Where God is not?

Last week, during our school's annual Epiphany West pastoral conference, one of the speakers was Peter Phan, who gave a talk about being religious interreligiously (in fact, that's the title of his 2004 book currently under "review" by the Vatican and causing much "anxiety").

One of the most interesting statements that he made (and which many others, no doubt, have also articulated) is that as a faith community (whether Methodist, Catholic, Unitarian, Presbyterian, Islamic, etc.), we can define where God is, but we can never say definitively where God is not.

Hearing him, I was reminded of an incident that happened several years ago. I was traveling abroad, and it was during some evening in the Spring when a friend of mine, seeing my intention to enter into a temple, told me not to enter into that particular space because God was not and is not and will not be present there.

That kind of certainty takes a lot of courage, I think. I would not be so assured or confident in denying where God does or does not exist, or where God can or cannot be found. God is a greater Mystery than what I am able to comprehend with the limitations of my human understanding, so I do not dare to say for certain where God is not.

Conversations about intercultural and interreligous living inspire me to look for where God is, and, more importantly, allow me to recognize, understand, and welcome when God reveals God's self to me -- whether it be through the kind gesture of an old itinerant merchant in Saigon, or through the smile of a young child I pass by in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, or perhaps a homeless person on Shattuck Street, or perhaps outside a mosque in Malaysia.

That evening, when my friend barred me from entering the temple, I did not respond, was not able to respond. I did not have the language to articulate what I was thinking or feeling or sensing -- I felt like a child grasping through children's vocabulary, and those words were insufficient tools for me to enter into discourse on a deeper level.

Because of our differences, I may not engage in theological conversations, debating why I believe the Creator God exists and can be found in every space and time. For now, though, I can at least say that the space I occupy would be a space where God exists, and, wherever I go, God would be in that place.

Amen?

Let money flow in like water!

Happy Lunar New Year to everyone! May the Year of the Rat be for you filled with good fortune, good health, and prosperity!

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A Reading from Isaiah for Lent

I've thought often about the meaning of the Lenten season. In the early days of my youth, we would be asked to give up something during this season, under the pretense that we were becoming more spiritually grounded, more faithful, more righteous if we refrained from doing or eating something for 40 days. Television, chocolates, sodas -- those were the easy "sacrifices" offered up by young minds and bodies. We didn't fully understand the significance of such a discipline because as soon as Ordinary Time began, we were back to television watching and soda drinking and chocolatey deliciousness. A few more years and we understood more clearly that this was a way to discipline ourselves and to put our bodies in shape. Sugars were given up, or, all candies and not just chocolates were eliminated. Nowadays, the youth are all about giving up listening to their iPods, refraining from playing on the computer or surfing the net, or checking Facebook only once instead of 10 times a day. Or, read a book instead of Tivo or Netflix.

Moderation is important, but still, these actions are centered on disciplining the self in order to curb our control tendencies. Control issues. We want to determine, define, limit the consequences of our actions.

As I think of the young people in our congregation, I wonder about what they are encouraged to do. Give up chocolates or give away chocolates? Give up internet and read a book, or donate books or teach someone to read a book?

In all honesty, I was thinking of disciplining myself to exercise everyday (which is something I normally don't do -- what's the point of taking up something as a new discipline if you do it everyday, right? it has no significance for Lent, right?). After thinking it over, it seemed a silly, and rather selfish, and wrongly motivated idea. Exercising everyday for 40 days, with the serious risk of lapsing back to no exercise at all after the 40 days are up -- is, for me, all about false modesty, and vanity. Rigorous exercise that doesn't do anything except build up my ego and vanity for a healthy body does not seem right. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.

I'm not quite certain what I want to do yet, but am leaning heavily towards resurrecting the art of letter writing -- which was something I loved to do. There is artistry and discipline in sitting down to craft a letter of substance. And, to write a letter a day for 40 days, for the elderly people or for newcomers or for the really quiet and distant members of our congregation -- well, could that be a better option than giving up chocolate? Or, what about 40 letters of impact that are sent to our civic leaders, congressman or congresswoman, or to our leader of choice, urging them to take a stand about a global issue (e.g. an MDG goal such as eradicating poverty)?

Does anyone have suggestions?

58:4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.

58:5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?

58:6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

58:7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

58:8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

58:9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,

58:10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

58:11 The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

58:12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"

Take this simple test and find out what the handwriting analysis says about yourself.

http://www.truthstar.com/graphology/free_graphology.asp

Mine says:

Free Hand Writing Analysis Report
Report

You are a confident person and have a positive approach towards life and its events. Hence, you are cheerful and exuberant.

You are unpredictable and moody. You have a self-conflicting nature.

Your writing suggests that you are a committed person, that is, you demonstrate dedication and perseverance in your work.

You believe in saving your money. Hence, you handle money like a miser as you are reserved about it.

You do not give much thought or are impetuous while taking a decision or starting a new venture.

You project just a part of yourself to the world, letting them know your ideas and thoughts a limited extend.

You work with the most-favourable pace and hence, do not have to conciliate between the quality and speed.

You are a dependable and trustworthy person.

You are not very ambitious and hence, do not keep your goals very high.

You do not like to hear any unpleasant remark about yourself or your work and this infuriates you a lot.

You are a dedicated person. You readily and earnestly accept any task.

You like to be in the limelight and center of attraction in the crowd.

You want to project the best of you to the world and hence, you strive to make an impression on the world. You want to get noticed.

You have a distracted and unfocused mind.

You are an extrovert and hence, like to socialize with the people.

You show keen interest in learning new things. You love to explore the ever-changing world.

You believe in living life to the fullest and consider amusement and bliss as very important.

You have an excellent strength of mind and also much desirable fortitude. You put in all your determination to complete your work.

You are flexible and practical which works to your advantage. The balance outlook of yours helps you adapt yourself according to the crowd.

Find out if your handwriting analysis is accurate!

Voting Pains

Immediately after we got into the car to head home after voting tonight, we called T4 to ask him about dinner. He of course cheekily asked if we'd changed the world. Truth be told, dropping the absentee ballot into the box felt satisfying (I was undecided for a long period of time and so delayed the process of mailing in the permanent absentee ballot). It was my one yellow drop in the pool of votes. I make fun of the process, I gripe and complain about many of the results, and I scoff at the choices I'm given, but no matter what, I feel good about the opportunity to make a choice -- right now, at this point in time. Whether it's Obama or Clinton, I would still be relieved.