Liturgy of Hope, Table of Peace

Below is the text of an inter-faith liturgy we will share on Friday night, November 25, 2016, at Green Lake Church.

Liturgy of Hope, Table of Peace

We have come to worship. What does that mean? It means we have come here to affirm together exalted ideals. In company with one another, we open our hearts toward goodness and virtue, nobility and beauty. We say, “Yes, that is so.” and further, “We are glad it is so.”

Of course, there are ideas that distinguish us from one another, particular beliefs about the nature of the cosmos–its history and operation. We acknowledge those differences, then, for now, lay them aside to celebrate together the glorious, pervasive ideals that form a shared treasure.

Outside this place, at times other than now, there is much work to be done. The world of politics and government needs our attention and action. The world of commerce also beckons with its immense possibilities and risks. Some of us are pursuing formal education. Some of us are retired and busy with that distinctive phase of life. Some are medical specialists. Some are police. Some may be soldiers. It each of these arenas, there is much work to be done. Busyness and vigorous action is required. We acknowledge the legitimacy of all these spheres of life. But we are wary of their potential to become all consuming. The urgency of action can so completely capture our attention that we lose sight of our highest ideals. The difficulty of the tasks confronting us and the apparent failures of goodness can weigh on us so heavily, the light within gets smothered. So we come together to help one another once again fill our vision with the glorious ideals that unite our humanity.

As an Adventist minister, the words I know best are the words of the Bible. So we will begin with those words. Then we will savor the words of other traditions, other religions. Words that have been shared with me by a number of friends. After each reading, we will pause. In that pause, I invite you to read again the words of the selection. Or pray them. Or meditate on them. Linger with them. Let these words soothe and nourish your soul. Let them beckon you to higher, brighter ambition and resolve.

Let us begin.

The word of Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Now it will come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the LORD's house will be established on the top of the mountains.

It will be exalted above the hills.

And all nations will flow to it.

Many people will come and say,

"Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

To the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us His ways.

We will walk in His paths."

For out of Zion will go forth the law,

And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

He will judge between the nations, and rebuke many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not lift up sword against nation,

Neither will they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:1-4

From the Prophet Isaiah:

There will come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,

And a Branch will grow out of his roots.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him,

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The Spirit of counsel and might,

The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

His delight is in the fear of the Lord,

And he will not judge by the sight of his eyes,

Nor decide by the hearing of his ears;

But with righteousness he will judge on behalf of the poor,

And with equity make decisions for the meek of the earth.

The fruit of his judgment will be

The wolf will dwell with the lamb,

The leopard will lie down with the young goat,

The calf and the young lion together;

And a little child will lead them.

Cows and bears will graze together;

Their young will lie down amicably together;

The lion will eat straw like an ox.

The nursing child will play safely by the cobra's hole,

And the weaned child will put his hand in the viper's den.

They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:1-9

From the Gospel of Matthew

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.

Upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned. . . .

Jesus went about all Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues,

preaching the gospel of the kingdom,

and healing all kinds of sickness and disease among the people.

His fame spread as far as Syria,

and they brought to him people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics;

and he healed them.

Matthew 4:16, 23-24

Malala Yousafzai. A young woman who was brutally attacked because of her pursuit of education and was later awarded the Nobel Prize, the youngest person ever so recognized.

“But then later on, I used to -- I started thinking about that, and I used to think that a talib [religious militant] would come and he would just kill me. But then I said, 'If he comes, what would you do, Malala?' Then I would reply to myself that, 'Malala, just take a shoe and hit him.'... But then I said, 'If you hit a talib with your shoe, then there would be no difference between you and that talib. You must not treat others that much with cruelty and that much harshly. You must fight others, but through peace and through dialogue and through education.' Then I said I'll tell him how important education is, and that 'I even want education for your children as well,' and I'll tell him, 'That's what I want to tell you, now do what you want.'"

From J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers (movie script)

Sam: It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand, I know now folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That there's some good in the world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Fearlessness is not only possible, it is the ultimate joy. When you touch nonfear, you are free.

“The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person’s suffering and bring that person joy.”

Around us, life bursts with miracles--a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops. If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere. Each human being is a multiplicity of miracles. Eyes that see thousands of colors, shapes, and forms; ears that hear a bee flying or a thunderclap; a brain that ponders a speck of dust as easily as the entire cosmos; a heart that beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of all beings. When we are tired and feel discouraged by life's daily struggles, we may not notice these miracles, but they are always there.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

From the Quran

They ask thee what they shall spend. Say: ‘Whatever of good and abundant wealth you spend should be for parents and near relatives and orphans and the needy and the wayfarer. And whatever good you do, surely Allah knows it well.’ (Al Quran 2:216)

And worship Allah and associate naught with Him, and show kindness to parents, and to kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and to the neighbor that is a kinsman and the neighbor that is a stranger, and the companion by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom your right hands possess. Surely, Allah loves not the proud and the boastful. (Al Quran 4:37)

From The Oxford Book of Prayer

Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle;

the strength to be forgiving;

the patience to be understanding;

and the endurance to persist in the right no matter the consequences.

May we trust in the power of good to overcome evil and the power of love to overcome hatred.

Grant us the vision to see a world emancipated from violence,

a new world where fear no longer leads people to commit injustice, nor selfishness makes them bring suffering to others.

May we devote ourselves to making peace, praying always for the inspiration and the power to fulfill the destiny for which we and all people were created. -Week of Prayer for World Peace, 1978

A prayer of the Ojibway people of Canada

Grandfather,

Look at our brokenness.

We know that in all creation

Only the human family

Has strayed from the Sacred Way.

We know that we are the ones

who are divided

And we are the ones

Who must come back together

To walk in the Sacred Way.

Grandfather,

Sacred One,

Teach us love, compassion, and honour

That we may heal the earth

And heal each other.

(from The Oxford Book of Prayer)

A Jewish Prayer

Grant us peace, goodness and blessing; life, grace and kindness; justice and mercy. Our Father, bless us all together with the Light of your presence, for in the Light of Your presence, you give us, Lord our God, law and life, love and kindness, justice and mercy, blessing and peace.

from The Oxford Book of Prayer

A Prayer

Lord, the wounds of the world are too deep for us to heal. We have to bring men and women to you and ask you to look after them--the sick in body and mind, the withered in spirit, the victims of greed and injustice, the prisoners of grief.

And yet, our Father, do not let our prayers excuse us from paying the price of compassion.

Make us generous with the resources you have entrusted to us. Let your work of rescue be done in us and through us all.

-from The Oxford Book of Prayer

From Henri Nouwen

Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say, "How will next year be for me? Where will I be five or ten years from now?" There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Let's rejoice in the little light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away.

from ​Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith

Henri J. M. Nouwen "Enough Light for the Next Step"

Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.

Gentle is the one who does "not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick" (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let's dress ourselves with gentleness. In our tough and often unbending world our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us.

​Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith

"Dressed in Gentleness": Henri J. M. Nouwen

From Dorothy Bass

Can you sense how much this community of hospitable Christians, Jews, post-theists, mystics, Muslims, Buddhists, spiritual-but-not-religious folks and humanists has to offer the world at this moment? Can you imagine what we might offer for the next four years? You are all here. You do know that, don't you? This is OUR time. To witness to love. To embody grace. To do justice. To care for creation. And we can DO IT TOGETHER. All our voices. Different experiences, different theologies, but respectful, appreciative, creating a table of gratitude for the world. Harmonized. Not angry at one another. Together. No longer a political slogan. Reality.

We can do this. Dorothy Bass

From the Metta Sutta

This is what should be done

By one who is skilled in goodness,

And who knows the path of peace:

Let them be able and upright,

Straightforward and gentle in speech,

Humble and not conceited,

Contented and easily satisfied,

Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.

Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful,

Not proud or demanding in nature.

Let them not do the slightest thing

That the wise would later reprove.

Wishing: In gladness and in safety,

May all beings be at ease.

Whatever living beings there may be;

Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,

The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,

The seen and the unseen,

Those living near and far away,

Those born and to-be-born —

May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,

Or despise any being in any state.

Let none through anger or ill-will

Wish harm upon another.

Even as a mother protects with her life

Her child, her only child,

So with a boundless heart

Should one cherish all living beings;

Radiating kindness over the entire world:

Spreading upwards to the skies,

And downwards to the depths;

Outwards and unbounded.

From Jesus

You have heard it said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

But I tell you,

love your enemies and bless those who curse you,

do good to those who hate you,

pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

thus living out the family values of your Father in heaven.

For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,

and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

If you love those who love you, how is that special? Even the disreputable do the same.

If you greet your relatives and friends, how is that noteworthy? So do despicable people.

But you, since you are children, be perfect like your Father in heaven.

–Jesus, Matthew 5:38-48

The readings we have shared come from various religious traditions. Each of these forms of spiritual life have distinctive details and theories. We have chosen readings that emphasize what is shared across religious and spiritual traditions. We have done this in part because of the present moment in the world when it seems that the impulses of sectarianism and nationalism have gained new energy and even legitimacy. When the people of the most prosperous and most powerful nation in history imagine their problems are caused largely by foreigners and poor people, people of faith cannot be silent. In all our religions we are exhorted to show special care for the poor and the foreigner. In worship, we remind ourselves of our connection with the exalted ideals of compassion and justice, generosity and honesty, love and respect, peace and prosperity. We have been blessed. In worship we remember this and pledge ourselves to pay it forward.

The Fate of Swords

Sermon manuscript for Green Lake Church of Seventh-day Adventists for Sabbath, March 12, 2016.

If you are driving home from Portland, the scenery is pretty unremarkable. Green trees. A few road cuts. Lots of clear cuts. You go through Olympia, then head down the hill into the Nisqually Valley and there to your right for a minute is a nice view of Mt. Rainier. Then it's back to trees. Then the commercial sprawl north of Lewis-McCord. You pass the turn off for Highway 16, pass the exit for downtown Tacoma, then as you come into Fife, there in front of you is one of the most spectacular views of Mt. Rainier.

Everything is cleared out of the way. No trees block your view. No buildings. No close-in hills. The horizon is filled with the low undulating line of the South Cascades, then rising above them, almost floating in the sky is the immense, gleaming bulk of Mt. Rainier.

I'm surprised there are not more wrecks in that stretch of freeway. People staring at the mountain, taking pictures.

You get a view almost as good when you head south on I-5 just past the West Seattle bridge. And then there's view from the Bainbridge Ferry. Wow!

Mt. Rainier is the great focal point of our city, our region. Our eyes naturally seek it out. At least on clear days!

I think of Mt. Rainier when I read the words of our scripture reading.

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the LORD.In the last days, the mountain of the LORD's house will be the highest of all--the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.

I love the word “flow” in this passage. The nations will flow to the mountain of the Lord's house. Which creates an interesting visual contradiction. The mountain is raised and the nations flow to it. Ordinarily, I think of things flowing down to a low point. But in this passage things flow upward.

Water flows down hill. Avalanches flow down slopes. Landslides flow down. What flows up?

Dreams. Dreams flow uphill. We dream of higher, better, purer, richer, brighter. We dream toward the light. We dream toward the top of the mountain. Our vision reaches up.

And God is the greatest dreamer of all.

Through the prophets in the Bible, God gives voice over and over to his dreams that Jerusalem—the city of God, the capital of the people of God, the site of the glorious temple—would give voice and substance to God's dreams of a holy city. Through the words of the prophets, God dreamed of a society that lived out the highest ideals of truth and compassion, loyalty and honesty, generosity and integrity. God dreamed of Jerusalem as a showcase of the kingdom of heaven.

The deepest laments and sternest rebukes of the prophets were aimed not at the heathen or pagans or infidels—or whatever other word you could use to describe outsiders. The prophets lamented the failures of the citizens, the native-born residents of Zion.

But the prophets lived in hope. God would ultimately accomplish his dreams. Righteousness would triumph. Evil would disappear.

In the last days, the mountain of the LORD's house will be the highest of all--the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
People from many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of Jacob's God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths." 

This was God's dream for Jerusalem. Jerusalem failed. I don't know very many people who imagine they could go to Jerusalem to learn God's ways. Jerusalem is a city sitting on the razor edge of hatred and violence every day. Religious and political tensions threaten to explode in every situation.

Still the vision beckons. Still God calls us higher.

What does that look like? If we are going to live out God's dream, it's vital for us to have a clear vision of that dream.

The more clearly we see God's ideals, the more intensely we focus our attention on those ideals, the more they will shape our lives. That's one of the principal values of participating in worship. In our worship services we give intense, joyous attention to the beauty of goodness. We celebrate the goodness of God. In our music, our readings, our sermons, our fellowship, we affirm our belief that light is greater than darkness, that the fundamental reality of the universe is benevolent intention. God means to do us good. And we aim to do one another good.

What happens when people finally internalize the wisdom of God?

For the LORD's teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem.
The LORD will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.

God's final, triumphant vision is not vengeance. It is not annihilation. It is not conflagration. God's final vision is the transformation of warriors into farmers, of killers into healers, of bombers into builders, of thugs into therapists.

Can you see that vision? Will you spend time contemplating that vision, nourishing that vision? If you do, you are sure to find it reorienting your life.

A mile or two from my house is a new house. It's set in the middle of twenty or thirty acres that used to be pasture. The house is impressive because of its size and style. Then there is its orientation. The house faces southeast. Which is a little weird. Southeast does not align with any feature of the immediate landscape.

In our neighborhood, the ground is quite flat. The streets run east and west. The avenues run north and south. Houses are lined up neatly along these roads. Houses on the south side of avenues face north. Houses on the west side of face east. So why is this house sitting at this weird angle?

On a clear day, the answer is obvious. The houses are oriented so the biggest windows frame Mt. Rainier. People situate their houses so they can admire the mountain without stepping outside. That's the power of the glorious vision of the mountain.

That's the kind of power Isaiah's prophecy can have in our lives, if we give it sustained attention.

Will you deliberately restrict your consumption of hate and disdain-inspiring media? Will you turn from that kind of soul-withering media and give regular, daily attention to the vision of God, the vision of the triumph of peace and justice, with special attention to peace and justice for those who have less than you?

I don't know about you, but on a sunny, clear day when the air is clear and Mt. Rainier is gleaming, I find it beckoning. I dream of hiking its lower slopes. I find myself tempted to aim for the summit. That's the power of a clear vision.

The more clearly we see the mountain of the Lord's house, the glorious wisdom and goodness of God, the more powerfully it will attract us. The more effectively it will shape our own souls, molding us into partners with God.

God on Vacation

Sermon for North Hill Adventist Fellowship Sabbath, September 24, 2011

Summer is barely over and I'm already dreaming of my next vacation. I'll drive south on I-5. At Salem, Oregon, I'll head east over the Cascades. On the far side of the Cascade crest, down where the dense forest of fir trees begins to thin into the open woodlands of Ponderosa pines, I'll start to breathe easier. I'll relax. I'll feel like I'm on vacation.
For me, vacation is sunshine, wide open spaces, heat, and the open roads of the eastern Oregon and Nevada. My little car—a four-wheel drive Geo Tracker—and will crawl up jeep trails through juniper and pinion forests. We'll venture across snow-white playas. The sky will be deep blue, spotted here and there with giant cumulus clouds.

Vacation! Perfect!

When I asked. Vacation! Perfect! When I asked folks at church their favorite vacation destinations, they told me places like Italy and Hawaii, Australia and Mexico. Exotic places (for us here in the rainy Northwest). Places where the sun shines and there are few demands and few deadlines. Places to relax with the people you love. Tranquil places. Some people dreamed of Whisler in the winter or Sun Valley, Idaho and the excitement of black diamond ski runs. What united all of these vacation dreams was a picture of a perfect world. For a week or two we imagine living without the hassles and disappointments, the pressure and pain of ordinary life. In short our ideas of vacation are snapshots of the world “as it should be.”

So where does God go on vacation? What are his dreams of the world as it should be? The Bible offers some beautiful clues. Obviously, these images are symbolic, metaphorical. They are put into language and imagery that make sense to us. Which is a good thing.

One of my favorite “heavenly vacation” passages is in Isaiah 11.

The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox,. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child will put his hand into the viper's nest. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:7-9).

Herefords and grizzlies happy together in a field, the bears eating blackberries, the cows munching grass, the cubs cavorting with bull calves and heifers. A two year old child laughing at the antics of his friend, the cobra. It doesn't get more idyllic than that. Every thing at peace. Every creature happy. That's God's dream vacation. That's God's dream for the world. It's what the world would be like if God had his way uncomplicated and unhindered. In God's dream world, “they will not hurt or destroy.” They will not be hurt or be destroyed. Then comes the line, “for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” When God is fully, completely, and universally known . . . no one will hurt or destroy. In God's dream world there is no violence, no aggression, no coercion. This vision of a world at peace is echoed by the prophet Micah:

Many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4:3 He will judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more" (Micah 4:2-3).

When God teaches us his ways and we have mastered them, the world will be at peace. God's dream is peace.

A final passage from Isaiah:

God says, Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth—so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones any more. . . . It will not be like the past, when invaders took houses and confiscated the vineyards. . . . The wolf and lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Poisonous snakes will strike no more. In those days, no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken (Isaiah 65:17-25). 

That's God's dream. That's what vacation would look like for God. God's dream of a perfect world is a world full of people. God likes people. He likes you. Jesus told his disciples that his ultimate goal was, “I will come again and receive you to myself, so that where I am, you will be also.” In the visions of Revelation, Jesus pictures his people seated with him on God's throne (Revelation 3:20). Paul wrote about God's vacation in these words: “and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” If God went on vacation, he would take us all with him. You are indispensable to the joy of God.

The next thing we notice is that God has plans for ending turmoil and conflict. God is going to bring about tranquility and rest. He is going to create a world where the chaos and clamor stop. He is not going to create this sweet peace by getting rid of people but by transforming them, by fixing them.

This is really great news for people suffering from mental illness. If you are tormented by depression, if your life is wrenched this way and that by the effects of bipolar disorder, if schizophrenia has invaded your mind, this is unbelievably good news. A year, a decade, a century of life untormented? Days, weeks and even months of uninterrupted inner peace? That is unimaginable, but that is just what Isaiah and Micah, John and Paul actually do imagine under the inspiration of God. The bears and cows in our own minds will learn to live together in peace. The wolves and lambs that battle inside us will come to a glad and happy peace. If your mind is broken, if your inner torment is driving you crazy, hang on. It gets better.

Notice that in these visions of the perfect world, there is no mention of hell and punishment. God is not dreaming about retribution. He's dreaming about redemption. There has been a deep undercurrent of fascination with destruction and hurt in Christian theology. Some Christian preachers, even famous ones, honored by the church as brilliant theologians and godly preachers, have gotten sucked into visions of hurt and destruction. They have developed horrific pictures of hell, then preached these visions as the mind and dream of God. But when they do this, they've missed the boat.

And when we get sucked into their fascination with hurt and destruction, we are missing the boat, too. I've known people whose minds are permeated with fear. They worry about whether they can ever escape the destruction at the end. They worry they may have committed the unpardonable sin. They read the passages in the Bible that warn of rejecting the Holy Spirit and wonder, “Is that me? Have I gone too far?” Those questions have two sources: first a highly sensitive conscience. These people see vividly their own complicated motives. They are aware of times when they chose the wrong path or when they chose the right path for the wrong reasons. Their awareness is so vivid, so keen, they can't imagine how they could ever fully recover.

The second source of this relentless self-condemnation is dark preaching, preaching that imagines people will be helped toward heaven if they could just see clearly the awfulness of sin. Unfortunately, for many people, a clear vision of the awfulness of sin is just depressing and discouraging. It does not serve as an effective instrument for getting people to dream of heaven.

A third source of this relentless self-condemnation is preaching that is too bright. Some preachers tell us that what God demands is flawless, unwavering, total, conscious devotion. We are to be aware of the presence and direction of Jesus every waking second. This is not possible unless you withdraw from life. I don't want my brain surgeon thinking about Jesus while he's operating on me. I want him to give one hundred percent attention to my brain. If you're on a date, you don't want the man or woman you're with to be thinking about Jesus. You want them to be paying attention to you.

A high level of holiness can be cultivated. We can learn to be always open to heavenly impulses. We can go through our days frequently in conversation with God. But the notion that we are failing in holiness when we give full, undivided rapt attention to a lover or to a physics problem or to glitch in the software you are charged with maintaining is simply false. God does not scold us for giving intense attention to the interesting and challenging and endearing things of this life. In Isaiah 65, part of God's dream of the future was that people would be building houses. They were not going to spend all their time on their faces in front of the throne!

How do we counter intrenched self-condemnation? Begin dreaming with God. Deliberately imagine the eternal vacation that God is dreaming of, a vacation that includes you. When we fill our minds with the pictures of the future God is dreaming of, it will begin to shape how we live here and now. We will find ourselves figuring out ways to divert energy from preparing for war to providing for people. Instead of praying for the destruction of our enemies, we will pray for their transformation. Instead of dreaming of hurting our enemies, we will dream of healing them. This will affect our lives at home, at work, at school. It will affect our politics. It will play into the way we view education. It might influence our habits of TV consumption and news consumption. We will limit our exposure to people who encourage us to hate, to fear, to fret. Instead we will fuel our own dreams of the heavenly vacation. We will read encouraging things. We will fix our eyes on beautiful things. We will find ways to remind ourselves frequently of the sweetness of the future God imagines with us.

We will encourage ourselves and others in doing things here and now that align us with God's dreams. We will dream of giving God a bit of vacation now, that is, we will arrange our lives so they look something like the world God imagines: a world where the cow and grizzly happily share a pasture, a world where people beat their swords into plowshares. A world where no one hurts or destroys. Hurting and destroying are not in God's dream – which strongly suggests the Christian fascination with hell is misplaced. The classic horror of eternal torment is erroneous. The Adventist idea of a momentary hell is a step in the right direction. Perhaps eventually we will learn that the whole notion of ultimate retribution was merely a stop-gap measure to help us understand God's abhorrence of hurting and destroying. Maybe Isaiah's picture of a world in which no one hurts or destroys is not just the final picture, maybe it is the truest picture, the ultimate picture of the way the universe works under God. This I know for sure: The more deeply we imbibe that vision, the sweeter will be our influence here in this world. The more ready we will be to participate fully in the grand vacation God is planning for himself and his children.