|
Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. While it focuses on Christian teaching, I pray persons of varied faiths will find inspiration here. Indeed, "God" can be whatever image helps us trust in the Sacred, by whatever means Grace touches us each. Please share this ministry with others, and I hope you return soon. There is a new offering daily. And to be placed on the daily OneLife email list, to request notifications of new writings or submit prayer requests, write to barukhattah@embarqmail.com .
Blessings,
Rev Dr Brian K Wilcox, MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader, Spiritual Counselor, and Chaplain.
Brian encourages support of the 4-Star Christian organization Compassion, which supports children worldwide; for more see www.compassion.com .
Opening Affirmation
Go into a brief time of silence, affirming the following: feel the truth of the affirmation:
Holy Spirit, I love You.
Opening Prayer
Draw me close to you, and cleanse me of all that would separate me from you and my brothers and sisters in Love. Grace me to grace others, to spread your love wherever I go. Show me today, in some way, that you are with me, always.
In Christ, Amen.
Sacred Scripture
7 Take out all the old yeast so that you will be a new batch of dough without yeast, which you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 So let us celebrate this feast [Eucharist, Lord's Supper], but not with the bread that has the old yeast — the yeast of sin and wickedness. Let us celebrate this feast with the bread that has no yeast — the bread of goodness and truth.
9 I wrote you in my earlier letter not to associate with those who sin sexually.
*I Corinthians 5.7-9 (NCV)
Sacred Teaching
A car accident occurred in a small town. A crowd surrounded the victim, so that a newspaper reporter could not get close enough to see the victim.
He came up with an idea. "I'm the father of the victim!" he cried out. "Please, let me through!"
The crowd let him through. He was able to get right up to the scene of the accident and see the victim. To his astonishment, the victim was a mule.
*Anthony de Mello. Taking Flight. "Truth." p. 190. Adapted.
* * *
In I Corinthians 5, St. Paul addresses the problem of a member of the Corinthian church engaging in incest. A man was living with his stepmother in a sexual relationship. St. Paul writes that the act should have led to deep grief in the church and its removal of the man from the church.
In verse 6, St. Paul writes, "Your boasting is not a good thing" (NRSV). Seemingly, the boasting was in the expression of the "spiritual" freedom of the man. Freedom in Christ can be taken to extremes, as in this situation. While we are free in Christ, we are free only to do what pleases and honors Christ.
St. Paul may be giving a wise principle to us here, and one needed much in our society: Tolerance is not always loving. Likewise, inclusiveness does not mean anything-goes. There are needed boundaries that define a spiritual community. Some things are not to be allowed to continue. So, we need to differentiate among terms like tolerance, inclusiveness, and love. Love always entails a defined accountability.
St. Paul says: "Do you not know a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?" (NRSV) He sees this extent of inclusiveness, or tolerance, of so-called Christian freedom as a threat to the soul of the faith community.
"Yeast" was not permitted during Passover. Here, the yeast symbolizes the contamination of immorality to be taken out, so that the bread, symbolizing the community, will be clean.
Therefore, they will be ready to celebrate the feast of Christ with "goodness" and "truth." The Greek for "goodness" can be translated "sincerity" or "purity." The word was used of an object exposed to the sun and seen to be clean. The Greek word for "truth" speaks of a mind and heart free of hypocrisy.
Truthfulness in our spirit is essential to a healthy spiritual life and spiritual community. We are to seek to be pure in our lives and intentions, sincere in our approach to God, and free of play-acting - or hypocrisy.
This call to purity and truth is vital. To have this in our relationship with God, we must remain open for the Holy Spirit herself to show us our sins, and for us to admit them. In a community of faith, of two or more persons, accountability is essential. Otherwise, our confession may be as opposite the truth of our hearts as the reporter from the mule, in the story above.
Without shared accountability, we cannot live in Christ together in Love. With accountability, we can lovingly grace each other to grow in faith, hope, and love - in Christ, and as His mystical Body.
Quietly Responding
1) What is the difference between mere tolerance and loving inclusion?
2) Why is inclusiveness without accountability detrimental to a faith community? Any relationship seeking to live to honor Christ and love each other?
3) What is true spiritual freedom?
4) Do you believe there is enough accountability within the membership of churches? Our society at large? Explain your answer.
5) How do you daily hold yourself accountable in your relationship with Christ and other persons? Or there ways you try to escape such accountability? Explain.
Blessings! In Love!
Brian Kenneth Wilcox
July 5, 2009
barukhattah@embarqmail.com
* * *
*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian K. Wilcox, of SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis. Brian is an ecumenical-interspiritual leader, open to how Christ manifests in the diversity of Christian denominations and varied religious-spiritual traditions. He is Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Punta Gorda, FL.
*Brian welcomes responses to his writings or submission of prayer requests at barukhattah@embarqmail.com . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*Contact the above email to book Brian for Spiritual Direction, retreats, or workshops. You can order his book An Ache for Union at major book dealers.
|
