Posture of Receptivity

15 Pax showed up on Tues March 27 for the first workout at IronHorse of Holy Week to engage the body and also the mind, spirit, and emotions.
DISCLAIMER

Intro

Today’s Q is designed to engage your body but also your mind, your emotions and your soul.  The theme is focusing on posture.  We are going to be in a lot of different postures throughout the workout and these postures help to shape our physical bodies to remain healthy and fit.  In the same way we can have attitudes and “postures” in our minds and our hearts that open us to be healthy spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.  The workout will be broken up into blocks of a number of different exercises followed by a hard stair lap of running followed by recovery.  The recovery time will be longer than normal so give it everything you have on each stair lap. After the stair lap you will either plank or Al Gore while waiting on the six and then we will recover together.  During the recovery time I am going to invite everyone to assume a certain posture and I will read a short reflection that I hope will help you think about the posture, the attitude, the disposition that we can assume in our lives that can help shape us in transformative ways.

This notion of a “posture of receptivity” comes from a book that we have been discussing at my church.  The book is by Miroslav Volf and it is titled Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving In A Culture Stripped of Grace.  Instead of a prayer, I want to open with a quote from this book.  Bring it in. “God’s gifts oblige us, first, to a posture of receptivity. Faith is the way we as receivers relate appropriately to God as the giver.  It is empty hands held open for God to fill.  That’s why, as Luther put it, faith “honors God”; it tells the truth about God and our relation to the divine Giver…Faith is an expression of the fact that we exist so that the infinite God can dwell in us and work through us for the well-being of the whole creation.  If faith denies anything, it denies that we are tiny, self-obsessed specks of matter who are reaching for the stars but remain hopelessly nailed to the earth stuck in our own self-absorption.  Faith is the first part of the bridge from self-centeredness to generosity.”

*Burpee Train # 1 Arrives before Warmup can begin.

Warm Up

Arm Circles 10 F & B

Through The Tunnel x 10

Willie Mays Hayes on me count down from 10 each leg

Mosey stair lap as hard as you can go

Recover holding hands out in a posture to receive.

Reflection Psalm 51 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Block 1

Incline Merkins x 10 (10 total)

Step Ups 10 each leg

Slow Squats x 15

Incline Merkins x 10 (20 total)

Merkins x 10 (30 total)

Mosey Stair Lap as Hard As You Can Go

Al Gore waiting on 6.

Recover-Kneeling

Reflection Book of Common Prayer “I confess to Almighty God and to you my brothers that I have sinned in my thoughts, my words, and my deeds, in what I have done, and in what I have left undone.  I have not loved you with my whole heart.  I have not loved my neighbor as myself.  I am truly sorry and I humbly repent.  For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the Glory of your name. Amen”

Block 2

Flutter Kicks x 30

Merkins x 10 (40 total)

Lunges x 15 each leg

Merkins x 10 (50 total)

*Burpeee Train # 2.  Train eventually…well, watch for yourself.

We decide to forego burpees until the end of the train and proceed with the workout.

Mosey Stair Lap As Hard As You Can Go

Plank waiting on 6.

Recover-laying on your back

Reflection Matthew 5 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you…You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift… You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,[o] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Block 3

Merkins x 10 (60 total)

Prisoner Squats x 10

Mountain Climbers x 20 each leg

Merkins x 10 (70 total)

Mosey Stair Lap As Hard As You Can Go

Al Gore waiting on 6

Recover Standing with hands behind head

Reflection Quote from Brene Brown “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light…We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.”

Block 4

Incline Merkins x 10 (80 total)

Wall Jumps x 20

Incline Merkins x 10 (90 total)

Mosey Stair Lap As Hard As You Can Go

Plank waiting on 6.

*I think it was about this time that the train was finally gone.

Recover Circled up with hands on fellow Pax shoulders.

Reflection Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Lord’s Prayer said together.

Block 5

Hand release Merkins x5 (95 total)

Plank Jacks x 20

Hand release Merkins x5 (100 total)

Mosey Stair Lap As Hard As You Can Go

Al Gore waiting on 6.

Recover Everyone on a knee.
CIRCLE OF TRUST

Reflection As I’m sure most of us know, this is Holy Week, the week in the Church calendar that leads up to Easter.  In the life of Jesus, this is the week that began with the triumphal entry welcoming him as King by the crowds in Jerusalem.  Just a few days later, Jesus’ life ended when he was crucified on a cross with none of the cheering adoring crowds to be found.  On Good Friday the church remembers this sacrifice of Christ and this darkness is endured until we celebrate the Resurrection and the Life of our Lord on Easter Sunday.  But at this point in the week, Easter Sunday is quite a journey away.  As we close today, I’d like to share a reflection I wrote a few years ago reflecting on the words of Jesus to the criminal hanging on the cross beside him: “Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

“Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

By Aaron Scott

Hopwood Memorial Christian Church

Good Friday, 2013

For the times we are Judas, refusing the way of Christ to embrace the wealth of the world, Jesus

took up the cross. Christ, have mercy on us and remember us when you come into your Kingdom.

For the times we are Peter, led by fear instead of faithfulness, Jesus took up the cross. Christ,

have mercy on us and remember us when you come into your Kingdom.

For the times we are the chief priests and the scribes, too consumed with our own agendas to

recognize God’s power displayed among us, Jesus took up the cross. Christ, have mercy on us and

remember us when you come into your Kingdom.

For the times we are Pilate, succumbing to the pressure of others instead of seeking justice,

Jesus took up the cross. Christ, have mercy on us and remember us when you come into your Kingdom.

For the times we are the soldiers, mocking the way of suffering and sacrifice, and glorifying

violence and power, Jesus took up the cross. Christ, have mercy on us and remember us when you

come into your Kingdom.

For the times we question God’s power and doubt God’s timing, like the criminal on the cross,

asking “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”, Jesus took up the cross. Christ, have mercy on us

and remember us when you come into your Kingdom.

And for the all-too-rare times we are humbled, like the second criminal on the cross, by the

contrast of our own depravity and Jesus’s holiness, Jesus took up the cross. Christ, have mercy on us

and with that criminal we ask “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

And from the cross, Jesus said to that criminal, “Truly I tell you, today you shall be with me in

Paradise.”

And from the cross, Jesus says to us: “tonight, I give my body, broken for you, so that you, too,

may have Life.”

Countorama

Namorama. Welcome, FNG Ron “Stinky Pete”!