Centering?

. . .

I've been surrounded lately by a lot of people practicing this thing called "centering". I was at a church not long ago that spoke of "centering ourselves for worship". I spent the weekend with a non-profit organization that used their inter-faith meditation time for some "deliberate centering". My Hare Krishna neighbors realize themselves as they center, and my Buddhist friends (yes...I have Buddhist friends) practice centering on a regular basis. I teach my students how to center a heading on their papers, but I don't think that counts.

I suppose I am curious about what or whom I am to center on? Some religions teach us to center on our own consciousness while others say that we should center on nothing...emptiness. To be honest with you, I'm not sure what good centering on myself is really going to do for me (or for anyone else for that matter). Centering on ourselves is nothing new afterall...and I can't really see that being self-centered is much of a good thing. Self-centered people make selfish decisions. Our selfishness puts us at conflict with everyone around us. We don't need to look very far to see the effects of self-centeredness.

One doesn't need to look beyond the church to see the effects of self-centeredness gone wild. My personal Jesus will shower me with what I want when I want it if I do the right things and say the right words (in Jesus' name...). Seems to me that when we focus on ourselves, we start believing some pretty strange stuff about Jesus, and our sense of self-importance begins to muddle his message.

I don't think centering on myself is the answer.

Centering on Jesus, on the otherhand, is dangerous...it's a threat to my selfish tendencies. When I focus (center, concentrate, fixate or zero in) on Jesus, I am profoundly aware of the shame of my selfishness and the embrace of his grace. My heart trembles and dances almost at the same time. There are a few themes Jesus highlights that can make me feel pretty good about myself...and there are more than a few -- such as deny yourself & take up your cross -- that shake me to the core.

While there are many voices telling us to "get centered", there is only one voice telling us to "lose ourselves" (Matthew 10:39). You would think that the teachings of someone who taught a sell-all-you-have-and-give-it-to-the-poor-lose-your-life-deny-yourself theology wouldn't stand much of a chance in gaining a following, but he has! Those self-less moments of Christ brought us life, and the countless self-less acts and sacrifices of those who have follow him continue to bring life.

I know I am not The Answer, so my journey of faith can't begin or end with a concentration on myself. Our redemption comes from outside ourselves, so it only makes sense that our fulfillment should as well. When I meditate, I think on Christ -- his goodness, his faithfulness, his calling -- and I am reminded that my purpose in this life is found beyond myself as well.

"For you know it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you by your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ..."

1 Peter 1:18,19