Rumination on the Golden Compass series

   When the Golden Compass movie came out in 2007 there was a huge outcry from some Christian groups protesting the movie and book series [His Dark Materials] for it's anti-Christian/ pro-atheist themes.  So of course I read the book trilogy to see what all the fuss was about.

[Warning: there are spoilers in this article.]

And I loved the series.

      That doesn't mean that I necessarily agree with everything Phillip Pullman states or believe things in exactly the way he does, but it is a transfixing series.  The storytelling is imaginative yet realistic, inspiring yet gripping in its suspenseful twists and turns of the plot; you never can predict what is going to happen next and every character is a shade of gray.  I adore that in the books I read.  Pullman is a fantastic author and it pains me that some people would miss out on fantastic writing because it differs from their beliefs.

    

      But the strange thing I noticed is that though Pullman is promoting atheism by flat-out stating that the Christian God (called "the Authority") is a lie and that there is no God, I saw my God all through the books in the form of Dust.  The world in which the protagonist Lyra lives is a parallel world in which there was no protestant reformation, John Calvin became the Catholic Pope and dissolved the papacy creating the Magisterium and Consistatorial Court.  These leaders are corrupt and use the Christian religion to try and subjugate all humans in this world through fear, manipulation, guilt, shame and lies.  The Authority is portrayed as a decrepit, ancient angel who didn't create anything but assumed power over everything, distorting the true nature of all the worlds and his followers in every world (including ours) are intent on upholding the regime to retain power.  Those following the Authority are trying to destroy Dust.  

      Dust is the conscious energy of the universe that clings to that which has knowledge.  For those who seek dust, it tells them the truth and leads them in universe-saving harmony and balance.  Those to whom the Dust clings the most are full of wisdom, and are the ones who help Lyra and Will bring peace and balance to all the worlds by saving the Dust.  Though my ideas of God are not exactly the same as the Dust depicted in this book, the idea and purpose of Dust is a main component of it.  Lyra has to enter a meditative type state to talk to Dust through the instrument called an alethiometer, which reminds me of the state of mind I tend to work towards when I pray and "listen to God."  The connection to the universe that the character Dr. Mary Malone feels when she is out in nature, helping others and around Dust is how I describe being "in the presence of God."  The joy and wholeness I feel when fully in relationship with the love of my life, whether that be sex, intimacy, deep discussion, or even just being in his presence with my heart open makes me feel like God is surrounding our relationship and reminds me of how Lyra and Will are surrounded by a radiant aura of Dust when they realize that they love each other.       

        Pullman maybe holding up a mirror to criticize much of the religious organization called Christianity- and let's face it, horrible things like the Crusades, the Inquisition, castration, and other atrocities among judgmental and shame inducing beliefs were created and committed in the name of the Christian God- but that mirror does need to be held up.  We Christians are humans and we get things wrong.  Plenty of Christians have held up similar mirrors to Christianity and were thanked for it generations later though persecuted for it at the time.  We as people constantly need to challenge our beliefs in order to truly make them our beliefs.  

      It may not be an exact parallel, but Pullman's ideas about the truth in the universe and the purpose of humankind matches up with the ideals I uphold as a Christian.  Love, hope, tolerance, compassion, equality, free-will, altruism, peace, harmony, balance, human connection...  All these are the building blocks of my faith and seem also to be the foundation of Pullman's atheistic message.

   I feel like Pullman is stating that he doesn't believe in shoes because Christians wear steel-toe military boots.  Yet Pullman also states that he believes it's good to have things on your feet, to give them protection, versatility and a better quality of walking; what you put on your feet should be light, form-fitting, pleasurable and functional, in harmony with your body and the earth you walk on.  In essence, its like Pullman believes in the purpose and idea of shoes while stating he doesn't believe in shoes.  

      What isn't given any credence by Pullman is that there are many Christians wearing shoes exactly like that which he describes and are just as saddened by the Christians who don't realize their shoes' full potential, distorting the design of them to manipulate and control.  Those Christians are glad that Pullman is purporting the idea of wearing the correct shoes and happy that as long as people are creating and wearing the right shoes, the true purpose is being spread.  However those Christians are also disappointed that some people have had to leave the church (or religion in general) in order to find those shoes when that should be the church's main focus: putting the correct shoes on people's feet! 

      Not getting the analogy?  What it boils down to is this:

Love.

      Pullman believes in the power of Love to make the world better.  Jesus' main message in the New Testament is about Love.  The true message about God is Love.  So, if Love is what people believe in -whether atheist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, agnostic, etc.- and if Love should be the purpose of all life, then the rest is just semantics.  Love is how I see God.

So make this world a better place through love.  

Study what love is and practice how to exhibit love to everyone.

Live a life of love by whatever resonates with you.

Love is the true purpose.

Love is how the world can be renewed.

Love is how lives can be fulfilled.

Just Love.

Finding God Unexpectedly

Life sometimes comes at you unexpectedly.

One minute you're doing one thing, stuck in your routine, moving right along, and then

WHAM!

A big slice of life comes and Murphy whacks you in the face with his heavy book of laws.

Maybe you find out your pregnant

Maybe you lose your job

Maybe your pregnancy doesn't come to fruition

Maybe your sister ends up in the ER

Maybe your other sister barely escapes a tornado

Maybe you just can't find another job

Maybe all these things happen one after another

Or maybe something even worse happens to make you feel 

like you could write the book of Job from the Bible...

Whatever it is in your life, good or bad, it is unexpected and wrinkles your plans.

At this point, when your world is turning upside down and you feel like giving up and doing something crazy like eating a whole box of donuts or jumping off a cliff (with or without a bungee cord) it may seem like God is nowhere to be found and that life is senseless and random.  That your life has no meaning anymore.

So what do you do?

You find God. 

It's not as hard as you think once you open yourself up to it, but it takes quite a bit of listening.  And living in the present moment. (A.K.A. not substituting life with excess anything: food, TV, books, video games, drugs/alcohol, cigarettes, aimlessness, sleeping, etc.)

For example, when I went through my month of trauma I spent the first week sitting on the couch in a stupor, neglecting my chores and watching the DVD series that I always watch for a "feel good" day: "Friends." (Yes, I love that show!)

Did I get anything done?  No.

Did I wallow in my sorrows?  Yes.

The only thing I did do was go outside to play with my dog and water the plants.

I noticed that our mini "greenhouse" was overflowing with green and that the herbs and tomatoes were at the planting point.  So, I went outside and began the hard work of creating a bed for them to put in.  It took most of the evening, but I got it done with enough daylight left to plant the tomatoes.  As I was doing the transfer from greenhouse to ground, I noticed that not all of the planted seeds had grown, and the next day I noticed that of the ones that did grow, not all of them survived the new home in the flower bed.  Gently holding the small first leaves of a withered tomato vine, I realized how fragile life is and that there are so many times when a new life ends before it ever really begins.  Whether a tomato vine or an embryo, life is delicate and all you can do is be grateful for the life you have and try again to create new life.

Then, I was forced to leave the house to take my sister to work.

She only had a few hour shift, and since I had nothing to do (a prospect a workaholic like me finds daunting), I decided to hang around the mall area while waiting for her.  I saw that a bookstore was closing nearby, and since I had some books to look for anyway, I went inside.  Though I didn't find the book I was looking for, I found something even better.  I found God supporting me through the pages of Women, Food, and God by Geneen Roth.

Inside this book dealt with issues I've been dealing with my whole life, and how spirituality can not only help me value myself and re-imagine myself as beautiful (something I doubt constantly) but by being present and aware of my body and myself I can understand my mixed-up relationship with food.  And that this concept can apply to all areas of my life.

God was definitely speaking to me through this unlikely book choice.

After finding this book, I bought it so I could write in it and went to Starbucks for a place to get a drink and sit to read.  While there, completely absorbed in this book with pen in hand to mark it up, this woman around my age came over to me to ask me about this book.

We got into a wonderful conversation about this book and spirituality in general and she ended up giving me her business card with her e-mail on it.  It turns out she owns a business in the area I've seriously been considering but had no idea how to get into it.

I definitely saw God in her small act that meant so much to me.

Later that week when my husband was out of town on a jeep weekend, I decided to attend worship at a church that had somehow put me on their email list despite having not attended in over 2 years.  I knew one person who went there, and there she was, happy to see me and so welcoming.  I hadn't wanted to go that morning, but felt drawn to try it out.  I found God not in the message that morning but in the playing of the song You Never Let Go, a song that had gotten me through that horrible month.

Feeling a little bit better, I got an e-mail from a friend that I had been trying to coordinate a lunch meeting with for a long time.  Things were never quite right and when she had to cancel the last week of my job, I ended up explaining everything that had been going on and why I wasn't going to be up in the area anymore, making a lunch meeting difficult.  We eventually settled on a Monday when I had the time to come up and not only did she treat me to a nice restaurant but generously offered to offset some of our expenses while I look for a job.  She told me that God had blessed her abundantly in her life and "what was life worth without giving back to others out of her abundance?"  I was floored by her generosity and with tears in my eyes accepted her check that she joyously gave.

*               *               *                *

I'm not saying that I've completely made sense of the things that have happened, but through finding God in the little things, the pages of a book, the kind words and gestures of a stranger or friend, or the fragile leaves of a fledgling tomato vine, these experiences are helping me see that life is not senseless or purposeless, but full of unexpected meaning, beauty, wisdom, and love. 

Grace and Peace,

Virginia

Passionate Worship

What would you call "Passionate" Worship?

If you look up the word "passion" in the dictionary, you get descriptions such as
"powerful emotions," "strong feelings," "extravagant," "fondness," "enthusiasm," "being affected by," "compelling..."

When was the last time you felt those things about God?

Have you ever been to a worship service where you felt so much powerful emotion that God became real to you? Have you ever been in a place where overwhelming, extravagant praise for God arose inside of you and you just had to let it out?

If so, where? When? If not, why not?


I worship passionately in nature.

One early morning on a camping trip, I awoke to the sounds of the forest.
While my husband slept through the chirping birds and flowing river, I put on my shoes and emerged from the tent into the chilly breeze to take a morning walk. As I walked into the foggy morning between the trees, I just took that time to pray, and listen. As I listened to the unfamiliar sounds and watched the dancing rays of sunlight that peered through the treetops permeating the fog, I felt powerful emotions tying me to the earth, to God's beautiful creations, that I was a part of something bigger and more wonderful than I could ever imagine. For one in my anxious life, I was at peace with the world and truly grateful to be alive.

I praised the Lord with my entire being that day.
Just standing there in the trees and living.
My passion for God that day was radiating through me, and as the fog dissipated and the glorious sunlight began immersing the world in its golden hue, I felt like I was basked in God's love the same way I was basked in light.



How do you worship God?
Do you worship God only on Sundays in a church?
Do you always worship God in the same way?

Tell me your story.
When worship is passionate for you?

Unbreakable Gifts

What is the best gift you can think of that you have ever gotten.
What is it? (I'm giving you room to think.)















Now, keep that gift in your mind, and answer this question for me:

Could that gift be stolen? Get lost? Break?




That would really stink I bet. I know I'd be really mad.
But it's a fact of life: things can get stolen. Things can get lost. Things can break.


Now how would you like an unbreakable gift?
One that couldn't get taken away from you...


Hope.
Joy.
Peace.
Love.

These are just a few of the gifts that you can receive that will never break.

Now you may think that you don't always have hope, or peace.
You may not always feel joyful or feel loved.
But you can.

These gifts don't break, although sometimes we do.
They don't get stolen, unless we allow them to be stolen.
They don't get lost; we get lost from them.

Think of these as precious gifts that you can always have with us through God.

Hope strengthens.

Have you ever met those people who keep up hope when all seems lost?
There are plenty of movies like that, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy for example.
Everyone thinks that evil has finally triumphed, that the world is going to end, that nothing good will ever happen again and that no one can save them.
Except for the hero.

The hero (or group of heroes) still have hope, and as long as they have hope, they keep fighting until the world is saved, the evil has been vanquished, and all is set right again.
These heroes were strengthened by hope, and the enemy could not take it away from them.
A person of hope is a person of strength.

As the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians:
"I am able to do all things through [God] who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13)
And Paul was definitely the hero type who endured everything and always had hope.

Joy lightens.

Have you ever met those people who just radiated joy?
There are people out there who really could be described as sunshine on a cloudy day.
You know who I mean, those people who seem to always have a smile on their face, who always seem to know what to say to make you feel better, who can seem happy even when they are struggling through a situation that should make them feel miserable.
I have always envied those people.

Joy is different from being happy.
Happiness is a feeling that you get, the temporary elation you feel when something goes right.
The opposite to happiness is sadness.

Joy is deeper than that.
Joy is the constant feeling of well-being you can get when you are firmly rooted in Good.
Joy is the contentment that comes from knowing who you are and where you are going.
Joy is the feeling that no matter what pain and hardship you may be going through,
there is something brighter and more beautiful in the world than your situation.
Joy is knowing there is more to my life than the terrible, and my purpose is greater than whatever I am subjected to, and by dwelling on the bad I will miss out on the greater good.
And the greater good can be given to you by God.
God lightens your heavy load with joy.

Peace heals.

Have you ever met those people who never get flustered?
The people who can calmly accept any news and who can find a compromise in any situation?
Peaceful people are more than just the hippies who are opposed to war, but also the people who are the bomb-diffusers, who can take a stressful situation and turn it into a calm one.
A person who can walk across a fire pit without burning their feet.

We may give much more attention to war and claim that it is necessary, but when has war healed a nation? It took the times of peace to heal the nations.
Think of leaders who led peaceful revolutions.
How much more effective were they in their mission?
How many lives were healed through their peace?
Here are the top 10 as listed from
http://www.thetransitlounge.com.au/international/240-top-10-peaceful-revolutionaries.html

10) Lady Godiva
9) Swami Vivekananda
8) Aung San Suu Kyi
7) Meena and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
6) Mother Teresa
5) Nelson Mandela
4) Martin Luther King Jr.
3) Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dali Lama of Tibet
2) Mahatma Gandhi
and
*drum roll*
1) Jesus Christ

And the common thread that wove its way through these different non-violent revolutions?

Love endures.

"Love one another just as I have loved you." (Luke 6:31)
"Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39)
"The greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

These are just some of the many verses on love that are found in the Bible.
Of the many unbreakable gifts, love is the most important.
The more love you give, the more love you get in return.
Love does not follow any of the laws of physics, or the laws of life.
But most importantly, love is an action.

To choose to love someone is hard, but love will endure as long as you continue to act in love.
Love makes life more beautiful.

Hope.
Joy.
Peace.
Love.

When you wish for any gift this year, first choose these, as they will help fill your life with strength, light, healing, and enduring beauty.

And....
These gifts won't break.


Grace and Peace,

Virginia Yates

"God Tweets"

What do you think God would say if God could tweet?

What would He post on your facebook wall?

Why would He call you???

Would He call you to tell you that you're doing a great job living your life right now?
Would He call you to tell you to step it up?
Would He call you to tell you you're going to heaven or hell?
Would He call you to ask you to do more of His work?
Tell you of His plans for your life?
Condemn you for the choices you've made?
Invite you into a relationship with Him?


Take a moment to pause and reflect:
What do you think God would say if He called you right now?







I know for certain what God would say to you.

(And I don't even know you.)

God would say,
"I love you, [insert your name]."

And God would absolutely mean it.


What would God tweet?
God would tweet that He loves you unconditionally.
That you were created by Him and built for a relationship with Him.
That no matter what you do with your free will, He will be there for you.
Whenever you ask.
The Bible is the greatest love story ever told.

In the first chapter of Genesis, when God created the first people, it says that we were created
"in the image of God."

The term in Hebrew is B'tzelem Elohim.
(And has a very specific meaning.)
You see, back then, rulers were said to be a representation of the gods that their culture worshiped. So if they were a culture who worshiped Baal, then the leader of that village would be considered to be the human tzelem of Baal. So we, then, were ALL created in the image of God, so that means we ALL are the representation of God on this earth, or have the divine spark.
[Thank you Rob Bell for your insight there. Check out his works.]

As I like to think of it (and so do many Hebrew scholars according to Rabbi Jana), our being created B'tzelem Elohim has a three-fold meaning:
1) I was created in the image of God, therefore I have infinite value.
2) You were also created in the image of God, therefore you have infinite value.
3) As a valuable creation with the "divine spark," I should try every day to live in according to the image of God.


So what would God tweet?
Well, God doesn't tweet.
But you do.

So, as you are created in the image of God,
you have the power to tweet for God.

So...

What are you going to tweet today?



Grace and Peace,

Virginia Yates

A beautiful poem to assuage grief...

Death is nothing at all

I have only slipped away into the next room

I am I and you are you

Whatever we were to each other

That we are still

Call me by my old familiar name

Speak to me in the easy way you always used

Put no difference into your tone

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow

Laugh as we always laughed

At the little jokes we always enjoyed together

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me

Let my name be ever the household word that it always was

Let it be spoken without effort

Without the ghost of a shadow in it

Life means all that it ever meant

It is the same as it ever was

There is absolute unbroken continuity

What is death but a negligible accident?

Why should I be out of mind

Because I am out of sight?

I am waiting for you for an interval

Somewhere very near

Just around the corner

All is well.

Nothing is past; nothing is lost

One brief moment and all will be as it was before

How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

Canon Henry Scott-Holland, 1847-1918, Canon of St Paul's Cathedral

Encouragement

“Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize.”

Elizabeth Harrison


Encouragement is good for the soul.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your own consent."

Well Eleanor, what happens when you've unwillingly given your consent and you do feel inferior?
Criticized? Mistreated? Judged?
What if the world has turned against you, doesn't want to listen to what you have to say, and you just can't feel the love?
What if being inferior is not just a state of mind, but a state of being?

That is where a healthy dose of encouragement is a life-saver.

A compassionate look, an unwarranted smile, a brief salutation an outstretched arm...
could mean the difference of life or death.

I'm not just talking physical life or death, although there may be cases of that too, as you never know what is going on in someone else's mind. For all you know, they were one small word of encouragement away from choosing to leave a hurting and troubled world.

But it's also emotional life or death. As a music director, I've been told by people who loved to sing "once upon a time" never did it again after a remark of some critical director.
Likewise, I've heard stories of singers who found their inner talent, or passion for music through some remarks of encouragement.
A kind word, a willingness to listen, to teach, and to have patience by someone instilled a spark this person's life and inspired them. Their career. Their passion. Their purpose in being.

In the Bible, Jesus uses many analogies involving plants,
seeds being planted and growing and producing fruit,
or not producing fruit.

Encouragement, I believe, is one of the nourishments that these "faith seeds" need in order to survive and thrive. The best example of this is in the Great Commission passage of
Matthew 28:16-20.

(It is written in full in the previous post if you need a reminder.)

Jesus gives the disciples their "graduation speech" as he prepares to ascend into heaven.
He ends it with a word of encouragement.
"And I will be with you always, even to the end of the age."

He will be there for his disciples. With his disciples.
Until the "end of the age."
Whether that means their death or beyond is for you to decide,
but the point is that they are not alone.
They are loved enough to have their teacher, their mentor around
whenever they need help or advice or anything at all.
That is encouraging indeed!

The idea of the holy spirit is that God is within us as well.

There is a United Methodist creed from the United Church of Canada that I love and would like to share with you today. It describes the purpose of the church through encouragement well:

We are not alone, we live in God's world.
We believe in God:
who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and other by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the church:
to celebrate God's presence,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God. Amen



Celebrate God. Love and serve. Seek justice. Resist Evil. Spread the good news.

The good news that we are not alone because God is with us.

May those words serve as encouragement for you today.


Grace and Peace,

Virginia Yates