On Loving Others

"The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people . . . God himself thought they were worth dying for."

Acts 20:26

This week, I've been working on seeing people how God sees them. As you can imagine, this is going great!

...Not.

If you're like me (a human) you probably struggle to see people in their best light. we're quick to judge people for cutting us off in traffic, being rude in line at the grocery store, taking too long at the DMV, etc, etc, etc. All kinds of things get us irritated with the people around us.

I've started praying something simple each day: "Lord, give me Your eyes and Your heart. Give me a mind and a heart to do Your work. Show me Your heart. Let me see people how You see them."

I pray this in the morning and get in my car. I have this thought fresh in my mind when I start my day, but it doesn't take long for my mind to wander and completely forget this goal.

I find it's especially hard to see God's love in those closest to me. It's easy to look at a stranger in the car next to me at a red light and think, "Wow. God loves them so much." But when those nagging habits come out in my family members, it's easy to get frustrated and focus on that. I never seem to remember to look with God's eyes at those closest to me.

But let me share that verse again: "God himself thought they were worth dying for."

Wow. "Remember, when you see these people, God died for them. God loved them so much that God went to the ends of the earth, even to death, to show that love."

The New Testament indeed preaches a universal gospel. This library of scripture is no longer a story of a chosen people called to slaughter cities and take the survivors as slaves and concubines. Jesus preached and his earliest followers continued preaching a universal gospel - one where every single person is loved by God.

No more do we see a tribal god who knew before they were formed in the womb only his own people. Now, we see a God who created and knows and loves the whole world.  

Further, Jesus told us that every person we see is not only loved by him, but like HIM.

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Matthew 25: 34-40 

Actually, he said that every person we serve IS him.

Mother Teresa famously served the poorest of the poor in India. When people asked her how she did it, she responded, "This is Jesus in his most distressing disguise."

When we feed those who are hungry, we feed Jesus. When we welcome those who are strangers among us, we welcome Jesus. When we clothe those in need of clothing, we clothe Jesus. When we visit those who are sick and in prison, we visit Jesus. When we serve those in need, we serve Jesus. When we love anyone, we're loving Jesus.

And when we turn any of these away - we reject Jesus.

Every person we see is Jesus. Every person should be treated as if they are the God of the universe.

Wow.

Started with a goal to "see others as God sees them." Then realized "everybody is Jesus."

Guess I'll have to work a little harder to overcome that road rage.




Ways to serve Jesus right where you are:

• Make blessing backpacks for the homeless. Click here for some ideas of what to include.
• Volunteer at your local food kitchen or homeless shelter.
• Renew the practice of bringing a casserole to welcome new families to the neighborhood. 
• Clean out your closet and donate gently used clothes, coats, and shoes to a local clothing agency. 
• Visit people in hospitals or nursing homes.
• Visit people in prison. Or, if you're worried about safety, sign up to bake cookies! Click for more information.
• Call your representatives to tell them you want legislation that feeds the hungry, welcomes strangers, clothes the naked, cares for the sick, and treats those in prison with justice and kindness. Click here to find your representative in the House. Click here to find your Senators.
• TITHE. Whether it's to your local congregation or to your favorite charity, reclaiming the Old Testament practice of tithing the first 10% of our income to the work of the Lord is a powerful way to affect our world for good. Check out my favorite charity here. They partner with local organizations to help Syrian refugees, hurricane victims in Texas and Puerto Rico, low-income schools, and more - and because they're run completely by volunteers, 100% of donations go to those in need.

Dear Pastor, Shaming Women is not the Word of God

Dear Pastor,

I recently listened to you speak in my hometown, and while I enjoyed and was uplifted by the majority of your message, there are two comments that I need to respond to. 

I say these things not to tear down, but to build up and encourage in love and kindness.

The first comment came towards the beginning of your message, during a story about your teenage girlfriend, Charmaine. When you dated, she was “FINE.” When you came to Christ, God told you to break up with her, which, of course, was difficult. After your wedding, you saw Charmaine. You implied that Charmaine had gained weight. And you thanked God for subtracting her from your life - implying that a fat person is unattractive and not worthy of marriage. 

This comment is hurtful to everyone. Women and men receive countless messages in our society about what their body is supposed to look like. When you include messages against certain body types in the context of a sermon, you are encouraging people to reflect the image of what the world defines as beauty. I do recall you beginning your message with a call to reflect the image of God - not the image of the world. 

When you gave this message, the building was packed. The message was streamed online. It may have been recorded and posted online for later viewing. Your message reached many people. Doubtless, some of those people were women and men whom society deems overweight or unattractive. Statistically speaking, a not insignificant portion of the people who heard your message have or will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime. This comment, which implies that fat people are unattractive and unmarriageable, tore those people down. This comment perpetuates society’s standards of beauty and repeats the message of “not good enough.” It is this kind of culture that contributes to our alarmingly high rates of eating disorders. These disorders are prisons. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental illness. Your comments contribute to that. 

The church should be a place where people are uplifted. Where it doesn’t matter what you look like - you are a child of God and you are loved and that is all that matters. Women who struggle with body image or eating disorders should not have to worry about triggering messages such as the one above when they are worshipping and hearing the Word of God. That message - that fat equals bad - is NOT from God. That is NOT that Word of the Lord. Thus, you as a man of God should NOT be preaching that. 

The second comment came in the second portion of your message, in discussion of your wife’s pregnancy. Pregnancy changes your appetite, you said. When we’re pregnant with God’s dream and plan for us, we’re hungry for God, and the things that used to fill us don’t fill us anymore. A wonderful point. And one that could have been demonstrated without the following harmful comment. Your wife was hungrier during her pregnancy. When you and your wife were out to dinner during her pregnancy, you hoped the night might end with some married intimacy. She finished her plate, and what was left of yours after you finished. According to you, she scarfed down the meal, with food dribbling down her chin - “Nah, now I’m turned off,” you said. 

A woman’s hunger is unattractive to you. The mention of this comment communicates that women are accountable to you for their attractiveness, that women are to be attractive to you at all times, even when sustaining normal bodily functions. Your message communicates that in order for a woman to be attractive, she must not be human. She must not hunger. She must not eat. She must not desire. 

And what a harmful message. It is the God-given nature of humanity to hunger, to fill ourselves with food, to choose food that pleases us, to enjoy the food we eat. God made us to enjoy food. But your comment teaches that this is not the case for women. Women are not to enjoy food. Women should suppress hunger and not enjoy food. Women should ignore and suppress their humanity. 

This is a message that, frankly, contributes to female oppression. In this comment, you position yourself as the head and command that woman deny her humanity in order to please you. You command that women live not for herself, but for your pleasure. 

Now, you may argue that “that’s not what I meant.” That’s okay. I’m sure you didn’t. I’m sure these things were said as jokes, to lighten the mood. The problem with that is that these jokes are harmful. Maybe you didn’t know that or hadn’t thought about these issues. That’s okay. The point is not to worry about what we did or knew in the past, but to concern ourselves with what we do and what we know now and in the future. Maya Angelou wrote, "I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” That is my concern. That after reading this letter, you will be equipped to improve and build a better world. I come not to chastise in hatred, but to correct in love. 

These kinds of comments are hurtful, plain and simple. 

As someone who has suffered from an eating disorder, I must react to and call out messages that shame people because of their body size. 

As a woman, I must react to messages that imply women are to remain small, silent, and hungerless - that women are to be anything less than fully human. 

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I am required to call out injustice and oppression wherever I see it. Comments that shame people for their body type and women for their natural hungers are unjust and oppressive. Christ came to break every chain, and comments like yours keep people in bondage. 

Thank you for your time, Pastor. 

Sincerely,

A Jesus Feminist in Recovery 

A New Thing

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? 

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” 

Isaiah 43:19

God is always doing new things. God has been doing some new things in my life for several years now - always taking me somewhere I didn’t expect to go.

I began this blog as a place to recount my adventures as a young Mormon woman.

Then, I left the church, and religion altogether.

Then, God started pulling me back to something more, something new, something deeper.

Recently, God set me up as a teacher to Methodist children. Much of what I read now is from a Methodist perspective. I study Methodist theology in depth, digesting it enough to simplify it so first graders can understand.

Other than that, I read books authored by Baptists, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, nondenominational Christians - and I agree with all of them. I attend Jewish shabbat services, traditional Christian masses, energetic Pentecostal worship services. I visit God when I do yoga in the forest. There is no tradition that completely satisfies me. Rather, I visit and learn from many people.

Mormonism is my spiritual home. I do not believe everything the LDS Church teaches, and I do not agree with all of its policies. But it is my home. I did not choose it; it chose me.

Nevertheless, I am no longer simply a young Mormon woman. This blog is no longer about the life and lessons of a true-believing Mormon convert.

The Mormon waters are rough. I love the Church, but it is not all that I love. I experience and learn form many teachers. I want this to be a place where I can write about all the places I find God - not just the Mormon places, and maybe even not just the Christian places.

Because of this, I have decided to relaunch as “Sacred Sprinkles.” This is a place where sprinkles are holy and heaven is found in a bowl (or cone) of ice cream. God is everywhere. Let’s not limit God. Let’s believe that God will show up wherever God sees fit. Let’s learn from God everywhere - in churches, in synagogues, in mosques, in temples. God is not confined to our temples or our churches. God is sprinkled all over this great big world.

The Abundant Life: Ananias and Sapphira

A man named Ananias—his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him—sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it. Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.” Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it. The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.

Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. Peter said, “Tell me, were you given this price for your field?”

“Yes,” she said, “that price.”

Peter responded, “What’s going on here that you connived to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who buried your husband are at the door, and you’re next.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.

Acts 5:1-10 (MSG)

~ ~ ~

Recently, I read a book entitled Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism (authored by former Anglican Bishop John Shelby Spong). The thrust of his argument was that modern scientific inquiry and wider, less tribalistic morality was causing us to rethink how we look at the Bible. There are two options. First, we take it literally, discounting science and worshipping a God who commands slaughter of many people throughout the text - fundamentalism. Or, we revere the Bible as a work full of rich symbolism and metaphor (which is likely the way that early Christians viewed at least the gospels) that leads us to an experience of the divine - a progressive approach. 

As I read the above passage in my scripture study recently, I found myself thinking, "What the heck am I supposed to learn from this? That our God is the kind of God who will kill anyone who lies or fails to donate money to the church? Wow." It struck me that this was against the God of forgiveness and grace found in other parts of the New Testament and preached by many Christian churches today. Where is grace? Where is the forgiveness brought about by Jesus? Shouldn't these new Christians, of all people, have an understand of the radical grace given by their God? Or is grace a lie? Is this God a killer, or one who came "that you might have life, and have it abundantly"? 

This morning, I read a passage in John. Here, Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work" (John 4:34). Wow. His food is doing God's work. Jesus is saying that he gets nourishment and sustenance from doing God's work, from serving others. Doing God's work, for Jesus, wasn't something draining or energy-consuming, but life-giving. 

And, we are children of God just as much as Jesus. And our faith calls us to live Christlike lives. What if that means that we, too, are to find nourishment and sustenance in doing God's work? Doing God's work will fill us up and give us life abundant. Wow. 

Then, this evening, I was listening to a talk by a local preacher. On a tangent, he mentioned this story in Acts 5. He didn't really teach on it, just acknowledge it's existence. A sidenote to a passage I'd just been reading and questioning. 

And then I realized. Something spoke to my soul, and said - "This story isn't about actual death. It's not about Ananias and Sapphira literally falling to the ground, physically dead. Think metaphorically." So I thought. 

Then - boom. They died not a physical death, but a spiritual death. The story isn't about God smiting people for lying or not sharing. This story is about where we get our food. Ananias and Sapphira weren't contributing to building up the Kingdom like they should have. In their case, it was a financial lapse. Since they didn't contribute the way they could and the way God had asked of them, a part of them died. They lost some of the abundant life, because they were not walking in the way lined by the Light of the World. They died spiritually. 

The lesson for us, is that when we fail to contribute to the Kingdom of God in the ways that God has asked, in the ways that we are capable of, part of us dies. We walk away from God. That's death. The story isn't about God killing people, but about us failing to look at God. Ananias and Sapphira didn't believe that serving God would be all the food, all the nourishment, all the sustenance they needed. Either they were anxious about material needs, or they thought that worldly riches would satisfy the hunger in their hearts. Wrong. Only life with God can fill us up all the way. When we walk with God, we're fed. Inside and out. Our God is the Great Provider.

May we trust the Abundant Giver. May we look to this Holy Source to supply all our needs. May we be free of anxiety, knowing where our food comes from. May we follow Light and live to the fullest. 

The Holy Spirit and Building Zion

In the story of the wise men, God sent a star to lead them to Jesus. Today, we want to find Jesus, too - but there's no star, and no little house holding a baby king. What are we to do?

As I told my littles when I taught this, "Well, God thought of everything, so there's a gift to help us."

After Jesus finished his life on earth, he promised the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has a lot of jobs.

The Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (with many other names) is a revelator. The Spirit reveals to us the nature of God. The Spirit testifies to our redemption and reconciliation. It is by the Spirit that we become confident of our standing with God. Romans 8:16 says, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,."

The Spirit encourages and empowers us to accept God's love and submit (surrender) to Jesus Christ as Lord in word and deed. We receive wisdom and power to do God's will through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks God's will to us and helps us make decisions. The Holy Spirit teaches us God's heart so we can pray and act in ways pleasing to God. 

And the Holy Ghost does more than just tell us who God is and what God wants us to do. It is through the Holy Ghost - and only through the Holy Ghost - that we receive grace and power to do that which is pleasing to God. We are not big enough or good enough for a holy God on our own (we are loved, yes! but not perfect). We can't be like God by ourselves. So God sends power down to us so we are enabled to do God's work. The Holy Ghost is the channel by which this power travels from God to us. it is up to us to make a decision for Christ, and it is up to the Holy Spirit to sanctify us and make us more and more like Christ. 

Simply put, 1) the Holy Spirit tells us about Jesus, and 2) the Holy Spirit helps us to be kind like Jesus, to share with others like Jesus, and to pray like Jesus. 

As individuals listen to and are empowered by the Holy Spirit, the church universal will make progress towards the Kingdom of God. "The Lord [will call] his people Zion, because they [are] of one heart and one mind, and [dwell] in righteousness; and there [is] no poor among them" (Moses 7:18). The Holy Ghost will teach us that we are one family, that we are all alike. When I am you and you are me, when we are one heart and one mind, we have no choice but to share kindness and material goods. Listening to the Holy Ghost will lead us to openness, compassion, and justice for all people. Listening to the Holy Ghost will open our eyes to injustice and oppression. We'll think "This is terrible! My brothers and sisters are suffering!" Then we'll think, "Oh my gosh, how can I ever change anything? There's so much to do and I'm so small." 

That's when the Holy Ghost will whisper to us, 

"You are small. But I am not.

You are weak. But I am not. 

You are afraid. But I am not. 

You are poor. But I am not. 

You are human. But I am God."

And with the power of God Almighty in our words, hands, and feet, we will go on to transform the world by grace as we have been transformed by grace. 

Epiphany & the 12 Days of Christmas!

Well, Christmas has come and gone. Hopefully it was a pleasant holiday for you and yours.

In the church calendar, Advent and Christmas are followed by a period called "Ordinary Time." This term, conveniently, refers to any time that isn't Advent or Lent (the season before Easter). Ordinary Time is filled with lots of little holidays, though, that vary from denomination to denomination. Not all of these are celebrated  by every church.

In the church, Christmas actually isn't just one day. Like most holy festivals - Chanukah, Ramadan, Chinese New Year - Christmas is traditionally celebrated over a period of time. We usually think that the 12 Days of Christmas begin before Christmas, with December 25 being Day 12. Wrong! The 12 Days of Christmas actually start on the night of Christmas Eve and lasts until January 6. The end of the Christmas season is marked by its own holiday, the Epiphany.

Epiphany remembers and celebrates when the wise men visited Jesus. It was more than 12 days later, but we shrink the whole Jesus story up to make it fit in one calendar year. Epiphany is always January 6, while Epiphany Sunday fluctuates. It's the Sunday closest to January 6.

As I said above, Epiphany Sunday remembers and celebrates when the wise men visited Jesus. Epiphany is a word that means "manifestation" or "showing." At the Epiphany, the wise men recognized that the Light of the World had manifested itself, had shown up. That's why they traveled - to visit the King.

The wise men, also called Magi, were from Persia. Magi means king - equivalent to emperor, pharaoh, etc. Think "we three kings." These kings were fancy, also studying math and science, especially astronomy. Some scholars believe that the wise men were Zoroastrian priests. Zoroastrianism is actually the world's oldest monotheistic religion (that we know of, I suppose), even older than Judaism. The religion gets its name from Zoroaster, a prophet who solidified most of the teachings. He was not God, and no one thought he was. They just named it after him. I guess this is very similar to how Mormons are called after the prophet who compiled our holy book, the Book of Mormon.

According to the story, the wise men were waiting for Israel's king. By studying the stars, they learned that the king had come, and they traveled to where Jesus was. And, though we put these nice gift-bearers in our nativities, it may have taken them up to two years to travel.

Today, we put stars atop our trees in remembrance of the star that shone when Jesus was born. It was the light of the star that helped the wise men know where they should go. We remember the coming of the Light of the World and we remember that it took time for the wise men to travel. Just like we don't just *snap* arrive at the Lord's feet. We've a journey, too. But no worries - we know God leads us home.

The voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. . . .

And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was nodarkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. . . .

And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth.

For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand . . .

And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

3 Nephi 1:12-19