Greetings

The Word of Life

Set Free

 

I am set free.

I am at peace.

I have been in the sacred space and met my Lord. Honesty and confession, a path towards inner freedom, is set before me. Being away from my regular setting gives perspective.

Confusion is dissipating; there is an either/or. There is life and death. There is good and evil. There is God and the enemies of God. But God is by far the strongest.

Nothing is new for my Lord; my confessions have been before him at all times, but the force of the challenge and temptation threw me in a whirlwind of inner turmoil. The truth was evident, the path was clear. The Lord was with me, side by side, never faltering, never slumbering. And he leads me to places of rest and restoration. Speaking metaphorically, Nehemiah’s walls hedge around me, keeps me safe.There is renewal. There is catharsis. For this life and the life to come it matters how we live. Anything else is a lie.

In the book of Revelation, it says in ch. 21,  “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  These are true words for this life and the life to come.

Introspection is useful when done in God’s light, in reference to his words and will for us. The strange aspect with  - should I call it ‘Theo-spection” - in reference to God looking into our heart and soul, rather than ourselves, is that in such a light we see who we are, in truth. The effect is that we are set free from our own bondage and boundaries.

Besides, Christ is the centre, and not we.  

To know Him is to know life.

This is essence of sacred space and time.

Hope:

An Extended Hand to the Jewish Nation

The Gladstone Community is a group of people, followers of Jesus.

There are many aspects with how they live out the Christian faith – like living in community, sharing, helping, thinking ’green’ in the city environment, buying and renovating old and run down properties in order to create sustainable living conditions for people in a transit from a broken life to newness in Christ – but I noticed also a very positive attitude to Israel and the Jewish people. They are involved in “Hope for Israel’, and they regularly send some of their members to see Israel. A personal encounter builds the heart relation. I applaud them.

            I live in Norway, and I am disgusted with the trend in our society that targets the state of Israel as a villain in the Middle East, when the truth is the radical opposite. Israel is a vibrant democracy, where true disagreement exists.

            Being pro-Israel does not entail being anti-Palestine, or anti any other state. Being pro-Jewish does not entail being anti-Muslim or any other faith.

            Presently there is a report out from “Flyktningehjelpen’, a national organization aiding refugees. Israel was originally formed as a modern political entity to secure a safe haven for refugees, for Jews were persecuted in eastern and western Europe in different waves of persecution; they were persecuted in many of the Arab nations in modern history… I am astounded by the lack of historical insight, but more about the venom and jealousy that I detect in Norwegian official agencies and newspapers.

            If staunch supporters of the Palestinian people really care for the individuals who live in the region, in Gaza, the West Bank or any other states like Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt – if we really care about their life and livelihood, we would call for a peace with Israel and encourage co-existence, not eradication of Israel as a state. The Palestinian leadership have not had their people’s interest in mind, but used them in their own political games. It is sad.  You may not agree with my sentiments or analysis of the situation, but answer me this: what is the best for the Palestinian man, woman and child?  Interestingly enough, the section of the Israeli population which is Palestinian Arab, does not want the Palestinian leadership. They enjoy the Israeli model of government, social welfare, freedom, opportunity, etc.

            Israel has a culture of innovation, partly due to need, but also to the will and freedom to seek solutions. All peoples n the region could benefit greatly from interaction with them. How to make the desert bloom? How to desalinate water sources (the Mediterranean Ocean)?  In medical research, there are numerous of new discoveries…

Who dear support the existence of Israel today? There is hope for anyone who does.

Visiting the Gladstone Community

Gladstone Community

It was my first visit. With humid Cincinnati heat penetrating all skin pores, we walked from the car to the old church building in Mariemont, the one with a slate roof from a Medieval English parish church from the 1300s, making it the oldest roof in north America. 

Pew and pillow

            Old wooden pews stained with dark stain, stone floor, and young adults in the pews. A clock counting down to start was showing on the big screen in the front.  The service started punctually, at 9:00 a.m. sharp.

“Sacrifice of Praise” was a section where several people came to share a testimony of God’s faithfulness. They came prepared. Several had struggled hard in life – really hard, despite their relatively young age. Raw moments of truth were shared, covered with the knowledge that God is there, to cleanse, forgive, renew. Others had been challenged by Gods command to be more outgoing and sharing the gospel – and they were clearly out of their own comfort zone. God is there. He cleanses, forgives, renews, and by His strength they live, and so do I.

Congregants, community

            An old church house was filled with young people, most in their late 20ties or in their 30ties. Many were young men. They were laughing, clapping, listening, and later singing, sharing the bread and wine, praying, and talking to people. I wondered about the communion, and Jon explained: “we normally take communion with other people.” I thought that was nice. No eclectic Catholics here, I thought. But that is not what he talked about. “I am ready when you are ready,” I said, and we walked towards the communion table. We broke off a piece and dipped it in the red juice.

Communion table

 Then we went back to our seats and Jon prayed a thanksgiving prayer. The he and I ate the bread. That is what he meant: we share the bread and wine – with other people!

There was no ‘church coffee’ as we have it in our tradition in Kviteseid. But everybody was invited to lunch at one of the community houses. The church is a community of people in this context, and they call themselves a church, but it is not the organization they refer to. It is the community. This community has bought up several small houses on the same street, Grace St. in Mariemont. 

Grace St.

People live together – a men’s house, a girls’ house, a family house, a house for guys with a troubled past, a community meeting place, and office house, etc. They run a business, a handyman connection, and I noticed a landscaping business. They have a young guy who works as the community gardener, and he oversees the vegetable gardens, green houses and flowerbeds. They raise chicken and quale, too. Jon told me they try to buy adjacent properties, so that they can utilize the space between them, take down fences and create space for life in the back.

Lunch in the  'En Gedi"house

            Everybody contributes some to the fellowship, volunteering time and means, and it resembles an urban kibbutz. The community is quite structured, with leaders who function as elders, and responsibility is distributed to many. I will learn more about this in the coming weeks… volunteering is the thing.

How would you like to live in a church based community? How would you like to share meals, have a close network of friends and fellow believers who see the importance of being there, supporting one another, encouraging one another in the faith and in life in general? Old and young, singles and families, organizing are living together in community…being a positive building block in the local society. The thinking is green, using sub-urban space to enrich lives and provide some healthy food.

 

from the garden and nursery

The garden: for enjoyment

chicken and quail coops

In Transit

The prayer room at Heathrow is rather plain and not in a central spot. It is well marked, but in a tucked away in an old section. Not much business here. There was no decoration in the Christian section - on in any of the other small sections. But there was a table which was dedicated to Christian usage. It was called an altar. The only other person in the area was an older man sitting cross legged reading from a book - I could not see which book -
 After a while I was on my own there, reading a devotional (for the day) and reading from Colossians 1. I was thinking about the Ladies' Conference in Notodden, since they are studying the letter to the Colossians today.

I have been at this airport for some time, loving having all the time in the world, looking at people. For a while I did not have my hearing aids in and much of the hustle and bustle was dimmed.
         One  sad thing: old people hurrying. It looks counter to intuition.

I looked at  variants of my former 'self' in different roles. There was the elegant young lady in high heels and a smart suit, business like, and I recognized how awkward and strange I felt in those sort of clothes, while strutting about with the air of being at home in it. I was a tour guide on chartered bus tours. I saw the loving mother carrying her infant and all the stuff that goes with it - with great strength. We traveled quite a bit internationally with our kids... But I do not see anyone my age I relate to. They do not reflect how I feel or understand my self and my stage in life. I see the 'wrinklies' dressed in teen age fashion, and I cringe inside. Know yourself.

                          And read Paul's letter to the Colossians.  Know where you are going

Pondering A Word

Jesus says in Matt 16: 24  “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

The meaning of this saying is quite direct. The whole passage is challenging. As we sat reading it together in our ladies’ group, I started to wonder about the word used for ‘cross’.

What was Jesus referring to? In our Christian tradition we have become accustomed to one interpretation and all commentaries suggest the same: the cross of crucifixion. There is an explanation of the carrying of the cross: people doomed to suffer this fate were often ordered to carry their own cross. What puzzled me was the context: Deny yourself. Take up your cross… Most people did not have a cross or beam at hand which could be used as a means of torturous death. It was not a thing you had in your possession, which you then could decide to pick up and take with you.

            I asked the questions to my group, and one started to wonder with me, while others repeated with pathos the interpretation we have often heard: that it means to give up all and follow Jesus. I am ok with that. The interpretation may stand.

            When I came home, I found a Greek New Testament and found the word: stauros. In the dictionary it was explained as a pole, a stake, a cross. In the NT it is translated ‘cross’ because the vast majority of times it is used to refer to the cross of Jesus.

            Now my imagination is taking over, and I was wondering if it could be a stake, a cross beam of a tent construction – then meaning: take this piece down, bring it on the journey as you follow after me… Paul uses the image of having your tent pegs loose, as being ready to uproot and move on.

           Or could it be like a rod, a staff indicating authority of sorts, or…? Well, probably not. It is more like something you put in the ground. In classical Greek, the word is used for palisade, stakes forming a fence.

           

            In the context Jesus is using it, it seems reasonable that it has to do with denying oneself and following him.  I may ponder further what the ‘stauros’ could be that would illustrate this for his listeners.  How do you 'deny yourself'? It does not indicate asceticism and eastern yoga practice, I think. So, what does it mean? To be ready to die? That comes close to the traditional interpretation. And, as I said, I am ok with that. If I deny myself, do I then accept an other? Are we talking about authority?

           

            In our use of terms, we ‘stake out’ land, we plant a flag to claim ownership. But it would be too far fetched to suggest any such usage in the times of Jesus. Still, a person can wonder and ponder.

The Old Church

This Sunday morning Kviteseid Old Church was decorated with fresh wild flowers in the small niches where statues once stood, bursting with colour against the thick white washed stone walls.

Interior, Kviteseid Gamle Kyrkje

            Seated near the front, I stared at the shades of off-white, some old Medieval drawings, the altar piece, and the peculiar statues way on top. I looked at the decorated ceiling in the choir, thinking of images of Russian interior decor.

            There were no original benches in the churches in the Middle Ages. People would stand; some older folks might have had a seat along the side. Still, it felt like I was placed in a long line of history. The benches had gates. A window with a grid made its impression on the whitish wall, beckoning with branches of trees making shadows in the wind outside.

            Kviteseid Gamle Kyrkje is the old parish church in my area and it dates back to 1100s or mid 1200s in the Middle Ages. The walls are thick, perhaps 30 inches thick. The windows are situated high up on the wall. It has a rectangular shape with an apsis.

Altar and decorated ceiling

This Sunday was the summer opening for the church and the nearby folk museum. Outside the June sun was warming up stones and fields, causing all living things to grow, and the warm beams soften the heart. Inside the church the air was still cool.

           

There is an all male choir in town, called Ågapet – a rather funny name for a serious a capella choir. When they sang a deep, stirring song with roots in the Orthodox tradition in the east, history was visiting the little church.  We have had well-known psalm composers in the parish in the Lutheran tradition in the local church’s history, but this went past the reformation years. The church was built in Catholic times, and may not have had any stirring deep Russian tunes, but – the room resounded the call.

            Unfortunately some people clapped.

            Please don’t clap for the music in a church service. It makes it sound like a performance, and it creates a clear distance from the soul connection to the moment. It disturbed me.

There was a visiting priest with a west-coast dialect. I don’t mind visiting priests, but I prefer our own. We are quite spoilt when it comes to sermons, so I sat listening with expectation – and all of a sudden it was over. Hm – what exactly was the point of this sermon? I thought. And he could not sing. This church room invites singing. Our own young priests sing wonderfully; and I am not prejudiced. I simply delight in it.

Many people were walking around the altar to give their offering. I liked seeing people walking round the altar. Perhaps they did not think that they had circumvented the symbol of the empty tomb. But they did. Perhaps they did not think about the other side, the next world, where our brothers and sisters in Christ will meet us.  But they will.

Kviteseid Gamle Kyrkje

Identity

In the face of a reality which seems fragmented and larger than our perspectives can grasp, we may wonder: who are we, really? How do I define myself? Am I defined by my deeds? Does my work define me? Am I defined by my name, my family, my local geography, my nation?

 

Jerry and Dad

           My generation, in this western world, has faced much innovation and many discoveries.   I suppose it started in my parents’ generation, but I felt it heavy on my shoulders. I love the change, but it has robbed me of tradition. I cannot make use of the solutions and patterns of life which have been handed down to me because they do not fit any longer. I needed to seek and define my own identity, my own solutions.

            I am global and international. I am crossing borders, shifting nations. I become a stranger and a nobody, without history. I do not resound the call of the familiar nature around me. If I had lived in one place all my life, at least in my defining years, this may have been a stabilizing factor.

            I am an individual. Or am I? Well, of course I am. The question is whether that defines me, whether my individuality in itself will tell me and others who I am.

If I seek solitude and endeavour to turn my gaze into my own soul – will I find who I am, what I am? Will I understand my place in life?

            What is it that defines me?

Interestingly enough, eastern religious traditions have various ways of introspection, meditation and techniques to meet some of these questions, but the goal is not to find oneself, but to lose oneself. The bliss of Nirvana entails a self-depletion, the moksha in Hindu experience aims to be free from the wheel of life, of the things that bind one to this world.

What defines me is not found in myself, as much as it is found in relations to God and to others. Even a hermit relates – most often to God, if he is a Christian hermit; and the relationship between him and God defines who and what – and why – he is.

            My relationship to God defines me. I do not exist apart from it; I am in constant interaction with God. God does not tell me who I am or what I am or why I am. I do not find a word in the Bible which in itself gives me my identity. I am a living being and God is a living God. It is the relationship that defines me.

Two of our sons and I

            My family defines me. I am Petter’s daughter; I am Helga’s daughter.  The old saying ’blood is thicker than water’, holds true. My parents have given me my genetic makeup, and I resemble them or other family relations. I am a sister. My siblings resonate my being, because they are in many ways similar to me. We have the same genetic pool, but we also have a deep and genuine love for each other. Our relationship defines us. These are factors we are born into and do not choose. They are given. In a quest for identity, we have a given, an a priori base.

            My relationships define me further: I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a mother-in-law.  Being female is a pre-requisite for these relationships and these roles. For many years I was primarily Mrs Lund or the mother of my sons – my roles pointed to who I was in society. Secondly I was a teacher, but only to some (my students). There is no conflict between being defined by roles, acting out the roles, and being the one I am. The roles that define me are primary relationships, not my deeds, not what I do.

I am a friend. I am an acquaintance. I am a possible friend – to someone new.

Lastly: I am a sister in Christ. Wow! This relationship, which is a given, is international, global – even eternal! It blasts the borders of place and the limits of time.

Initially I bemoaned the need for defining one’s own world, for creating new solutions and not carrying on traditions, but one thing never changes: that our true identity is not in our selves only, but in our relationships. To bring out who we are, we face our Maker, the God of the Bible. To share who we are, we interact in our primary relations.