God's Love for All

Today I went onto our church's website to look at something and at the bottom of the page we have a link to the ELCA's News, a banner that gives the highlights of the news releases from the ELCA, and one of the headlines caught my eye "ELCA Presiding Bishop Tells Young People 'It Gets Better'". I had no idea what this was about but thought maybe I should check it out. It turns out to be our Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson on a YouTube video for an online video project call "It Gets Better" directed to young people who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender, that how they are treated, especially during high school, being bullied and teased that things will get better. This effort has come about after the recent suicides of young people who are GLBT and on this sight there are many different videos from everyday people to celebrities .

Bishop Hanson's video is especially moving, I think because for too long we as a church have not cherished ALL people for their identity and often we have not loved one another the way God has loved us. It saddens me to think of my church or the church as being a place where people might not find the love of God but rather the judgement of others for who they are. It saddens me that there are children of God who don't feel they can come and worship with their brothers and sisters in Christ and experience Christ's presence with us around a communion table because they fear of how they will be treated or what make me even sadder is to that think that they must somehow feel that they cannot be themselves to be accepted. We have been wrong and it makes my heart ache for those whose loved ones have chosen to end their suffering through suicide rather then find a place of love and acceptance because we have not been a place of love and acceptance.

Bishop Hanson quoted this passage from Romans: For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. If it is so for God then we must speak this word of hope to all people. Bishop Hanson also said that "Words have the power to harm but also to heal", it is time for us to be the voice of Christ speaking of the love of God for all people - all people. It will get better - when we make it so. I pray that we might welcome all in the name of Christ. Amen

Full of Grace...just not very graceful,

Pastor Jill

To yoga or not to yoga

I can't say that I was surprised this morning when, while driving to work, I heard a news report about the Southern Baptist leader who was condemning yoga (click here to read the full report) as being not Christian. "Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert Mohler says the stretching and meditative discipline derived from eastern religions is not a Christian pathway to God. Mohler says he objects to 'the idea that the body is a vehicle for reaching consciousness with the divine.' 'That's just not Christian' Mohler told the Associated Press." Sure you're not going to find any of the gospels saying Jesus went out into the dessert and sat in the lotus position but you're also not going to read in the gospels or any where else in the New Testament about how to pray a rosary either and yet using prayer beads, like a rosary have been a part of the Christian tradition as early as the 13th Century. Prayer beads though are not unique to Christianity in it's self and are used also in Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism and the Baha'i Faith.

Simply to dismiss yoga because it is a meditative practice of another religion doesn't mean that Christians can't benefit from the practice. Personally, my lack of flexibility makes yoga not as meditative as it should be and more humorous then exercise should be. About the only yoga position I can get into with out pain or a lot of laughter is the Savasana pose or the corpse pose which literally is laying flat on the ground with your arms out. While currently I don't practice yoga, I have in the past and here is what I've learned other than I'm not flexible, actually things that matter to my spirituality and faith life:

Breathe. I never realized how shallow I breath. Yoga has taught me to savor my breathing and to be aware of that very unconscious behavior. This has been significant for my prayer life, especially as I practice Centering Prayer.

Posture. Basically I have grown up in with a very western view of my spirituality include my posture. We kneel, we stand, we sit. For those of you Lutheran's - you know about our Lutheran aerobics. Up, down. But through out our up and downs we are observers in our worship. Yoga has taught me that my whole being can worship and that I need to be aware of my physical part of my being as well as my intellectual and emotional aspects of my worship.

Mediation. Because of my western view of my spirituality yoga has helped me to allow my brain to shut up and allow myself to be in God's presence. Mediation is not a Buddhist practice or a Hindu practice but a prayer practice.

Whether or not you roll out a yoga mat or join a class or do yoga on your Wii you can grow in your relationship with God if what you do you do in the posture of prayer. If you want to stretch because your muscles are tight - fine more power to you. But if what your intention is is to place yourself into the presence of God while doing yoga then that is prayer. Just like if you choose to put yourself into the presence of God while walking or cooking or kneeling is prayer. St. Paul tells us that we are to pray without ceasing, in all things. All things - including yoga, if that's your practice. So Namaste to you.

Full of grace...just not very graceful,

Pastor Jill