{"id":935,"date":"2019-06-23T16:35:33","date_gmt":"2019-06-23T16:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2019\/06\/23\/wisdom-she-callsbased-on-psalm-8-and-proverbs\/"},"modified":"2020-02-15T18:20:08","modified_gmt":"2020-02-15T18:20:08","slug":"wisdom-she-callsbased-on-psalm-8-and-proverbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2019\/06\/23\/wisdom-she-callsbased-on-psalm-8-and-proverbs\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWisdom, She Calls\u201dbased on Psalm 8 and Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

I’ve recently gotten
\nfeedback that many people around here like it when I preach from the
\nheart, from authenticity, from \u2026 myself, and not JUST from context.
\n This is a bit of a challenge because the authentic me is sort of a
\nmystic, and I’ve never been entirely clear how comfortable that is
\nfor all of you. \u00a0However, I’m really grateful for feedback, so I’m
\ngoing to give it a try, and trust that you’ll continue giving
\nfeedback if this is not what you were looking for at all. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nToday is Trinity Sunday.
\nThus, our lectionary readings have given us space to consider the
\nSpirit, who in Proverbs is the Spirit of God’s Wisdom, the firstborn
\nof creation. \u00a0In its purest, most orthodox
\nforms, Trinity says that God IS Three Persons that are also One, and
\nthe love between the 3 Persons is the foundational energy and
\nmotivation of the universe, from which creation arose, and from which
\nGod’s love for all humanity begins. \u00a0I’ve never been able to commit
\nto an orthodox understanding of Trinity, although I did give it a
\ngood faith effort for a decade or so. \u00a0I adore this idea of love as
\nthe foundation of the universe, but I’ve had to come to that
\nconclusion in other ways. \u00a0I don’t hold a traditional view of
\nTrinity, although I think those views can be strikingly beautiful. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nInstead, I’ve been most
\nformed by the thinking of Marjorie Suchocki, professor emerita of
\ntheology at Claremont School of Theology, and the author of the book
\n\u201cGod, Christ, Church: A Practical Guide to Process Theology.\u201d \u00a0In
\nit, she talks about the idea of Trinity as a symbol for the
\ncomplexity and unity of God. \u00a0She says, \u00a0\u201cGod
\nas trinity becomes a symbol to indicate the sense in which the unity
\nof God embraces a complexity of a magnitude grater than which none
\nother can exist.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>
\n In more simple words, she says that God is one and God is infinite.
\nShe doesn’t actually think the specific 3 of Trinity is the point,
\nbut rather acknowledges that there is inherent value in thinking of
\nGod as being \u00a0transcendent, immanent, and relational. \u00a0That is God is
\nbeyond all that is, God is IN all that is, and God is in relationship
\nto all that is \u2013 and those are three things, so we think of God in
\nthree ways. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nSuchocki’s
\nidea that Trinity means many and yet one has resonated for me. \u00a0God
\nis, of course, one. \u00a0We’re monotheists!! \u00a0And there is force of love
\nundergirding and infiltrating all parts of Creation, unifying us all.
\n At the same time, of course there are many facets to the Divine.
\nGod is beyond our words, our metaphors, our understanding. \u00a0God is
\ncomplicated. \u00a0Any aspect of God we attempt to speak about or connect
\nto is both a part of God AND not the entirety of God. \u00a0God is love,
\nunconditional all encompassing love!!! \u00a0And, God is also one who
\nwants justice \u2013 so that good lives and good relationships can be
\npresent for all people and not just for some. \u00a0And that doesn’t
\nALWAYS feel only like love. \u00a0God is eternal, and yet God is also
\npresent. \u00a0God is for us, and for each of us, and for all of us, all
\nat once. \u00a0In these ways, it makes sense to think of God as many, even
\nthough God is also one.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nIn
\nsome very similar ways, I think it makes sense to think of ourselves
\nas many and as one! \u00a0 \u00a0I mean each of us, each person, is both many
\nand one. \u00a0(Although, come to think of it, we are also one body of
\nChrist \u2013 one and many.) \u00a0We’re now at the mystical point of this
\nsermon \ud83d\ude09 \u00a0If mystical isn’t going to fly for you, you may want to
\nthink of all of this as development of compassion, although I’ll
\nadmit to you that those are not well differentiated for me.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nYears
\nago, my spirituality professor told me about a prayer form called
\nwith an acroynm FLAG. \u00a0In it you notice a strong emotion and
\nanthropomorphize that strong emotion as a young child.
\nThen you ask it:
\tFear – what are you afraid of?
\tLonging –
\nwhat do you long for?
\tAche – what is your ache\/wound?
\tGift –
\nwhat gift are you trying to offer that I’m not receiving?<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThis
\nprayer has been a great gift to me over the years, but in recent
\nyears I’ve noticed that it relates to a whole bunch of other areas of
\nthought who are also looking at \u201cself\u201d in different ways.
\nBecause this now comes from a lot of disciplines, to explain it I’m
\ngoing to glob them all together like we do when we work with all 4
\ngospel narratives at once. \u00a0We’re going to call it \u201cparts theory.\u201d
\n Because of how useful it has been in my own prayer life, as well as
\nin conversations with people, \u00a0it is one of the theories that I now
\nuse to make sense of human beings- myself and others. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nParts
\ntheory says that we are a conglomeration of parts. \u00a0When this emerges
\nout of \u201cnon-violent communication\u201d work, the parts are associated
\nwith human needs. \u00a0In \u201cFocusing\u201d, the parts are associated with
\nphysical sensations in various parts of our body. \u00a0In sensorimotor
\npsychology, parts relate to coping mechanisms necessary for survival,
\nparticularly in childhood. \u00a0Going back to the prayer form I first met
\nthis idea in, the young children we imagine are often expressions of
\nour self and our past. I think it may even be true that in the Center
\nfor Courage and Renewal Teaching, where we talk about the maps of our
\nsouls and the various terrain within, that we are actually
\napproaching parts from another angle. \u00a0Most places I’m looking for
\nunderstanding of how humans work seem to be moving to parts theory.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nNow,
\nonce we acknowledge that in our internal landscape there are various
\nparts doing their own things, then we think about how they relate to
\neach other and to our self as a whole. \u00a0Parts theory suggests that
\ndealing with ourselves is a lot like presiding over an unruly Church
\nCouncil meeting (who, us?) or perhaps an Annual Conference committed
\nto nonconformity (who, us?). \u00a0Parts tend to have their own points of
\nview, they remember the things that fit their narratives, they push
\nthe things that fit their narratives, they ignore things that don’t
\nfit their narratives, and when they want things they ask. \u00a0And when
\nthey ask, and we ignore them, they get louder (and sometimes meaner)
\nand this cycle can continue until we have a LOT OF INTERNAL
\nscreaming. \u00a0Also, parts build connections with other parts, and parts
\nare antagonistic to other parts. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nIf
\nyou think of parts as trying to meet needs, this can become clearer.
\nSo a part that is seeking out peace<\/i>
\nis likely to be well partnered with the parts that seek rest<\/i>
\nand beauty<\/i>
\nand maybe even acceptance.<\/i>
\n However, the part seeking out peace
\n<\/i>is
\nlikely in some conflict with the parts seeking out spontaneity<\/i>,
\nstimulation, <\/i>or
\neven growth. \u00a0<\/i>And
\nwhen we’re talking about parts that have been harmed in the past,
\nthis can be pretty strong. \u00a0For example, when a person lived through
\nabuse as a child, and the abuser was the caregiver, then the natural
\nhuman instinct to draw close to caregiver for safety and the natural
\nhuman instinct to run away from harm are in constant conflict…. and
\nthose parts are trained to be on constant alert.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThere
\nis also a Part in Charge. \u00a0I have tended towards calling this the
\nadult self. \u00a0<\/i>While
\nthe adult self is the moderator\/chair of the council, the truth is
\nthat sometimes the adult self loses control of the body. \u00a0In parts
\nlanguage, that means that sometimes other parts hijack the adult
\nself, and the other parts are the ones running the show \u2013 by which
\nI mean the body, the facial expressions, the words, the tone, etc.
\nSo if you think of a recent time when you said or did something that
\nyou later regretted, and wondered \u201cWhy didn’t I have better
\ncontrol?\u201d the answer is likely that a part hijacked the adult
\nself<\/i>
\nand \u201cyou\u201d weren’t in control at that point.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nPrayer
\ncan be a time when we make space for our parts, listen to our parts,
\ncreate the capacity for empathy for our parts, and stop fighting them
\nin general. \u00a0The FLAG method works for this, as do many others. \u00a0It
\ncan also be a time when we teach the parts meditative practice so we
\ncan all have some much needed peace within. \u00a0Building the capacity to
\nlisten to ourselves also builds our capacity to listen to each other.
\n That’s one of the goals \u2013 if we are going to be part of building a
\nmore peaceful and just world, we’re going to have to learn how to
\nfind peace within, and that will likely require learning how to
\nlisten to (rather than silence) parts. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nMany
\nforms of contemplative prayer teach us how to be in the present, in
\nour bodies, and how to be connected to our breath. \u00a0These are
\nwonderful practices on their own. \u00a0They’re also the skills needed to
\nbring the adult self back from being hijacked. \u00a0In the neuroscience
\npart of these theories, the parts are mostly in the amygdala part of
\nthe brain and the adult self is in the prefrontal cortex. \u00a0So
\nwhatever we can do to THINK, and be PRESENT, helps move us back to
\nthe prefrontal cortex. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nParts
\ntheory both feels TRUE, and feels exciting to me. \u00a0I appreciate how
\ninherently spiritual it is, to listen. \u00a0Now, many parts that we are
\nfamiliar with speak in \u2026 less than constructive ways. \u00a0 Because of
\nthat, we’re often a bit scared of them. \u00a0However, there is some good
\nnews. \u00a0The horrid things that parts say are ALWAYS meant to be
\nhelpful. \u00a0If you actually listen to the things they say, then you can
\nsometimes figure out how to flip it around to the positive thing the
\npart wants for you. \u00a0They’re shockingly transparent. \u00a0\u201cYou aren’t
\nenough\u201d can mean, \u201cYou were really hurt one time when someone
\nsaid you weren’t enough, and I don’t want to you be hurt again, so
\nI’m going to keep your ego small so you don’t experience a drop in
\nself-confidence again.\u201d \u00a0You know, stuff like that.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nWe’ve
\ntalked about some of this before. \u00a0Some of our parts communicate
\nthrough criticism, and they manage to tell us we’re wrong A LOT. \u00a0My
\nparts have a lot they want to get done. \u00a0No matter what I’m doing,
\nthey have about 50 other things I should be doing, and they tell me
\nI’d get them done if I were a \u201cgood person\u201d \/ \u201cgood pastor.\u201d
\nNone of the parts is able to notice that I can’t do 51 things at
\nonce, so my adult self is always having to work at setting
\npriorities, at listening, and at soothing, so all the parts aren’t
\nscreaming at once that their thing isn’t getting done. \u00a0That said,
\nknowing about parts, thinking in terms of parts, and listening to
\nparts has quieted things within me significantly, and I experience a
\nlot less internal angst, and thus more peace. \u00a0(On good days.)<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nDid
\nyou hear the end of the Proverbs passage? \u00a0In it, Wisdom talks about
\ndelight \u2013 the delight in being with God, and the delight Wisdom and
\nGod had in humanity. \u00a0Delight is part of what we’re going for, and
\nthere are many paths to it. \u00a0Finding peace within is a form of making
\nspace for delight. \u00a0When we can see what’s happening, and remain
\npresent and loving, there is a LOT of delight available to us. \u00a0It
\nreally is a bit like traditional Trinitarian doctrine: love spills
\nout. \u00a0Thanks be for that. \u00a0Amen\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

1<\/a>Marjorie
\n\tSuchocki, 229.<\/p>\n

– <\/p>\n

Rev. Sara E. Baron
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
\u2028https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

June 16, 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve recently gotten feedback that many people around here like it when I preach from the heart, from authenticity, from … Continue reading \u201cWisdom, She Calls\u201dbased on Psalm 8 and Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,174,178,175,177,56,173,176],"class_list":["post-935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-god-is-love","tag-lady-wisdom","tag-mysticism","tag-proverbs","tag-schenectady","tag-sorry-world-for-the-umc","tag-trinity-sorta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1150,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935\/revisions\/1150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}