humanity

Please Welcome…

February 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of your Gentiles —

Ephesians 3:1

And next we have joining us from [origin place], a [identity] who has [what obstacles they’ve overcome], [things they’ve accomplished] and [the rest of the reasons why this person is special.] Please welcome to the stage…

Ephesians 1 and 2 were Paul’s introduction.

How do people intro you? How do you intro yourself? In this world, we list off our credentials, our achievements, our education background and our LinkedIn network. The introduction gives people all the evidence that we are worth being heard and we are worth your time. The introduction gets people amped on how we can potentially change their lives with this encounter with us. The introduction is key to making the person introduced extraordinary and separate, while the rest of us lay folks hold onto that glimmer of hope that we, too, can traverse into that next tier of space.

There are other areas in the Bible were Paul does do exactly these things. He lists off how he’s extraordinary, smart, admired, qualified, and so forth. He takes a different approach here. Instead he uses Ephesians 1 and 2 to talk about us and share all the ways that he and we are really the same, and that this next part is only going to make sense and work if we believe in that unity and community. Ephesians 1 and 2 were treasure troves full of our past, our future, our identity and our relationship to self, each other and God.

How can we take this and revamp how we enter new spaces and new relationships? Instead of looking for all the proof that we deserve to be in this new space and new relationship, simply take that as reality. You deserve to be there. You deserve to be here. Instead can we look for evidence of how we, the people right in front of us and this space we are currently occupying, share the same heartbeat, heartache and hope. How can this relationship, this space and this time teach you more about our shared humanity — needs & desires? We are not so different; we just have different times to speak.

Alignment & Integrity

January 22, 2021 — Leave a comment

And God placed all things under [Christ’s] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Ephesians 1:22-23

You ever turn your heard one way and leave your body facing another? There is strain not only in the neck; if you listen and quiet down enough, you’ll feel the tension and battle ripple through from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. There is a sense of integrity that holds us up from the top of our spine which is at the center of our head to the bottom of our sits bones to the bottom of our feet. When we stand in that, our whole body relaxes into peace and purpose.

There is a vulnerability and attention required to face our bodies in the direction of our head & eyes. There is a surrender of areas our eyes and head are not facing and a trust that what we see in front and in our periphery are what we are supposed to be aware of right now. However if you stay attuned, your back isn’t just exposed and vulnerable — it too can sense and focus on a different level.

Jesus was human and the limitation of that is he could only be at one place a time, however he could have a constant ambient care for the world at large. But in each moment, he needed to honor what was in front of him and act accordingly. That was what was most useful for his audience in each given moment. That was what was most useful for the writers to string together his journey in the gospel: a step at a time, in the direction that was led by his head, God. The task for us is to have that same focus and faith to the things right in front of us, while holding ever so softly all the things that are happening around us. We do not exist in a vacuum. We are interdependent and constantly affecting each other. Can you find the integrity and alignment in your body so that it aligns with God’s kingdom and purpose that includes all of humanity?

CBG: All Body Parts Matter

June 21, 2020 — Leave a comment

They eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

1 Corinthians 12:21-26

All body parts matter. Maybe except the appendix. No one in this illustration is the appendix. If one member suffers, all suffer together. Because the parts are interdependent and connected. When your ear hurts, it may feel like your spleen doesn’t understand it, but because the body hurts over the ear, thus the spleen is affected when the body is not working at its optimal. And if you were the spleen, you might not even know that you’re affected because you’ve been fine hiding in there amongst the other organs that seem to be working. But trauma and pain will eventually reach you and when it does, oof, code blue. So do you have the faith to trust that another body part is hurting even when you are not that body part, or even adjacent to that body part? Do you have the faith and love to see that each body part is necessary and vital to the whole being working. You alone, in your specific body functions, will not be enough. And the parts that you most don’t think are significant to your functioning, are probably the ones you should be focusing on right now. All body parts matter. When you hear that are there some body parts you’re not endowing that truth and experience upon?

May we be spleens that are compassionate and smart enough to shout, The ear matters, and after that, fight so that other body parts believe that as well!

Prayer: God help me to be the function that I was created to live into and do my part for this body.

What is your role in the body?