Everyday Spirituality: Science

Click for a printable version of this post.

Note:  This is the last blog post until September.  Because Rev. Manion will be preparing material for the upcoming fall series, she will not be blogging during the month of August. 

Scripture for Sunday, July 26, 2017:  Psalm 146
Additional Scripture:  Colossians 1:15-20, Romans 8:18-25

"...that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures,great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God."  (Belgic Confession, Article 2)
 


In The Magician's Nephew, Digory and Polly try to get the evil witch, Queen Jadis, out of their world and back into her own.  In the process, they fall into a dark, empty world that the Witch identifies as "Nothing."

So there they sit in the blackness--the witch and the two children, along with Digory's Uncle Andrew, a magician; and a cabbie and his horse, Strawberry.

"My doom has come upon me," the Witch says.  Uncle Andrew searches for alcohol to soothe his nerves.  The cabbie has the good sense to encourage everyone to join voices for a hymn.

So Polly and Diggory join the cabbie in a hymn of thanksgiving.  And soon they're not the only ones singing. 

"In the darkness something was happening at last. A new voice had begun to sing....Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once.  Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them....It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it...."

"Then two wonders happened at the same moment.  One was that the Voice was suddenly joined by other voices, more voices than you could possibly count.  They were in harmony with it....  The second wonder was that the blackness overhead, all at once, was blazing with stars....One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out:  single stars, constellations, and planets.....  If you had seen and heard it, as Digory did, you would have felt quite certain that it was the stars themselves who were singing, and that it was the first Voice, the deep one, which had made them appear and made them sing."  (Lewis, 84-88). 

As Aslan comes closer he continues to sing.  He sings trees and flowers into the landscape.  And Polly realizes that "when you listened to his song, you heard the things he was making up; when you looked round you, you saw them."  (95).
 
As we open Psalm 146 together this weekend, we will "listen to [God's] song."  This psalm is a song of praise to the God who creates--and keeps on creating--the glorious world we inhabit; and who will re-create his world and his people at the end of time.   

Joining our hearts in the music of the Psalter attunes our ears to his voice in his Word, so that when we "look round us," we see his glory in the world he has made.

1.  As you read the first 5 verses of the Psalm 146, use your sanctified imagination to wonder about the disappointments or pain that may have illustrated the limitations of human power for the psalmist.   Then notice the contrasting description of the LORD's ability and activity in verses 6-9.     

 2.  In your own background, how have you understood the relationship of Christian faith and scientific knowledge?  (As complementary?  Christian faith above science; or science above faith? On opposite poles?) 

3.  Verse 6 of the Psalm in Hebrew identifies that God is continuing in his creative work in our world.  What does it mean to you that we serve a God who did create our world and continues to work in it?  What responsibility might that ongoing creative work of God give us as stewards of his creation?

Everyday Spirituality: Screens and Social Media

Click for a printable version of this post.

Scripture for Sunday, July 23:  Romans 1:8-15
Additional Scripture:  1 Corinthians 12

Image by Freepik

Shortly after our first child was born, I started a personal photo sharing webpage for out-of-state family members.   I wanted to share the joy and document the growth of our new little bundle.

Scrolling through those pictures now does bring joy.  But it also reminds me that the pictures told only part of the story.  The cheerful faces posing for grandma never indicated that the same grandma received 11 p.m. distress calls from a new mother with a colicky baby. 

Social media was great for sharing the good things.  But in the thick of discouragement, direct personal contact was better.  And physical presence would have been the very best.

In Romans 1:11-12, Paul expresses his longing to visit the church at Rome--a church he has never visited in person.  "I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to make you strong," he says; "that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." 

Paul's stated purpose for his visit to Rome is to grant them a spiritual gift to strengthen them.   Spiritual gifts in other places in the New Testament (e.g., 1 Corinthians 12) come as gifts God gives to his people for the benefit of the whole church. 

Yet here Paul seems to expect that the "spiritual gift" he wants to give through his personal, physical visit to Rome will result in a double bonus.  The gift will not simply come through Paul as God's messenger to the church; the strengthening will echo back and encourage Paul too.   

Magnificent as Paul's letter to the Romans is, he seems to suggest that the magnum opus that will follow these opening verses can't take the place of being physically present with this group of Christians.  I guess you just had to be there.

It is possible for us to be "alone together" even amid the various platforms we use to connect.  It's possible for us to present ourselves publicly in ways that perpetuate our loneliness. 

We were made to be known deeply and loved well, even in all the messy, painful dimensions of life.  And the physical presence of other people who know and love us and know and love our Lord brings his comfort closer.   

1)  What impact--positive and negative--does contact with others through the platform of social media have on your relationships in daily life? 

2)  What gifts of encouragement have you received from being in the company of other followers of Christ?  How does that differ from contact at a greater distance?

3)  1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 1 use similar terms for spiritual gifts (charisma, pneuma).    Using your sanctified imagination, consider what connections Paul may have had in mind between being present among other believers and receiving a gift from the Spirit.  (One idea:  Matthew 18:20 )




 

Everyday Spirituality: Sports

Click for a printable version of this post.
 
Scripture for Sunday, July 16:  1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Psalm 95:1-7
Additional Scripture:  Hebrews 12:1-3, 1 Timothy 4:7-10
 

Image by Freepik.com 

 

This summer, our family spent time together on an inland lake in northern lower Michigan.  My husband, Josh, is preparing for an off-road triathlon.  He was so looking forward to open water swimming, mountain biking, and trail running.

 

The night we arrived at the cottage, we realized we had a serious first-world problem on our hands:  Josh's running shoes were sitting by the garage door at home, four hours away.  He couldn't run barefoot; nor could he miss a week of training.  Josh immediately began problem solving.  Did he need new shoes?  Should he buy a new pair?  Could he borrow some for the week?

 

Thankfully, Josh was able to borrow a pair of shoes and carried on with training as planned.  He often says that registering for a race motivates him to train--he wouldn't run without a goal in mind.  The way he plans for and prioritizes training gives me lived insight into Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9:

 

"Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

 

Paul's athletic metaphor for life in Christ makes sense to us.  We applaud discipline for the sake of achievement.  Talented or not, an athlete who wants to gain Olympic status or even a place on a college cross-country team adheres to a disciplined diet and regular training. 

 

"See what kind of training athletes in the games go into?"  Paul says.  "That's the way to go into training in Christ-likeness. We don't insist on our rights; we give them up.  We don't do as we please; we exercise self-control for the sake of others on the team."

 

We give things up in order to train well.  And we do it with focus and determination because we have a goal in mind. 

 

Paul's point goes beyond the value of discipline for its own sake.  The point of all the training is the goal, the prize:  life with Christ--now, and most especially when Christ returns.  Any sacrifice we have made in training will have been more than worth it when we live, play, work, and worship in the kingdom lit by his presence.

 

 

1)  The writer of Hebrews encourages us to "fix our eyes on Jesus" in the race of life.  What aspect of Jesus' faithfulness encourages you most in your own race?

 

2)  How has disciplining your body--through exercise, following a particular diet, fasting--affected your life of faith?  Or, how has a physical discipline imposed on you--through a health challenge, through a need to care for a loved one's needs--affected your faith?  Ask God to meet you in that disciplined circumstance in just the way you need him to.