Jesus in stained glass

If you have ever seared for Jesus in stained glass, you will find a number of picture of Jesus.Jesus on a cross. Jesus carrying a cross. Jesus with lambs. Jesus with kids. Jesus ascending. Jesus looking like he will karate chop you. Jesus looking like he will own you in a staring contest.

Loads of Jesuses (Jesi?).

We pick out images of Jesus that speak to us and then use those images to make stained glass. And have you noticed that so many of the images are of a peaceful Jesus?

I asked a group of people today that if they had one shot to commission a stained glass image of Jesus what would they choose?

The image you choose is more than what image you like. The image you choose reflects the image of God you have. The image of God you have directs the way you think about God. The way you think about God has a direct impact on how you live and function in the world.

Picking out an image of Jesus for a stained glass is a spiritual exercise. I would pick an image of Jesus turning over the tables or a picture of Jesus out of Mark 5.


You may recall a provocative set of pictures created around Jesus by LaChapelle. What is the artist saying with these images? What are you saying with yours? 

If everyone has access to expert, then what is the function of clergy?

I had a conversation with my friend Kyle and we were talking about how he did not need a plumber to fix a leak in him home because he watched a YouTube video on how to repair it. What would have cost him hundreds of dollars just a few years ago, cost him much less because he did not have to pay for the knowledge the expert plumber has.

The access many people have these days to 'expert' knowledge has called into question the need for a number of jobs. Why do I need a travel agent if I have Travelocity? Why do I need to hire a professional camera person when my friend has a nice camera and would enjoy taking my family pictures? Why do I need a minister, who used to be the local theologian, if I have access to the same resources?

For a while the minister was the local 'expert' on morality and theology and ethics. People would seek out a minister for a number of spiritual, moral and ethical problems/concerns. The minister was the one with the 'expert' knowledge and the seminary education which qualified the minister to be the local theologian.

While some people still come to a minister for questions and counselling or theological questions, it is more and more the case that people are self-diagnosing and using the internet to come to their own opinions and understandings on the questions they have.

So if everyone has access to "expert" knowledge, then what is the future of the "expert" theologian minister?

Perhaps one of the roles of the minister is to no longer be the expert but the one who is given trust and time to pilferer through all the "expert" knowledge that is out there and discern what is of value? Perhaps the minister is a job that morphs from "expert" to "filter". Perhaps the minister is a job in which one is asked to take the time to help filter out the noise that is all around us and invites us to hear what is Good.

I am sure there are still places in which the minister is the local expert and there are ministers who see themselves as the expert on a good number of things. As I see it, spending time being an expert is a fine thing, until everyone knows what you know.

Christians are not experts in salvation or faith or religion or spirituality. We are called to be filters who observe and listen to the world and discern what is Good. What would a spirituality look like if it was not pursuing expert knowledge but becoming a noise filter?

Hiccups

I have had the hiccups for about thirty days now and needless to say I am tired of having them.

Perhaps you too have had the hiccups for an extended period of time? Perhaps you too have felt like there are a number of things that are going on that keep you from breathing as you normally do. 

The thing about hiccups is that there is little I can do to remedy the situation other than follow some wife's tales which generally involve me choked on water or consuming large amounts of peanut butter. Neither of options are really helpful to help with the hiccups that interrupt life.

Hiccups keep me from writing. When I am not writing then I get distracted. When I am distracted I feel stressed. When I am stressed my chest is restricted and when that happens I get the hiccups.

All I can do it wait and hope for the breath to come again to restore the rhythm I so desperately seek after.

UPDATE* - I received a number of comments about actually having the chest spasms we call the hiccups. Just to be a bit clear, I never had these hiccups. I was too coy with my metaphor I suppose and it lead to believing that I have been plagued with a month worths of spasms. I am talking about feeling like distractions and interruptions are a regular thing the past month and I am ready for this phase to pass.

To those who gave me a good word on my medical condition, thank you. I know in the future I will be well taken care of in the event of chronic chest spams. 

Christianity as a journey - not for me

There is this interesting paradox in the way many of us understand the Christian tradition. We have been taught that to be Christian is to have a set of responses to questions. So to be Christian means to believe a set of criteria and if you do not believe these criteria then you are not Christian. 


When though of this way, religion is nothing more than a contract one takes with a immature understanding of God. If we assent or believe in X, Y and/or Z then we will get A, B, and/or C. It is a forward way to live life  but it is not a life that I find worthwhile. 


Some people talk about religion as a journey. This seems to be a little better and far more common way to talk about religion. I have always had a difficult time with this image as a primary understanding to discuss religion because journeys are generally spoken of as having a destination. Few go on a journey without being prepared or having a destination in mind. Like the contact image above, the journey image works for people but it is an image that I find lacking in too many ways to make it my primary image for understanding Christianity. 


Rather, I tend to think of religion as a search. To take a quote from John Caputo on this podcast, "When you are searching for something that you are at a loss for what you are looking for the search more earnest and radical."


We say we know what God is and what God is like. We say we know what we are looking for as if we would know it once/if we saw it. Frankly, I just am not sure if I could spot God as easily as I can spot my car keys tucked in the couch.

I continue to search and search, hoping to one day discover what I have been searching for. But until that day, of if that day never comes, I delight in the search.