I guess you would call it a church youth gathering. It was night and there was a small bonfire; really small, more for seeing than for warmth. There were well over a hundred of us there. We were young, excited, and joyful to just be in the same place with so many others who shared our beliefs. Tomorrow there would be papers due, classes to attend, laundry to wash; but tonight was to be a break from all of that.
You can't really have that much youth and joy without some noise. Young people chat and laugh. And we were doing both in the minutes before the official start of the program. Finally, the young man who had invited us all, a peer, stood and sought our attention.
Put it down to youth: we didn't immediately quiet down. So, with a pained look on his face, he called out loudly, his voice full with scolding, "All right, now. Let's get spiritual!"
Uh. Oh.
I was young, so there was a lot I didn't know at that point in my life. But I knew one thing for certain: THAT was not right. Whatever it was HE meant by "spiritual" could not be the correct understanding. I stood up and walked away. And I was not alone.
Decades have rolled by while I have sought to understand just what spiritual REALLY means. And I think I may now have some better understanding than just "not what he said."
Recently, I've been reading a Facebook page and related website called "Strong is the New Skinny" (http://www.strongisnewskinny.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html). Despite being aimed mostly at young women, I find I can relate to a lot of of the philosophy underpinning it. The messages include a lot of straight talk about body image, encouragement, positive self-worth, and finishing (not "first," but rather "what you start"). Apologies if I get this wrong; to me it can be summed up like this: if you have the choice, strong is better than weak, and it is worth your time and energy to pursue strength.
And that brings me to one of this week's Lectionary passages. In Nehemiah, chapter 8, there are a lot of people experiencing the shock of discovering they are far weaker than they had ever realized. Here are people who have been away; away from Jerusalem and away from God. As they listen to Ezra read from the Torah, as their spiritual leaders explain the meaning of what they are hearing (some for the first time . . . it has been a very long time since God's word has been read aloud in Jerusalem), they begin to weep. They weep for their condition and they weep for the realization of what has been lost and now may be restored.
"So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law." (Nehemiah 8:8-9 NRSV)
But that's not the end of it. Because, as any trainer can tell you, it's not enough to just stop doing something that you should stop doing. You need to START doing something else, replace the negative with a positive something. And that is what their leaders do; they tell the people to replace their sadness with joy.
"Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10 NRSV)
So now, based on this peek into the lives of God's people at one of their weakest points, I think I have the other side of the answer. I have long known the negative side: "spiritual" has nothing to do with what unhappy people think is acceptable behavior. Now I know the positive side: spiritual is being strong in The Lord. And that is achieved by having joy in The Lord.
Strong is the new spiritual.
###############################
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu
READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Third Sunday after the Epiphany (January 27, 2013)
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21
We're still having fun at "THE EGG AND I" for Lectionary breakfast! Join us at 8:00 Friday morning if you're in Waco. The restaurant is located in a shopping center at the corner of New Road and Franklin (just behind Outback).
The heaviest thing you'll have to lift is your fork. And no push-ups required :-)
Enjoy!
Steve
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