Start with obedience, finish with praise

Continually, I am learning that life is always moving.  Life is dynamic, changing, on the move.  Life does not stand still and is not static.

This may sound obvious.

But if you're anything like me, this is a tough learning.  I like it when things stay the same.  I like it when things are predictable, controllable, stationary.  And as long as we bring these sorts of static expectations to life, we will experience continuous frustration, annoyance, and a diminished ability to enjoy the flowing nature of life.

Life is always moving.  And so is the life of faith.  Faith is not something that stands still or never moves.  Faith is all about our relationship with God, and by definition, relationships are dynamic.  Sometimes the partners move towards each other, sometimes they pull back; sometimes things are going smoothly, sometimes they are very difficult.  Life within any relationship, including our relationships with God, will be dynamic and moving.

But that does not mean that the relationship is chaotic, or out of control, or without direction.  There is a direction to the life of faith.

And if we take the book of Psalms as a model for our lives of faith, the direction of faith may be from obedience to praise.

Psalm 1, at the beginning of the Psalter, reads "Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked...but their delight is in the law of the Lord."  According to Psalm 1, the life of faith is embodied in those who center their lives on God's teachings, who follow God's path, who are faithful and obedient.

The life of faith begins with faithful obedience.  We teach our children, "Do this...Don't do that."  Life begins in obedience and doing what's right.

But along the way, we realize that "doing what is right" is not, by itself, a fool-proof plan for a happy life.  We have all known people who were exceedingly scrupulous about following the rules, and who made themselves quite miserable.  Suffering comes, to all of us.  Suffering comes to us, whether we follow the rules or not.  Life is hard.

And so the Psalms wander through the full variety of emotional experiences -- joy, relief, anger, rage, horror, sadness, grief, thanksgiving.  As you read through the Psalms (not necessarily all at one sitting, but over the course of a month), you will experience the full range of life's experiences.

And then, at the end, you come to Psalm 150.  The last psalm in the book.  Psalm 150 ends in an explosion of praise -- nothing but praise.  "Praise the Lord!  Praise God in his sanctuary; praise God in his mighty firmament!  Praise God for his mighty deeds; praise...praise...praise...praise...praise... praise...praise...praise...praise...praise!"

The book that began with a commitment to faithful obedience has led to a complete abandonment of the self in utter praise of God.

That's where we're heading.  We can't force ourselves to praise; we must go through all the levels of emotional experience, from high to low.  But in the end, when all is said and done, what we will find is that life is all about praising and glorifying God.  As someone wise wrote long ago:  "The chief end of humanity is to glorify God and to enjoy God forever."

"Three chords is closer to God"

I would encourage you to check out a WONDERFUL interview with Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, aka the Indigo Girls, on the NPR show "On Being" with Krista Tippett.  To hear the interview, entitled "Indigo Girls on Music and Finding God, in Church and Smoky Bars," click here.  If you are a fan of the Indigo Girls, you should really do yourself a favor and take a listen.  I laughed, sang along, and wept while listening to the interview in my car.

Their song "Closer to Fine":  BEST. SONG. EVER. (In my humble opinion.)

The title of this post ("Three chords is closer to God") is a funny line from the interview, when Emily was speaking about her childhood experiences of music.  She joked that she grew up as something of a musical snob, growing up in a household with lots of classical music and jazz playing.  Amy, on the other hand, was into music that was more raw and closer to the ground.  Emily said that, while she believed that music needed to be sophisticated to really be good, Amy had taught her that "Three chords is closer to God." 

As someone who can only play about 4 chords on the guitar (G, C, D, and sometimes B minor), I loved that line.

Enjoy.

Power of the Breath

Everyone breathes.  (Always good to start with the obvious...)  Breathing is a fundamental part of being human.  Little children will sometimes hold their breath as a way of protest, but eventually, the protestor has to take a big gulp of air.  Sometimes, when adults are in a very stressful or fearful situation, we may - unconsciously - hold our breath.  It is as though, in the presence of a perceived threat, we just shut down.  We may hold our breath, until the situation resolves itself.  Then, we let out a big exhale.

Breathing is fundamental.

That is why it is such a delight, such a powerful delight, when we learn that the word for "breath" in both Hebrew and Greek (the two primary languages in which the Bible is written) is the same as the word for "spirit" and "wind."  In Greek, the word is pneuma (pronounced noo-mah).  In Hebrew, the word is ruach (pronounced roo-ach, kind of like you're spitting).  These words mean "breath," "spirit," and "wind."

Breath = Spirit = Wind.  The biblical languages are giving us a HUGE GIFT.

In the Genesis 1 creation story, according to the New Revised Standard Version, "a wind from God swept over the face of the waters."  It could equally read, "God's breath swept over the face of the waters."  Or, "God's Spirit swept over the face of the waters."  In John 20:22, we read that the resurrected Jesus breathed on his disciples, and told them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

Breath.  Spirit.  Wind.

What is so powerful about this is that we breathe all the time.  That means that we may imagine - with every breath - that we are breathing in the power of God's Spirit to us, and breathing out the power of God's Spirit to others and to the world.

Some people complain that they have never had an experience of the Holy Spirit.  They long to have a personal experience of the Spirit of God.  The powerfully great news of the biblical language is that you can have a personal experience of God's Spirit anytime, as long as you're breathing.  With every inhalation of breath, you can draw in the comfort, guidance, clarity, forgiveness, strength, mercy, kindness, power, and all other gifts of the Spirit.  And with every exhalation of breath, you become a missionary, sending those same gifts out into the world.

Breathe in.  Breathe out.  How great is that?