Dale Cresap's blog

Have you heard the saying that you are known by the company you keep? There is an underlying truth that you will tend to associate with like-minded people, but there is a stronger version of the same concept. You can keep company with people with whom you are not in community. Community is a stronger concept that implies more than casual association. Community includes relationship, a support network, common purpose and a deeper sense of belonging. Community involves commitment.

Where does your mind go when you don’t have a demanding task that requires your complete attention? Can you step back from your own thoughts long enough to see them as an observer rather than a participant? What trends would you see and what thoughts dominate most of your free time? Do you notice the same patterns and loops in repetition? Do you spend an excessive amount of time in thoughts of discouragement or opposition about negative situations in your life even when you are not actively involved in them? I came to set you free, and this is a good place to start.

What does your culture value most? The body? The mind? The spirit? These are all valuable things, but some are emphasized more than others. This is illustrated by the fact that the most extreme insults available are to call someone stupid and ugly. These are attack on the mind and the body, and this implies that they are more important than spirit. What would be an insult to the spirit? To say that someone is mean and cruel? Aren’t these things worse than the quality of your appearance and your cognitive abilities?

Have you ever had goose bumps? What caused them? This alert response can occur from things that cause fear, but also from things that inspire awe. They can signify a call to something beyond yourself, to acknowledge a greater reality. Do you see them this way? How do you respond to this call? Do you see anything that calls you upward to a less self-centered view as beneficial? You are surrounded by influences and images that are real even if they are not presented in verbal form. I want you to be open to these things as inspiring invitations and consider how you should respond.

Have you heard of Job’s comforters? When Job was in a time of great distress, his friends came to comfort him. You may recall from the story that they were not much help, and so the phrase has become a proverb to this day. Yet even so they sat with him in silence for 3 days before offering bad commentary and advice. Perhaps this alone provided comfort. Have you ever felt the comfort of a friend who showed up to be present with you, even in silence, during a difficult time in your life? Did it make a difference? Have you ever done this for someone else?

Do you recall my statement that the Kingdom of God is within you? This is a powerful statement. What do you make of it? How do you view yourself and conduct yourself in response? Are you aware that my presence dwells in you and you carry my influence with you wherever you go? The statement that I made to my disciples, that extends to you as well, implies that this is true whether you realize it or not. Would you live your life differently if you lived in constant awareness of this? You are bought with a price and you are not your own. Therefore glorify me in your body.

Do you understand that the process of dehumanizing opens the door for atrocities and complete disregard for human life? If you can characterize your enemies as so different from yourself that they do not qualify as human you can do whatever you want to them. Millions have died as a result. What is the opposite of this? The obvious response is humanizing, and this is correct. What can you do to make your enemies more human? You can recognize that you share solidarity with everyone created in my image. You can reach out and make contact to get to know them personally.

Do you see injustice in the world? What do you do about it? Vocal protest is one immediate response, but what enduring changes have you seen as a result of mob outrage? Patient efforts to change structures that favor injustice are less flashy but have a greater chance of success. Do you attribute injustice to individual sin? But there are large systems that contain perverse incentives that reward those who do evil. You could think of these as structural sins. Are you aware of these and oppose them, or do you consider sin to be only individual?

Do you know the difference between wounds and injuries? Both involve damage to the body, and in many cases these terms are used interchangeably, but there are exceptions. You say that the victim of a vehicle collision is injured rather than wounded, and you say that a solider who is a battle casualty is wounded rather than injured. Injury carries the connotation of the consequence of an accident, and wounds carry the connotation of deliberate infliction. In my case you refer to my wounds rather than my injuries, as in, I was wounded for your transgressions.

Do you believe in justice? You have a legal system for dealing with serious offenses. You can bring a lawsuit against someone who has injured you, but there are many situations in which you suffer loss that cannot be attributed to a party that you can bring into court. Does the concept of justice still apply? This is a question to address philosophically as cosmic justice, considering your overall situation in life. Job argued his case against me but was not successful in getting a conviction. Considering your life overall can you make a case against the cosmos?