Stubborn

Polarize

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy" (Ernest Benn).

It is not at all coincidental to me that Election Day in the United States is ushered in annually by a holiday that is all about tricks, goblins, masks, and fear. The dark tide starts rising in September, and society as a whole seems to ride the tide of cynicism and fear until around Thanksgiving when we are feeling good again. Perhaps it was wisdom on the part of Congress in 1845 to establish a permanent Election Day to fall after the bliss of summer and before the joy of the holidays, coinciding with the time of year when all color and life seems to fall into decay and the realities of winter set in...

On the ballot this year in Denver is a City and County Ordinance to determine whether or not Denver should create an "extraterrestrial affairs commission to help ensure the health, safety, and cultural awareness of Denver residents and visitors in relation to potential encounters or interactions with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or other vehicles..."

I kid you not.

This, ironicly, from the same city that legalized "medical marijuana" not too long ago....

But I digress.

Like many Americans, I find myself somewhere in the middle of it all wondering where the moderate voices are and why everything seems so polarized to the "right" and the "left". I hear about this "massive middle" but see no signs of it anywhere as if its presence were merely ethereal in nature. Our political candidates seem to represent the extremes but miss the majority middle who want neither in office. Our churches seem split along lines of right and left, trumpeting their causes, all claiming to be on the "side of God" yet fighting against brother and neighbor.

We divide and conquer one another on TV ads, religious publications, and in our day to day interactions. We are bombarded with information and images and inculcations that seem to stifle sanity and mute God's Spirit.

And who is above it?

No matter how "right" we may be, if we don't bear on our lives the defining mark of love, our words, our politics, our positions are nothing. We do not need to draw up the battle lines, choose sides, and march head-long into the conflagration. If we are engaged in battle, it is a battle we have chosen. Perhaps the middle is so silent because of its refusal to be dragged into the maelstrom. Perhaps they have chosen another Way.

At the end of the day, I have a great respect for those who disregard the fray and go quietly on their way serving the God and humanity they love, not drawing attention to themselves or jostling for position among men. Peace-makers are often hated people, a judgment they are willing to accept from those who have drawn the battle lines.

Their loyalty extends beyond the battle lines.

Acceptable

Bridge

"Let us make a dent in the universe" (Steve Jobs).

Anyone who takes a risk runs the risk of being misunderstood. I say, "Risk anyway".

For the longest time, I have felt like odd-man-out in the church and in pastoral ministry. I've always been uncomfortably wedged between generations who understand little of each other and who come from exceedingly different sets of circumstances. I feel just as at "home" serving my brothers and sisters gathered as I do with my friends, neighbors, and students scattered. I see no distinction in the Kingdom of God either serving the church or serving those outside our communities of faith, and I celebrate both opportunities.

I have to admit though, as a pastor, sometimes I feel completely misunderstood by those outside the church...as though I were reviled, feared, or mistrusted. On the other hand, when I give my time to those outside the church, I feel misunderstood by those "inside"...as though I were back-sliding, turning liberal, or losing my way. I've come to realize there are many on the outside who will never understand those on the inside as well as many on the inside who will never understand those on the outside.

I guess that's why the bridge-builders are so important...for both groups.

Bridge-builders run the risk of being misunderstood by both groups they are trying to reach. Our personal comfort demands staying on our own side, cut off and sheltered from the other. The convenience of our distance allows us to feel more self-righteous and superior. Learning to cross over and engage each other just might challenge our lazy thinking and confront some of our own inadequacies and dirty little secrets. We'd rather launch verbal volleys at one another from a distance than take the risk of engagement.

Thank God for the bridge-builders who follow the example of Jesus and cross boundaries led by God's Spirit!

Richard Rohr, author of "From Wild Man to Wise Man" says this: "...balancing love of self with love of the other makes for moral integrity, just as in true love making. It is holding my own boundaries, while also going beyond them for the sake of others (p. 121)." I'm not sure how we've come to believe that giving of ourselves to the "other side" is a bad thing. Whose battle lines are we paying attention to anyhow?

A few years back, I remember speaking at a church regarding our ministry in Ireland. During the question and answer time, a respected gentleman expressed his curious frustration at how the coffee shops of our town were as important to us as the gathering of saints. Conceptually, he could not understand how essentially important those moments of friendship, connection, and conversation were with those who did not consider themselves Christian.

Conceptually, I could not understand how he could not.

I doubt seriously whether the Spirit of God recognizes all the boundaries and borders we have established. It would do us good to remember that apart from Christ, we are all aliens and foreigners! Jesus gave his life to bridge a very great chasm.

To the bridge-builders, to those who build bridges to connect and have the audacity to cross fearlessly, I commend you.

We all need you.

Stir

Rest

"Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possible do is take a complete rest" (A. Brilliant).

Message received loud and clear!

Somewhere toward the beginning of last week, my body began sending me signals that I needed to take it easy. As someone who loves my job, I, of course, chose to ignore the problem and continue on my feet in the classroom all the while trying to ignore the increasing pressure in my lower back. That was a mistake.

On Friday, I could barely get out of bed and was practically in tears on my way out of the house and into my truck to head to work. I knew I needed to be home, but it was the last day of class for my Discovery students, and we had a special event planned for them that I did not want to miss. Whether it was my stubborness or a just heightened sense of self-importance that made me head off to school is your guess.

I got to school, and my principal assisted me back out the door. I went home and straight to bed and there remained until Sunday morning. I read an entire book and started another, took a few naps, and caught up with friends on the phone. I said "no" to my obligations and other plans of interest, and remained confined within the walls of my house.

And it was refreshing.

It is easy for us to get caught up in the Sabbath legislation and forget the purpose behind God's command to rest. As it turns out, resting is an important aspect to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and well-being, but we don't do it very well. It wasn't too long ago that I read an article that explained how with modern technology, we are actually fitting 31 hours worth of work and activity into our 24 hour days. I wonder how long this can go on before each of us reaches our limit?

Even our Christian Sabbaths (Sundays) can be filled with so much obligation, preparation, and responsibility that there is little time left for the kind of quality rest that replentishes and renews. We talk often about addictions to drugs, alcohol, and other things but choose to ignore our addiction to busyness, which is just as destructive. Our American obsession with "productivity" and how that ties into our value and usefulness to society causes us to ignore some of our most fundamental needs -- like rest and worship and time with the people we love.

Isn't it funny how I always crave Chick-fil-A or need something from Hobby Lobby for student projects on Sundays? I respect their ability to not cave in to the money that can come from the Sunday market, but more importantly, I appreciate that they give their employees the opportunity to rest (whether they choose to rest or not).

I had no choice but to rest this weekend, so being incapacitated by lower back pain that restricted my every move might not have been such a bad thing in hind sight. That said, I will gladly accept the recovery!

After all, I head back to work on Monday.

Repent

Service

"Be alert to give service. What counts a great deal in life is what we do for others" (anonymous).

I have a lot of fondness for the "peculiar people" among whom I was raised. The Brethren -- and other Anabaptists among them -- do things differently on occassion, and it is many of those things that set them apart that I appreciate now more than ever. Most notably influential in my life was the bi-annual observance of the Footwashing as a part of Love Feast, the three-part Brethren observance of communion.

I kid you not when I tell you that those experiences of washing other people's feet and having my own feet washed were profoundly influential in my nurture and development as a young follower of Christ. John 13 recounts the story of Jesus washing the disciple's feet, and there are fewer chapters in the bible that have influenced the way I live my life more than that one. Whether we believe Jesus' instruction to "do as I have done for you" is to be taken literally or figuratively isn't so much the issue to me, but his instruction to serve clearly is!

The washing of feet went out of fashion a long time ago, and I find it remarkable (and admirable) that there are still people who practice it as a part of their modern, Christian experience. Many people react negatively to this idea of washing someone else's feet, but I can tell you from experience that that's not the most difficult or uncomfortable part of the process. I can relate with Peter in how difficult (and humbling) it is to have other people wash my feet. To be served in such a way is not easy at all.

Washing and being washed are two sides of the same coin, really. It is just as important for me to admit my need and allow my brothers and sisters to come along side my life as it is for me to come along side of them. We need this mutuality! I admit that it is much more difficult for me to be transparent and open about my struggles and needs and to call out for help than to reach out and serve others in their need. I find little or no difficulty in walking with others through the muck and mire, but it is strangely challenging to have others getting dirty while walking with me.

"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

There is something to be said about how allowing others to serve us in our need builds community and friendship, love and trust like nothing else. The 1923 Brethren Pastor's Manual says that feetwashing is "love humbling itself for service...such a brotherly love that one is willing to make a sacrifice for the sake of making one's brother purer and better." There is no doubt in my mind that service of that sort and kind fosters love and sacrifice, nurtures humility and mercy, and brings healing and cleansing to both those serving and those being served.

Footwashing -- and its implication for life -- is one of the most sincere shapers of my Christian experience, and some of my most profound spiritual experiences have come through serving others and being served.

Both have cost me.

Both have brought me life.

Both are good and right.

There are fewer moments when I sense the closeness of God then when I am "washing another's feet" or "being washed" myself. In those sacred moments, the Spirit of God is present and the ministry is mutual.

We are serving Christ.

Christ is serving us.

We are serving one another.

"Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there..." (Jesus).

Study

Scripture

"Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand" (Mark Twain).

Digging through an old chest full of memories last week, I stumbled across an old bible that had belonged to my mother. Other than records of her marriage and the births of those in our family, the only other writing in the book were a few verses that she had underscored (Matthew 10:32-33; Mark 8:34-38; and Luke 12:8,9). In all three passages, Jesus seems to be saying the same thing, so it caused me to wonder what my mother had been hearing from God so significantly those fifty-odd years ago.

Do you ever get this sneaky suspicion that you are being read when you read the Scriptures, as though Someone were peering into the window of your soul that you forgot to close? I have experienced that "living and active" part of God's word many times. I find quite often that while I am reading, the Spirit of God is reading me. It's as if he is leaning over my shoulder and whispering into my soul.

I've lost track of how many times I have experienced what Fr. Richard Rohr calls "the right hand and left hand of God". He says, "God clearly loves us with both left and right hands, total demands (commandments) combined with pure, unearned grace" ("Adam's Return", p. 85). This explains why sometimes as I read Scripture, I feel comforted while other times I feel disciplined. Sometimes it refreshes; sometimes it stings. Sometimes his presence is appreciated; sometimes it feels a bit invasive.

It's all the same God speaking.

I must confess, however, that the bible simply as knowledge doesn't really interest me that much. The inner work of transformation does. I've known people who were masters of biblical trivia -- people who would be able to skunk Moses in a quiz on Exodus --but don't possess an ounce of love for God or charity for their fellow man. The recitation of bible stories can do wonders for communicating truths about God, but that transformative element where the Spirit of God communes with our spirit to bring alignment and life...now that's the good stuff!

I've read the bible, and I've been read by the bible...and I know the difference. Reading a book on marriage can be a good thing, but it is no replacement for actually being married. Some of my most profound spiritual experiences have come through being "read like a book" as I moved through the pages of God's word.

It is inspiring.

It is invasive.

It is cutting.

It is healing.

God comes close, and it is significant.

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth" (Psalm 119:103).