, all-knowing, wisdom providing beings who have all the answers.  They wait for us to come to them and they tell us those things we need to know. They bring light and enlightenment to us with their very presence. We walk away from our encounters saying, “someday I’d like to be like that!”  And when we do – we miss the point.

Spirituality isn’t about knowing all the answers, being ever-calm, or being isolated from the rest of the world. In some ways, that model is about as far from spirituality as you get.  Spirituality is about asking the questions, longing for answers and learning from each other along the way.  Spiritual people don’t isolate themselves permanently on the mountaintop of  “above-it-all”  floating over the problems of life.  Spiritual people are in the world engaging other people in acts of healing, words of hope and prayers of connection.  Spiritual people are the ones down in the mud helping others or seeking help themselves.

Always knowing the “right thing to say” isn’t spirituality. Sitting beside someone, holding their hand in silence because you don’t know what to say but you desire to comfort them is the breath of God in you. Spirituality isn’t always a pretty, fluid prayer timed like a dance that rolls off the tongue. Sometimes its a jagged heaving cry that simply says, “God, I don’t know what to do anymore. Help me.”

Being spiritual doesn’t make someone untouchable, elevated or holy.  Being spiritual makes someone real. There’s an old preacher’s joke that I think of when I come across one of those stereotypical views of the spirit.

A farmer stopped by a little country church and approached the desk of the church secretary. Standing before her with a farmer’s tan and dirty overalls he asked for the pastor.
     “Let me speak to the head hog of the herd!” He thundered joyously.
     “Sir!” gasped the startled secretary. “We do not refer to our Pastor, The Most Reverend Alan Clayton, like that! It’s disrespectful and undignified. Please remember, Sir, this is Holy Ground.”
     “Well, I’m terribly sorry,” the farmer continued. “I reckon I don’t belong here then. I was just excited because I got a great price on my crop and I stopped by to donate 5 thousand dollars to thank the Lord.  I’ll be leavin’ now.”
The secretary bounded over the desk, jumped in from the farmer and replied, “Hold on! I’ll get the big pig right now!”

There’s nothing wrong with respect, or dignity. But I think it would serve us to remember that spirituality is about pursuit and connection – not pomp and circumstance. 

Asking has many of the elements of spirituality.  Please note: I am purposely using the word “asking” and not the word “seeking” – to get us out of the habit of “church speak” and into the world we live in. 

  • Asking involves honesty. In order to ask, you must admit you don’t know. 
  • Asking involves opening. Whether asking God, or a person – you must open yourself to receive an answer.
  • Asking involves connection. It is a reaching, joining thing to ask a question. 
  • Asking involves hope. We don’t ask something unless we believe or hope we will get an answer.

Who did Jesus commend for being of great faith and spirit?

  • A centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant
  • The Syropheonician woman, who asked and argued, for Jesus to heal her daughter
  • A woman who goes to a corrupt judge and asks for justice over and over and over
  • A thief who asks to be remembered (perhaps forgiven) when Jesus comes into his kingdom.

 So, in your journey of spirit and hope don’t simply weigh your faith in the balance of how many answers you know. Encourage your soul with the questions you are willing to ask.