A Cross Over Moment: Recognizing Splendor! Haggai 1: 15b-2:9; Luke 20: November 6, 2016

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1 A Cross Over Moment: Recognizing Splendor! Haggai 1: 15b-2:9; Luke 20: November 6, 2016 This is the time of year: an invitation to let go, let go of fear. As the leaves true colors appear, the trees bare themselves with no regret. No regret. And we come to understand something marvelous of ourselves and life s eternal cycles. So much more life is possible.yet! So much more is possible, even in the times in which we feel we are falling apart, falling down, falling over, falling for the wrong stuff. If we fall hard enough, we may just get to that place within where we have no choice but to fall to our knees. Our truer selves laid open, calling us to cross over cross over from the way it seems with its urge to withdraw, defend, react instead of respond. Calling us to cross over the great divide which we have set between what seems to be and what is yet possible. Crossing over into loving kindness of self, of others, of this gorgeous world of ours just as we are, they are, the world is. Ripe with possibility! We are to embody loving kindness and trust in the more. And boldly! After all, there is nothing timid about autumn. It s daring trusts more is to come, that which is needed most is yet to come. And it begins with letting go of our fears about facing the world with kindness instead of anger or discouragement or a well-planned defense. Some of us right now, and all of us sometimes experience tough times, hard situations come into our lives, our temples are destroyed and there is family confusion here, let alone in heaven. Often, unexpectedly. How do we get through? Do we really want to? What is the way God provides? Here s the thing.like those Haggia speaks to, we are called to take a look at the bigger picture, the longer view and not to let the way things seem, overwhelm us. We are to come together God longs to bring us together differently. We my feel we need a time out. We don t need a time out. What we need is temenos. In Wednesday s Circle, Rich shared with us the ancient Greek notion of Temenos. Originally used in war and for worship of the gods, it is a real, sacred space, a walled circle, created to offers safety to those within it a safe place for those wounded, to heal, to think, to regroup into life. C. G. Jung relates temenos to a magic inner circle, which acts as a 'safe spot' where mental 'work' can take place, an encounter with the unconscious where unconscious contents can safely be brought into the light of consciousness. You get to freely, safely think your real thoughts! In this manner one can meet one's own Shadow and engage it, converse with it, find its wisdom and so move forward in a more holistic fashion. Temenos at Tippe.our Circle, Monday night Sanctuary Time of Belonging, our Centering Prayer times, and our Sunday morning times as well. And it begins to form within in. Do you feel it? (Jung, C.G. (1968). Psychology and Alchemy, Collected Works, Volume 12, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN ) This is what occurs to me as a mom an grandma and pastor Imagine if instead of time out for our children, the child within,we offered a temenos experience instead. a time to come closer to us and have a safe space with us in which to be with what has happened. A afe, sanctuary place where they are physically close and being held emotionally so they can heal without judgement vs being set apart in an often shameful, alone making way.

2 ~This week most especially, step into temenos.~ And remember. We are to ask the right questions of the situations at hand and cross over into a new reality falling for the right stuff! Truth with kindness. Not getting hooked by the anger and fear and sadness and. Do you remember that old song from the 70 s Hooked On A Feeling? You see, the Sadducees are hooked but not on a feeling. They are hooked on details, on asking the wrong question of Jesus the wrong question of life the wrong question about heaven. Are you asking a wrong question? They expect Jesus to answer their wrong question. But Jesus doesn t take the bait. He doesn t get hooked by the subject of marriage. Instead, he goes to the underlying issue. Heaven! Thing is for Jesus heaven is not some far off place where human rules and regs and expectations are lived out in some new way. For Jesus, heaven is in the here and now as well as in the beyond, and this life s questions don t apply. Those who believe don t get hooked by life s tough subjects. Believers don t get caught up in or divert their energy to contrived problems or endless details. You know that expression.the devil is in the details? No, those who believe neither marry nor are given in marriage. Their focus is on their relationship with God, their faith integrity, justice, and accountability and how that affects all of life including marriage of course! and eliminates a lot of subjects that hook most other people and take us away from gratitude and kindness. Most people get hooked by the notion that the good old days were really good. Most people get hooked by their fear of the future. Most people get hooked by the notion life is supposed to be fair and I deserve to cut myself a break even at the expense of someone else if that s the only way I can make it fair.get my fair share of the good old days today! These are the issues Haggai is addressing to those exiles who had returned from Babylon to rebuild their lives and the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was devastated and so were they when they saw it. It isn t fair! And, gee Whose work is this? It will never be as good as the old temple! How s your temple doing?

3 What are your concerns life s fairness, about your temple s survival or who will rebuild it and whether it will ever be good again? Haggai tells it to them.us straight. Rebuilding the temple requires leadership. He charges the leaders the political leader and the religious leader to see their common cause and work in tandem rather than in opposition. Still separation of church and state but not making a false dichotomy between religion and politics for at their true core, both endeavors want what is best for the people, albeit they have very different ways of deciphering this and going for it! Rebuilding the temple requires leadership. Life calls out for leadership. Your life calls out for your leadership! Haggai goes on to say it takes leaders calling people to courage to let go of fear. It takes letting go of the notion that you can recapture past glory we are even called to re-evaluate whether or not it was so glorious to begin with! The good old days are right now! There is so much to be grateful for even as our temples are destroyed. Because this is not the end of our story. There is more life to come! Haggai says have courage and work! Your choices and actions determine what comes next! Have courage, begin to begin to do the work at hand in your life. You will find yourself crossing over into loving kindness as you do. Things will get shaken up, changed up, and a new temple will begin to form before your very eyes. One that far supersedes your former memory or current expectations. God s says Shake it up. Make a change. Do the work. Find your courage. Be in the spirit. Experience the kindness that does exist. You have an opportunity to build yourself up again. How? Lead yourself to ask the right questions of yourself and life and this will take you pretty far! Don t get hooked on the details and so avoid the real issues underlying the choices you are making. Meaning On a diet? The subject is food not eating so much. But what is the issue underlying your eating?

4 Got a problem in your house with homework? Homework is the subject of your angst but what is the issue underlying the avoidance of doing it? Arguing with a friend? What is the issue underlying what you are arguing about? Ignoring a friend? What underlies your actions? Complaining about money not having enough? What is the issue you are hoping money is the answer to? What questions are you asking that deflect you from discovering what it is you really want to know, the real work at hand? What s hooking you instead of helping you? Where is grace and loving kindness in the belief system you espouse? ~~~ If you could ask Jesus a question about one of your issues what would it be? Try it Jesus, here s my issue. What I would really like to know is? Well, what I really want to know is? Jesus, what I want to know is? Jesus gives us the right answer even when we ask the wrong question. The right answer is always: Truth spoken in loving kindness within a larger vision of what can be. Are you willing to hear Jesus answer? Or, like the Sadducees, will you keep on nagging or diverting attention turning away afraid to hear the right answers Jesus offers? Jesus answer.our God is the God of the living. God is with you just as God promised. God s deepest desires for you align very closely with your deepest core values for yourself. Have courage. Do your worshipful life s work. Fill yourself with splendor, with loving kindness. Be in the spirit. Shake it up! Oh Sadducces! We can t change death. What we can change is our attitude about life. And changing your attitude and expectations changes everything! Each of us we can change our lives!

5 This is the time of year: an invitation to let go, let go of fear. As the leaves true colors appear, the trees bare themselves with no regret. No regret. And we come to understand something marvelous of ourselves and life s eternal cycles. So much more life is possible.yet!