{"id":83,"date":"2010-03-18T18:14:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-18T18:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thinplaces\/2010\/03\/lenten-reflections-from-me-to-yall.html"},"modified":"2010-03-18T18:14:00","modified_gmt":"2010-03-18T18:14:00","slug":"lenten-reflections-from-me-to-yall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/03\/lenten-reflections-from-me-to-yall.html","title":{"rendered":"Lenten Reflections: From Me to Y\u2019all"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><meta equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta name=\"ProgId\" content=\"Word.Document\"><meta name=\"Generator\" content=\"Microsoft Word 11\"><meta name=\"Originator\" content=\"Microsoft Word 11\"><link rel=\"File-List\" href=\"file:\/\/\/C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cpbecker%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml\"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags\" name=\"country-region\"><\/o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags\" name=\"place\"><\/o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>  <w:worddocument>   <w:view>Normal<\/w:View>   <w:zoom>0<\/w:Zoom>   <w:punctuationkerning\/>   <w:validateagainstschemas\/>   <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false<\/w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>   <w:ignoremixedcontent>false<\/w:IgnoreMixedContent>   <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false<\/w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>   <w:compatibility>    <w:breakwrappedtables\/>    <w:snaptogridincell\/>    <w:wraptextwithpunct\/>    <w:useasianbreakrules\/>    <w:dontgrowautofit\/>   <\/w:Compatibility>   <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4<\/w:BrowserLevel>  <\/w:WordDocument> <\/xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>  <w:latentstyles deflockedstate=\"false\" latentstylecount=\"156\">  <\/w:LatentStyles> <\/xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid=\"clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D\" id=\"ieooui\"><\/object> \n\n<style> st1\\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } <\/style>\n\n <![endif]--><\/p>\n<style> <!--  \/* Style Definitions *\/  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal \t{mso-style-parent:\"\"; \tmargin:0in; \tmargin-bottom:.0001pt; \tmso-pagination:widow-orphan; \tfont-size:12.0pt; \tfont-family:\"Times New Roman\"; \tmso-fareast-font-family:\"Times New Roman\";} @page Section1 \t{size:8.5in 11.0in; \tmargin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; \tmso-header-margin:.5in; \tmso-footer-margin:.5in; \tmso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 \t{page:Section1;} --> <\/style>\n<p><!--[if gte mso 10]> \n\n<style>  \/* Style Definitions *\/  table.MsoNormalTable \t{mso-style-name:\"Table Normal\"; \tmso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; \tmso-tstyle-colband-size:0; \tmso-style-noshow:yes; \tmso-style-parent:\"\"; \tmso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; \tmso-para-margin:0in; \tmso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; \tmso-pagination:widow-orphan; \tfont-size:10.0pt; \tfont-family:\"Times New Roman\"; \tmso-ansi-language:#0400; \tmso-fareast-language:#0400; \tmso-bidi-language:#0400;} <\/style>\n\n <![endif]-->      <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p><\/o:p>I met a Wycliffe Bible translator a few years ago. He described the cultural differences he encountered upon living on an island in the <st1:country-region st=\"on\"><st1:place st=\"on\">Philippines<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>. In a community meeting, people argued vociferously and passionately against one another. The room seemed split almost down the middle on opposing sides. At the end of the debate, they were called upon to vote. And they voted unanimously in favor of the majority. Each individual, having voiced his or her opinion, laid down that opinion in favor of the communal decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p> <\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">As an American who has been schooled in individualism, I have trouble envisioning myself in that room in the <st1:country-region st=\"on\"><st1:place st=\"on\">Philippines<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, setting aside my opinion in favor of the group\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision. And yet I see the value in it. I even see the potential for the Spirit to be at work in it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p> <\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">So far, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve practiced fasting during Lent primarily as an individual discipline. Personal self-denial in hopes of personal edification. And that same pattern holds true for much of my devotional life. I pray in order to tell God what I need. I read the Bible in hopes of receiving personal instruction. I serve other people when it suits my schedule. And yet I have been reminded during this Lenten season that almost every time I read the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the New Testament, it is meant to be plural. Put another way, almost every time I read the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 I should translate it \u00e2\u20ac\u0153y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The commands, the descriptions of the Christian life, the exhortations to live out the gospel\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthey are not about me. They are about us.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p> <\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Life in the Spirit is about the movement from me to us, from understanding myself as an individual to understanding myself as a member of the body of Christ, as one part of a larger community, a larger work governed by God. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that I as an individual don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter. The Biblical writers uphold the inherent value and dignity of every human person, created in the image of God. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just that my worth as an individual is directly related to my interactions with other individuals, the reciprocal relationships we form, the community we develop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p> <\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">So when I choose not to drink a glass of wine as a Lenten discipline, it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just about my own piety or devotion. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also about understanding self-denial as a way to become more open to the whispers and nudges of the Spirit of God, and therefore as a way of binding me to other believers and sending me forth to do my small part of God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s healing, saving, redeeming work within the world. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about the movement from me to y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I met a Wycliffe Bible translator a few years ago. He described the cultural differences he encountered upon living on an island in the Philippines. In a community meeting, people argued vociferously and passionately against one another. The room seemed split almost down the middle on opposing sides. At the end of the debate, they&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-down-syndrome"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lenten Reflections: From Me to Y\u2019all - Thin Places<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/03\/lenten-reflections-from-me-to-yall.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lenten Reflections: From Me to Y\u2019all - Thin Places\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I met a Wycliffe Bible translator a few years ago. 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Two major life experiences have shaped her writing and her faith\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcaring for her mother-in-law as she battled cancer and welcoming her daughter Penny into the world after she was diagnosed at birth with Down syndrome. Both experiences expanded and enriched her understanding of what it means to be human and to receive each and every person as a gift.\u00c2\u00a0 A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, and the forthcoming A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House). Her essays have appeared in First Things, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Century, ChristianityToday.com, and Bloom, among other online venues.","sameAs":["http:\/\/amyjuliabecker.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}