Week 2: The Fruit of Love: Loving One’s Self
There is a LOT of variety in this week’s learning materials. Feel free to spread this out over days, doing 10 mins or so at a time picking and choosing your own adventure! Please utilize these links to jump from section to section and minimize the need to scroll.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
“Rejoice that you are what you are;
For our Lord loves you very dearly.”
Abbe Henre de Tourville
INTRODUCTION
Scripture talks about the fruit of love a lot. A LOT. For our first month in The Neuma Project we want to look at four specific ways Scripture calls us to love:
Love of God
LOVE OF ONE’S SELF
Love your neighbor
Love your enemy
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Description text goes hereSome of you might choose to do it all in one sitting. Some of you may do one section per day. Some of you might work through it multiple times. We truly want this to work FOR you! Our prayer is that you’ll feel a sense of joy that comes from spending time in communion with God and then with others as you live out the “practices” you’ll be invited to each week. If your participation ever feels burdensome, then take a break! The Neuma Project exists to assist in your discipleship - both individually and communally with others at FPC, and in your neighborhoods. It doesn’t exist to guilt you into time spent in the word and community. (though if you need a little push, we’re fine to allow this to do that)
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Our vision is that this will be something your family can do together. We will always include a “Neuma Kids” section that you can do with your littles.
We also believe teenage kids can participate in all of the content as well as adults, bringing their own insights and questions. HOWEVER, we are well aware teens + parents + faith conversations can be tricky. For this reason, during Act II on Sunday mornings teens will have the chance to engage this content with each other and their leaders. If all you are able to ‘accomplish’ is a check-in with them on Sunday afternoons, consider it a win! If you are able to sit down and go through the materials together, then you deserve an award and come teach us your ways :)
Start By Stopping
(If you aren’t in a place where you can do that, set a reminder to come back. But please don’t try to cram this in while getting kids ready for school, or replying to emails, or watching Netflix)Don’t talk, don’t move, don’t do anything except breathe. Look around, listen, smell… and be still until it’s uncomfortable. Say a prayer- no agenda, just whatever you want to say directed toward God. If praying isn’t something you do often- give it a shot. Just talk/think/share. In fact, we encourage you to pray aloud! It might feel odd at first, but again, there’s no pressure to do it “correctly.” Just fill God in on your heart & enjoy the quiet.
WATCH:
Spend a few minutes listening as Tegan Brindley shares some of her experiences as a mental health counselor. Tegan will challenge us, using her experience as a pastor and therapist, to see ourselves primarily as God’s beloved creation instead of focusing on our broken, sinful nature.
Brad Hauge
Storytelling
While dreaming and praying about what to include in each month’s Neuma Project learning materials, we knew we wanted to include stories from our community in and around FPC. Last week you read some of Frank Engle’s story. This week you’ll see Tegan Brindley’s face and hear her words. In a couple weeks you’ll hear from Jer Swigart as we wrestle with the concept of loving our enemies. You get the picture.
But can I tell you something that was fascinating, heartbreaking, but not all that surprising? I wasn’t able to find anyone willing to share about how they came to believe themselves worthy of love. In this week’s materials we want to explore the call we find in Mark 12 where Jesus responds to the question of which commandment is the greatest with,
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Jesus’ response implies that we ought to love ourselves! Scripture uses terms like “beloved” and “children of God” and created ‘in His own image” to describe just how precious we are. There is no doubt in my mind that God desires for us to love the person he has created us to be!
So, why is it so difficult for us to believe that truth? Some of the folks within our congregation I invited to share on this prompt are some of the most beloved saints within our community. Folks who exude the fruits of the Spirit each and every day. Yet, when posed with the task of sitting down and confidently sharing their story of knowing themselves to be beloved and lovable… they weren’t able to.
Truthfully, this week has been a difficult one for me to feel lovable. I've had to wrestle (and continue to wrestle) with questions about some core truths about myself that I've held for years. Do I know God calls me his beloved? I truly do. But that doesn't always make the hurt or confusion or frustration of real life situations easier. Some of us reading this are experiencing chronic pain, loss of friendships, guilt from poor decisions, insecurities about our physical appearance and on and on.
Our goal with this week's materials is not to present God as an easy-fix band-aid for our pains and shortcomings. But to offer the truths of just how worthy we are of love because of who our Creator is. Our lives so often include input that we are not enough, so may this week's Neuma Project allow the overwhelming, never ending, reckless love of God to be a balm and may we believe we are worthy of love. That we are beloved. Amen.
Before moving on with this week’s materials, I invite you to spend some time responding to a couple of the following prompts in your notebook:
Are you surprised to hear it was hard to find someone to share about how they are able to see themselves as beloved? Why or why not?
How do you feel about yourself during this season in your life? Consider making a list of the things you wish you could improve and a list of the things you are proud of yourself for. Which list is longer?
Think back to what Tegan shared. Do you primarily see yourself as created in love or broken in sin?
WATCH:
(We are sorry about the title on the youtube video below… it’s a stronger language than we would opt for. However, we think the content of what he shares is worth a bit of potential discomfort. If it is distracting for you, we do apologize.)
Scott Erickson is an artist, author, performance speaker, and creative curate who mixes autobiography, mythology, and aesthetics to create art and moments that speak to our deepest experiences. You may remember his Advent art show we hosted in our sanctuary during the pandemic.
He recently came to Spokane and performed his one-man show “Say Yes,” that many people at FPC attended. There was a section we thought of that touches on the difficulty of “loving one’s self” and decided to include it below.
The clip begins mid-show and we invite you to watch until the video counter hits the 20:00 minute mark (of course you can watch more if you’d like!)
In the above clip, Scott imagines how nice it can be to participate in a faith community with full confidence in the Good News (the part where he’s singing “this is great, I love this!”). He then asks God,
“but what about them? Do you like them more than me? Um, because their life looks amazing and honestly my life really sucks right now and as far as I can tell we’re doing the same thing. Do you like them more?”
Grab your Neuma Journal: Have you ever looked around the sanctuary at FPC, or anywhere really, and wondered why God seemed to be providing better lives or opportunities for other than for you? If so, how does that feel? If not, what helps give you that perspective?
Scott ends by stating,
See love, love, love… Love (God) wants to pour itself out in to you. But you can’t receive love if you secretly hate who Love made you to be. Because this is the only container you can receive love in.”
Neuma Journal: How difficult (or easy) is it for you to receive love from others? Whether in the form of compliments, acts of kindness
RESPONDING TO SCRIPTURE
We recommend you spread this Bible study section out over 2-4 different sessions. Set aside 10-15 minutes every other day this week (or however works for you) and spend some time with Luke 7:36-50 throughout this entire week. (PLEASE don’t forget to take advantage of the materials that follow this: neuma kids, prayer of examen, etc)
Scripture study adapted from Michelle Holladay’s “Broken and Beautiful” at wecollide.org
SESSION 1:
Spend the first 3 minutes of this time in silence. No music, no cell phone, no talking.
Just silence.
Take deep breaths. Trust that God’s Spirit is present with you.
READ:
Open your Bible to Luke 7:36-38. If you want to read the Scripture online you can do so here.
The scene opens with Jesus at a dinner party, as we often see, but the story gets a little bit spicy with the introduction
of a woman who “lived a sinful life.” Clearly this woman had a bad reputation and was seen as “broken.” She is not even
given a name. She is instead, repeatedly identified as a “sinner.”
REFLECT:
Using your Neuma Journal respond to these prompts:
What are some ways you have been identified by others as broken?
What are some ways you have identified yourself as broken?
At first glance, it looks as if this “sinful woman” is crashing the party. Jesus is described as being invited but she shows
up uninvited. “The houses of well-to-do people were built round an open courtyard in the form of a hollow square.
Often in the courtyard there would be a garden and a fountain; and there in the warm weather meals were eaten. It
was the custom that when a Rabbi was at a meal in such a house, all kinds of people came in—they were quite free to
do so—to listen to the pearls of wisdom which fell from his lips.”
This woman seems to enter the Pharisee’s house with a clear purpose. She learned that Jesus was eating there, so she came with an alabaster jar of perfume.
What does it say to you that this woman came, uninvited to this party with the clear purpose of seeking out
Jesus?
What things might she have heard about Him?
What do you know about Jesus that causes you to intentionally seek Him out?
SESSION 2:
READ:
Open your Bible to Luke 7:39-43. If you want to read the Scripture online you can do so here.
The Pharisee questions Jesus’ authority. Shouldn’t a prophet be clairvoyant and know who people are and what they’ve
done? And wouldn’t a prophet, if he knew what “kind of woman” she was, avoid her touch? Don’t you just love Jesus’
subversiveness here! He uses “clairvoyance” to read the man’s thoughts and uses a simple parable to point out the fact
that He knows exactly who this woman is and He more than welcomes her.
REFLECT:
Using your Neuma Journal respond to these prompts:
What are some things you have assumed about Jesus that you now see are not true?
What are assumptions others have held about you that were not true? How do those assumptions make you feel?
How do our wrong assumptions about Jesus and others have the potential to cause harm?
SESSION 3:
READ:
Open your Bible to Luke 7:44-46. If you want to read the Scripture online you can do so here.
When Jesus says to Simon, “Do you see this woman,” He is asking a much bigger question. It’s as if He is asking, “Can
you see beyond your fears and prejudices? Can you see beyond the gossip? Can you see beyond the “kind of woman”
you assume her to be?” This woman’s love and admiration for Jesus must have only grown stronger as His words and
actions prove He truly sees her. He takes all the things that seemed scandalous about their interaction and turns each
one upside down with a series of contrasts.
Not only does Jesus truly see this woman, He wants everyone else at the party to see her too. He wants to make sure
that nothing about her actions can be misrepresented. It’s as if He says, “She didn’t cry these tears to make a spectacle
of herself. She didn’t let down her hair to be immodest. Her tears are simply an overflow of her emotion for me; she
used her hair as a towel because it was what she had to offer. She kissed my feet to express her respect and she
sacrificed one of the most valuable things she owns as an outpouring of her love.”
REFLECT:
Using your Neuma Journal respond to these prompts:
How do you think the woman in this passage felt seen by Jesus?
How do you sometimes feel unseen?
How does it comfort you to know that you are seen by Jesus?
SESSION 4:
READ:
Open your Bible to Luke 7:47. If you want to read the Scripture online you can do so here.
When Jesus says to Simon, “Do you see this woman,” He is asking a much bigger question. It’s as if He is asking, “Can
you see beyond your fears and prejudices? Can you see beyond the gossip? Can you see beyond the “kind of woman”
you assume her to be?” This woman’s love and admiration for Jesus must have only grown stronger as His words and
actions prove He truly sees her. He takes all the things that seemed scandalous about their interaction and turns each
one upside down with a series of contrasts.
REFLECT:
Using your Neuma Journal respond to these prompts:
Have you ever witnessed God taking something meant for evil and using it for good?
Write about a time you experienced forgiveness that allowed you greater capacity to love.
READ:
Open your Bible to Luke 7:48-50. If you want to read the Scripture online you can do so here.
In case there was still some left, Jesus leaves no doubt as to what He thinks of this woman. He turns to her and boldly says, “Your sins are forgiven...Your faith has saved you.” She went from being named, “sinful” to being called “forgiven” and “faithful” and “loving.” She went from being seen as broken to being seen as beautiful. Jesus didn’t erase the brokenness. He didn’t say there is nothing to forgive. He didn’t negate her circumstances.
We often fall into the trap of thinking it has to be one way or the other. We are either broken or we are beautiful. But the two can co-exist. That’s real life. We continue to break. Sometimes we are broken because of our own choices and sometimes we break because of things beyond our control. But we can be broken and we can be beautiful. The difference is in what we allow Jesus to do in our brokenness. Jesus didn’t let this woman’s brokenness continue to define her. Instead, He showed everyone at that party He was capable of taking her brokenness and turning it into something beautiful. Without her brokenness, she could not have experienced His forgiveness, a forgiveness that grew in her the great capacity to love.
REFLECT:
What are some of the beautiful truths you know to be true about you from Scripture?
Go back to your notes from Session 1 and look at some of the ways you identified as broken? Are you able to see that some of those things are the very things that allow beauty to shine in your life?
Who is someone in your life you can encourage this week by showing them how beautiful they are?
NEUMA KIDS
Find time in the next couple of days to engage with your kids in this “mindful moment” from the Book of Belonging Bible.
Click for Mindful Moment
Use your imagination and wonder together to think about God’s Spirit together.
Use the questions included to talk about what you noticed.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
“Hand of God” by Yongsung Kim
Visio Divina
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A quiet, comfortable space
10-20 minutes of uninterrupted time
The image provided above
Your neuma journal if you want to write down thoughts, prayers, notes
If you'd prefer, Jourdan has a guided video/audio option for this exercise. Recorded during Lent in 2021 it is a helpful (and slightly dated) way to engage this visio divina. You can find that option HERE.
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Visio Divina — “sacred seeing” in Latin— is an ancient form of Christian prayer in which we look at an image in silence and allow God use our hearts and imaginations, to speak to us. We will use the image provided above for the practice today, but all kinds of art and imagery can be used to pray if you want to do this again in the future.
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Make sure you can see the image clearly. Get comfortable, breathe, clear your mind, and ask God to be with you in this time of prayer. Ask God to speak to you through this image.
Let your eyes pause and focus on the part of the image they’re first drawn to. Look at just that part of the image for a minute or two.
Now look at the whole image. Is there a word that comes to mind as you look at it? What thoughts or questions is this image raising? What emotions do you feel?
How does the image make you feel? What title would you give this image?
Pray through the words, images, emotions, questions, and thoughts that came up for you. Rest in God’s presence.
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Share what you experienced during this prayer time with someone.
Songs for Reflection
Please use these songs to supplement your time this week. Listen as you pray or as you drive to work. Listen as you respond to the reflection prompts or as you do homework. Listen as you get ready for bed at night or don’t listen at all!