"Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start..."
I figure Maria had the right idea, so we'll follow her lead and begin with the introduction to our book. Although, if you're really paying attention, you might just stop to ponder the quote prior to the intro...
"Earth's crammed with heaven
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes."
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
And so, I ask you, are you ready to take off your shoes? Because I'm hoping, praying, that as we read and discuss this book, we will experience a "bush afire with God." I'm hoping, praying, that we will find that earth is so crammed with heaven that we can't imagine how we lived without noticing that before. I'm hoping, praying, that when we feel the need for God's presence in our lives, there is no moment of panic or doubt, for we will always know God's presence, always rejoice in that knowledge, and always feel so sure that we can share that knowledge with others.
Turning to Feinberg's intro, then, remember that we are at the BEGINNING of our journey. Feinberg starts with the basics. Hunger. Ah, yes. We know the meaning of the word. And yet, can we venture with her from physical hunger to spiritual? Does this have meaning for you?
Personally, I love how she weaves this together. Although, I'm not sure what it says about me that I was eating lunch as I began reading!
"While billions suffer in starvation and poverty, I live behind the plush curtain."
Ah, we know the plush curtain so well. Do we hide behind it? In what ways, I wonder?
Feinberg writes, "If physical hunger is a set of feelings that leads a person to search for food, then spiritual hunger is a set of experiences and longings that compels a person to search for God. Just as my body needs food to survive, my spirit needs God to thrive."
Does it? How does your spirit feel when you turn your back on God? Or, not even turning your back, when you just kind of walk around willy nilly, going about your days, just a little less than mindful of God's presence.
Feinberg mentions the substitutes for God (carbs and other possibilities for filling the void). What "works" for you? And how long does it "work" before you have to come back to God? Before you feel pain or distress or just the knowledge that there is a void in your life?
Sometimes, we just need to hear God's voice. It comes to us in many ways in our lives. How has it come to you?
Many of you know Janie Pemble in the Friendly Visitors' office. She tells the heartwrenching story of the time when she had to put their dog down. (Ah, yes, we all know how difficult that is.) One day, as she stood in her yard, broken from the grief, yet trying to compose herself so as not to show the enormity of it to her children, she asked God, "Please help me. Please just give me a sign that he's okay and that he's with you." Now, Janie loves birds, so she even specified that the sign come in the form of a bird. I'm not sure I could get that specific with God and God would listen, but apparently Janie can, because a few moments later, a beautiful, delicate, tiny hummingbird swept down a row of nearby raspberry bushes, then came and hovered directly in front of Janie's nose. Just hovered there, looking at her. For several seconds. Until Janie felt a sense of peace sweep through her. Until she knew that God had heard. And answered.
Sometimes, we just need to hear God's voice. Because we are, indeed, hungry for God.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. May God lead us. May we lead one another. And may we lean on one another and upon our God. For many blessings are to be found.
Peace,
Pastor Tam
P.S. Be sure to go through the discussion questions in the Reflection section at the end of the book. I'm particularly intrigued by your thoughts on:
2. What types of situations or encounters stir your hunger for God and remind you of your need for him?
4. Margaret describes spending months wondering, "Are you there, God?" Have you ever had a similar experience? Describe.
8. Why is it important to look for God in the everyday experiences of life?
9. When have you discovered God in the everyday?
10. What compels you to want to hear God's voice more in your life?
It's been many months since we've read a book together. Once again, I invite you to join me on a journey. This time, we will focus on the book, Children as Partners in the Church, by D-B and Phyllis Heusser. Even if you only read the forward, which is written by Marian Wright Edelman, you will be thankful you ventured that far. Used copies of the book are available on Amazon. Let me know if you have any difficulties locating it.
Our new house overlooks a forested conservation area with a creek and a large cast of small and not so small creatures. This morning there was a mother deer with two spotted fawns. In the spring we watched a young buck who seemed to be doing windsprints - a fast dash down to the creek, along the bottom land and up a bluff on the other side, then down again and back up. He shook his head and repeated the dash.
ReplyDeleteWe have regulars at our squirrel feeder: both gray squirrels and smaller, fiercer black squirrels and a few agile stellar jays who like peanuts. The squirrels are adept at raiding the bird feeders and munching on flowers and deer blocks. A book called "Outwitting Squirrels" basically concludes it can't be done. These squirrels are brillant.
Our big surprise has been their playfulness. A favorite game is to run along a horizontal branch of a huge cedar and take a flying leap across the gap to an ornamental plum tree with very flimsy branches. Each jump is breath-taking as the squirrel clutches by one foot to gain purchase on the branch, bouncing around like a trapeze artist. Then calmly runs down the trunk to the ground. It is very clear that they do this for FUN!
So what I'm noticing with this wildlife is how much playfulness they enjoy. We have abundant birds of many different kinds that share space peacefully, eating side by side. They're not competing (except in agility trials) and seem to have every confidence that God will provide.
So, while I love the title "Hungry for God" I find myself out-of-step with the concept of fasting and famine. My hunger is for the peace of Christ, the joy of living, the certainty that all WILL be well. I want to kick off the limitations I set on myself and fly without wings.