la economía de gracias

Esta mañana fui a la Iglesia del Nazareno en Ancón. Por este servicio, hicimos algo especial: cada persona leyó un versículo que fuera importante en su vida. Eramos veinte personas, más o menos (es una iglesia pequeña), y por eso todos podrían compartir. No preparé por este, y por eso compartí Filipenses 4:13. Es corto pero es muy fuerte, y me ayude leerlo a veces.

Después, la pastora le dio a cada persona dos pastillas (dulces), y dijo <<Coma uno de estas pastillas, y la otra va a dar a alguien en la iglesia que le ha edificado a usted.>> Entonces, cada persona, uno después del otro, levantó y compartió a quien le darían su pastilla y por qué. Era muy emocional, y cinco o seis personas lloraron compartiendo como Dios ha sido en su vida por la persona. Y yo también lloré poquito por las historias que compartieron.

Me algré de oír las historias de la iglesia, de ver como la gente ayude y ama como Dios. Algunos personas recibieron muchos dulces, porque han hecho muchas cosas importantes en la vida de su iglesia. A ver su pequeña fortuna de dulces, era un símbolo de sus vidas de servicio. Y algunas, cuando era tiempo para dar gracias a alguien, le dieron dulces a tres o más personas, algo que solo podrían hacer porque tan mucha gente ha compartido con ellas. Esa economía, una de gracias y amor, era un imagen de la reina de Dios en su pueblo, aquí en la tierra. Gracias a Dios por todo lo que hace, y por las personas que trae en nuestras vidas. Amen.


~

This morning I went to the Church of the Nazarene in Anvon. For this service, we did something special: each person read a verse that was important in their life. There were twenty of us, more or less (it is a small church), so everone was able to share. I didn't prepare, so I just shared Phillipians 4:13. It's short but powerful, and it helps me to re-read sometimes.

Then, the pastor gave everyone two candies, saying "Eat one of these, and the other you're going to give to someone in the church that has edified you/encouraged you." So, one after another, each person rose and shared whom they were giving their candy and why. It was very emotional, and five or six people cried sharing how God had been in their life through the person. I even cried a little, hearing the stories they shared.

I was very happy to hear the stories of the church, to see how people helped and loved one another as God would like them to. Some people received many candies, because they had done many important things for others in the church. Looking at their small fortune of candies, it was a symbol of their life of service. An some of them, when it was their turn to give thanks and give away a candy, gave candy to three or more people, something they could only do because so many people had shared with them. This economy of thanks and love, is an image of the Kingdom of God in his people, here on Earth. Thanks be to God for all that he does, and for the people he brings into our lives. Amen.

Mi Biblia, y la pastilla que recibí por amigo Scott en la Iglesia del Nazareno en Ancón.

Chicago, Part 2

So what am I doing in Chicago, anyway?

In response to a lot of encouragement from both of my academic advisers at PLNU, I decided to attend the Law, Justice, and Culture Institute at Trinity Christian College, in Palos Heights, Illinois. Basically, it's a class on  the history and philosophy of a way that Christians should act in and interact with politics, especially in the United States.

So far, the best book we've read was Living as the People of God, by Christopher J.H. Wright. It's not in publication anymore, but they got permission from the author to reproduce it for the Institute. Basically, it runs through a way of reading and applying Old Testament law. Rather than trying to reproduce it law-by-law in modern society (an approach few people would advocate today), Wright recommends what he calls a "paradigmatic" approach: identifying the core ethical ideas being addressed by a law within the specific culture of ancient Israel, and making sure that these principles are addressed in our approaches to justice today.


It's weird being here at Trinity. It's been so long since I've been surrounded by Christians, talking about Christian things in Christian terms. At Loma this past year I've kind of gotten out of the habit of talking about God or faith with pretty much anybody, especially since I've had other things pressing on my mind, from coursework to changing social systems. Being in such an intentional situation again is a good opportunity for me to reevaluate what I believe and why. Or at least, it's a spark. I'm hoping to spend a lot of time reading Rachel Held Evans's blog this summer, and I think these first few days have gotten me interested in doing so again.

The people I'm meeting here are very interesting. Dr. Sue Emmerich, who taught a creation care "Practicum" at the start of the Institute, is an environmental consultant who has worked in many different parts of the government, including the United Nations Environment Program and the EPA. She also has worked solving environmental conflict in the Chesapeake Bay using a faith-based, anthropological approach (see the ten-minute trailer about her work here). We've already gone out birding once, and I'm hoping we can again!

The other students are fun. A few are students at Olivet, a few others go to school here at Trinity, and then everyone else is scattered among other Midwest schools. Meeting people here, in an entirely new setting, I have the opportunity to reflect on what it is that makes me me. What do I share? What do I do with my spare time? How do I respond to what others share with me? Am I proud or humble, patient or impatient, kind or ornery? Adventurous or lazy or respectful or immoral?

These are the kinds of questions I will have LOTS of time to reflect on over the next year, as I continually move from place to place. But this is what I need: an opportunity to define and redefine myself, and see what sticks. To just be myself, and see what feels natural, what feels true, what feels right. I have defined myself with respect to particular people, situations, and circumstances while I've been at Loma. It's time to see what of that is truly myself, and what of it is just part of my social environment that I was wrapping around myself. And when I return home, I will bring with me what I have found to be myself, along with the pieces of the places I've traveled.