Tag: jesus

Finding Our Way Through Fear

Pat Liberty

Fear. It’s a universal feeling. Most of us are afraid of something. I don’t mean phobias, like spiders or elevators or heights. I mean clench your gut fear of things like the unknown, death, being alone, getting old and things like that.

What they all have in common is a certain loss of control over life and how we think it is supposed to go. And that’s what makes these other things so scary. These huge fears are things over which we have no control.

Most of the time we can push fears out of our mind, but every now and then they come creeping in and destroy a night of sleep or keep us from focusing on something that needs our attention. Fear generally can make us miserable.

 Fear is a big deal in the bible. It’s one thing we share with people from antiquity. The words “do not fear” or “do not be afraid” appear three hundred and sixty-five times in the bible. That’s one “do not be afraid” for every day of the year. And that’s about the frequency with which we need to hear those words, for there is surely much to be afraid about in this weird and wonderful world of ours.

For the three hundred sixty-five times the bible says do not be afraid, there are a thousand and one things that show us that the truth that God will be with us. That God is with us.

The way home from fear is simply paying attention to what is going on around you.

  • I will be with you…every single day the sun chases away the darkness and light has the final word.
  • I will be with you…there’s a knock at the door and a friend shows up with a meat loaf and the living Christ stands before us in the face of a friend.
  • Spring follows winter and life once again greens the planet and dots it with riots of color in spring buds and flowers. I like to think of it as God painting.
  • That sometimes fleeting feeling of peace that comes out of nowhere in the moments when we most need it. Not for nothing it is called the peace that passes all understanding. We can’t describe it, don’t know how it comes or why it goes, but it is as real as our heartbeat.
  • I will be with you…the gentle exhale that grounds us in the present moment with an assurance that no matter how it all turns out it is going to be okay.
  • There is no place where this life can take us where God is not. Yes, even in the wrenching scenes that cross our tv screens each night, God is there in the relief workers, the first responders, doctors without borders and the pilots who fly the planes dropping food.

When we are paying attention to what is going on around us we are bathed in grace. Everywhere we look is the reminder that God is as close as our slightest whisper. All of our senses conspire to remind us that what goes on around us every day is miraculous.

The daffodils poking out of the ground. The moldy smell of leaves making their way into the cycle of life one more time. The feel of sunshine on your face after days of rain. The clasp of a friend’s hand in our moments of deepest loneliness. The holy silence that binds us to one another when there are no words. The sacred tears that slip down our cheeks in moments too wonderful or too terrible to tell.

We will still be left with unanswered and unanswerable questions, but somehow they are beaten back down to size and made manageable when we look around and realize everything is grace. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”

Frederick Buechner wrote, “Listen to your life, see it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness, touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Do not be afraid.”   

Salvation and Other Misnomers

Pat Liberty

If you spend any amount of time with “religious” people the topic of salvation is bound to come up, with either a positive or negative connotation. In a negative connotation, the reference may have something to do with those who claim to be “saved” but who may not manifest that change in the way they live their lives. In a positive connotation, it may have to do with something that has been accomplished, like being baptized. This is sometimes called being “washed in the blood.” It also refers to Jesus dying on the cross for us.

In the early years of ministry I served a Baptist church. As candidates came to the waters of baptism they were asked the question, “Do you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and do you promise to be his faithful disciple all the days of your life?” I’m not sure I fully understood what that meant, I’m pretty sure the 12 and 13 year olds I was baptizing didn’t either.

Since the radical religious right is claiming a corner on the market on all things God, I decided to revisit the topic. In conservative/fundamental religious traditions salvation is something personal between the individual and God. It is true for us too, but it involves more. And it involves more for conservatives, too.

I’m all for having one’s heart filled with the Holy Spirit and having a vital faith. I’m not so much for the mindset that is about only me, my relationship with God, and winning as many souls for Jesus as possible. While it fits the individualistic tendencies of our culture, I’m not as convinced it has much to do with what Jesus called his first disciples to as he was beginning his ministry.

A better word for me than “saved” is “whole” or “liberated.” These words suggest what is closer to the truth for many people. Our movement toward God in a life-giving way is a process. It is about growing in our relationship with God, but also with each other and the created order. Being liberated suggests that we need to be freed from our captivity to the world’s bells and whistles. There are lots of shiny and beautiful things that distract us from what is truly life-giving. Competing priorities and the ever-present need of the ego to be stoked with affirmation and self-building praise, keep us from seeing a clear vision of what wholeness looks like. Seeking a life of wholeness and freedom keeps us grounded on a life-giving path. It is firmly rooted in love for others, care for creation, justice for all people and embodied mercy in our daily living.  

It’s easier to ask if one is “saved” than it is to ask if one is “whole” or “liberated.” When written in the same sentence, it is easy to see how being saved is an event while being whole or liberated is a process. It is much less intimate to ask someone if they are “saved” than it is to ask how they are doing in their human and spiritual development in a life-giving relationship with God. I think, however, there is value in asking the intimate question and having a conversation about one’s faith formation.

A common conservative connotation of salvation is an event, the focus remains on personal sin and our wretchedness in the sight of God that can only be healed by the blood of Jesus. Salvation occurs when one accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Later it is symbolized in baptism, usually by immersion, when one dies with Christ and is raised with Christ. In truth, there are as many understandings of salvation and baptism as there are religious traditions. 

In my tradition salvation is viewed as an ongoing process. Baptism is understood as a symbol of radical inclusion. We are recognized as God’s beloved creation from the moment of our birth. It is an event celebrated by the entire church, which takes its rightful place in offering nurture to the child and family. It is a cause for celebration in the entire church and not just for the family who’s loved one is being baptized. Baptism is the quintessential symbol of being claimed for God’s purpose and welcomed into the church. Salvation happens again and again as we grow in our relationship with God.

It may not seem like a big deal, but I believe language matters and words have power. How we name something says volumes about how we understand it. I understand the life of faith to be a lifetime walk toward wholeness and liberation, and that is what it means to me to be saved.