Judge Not? Really?

There are probably several lessons one can draw from the verse that says, "Judge not lest you be judged". I think it would be a mistake to think the verse was saying to not judge. After all, every minute of every day we judge. And there is nothing wrong with a judgment whose conclusion is negative.

I would think perhaps, another understanding of the verse could be that we often project onto others our judgments of ourselves. In other words, if we take the verse out of the negative and put it in the positive, it would read, "Judge and in that way, you will be judged." Why? Because we project on to others our judgments of ourselves. In the positive, it is a simply a statement of fact. It is not a warning.

So what kind of judgments do we want? I would think we would want accurate judgments sandwiched with kindness and patience and compassion. But sometimes the accurate part is ouchy. That is when our culture runs to the "judge-not" stance. But I would say it is better to judge ourselves often and accurately and compassionately, so that when we do the inevitable projecting, it is both accurate and compassionate.

Whose Discomfort?

Often, Do-Gooders with power will inadvertently do more damage than good. You can see this at work in the movie, "Beasts of the Southern Wild". There were certain groups that decided the main character and her family had to live differently. Their "solution" was to force them to live in a different place and in a different way.

I'm so glad that God is/was not a Do-Gooder. Instead of taking us out of our environment and "making" us live the way He thinks(?) we should, He came to us in our environments, "infecting" us with a desire to live differently, and then gave us time and space to figure it out in such a way that was authentic to us.

I wish more of us would follow His example. But living among "them" and "infecting" them is costly to us and takes longer and besides, it has always been more about our discomfort than theirs.

". . . if it takes a thousand years"

Enya's sister, Moya Brennan, wrote and sings the song "I Will Find You" often associated with the movie, "The Last of the Mohican's". Whenever I hear that song, what I hear is God singing to me that "no matter where I go, He will find me." There is something about that image that is wonderfully enticing. I'm not sure why there is so much power in that metaphor, but it continues to stir me and entice me and compel me and stir up hope and desire. Imagine God saying to you and me . . .

"No matter where you go, I will find you
If it takes a long, long time
No matter where you go, I will find you
If it takes a thousand years."

I am sought after - I am safe.

A Choice?

So I pass this sign every week that says, "Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." And because I am in this mode where I am learning Centering Prayer, I relate this verse to  my new found endeavor of learning to live in the present moment. Which means, the way I "come unto Me" is by going into the present moment where God is to be found. (I AM THAT I AM - very much the present tense - the present moment).

Not only do I "come unto Me" by going into the present moment, but I am hoping that by living in the present moment, (or at least pointing in that direction) I will learn to not become "weary and heavy laden" in the first place. In other words, there is the possibility that sometimes "weary and heavy laden" is a choice . . . or the result of bad choices.

I don't think it would hurt God's feelings for us to not need Him in that way. I don't think it would hurt God's feelings if we actually learned the fine art of not becoming weary and heavy laden in the first place.

Exquisiteness Descended

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=GBaHPND2QJg&feature=youtu.be
(As you watch this, notice the children's responses - especially "Zaccheus".  . . . and there was even a "Peter" in the crowd - watch as he says "wow," or something similar)

As I was watching this (Som Sabadell flash mob), I was overcome with the thought that this presentation was so like our God. He is always offering totally normal people in the midst of their totally normal lives, exquisiteness. There were babies and dogs and balloons and umbrellas and church bells ringing, all deemed an appropriate setting for exquisiteness - totally free, without strings attached, without any requirements following the " blessing" - just joy descending. Joy that is Himself unconfined, unrestrained, bursting because he has to burst, expressive because he has to express.

Some kept going, some stopped, some danced, some climbed light posts, some listened solemnly, some listened smilingly - this is the way humanity responds to the Transcendent when the Transcendent decides to linger.

I want to be a part of the Orchestra that beckons the Transcendent. And if I can't be a part of the Orchestra, then I want to, at least, be a part of the crowd.

"Enlarged" Scripture?

I have heard it hypothesized that there were 2,000 years in which God the Father was emphasized and then 2,000 years in which God the Son was emphasized and the next 2,000 years, God the Holy Spirit will be emphasized. So building on that speculation, maybe 1900 to 2000 could be called a Transition Time - a time in which we were transitioning from a Son Time to a Holy Spirit Time. After all, in the last 100 years, world wide, there were 3 major "moves" of a Holy Spirit type phenomena.

While we are speculating, the last time there was a shift in emphasis, there was an addition to the Scriptures. Wouldn't if be interesting if, in maybe 300 years, (if we could return) we would find that indeed, our Scriptures had been "enlarged"!