I said it Sunday, and it is important enough to repeat it.
"The most important people in this congregation are the ones that aren't here."
Reading this, you will have to keep firmly in your mind precisely what is meant by "here." "Here" is the Church--wherever that is, dear reader, for you. "Church" is wherever God's people gather to hear the scriptures and to rightly share in the sacraments. Word, sacrament, and those called by God to gather around these things. Wherever that happens for you--with you--that is "here." And the most important people in that place are the ones that aren't there at any given time, which may include you when you are unable or unwilling to be present.
Such a claim seems, well, offensive. At least to the ones who always seem to be at church, the dedicated movers and shakers that are diligent in coming to the scriptures and diligent in living among God's faithful people. I suppose it is offensive...until one figures out what Jesus wishes his disciples to do and to be.
On Sunday, the gospel text was the story of Jesus inviting, nay calling, the first disciples. He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, and he saw Andrew and his brother Simon (later renamed Peter) out on the sea in a boat fishing. Jesus stops and yells out to them: "Follow me! And I will send you out to fish for people!" Immediately, they drop their nets, jump into the water, and swim to shore. From that point forward they follow Jesus, who gives them a whole new purpose and profession in life. The disciples of Jesus Christ are fishers of people.
Jesus' analogy for discipleship is genius. His most brilliant teachings come through image-based metaphors and parables (analogous stories that provoke us to find parallel situations in our own lives and apply the moral principle of that story). And "fishers of people" is a delightful mash up that explains the life of discipleship far more powerfully than is evident at first blush.
What does the fisherman focus on?
Fish.
Specifically, the fish that haven't been caught yet.
A fisherman's attention and energy are focused on one goal, one quarry. A good fisherman is one who knows where the fish will be, where they like to be, and will have the equipment to draw them in. When a fisherman is out fishing, everything else is sacrificed for the sake of that one purpose.
In Jesus' day, those who fished for a living are more alike to commercial fishers today. They used nets, not poles and line. Yet, the same principle holds true for the fishing we are more familiar with personally.
I remember fishing in my youth, with my father. We would go down to the Rock River or to Pierce Lake (both in Rockford, IL). Once out of the car, we would walk what felt like a great distance to find the "right spot." When there was perfectly good shoreline very close to the car. Then, before we would set up our chairs, we would spend an impossibly long time preparing our fishing rods, tying hooks to the end of our lines, and carefully, firmly placing bait on the hooks. By the time we cast out, I was bored (remember, I was young). Though bored, and surrounded by a beautiful and curious nature begging to be explored, nature sitting there waiting for someone to play in it, we were required to sit in one place and watch fishing poles that never seemed to move. We couldn't leave. We couldn't artificially create action by repeatedly casting, which felt like doing something but was, evidently, counterproductive. For the sake of the hoped-for fish, we sat and watched and waited. Some days, a pitifully short burst of excitement produced a fish in the net, which seemed hardly worth all the effort and patience (to my young mind). Success simply served as stark relief to highlight the time wasted in sitting there waiting. While most days, the only fish we saw were the ones back home in the aquarium. It would have been more fun catching and release those fish. Yet, no matter the success or failure, the activity or boredom, my father was unfazed. Like the person who knows what he wants, my father was willing to do the work, willing to wait all day, just for the chance. The fisherman has but one goal and focus: the fish.
Really, the only danger to me in fishing was boredom. Yet, commercial fishing--even today--is one of the most physically demanding and dangerous professions in the world. The fisherman cares for the safety of his crew, but not for their comfort. Indeed, the whole crew is bound together in the bond of common purpose which breeds deep relationship. Yet, the whole crew sacrifices a great deal for the sake of catching fish.
In a boat out on the water, the boredom inflicted upon me while fishing in my youth was complete. There was nowhere to go to escape the tedium. "Can we swim?" I would ask. "No. It will chase off the fish." Several times in the afternoon, I would try, "I have to go to the bathroom." At school, and most other activities, this statement would immediately produce a small reprieve, a break from stress or boredom--a short stroll, something else to focus on. But out on the boat, the response was an exasperated, "Can you hold it?" And when I couldn't, the tactic never produced a trip to shore to stretch my legs. At times, I would attempt to treat the boredom with conversation. Or my brother and I would reach a boiling point and begin to argue or pester one another. Both means of breaking the silence were met with: "You're too loud, you'll scare the fish away." Or, "Stop moving around, the fish can hear you."
The fisherman relegates to the periphery not just the crew, but all other human beings. If a fisherman, while fishing, thinks of his loved ones, it is only for the sake of motivating him in his cause. "I must catch the fish to feed and support my wife and kids." All other consideration of the beloved is suspended.
Mom usually didn't go fishing with us. Out on the water for hours and hours, I would miss her terribly. Curiously, Dad didn't seem to. As the hours dragged by, I would worry "Maybe we should go home," I would say, "Mom might miss us--maybe she needs us home." Dad would respond, "Mom is fine. She knows where we are; she knows we're fishing." Sometimes an afternoon at the water would turn into and evening, too. As darkness fell around us, I would suggest, "Didn't mom want us home before dark?" Then Dad would utter words that we all knew were untrue: "She won't mind. We'll just stay out a little bit longer. We are going to get a bite soon, I can feel it." I always considered his tendency to place mother as a secondary concern in his single-mindedness on the fish to be...perilous...and chancy.
When the fisherman isn't fishing, he is preparing to fish and thinking about fishing. In Jesus' day, a lot of hard work went into preparing and maintaining the tools of the trade. Fisherman would mend nets, maintain their boats, and engage in all sorts of toil and tedium (investing a great deal of capital)--all for the sake of the next fish.
At home, between fishing trips, my father would spend a great deal of time and energy preparing. He would clean, repair, and otherwise tend his fishing poles. He would sit and organize his tackle box. He would go shopping for new and expensive poles, line, lures, sinkers, and other tools of the trade. He would sit before the TV and watch what remain among the most boring shows on air--the fishing shows. All to gain tips and tricks for catching "the big one."
What, then, does the Christian focus on?
People.
Specifically, the people who are not in the church...yet.
According to Jesus, the Church is a place for fishers. As fishermen and -women live for the fish, so Jesus' disciples live for people. We care for family and for one another, and yet our purpose is to bring in others. Our passion is to go out and cast the net. And even when we aren't out there, for we cannot be on the water all the time, we prepare. The preparation begins with mending and enlarging the net: "How can I tell the story of Jesus' love to make others see?" And everything we do is infused with that purpose of drawing the most important people further in. Every person caught up in the net of the Kingdom of God is "the big one."
And if you feel that you are ill equipped to fish for people, remember who Jesus calls. Jesus didn't invite public figures, orators, sales people, or celebrities. Jesus called fishers. Andrew and Simon were skilled at engaging fish. Engaging humans requires different skills. What a career change! Yet these simple fishermen trusted Jesus, believed in him, and Jesus provided all the equipment they needed.
The disciples' net is the Word of God. And the Word never comes back to us empty.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore..." --Matthew 13:47-48a
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Monday, October 31, 2016
Religious Freedom
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." -Soren Kierkegaard
The above quote is both dated and harsh. Dated because in Soren's day freedom of speech was evidently not a thing in Denmark. Today, freedom of speech is an important--and core--value in democratic nations, like the United States. I think it is a good value to maintain and protect. And Kierkegaard's biting wit is harsh, but perhaps in a helpful way. The point of the quote seems to hold true today. I distill the following lesson: "We rarely exercise the freedoms we have before we go out seeking more." When this is the case, I believe that the sought after "more" or "new freedom" is often really a grab for power or dominance or preeminence...but that is another blog.
When thinking about religious freedom in the United States of America, prayer becomes a good litmus test. Curiously, the only segment of Christianity that pays attention to this litmus test is that on the righthand side of the political spectrum. Many faithful Christians worry over--and speak out about--Christian prayer in public place. Most notably, prayer in public schools. The rhetoric is pervasive: the government refuses to allow our young people to pray, and this is destroying the faith and the moral fabric of our nation. The ban on prayer in public schools is seen as an infringement on not just Christianity, but on our nation's core value of religious liberty itself.
And yet, Christians are, indeed, free to pray in this country--and in public! I often pray out-loud, and even loudly, before meals in restaurants. I pray out-loud and noticeably in hospital waiting rooms, work places, stores, parks, jails, schools and courthouses. No one has locked me up. Bakers will still sell me cakes. Now, these prayers are almost always said with a small group of people, and I am not given the authority of the government to speak for all who are present. I pray for and with the ones who--in freedom--decide to participate for themselves. This is crucial, as it is much different than a judge or a teacher (as government officials or employees) praying in a Christian way from a position of power.
Our children can pray at school, especially if we take St. Paul's exhortation seriously: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). A student has freedom to pray before a test. Students have the freedom to circle up and pray in public between the bus and the school building--or even, if it doesn't disrupt the work they must do, in the classroom or cafeteria or playground. Such freedom we have already is no small thing. There are yet places in the world that any open or noticeable Christian prayer is met with imprisonment, violence, or death. In many countries, church attendance is dangerous or completely banned...yet we consider our condition one of persecution, even while we still free.
Why do we feel this way? I think it is grief. Christians are grieving the loss of preeminence of the Christian faith in this country. We are grieving the fact that we have to share public space with other religions--in reality, not just in theory. Christians are used to having people in authority instruct us on when and how to pray. We are used to having officials pray for us. Now that these officials cannot pray because of mixed crowds, we forget that we can still pray. We forget that our prayers are just as powerful, I would say even more powerful, when we do it in faith and piety, rather than an official leading us. (And let us remember that much of the time the officials I am referring to are NOT religious officials, but public officials. Religious officials also have complete freedom to pray on behalf of the faithful in public---even at public events such as Memorial Day gatherings, baccalaureate services, and churches. Yes, churches are public spaces.)
I must be clear here. I am not just saying that we are free to pray individually and in private. We are also--right now--free to pray in public and in groups. Yet that freedom is, and I believe must be, weighed against the core American value of freedom of religion. It is wrong for public officials to make any religion the presupposed norm by forcing a particular kind of prayer upon a particular group, when that group may represent other religions or no religion at all. A president can ask the nation to pray, but the president should not become the priest or priestess.
I recently led a Bible study with some church members on the book of Daniel. The whole book explores the difficulties of being faithful in religious practice in the midst of a nation that puts no value in religious freedom. More than once, Daniel (or his fellow Jews) are told how and to whom to pray by the Babylonian Emperor. They refuse and are sentenced to death. Read the book to see how that turns out.
Anyway, in conversation about the book of Daniel, one person shared an experience at work. This person works for a major regional employer, and shared how that employer had set aside a particular room at one of their facilities for Muslims to pray. Followers of Islam are required to pray five times a day. Muslim employees voiced their need for a place to fulfill this spiritual duty while at work. Something like this can only happen in a nation whose value is religious freedom. The one who shared this story seemed to admire the faith and discipline of the muslim co-workers. And yet, this Christian church member didn't quite know what to make of the whole thing.
Many Americans Christians see public space being carved out for Muslims to express their faith and react with xenophobia or jealousy. But there are at least two much more positive and helpful ways to react to Muslim prayer chapels at work--and every American can fit into one or both of these:
First, we can be proud of our values and rejoice in our freedoms. We live in a nation where a group of people can voice a religious need or desire, and change can happen. We live in a nation that protects the rights of her citizens to not just believe a particular religion, but also to practice that religion. Such a society is not often seen on this earth. Look at what we have built.
Second, we--and here I mean Christians in particular--we Christians can react with renewed energy to practice what we believe. Muslims are required to pray five times a day. What are Christians required to do? How do those spiritual disciplines alter the way you live? What do you need in and from a free society in order to be faithful Christians? Do those things. Plenty of public and private institutions have Christian Chapels...are they being used? You see, Christian parents can influence their school districts in such a way that those schools no longer schedule required activities on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. All it takes is the people to voice their need and desire. If that voice is clear, change will happen...because we live in a nation of religious freedom.
The basic and crucial Christian discipline is going to church. When we take stock of which institutions are infringing upon that duty, we quickly see that the government is not the party responsible for inhibiting the religious liberty of Christians. I am not sure the government does anything on Sunday mornings. Even the military, and other government agencies that must operate 24-7, work hard to give their people the chance to worship if they so desire (and as they so desire). Government agencies even observe, or at least respect as far as possible, various holidays in various religions. Yet, our schools hold extracurriculars on Sundays. Yet, youth in school sports are punished if they choose to miss practice or a game because of worship or a church event. Yet, our employers see Sundays as another work day, and do not even respect the perfectly secular idea of what a weekend is and should be (for we all need rest from our labors). Yet, stores and businesses do not close down, not even on the major Holy Days (holidays). Why not? These institutions are not the bad guys. Schools, employers, and businesses are not evil, nor do they intend on taking away religious liberty. No, these organizations are simply responding to the will and desire of the faithful. We have given up these liberties through our own habits. And these freedoms can only be restored by the will and voice of the people. Christians would be served by becoming more organized, and more passionate about their own faith and its practices. The government isn't going to will it for us, isn't going to believe it for us, and isn't going to do it for us. Indeed, the U.S. government shouldn't be the source or the disciplinarian of the Christian faith.
Perhaps Christians are being persecuted in the United States. Before we can figure out the truth of that question, though, we need to exercise the freedoms we do have. Christians have a great deal of freedom in this country. What I most often see, however, is a lack of desire in Christians to exercise those freedoms. We have the freedom, just not the will or the work. Shouldn't we use what we have before we start demanding more?
In any case, Jesus is present in our very midst, reminding us about our need to pray always and not to lose heart...even if and when we endure injustice. Luke 18:1-8 Thanks be to God for that reminder. Amen.
The above quote is both dated and harsh. Dated because in Soren's day freedom of speech was evidently not a thing in Denmark. Today, freedom of speech is an important--and core--value in democratic nations, like the United States. I think it is a good value to maintain and protect. And Kierkegaard's biting wit is harsh, but perhaps in a helpful way. The point of the quote seems to hold true today. I distill the following lesson: "We rarely exercise the freedoms we have before we go out seeking more." When this is the case, I believe that the sought after "more" or "new freedom" is often really a grab for power or dominance or preeminence...but that is another blog.
When thinking about religious freedom in the United States of America, prayer becomes a good litmus test. Curiously, the only segment of Christianity that pays attention to this litmus test is that on the righthand side of the political spectrum. Many faithful Christians worry over--and speak out about--Christian prayer in public place. Most notably, prayer in public schools. The rhetoric is pervasive: the government refuses to allow our young people to pray, and this is destroying the faith and the moral fabric of our nation. The ban on prayer in public schools is seen as an infringement on not just Christianity, but on our nation's core value of religious liberty itself.
And yet, Christians are, indeed, free to pray in this country--and in public! I often pray out-loud, and even loudly, before meals in restaurants. I pray out-loud and noticeably in hospital waiting rooms, work places, stores, parks, jails, schools and courthouses. No one has locked me up. Bakers will still sell me cakes. Now, these prayers are almost always said with a small group of people, and I am not given the authority of the government to speak for all who are present. I pray for and with the ones who--in freedom--decide to participate for themselves. This is crucial, as it is much different than a judge or a teacher (as government officials or employees) praying in a Christian way from a position of power.
Our children can pray at school, especially if we take St. Paul's exhortation seriously: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). A student has freedom to pray before a test. Students have the freedom to circle up and pray in public between the bus and the school building--or even, if it doesn't disrupt the work they must do, in the classroom or cafeteria or playground. Such freedom we have already is no small thing. There are yet places in the world that any open or noticeable Christian prayer is met with imprisonment, violence, or death. In many countries, church attendance is dangerous or completely banned...yet we consider our condition one of persecution, even while we still free.
Why do we feel this way? I think it is grief. Christians are grieving the loss of preeminence of the Christian faith in this country. We are grieving the fact that we have to share public space with other religions--in reality, not just in theory. Christians are used to having people in authority instruct us on when and how to pray. We are used to having officials pray for us. Now that these officials cannot pray because of mixed crowds, we forget that we can still pray. We forget that our prayers are just as powerful, I would say even more powerful, when we do it in faith and piety, rather than an official leading us. (And let us remember that much of the time the officials I am referring to are NOT religious officials, but public officials. Religious officials also have complete freedom to pray on behalf of the faithful in public---even at public events such as Memorial Day gatherings, baccalaureate services, and churches. Yes, churches are public spaces.)
I must be clear here. I am not just saying that we are free to pray individually and in private. We are also--right now--free to pray in public and in groups. Yet that freedom is, and I believe must be, weighed against the core American value of freedom of religion. It is wrong for public officials to make any religion the presupposed norm by forcing a particular kind of prayer upon a particular group, when that group may represent other religions or no religion at all. A president can ask the nation to pray, but the president should not become the priest or priestess.
I recently led a Bible study with some church members on the book of Daniel. The whole book explores the difficulties of being faithful in religious practice in the midst of a nation that puts no value in religious freedom. More than once, Daniel (or his fellow Jews) are told how and to whom to pray by the Babylonian Emperor. They refuse and are sentenced to death. Read the book to see how that turns out.
Anyway, in conversation about the book of Daniel, one person shared an experience at work. This person works for a major regional employer, and shared how that employer had set aside a particular room at one of their facilities for Muslims to pray. Followers of Islam are required to pray five times a day. Muslim employees voiced their need for a place to fulfill this spiritual duty while at work. Something like this can only happen in a nation whose value is religious freedom. The one who shared this story seemed to admire the faith and discipline of the muslim co-workers. And yet, this Christian church member didn't quite know what to make of the whole thing.
Many Americans Christians see public space being carved out for Muslims to express their faith and react with xenophobia or jealousy. But there are at least two much more positive and helpful ways to react to Muslim prayer chapels at work--and every American can fit into one or both of these:
First, we can be proud of our values and rejoice in our freedoms. We live in a nation where a group of people can voice a religious need or desire, and change can happen. We live in a nation that protects the rights of her citizens to not just believe a particular religion, but also to practice that religion. Such a society is not often seen on this earth. Look at what we have built.
Second, we--and here I mean Christians in particular--we Christians can react with renewed energy to practice what we believe. Muslims are required to pray five times a day. What are Christians required to do? How do those spiritual disciplines alter the way you live? What do you need in and from a free society in order to be faithful Christians? Do those things. Plenty of public and private institutions have Christian Chapels...are they being used? You see, Christian parents can influence their school districts in such a way that those schools no longer schedule required activities on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. All it takes is the people to voice their need and desire. If that voice is clear, change will happen...because we live in a nation of religious freedom.
The basic and crucial Christian discipline is going to church. When we take stock of which institutions are infringing upon that duty, we quickly see that the government is not the party responsible for inhibiting the religious liberty of Christians. I am not sure the government does anything on Sunday mornings. Even the military, and other government agencies that must operate 24-7, work hard to give their people the chance to worship if they so desire (and as they so desire). Government agencies even observe, or at least respect as far as possible, various holidays in various religions. Yet, our schools hold extracurriculars on Sundays. Yet, youth in school sports are punished if they choose to miss practice or a game because of worship or a church event. Yet, our employers see Sundays as another work day, and do not even respect the perfectly secular idea of what a weekend is and should be (for we all need rest from our labors). Yet, stores and businesses do not close down, not even on the major Holy Days (holidays). Why not? These institutions are not the bad guys. Schools, employers, and businesses are not evil, nor do they intend on taking away religious liberty. No, these organizations are simply responding to the will and desire of the faithful. We have given up these liberties through our own habits. And these freedoms can only be restored by the will and voice of the people. Christians would be served by becoming more organized, and more passionate about their own faith and its practices. The government isn't going to will it for us, isn't going to believe it for us, and isn't going to do it for us. Indeed, the U.S. government shouldn't be the source or the disciplinarian of the Christian faith.
Perhaps Christians are being persecuted in the United States. Before we can figure out the truth of that question, though, we need to exercise the freedoms we do have. Christians have a great deal of freedom in this country. What I most often see, however, is a lack of desire in Christians to exercise those freedoms. We have the freedom, just not the will or the work. Shouldn't we use what we have before we start demanding more?
In any case, Jesus is present in our very midst, reminding us about our need to pray always and not to lose heart...even if and when we endure injustice. Luke 18:1-8 Thanks be to God for that reminder. Amen.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
See the Wounds
During the season of Easter, we scramble to find the risen Christ. It was no easier for the disciples 2,000 years ago. For although they had Jesus with them bodily (both before and after the cross), they found it difficult to see Jesus.
Like the disciples, on Easter Day we went to the tomb expecting to find Jesus there, and we were told: "He is not here." Taken down from the Cross, Jesus is no longer affixed there. He is not in the tomb where we laid him. He is not parading into Jerusalem to take his throne, like we expected after Palm Sunday. So where is Jesus? Where do we find Jesus--how do we find him?
It all depends on what we see when we look. Look at what? When we look at anything. To be more specific, it depends on the evidence for which we are looking. Are we looking for evidence of what is seen, or evidence of what is unseen?
One of the ultimate Christian paradoxes is that God uses what is seen to reveal--to show--what cannot be seen. God, who is always hidden, is revealed in mystery. The traces of God are teased out through the contradictions of life. And the indescribable truths are understood through experience, even if they remain indescribable.
As you go through life, what evidence of God are you looking for?
Jesus proved God's presence and power by showing the disciples his wounds. The bright light and glorious angel-messengers on Easter only served to scare the disciples and stop them from sharing the gospel. But when Jesus finally appeared after being raised, he met them quietly. And the proof of his identity was not lightening or voices from heaven, the evidence he brought were wounds.
What do you see when you see wounds?
What do you see when you visit someone who is sick in the hospital? What do you see in the person who is losing their mind and personality in dementia? What do you see in the soldier who has lost limb, or even life, in the course of service? What do you see in the patient in traction because of a car accident? What do you see in the stroke victim? What do you see when a child skins his or her knee? What do you see as you sit beside a loved one's deathbed?
If we cannot find Jesus in these things, we cannot find Jesus anywhere.
Jesus' presence is in the hurt. Jesus' power is in the healing. God's love and power is strongest in the midst of wounds and death.
Because of Christ, there is only one illness or injury that is fatal. "Really?"--you may be asking. "People seem to die of many things." That may be what we see, but it is not what is going on unseen.
If the illness is slight, Jesus is the one who empowers our bodies or minds to heal. If the wound is great, it is the Holy Spirit who calls forth medicine and causes it to be an effective intervention. And if the illness or injury leads to death, our Father is the one who imparts life anyway. None of these results in ultimate death. There is no sickness that is unto death.
Once, Jesus' friend Lazarus got really sick. When Jesus heard of Lazarus' illness, he did not rush to heal him, but told his disciples that, "this sickness is not unto death" (John 11:4). After suffering for days, Lazarus finally died. Jesus wept when he heard the news, and yet he proclaimed that the sickness was not unto death, and told Martha, "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live" (John 11:25). Death was not unto death. But the disciples did not see, did not understand what Jesus meant by this paradox, by this mystery. Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave. He did it to reveal the power of God. But even when the crowd saw Jesus do it, and heard him repeat over and over again that he was doing it to reveal the unseen (John 11: 4, 15, 42), even then the crowd assumed that Lazarus was just unconscious, that he was never really dead. They could not even believe when Jesus made it seen.
Soren Kierkegaard wrote a whole book trying to fuss out the unseen in that story about the death of Lazarus (the title of the book: The Sickness Unto Death). And taking Jesus words as truth, Kierkegaard came to the conclusion that the only sickness unto death is despair. In faith, Jesus' power is proven in injury, sickness, and death. In despair, it is impossible to trust in what is unseen, and our lives are then consumed by what is only seen.
Jesus was wounded to indicate where Jesus is when we are wounded. Jesus died so that we might be able to trust God's presence even in death. Jesus was raised up so that we would be able to see what is going to happen to us when we die. Jesus is the evidence of God at work. Jesus makes seen what was formerly unseeable. But even when we see the unseen, it is difficult to trust, and it is still so easy to despair! When you see wounds and sickness and death, what do you see? Do you believe?
God's most glorious appearance in the world is the Cross. And if the resurrection had any glory in it, it was only because the Cross happened. And so the heavy crosses you bear are not occasions of despair, they are indications of all that is yet unseen.
This short prayer was the epigraph of Kierkegaard's book, The Sickness unto Death. It sets up the true theme of the book, and yet Kierkegaard doesn't use "seen" or "unseen" or "sight" at any other part of the book itself:
"Lord, give us weak eyes for things of little worth, and eyes clear-sighted in all of your truth."
What is seen does give us cause for despair. But if we despair, we die spiritually and ultimately.
What is unseen in the midst of what is seen, gives us hope and cause for thanksgiving---if we believe what is unseen. The gospel, or rather Jesus, gives evidence for the unseen. Therefore, faith is possible.
In faith, everything is ours... all that is, seen and unseen.
THANKS BE.
Like the disciples, on Easter Day we went to the tomb expecting to find Jesus there, and we were told: "He is not here." Taken down from the Cross, Jesus is no longer affixed there. He is not in the tomb where we laid him. He is not parading into Jerusalem to take his throne, like we expected after Palm Sunday. So where is Jesus? Where do we find Jesus--how do we find him?
It all depends on what we see when we look. Look at what? When we look at anything. To be more specific, it depends on the evidence for which we are looking. Are we looking for evidence of what is seen, or evidence of what is unseen?
One of the ultimate Christian paradoxes is that God uses what is seen to reveal--to show--what cannot be seen. God, who is always hidden, is revealed in mystery. The traces of God are teased out through the contradictions of life. And the indescribable truths are understood through experience, even if they remain indescribable.
As you go through life, what evidence of God are you looking for?
Jesus proved God's presence and power by showing the disciples his wounds. The bright light and glorious angel-messengers on Easter only served to scare the disciples and stop them from sharing the gospel. But when Jesus finally appeared after being raised, he met them quietly. And the proof of his identity was not lightening or voices from heaven, the evidence he brought were wounds.
What do you see when you see wounds?
What do you see when you visit someone who is sick in the hospital? What do you see in the person who is losing their mind and personality in dementia? What do you see in the soldier who has lost limb, or even life, in the course of service? What do you see in the patient in traction because of a car accident? What do you see in the stroke victim? What do you see when a child skins his or her knee? What do you see as you sit beside a loved one's deathbed?
If we cannot find Jesus in these things, we cannot find Jesus anywhere.
Jesus' presence is in the hurt. Jesus' power is in the healing. God's love and power is strongest in the midst of wounds and death.
Because of Christ, there is only one illness or injury that is fatal. "Really?"--you may be asking. "People seem to die of many things." That may be what we see, but it is not what is going on unseen.
If the illness is slight, Jesus is the one who empowers our bodies or minds to heal. If the wound is great, it is the Holy Spirit who calls forth medicine and causes it to be an effective intervention. And if the illness or injury leads to death, our Father is the one who imparts life anyway. None of these results in ultimate death. There is no sickness that is unto death.
Once, Jesus' friend Lazarus got really sick. When Jesus heard of Lazarus' illness, he did not rush to heal him, but told his disciples that, "this sickness is not unto death" (John 11:4). After suffering for days, Lazarus finally died. Jesus wept when he heard the news, and yet he proclaimed that the sickness was not unto death, and told Martha, "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live" (John 11:25). Death was not unto death. But the disciples did not see, did not understand what Jesus meant by this paradox, by this mystery. Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave. He did it to reveal the power of God. But even when the crowd saw Jesus do it, and heard him repeat over and over again that he was doing it to reveal the unseen (John 11: 4, 15, 42), even then the crowd assumed that Lazarus was just unconscious, that he was never really dead. They could not even believe when Jesus made it seen.
Soren Kierkegaard wrote a whole book trying to fuss out the unseen in that story about the death of Lazarus (the title of the book: The Sickness Unto Death). And taking Jesus words as truth, Kierkegaard came to the conclusion that the only sickness unto death is despair. In faith, Jesus' power is proven in injury, sickness, and death. In despair, it is impossible to trust in what is unseen, and our lives are then consumed by what is only seen.
Jesus was wounded to indicate where Jesus is when we are wounded. Jesus died so that we might be able to trust God's presence even in death. Jesus was raised up so that we would be able to see what is going to happen to us when we die. Jesus is the evidence of God at work. Jesus makes seen what was formerly unseeable. But even when we see the unseen, it is difficult to trust, and it is still so easy to despair! When you see wounds and sickness and death, what do you see? Do you believe?
God's most glorious appearance in the world is the Cross. And if the resurrection had any glory in it, it was only because the Cross happened. And so the heavy crosses you bear are not occasions of despair, they are indications of all that is yet unseen.
This short prayer was the epigraph of Kierkegaard's book, The Sickness unto Death. It sets up the true theme of the book, and yet Kierkegaard doesn't use "seen" or "unseen" or "sight" at any other part of the book itself:
What is seen does give us cause for despair. But if we despair, we die spiritually and ultimately.
What is unseen in the midst of what is seen, gives us hope and cause for thanksgiving---if we believe what is unseen. The gospel, or rather Jesus, gives evidence for the unseen. Therefore, faith is possible.
In faith, everything is ours... all that is, seen and unseen.
THANKS BE.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Last Meal
Recently, on FaceBook, I saw a link to an artist's series of photographs of the last meals ordered by notorious criminals before they were executed by the state for their crimes.
You can take a look, too: http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/12-pictures-of-death-row-prisoners-last-meals#.mt1edMPoVz
I can't help but think that this tradition of the death row last meal is linked to Jesus' story, the story of Holy Week. We remember on Maundy Thursday that on the night of Jesus' betrayal and incarceration--the night before he was executed--he shared a final meal with his disciples. Perhaps our Western culture adopted last meal from the Christian scriptures in a desire to show some small mercy, some final small sign of grace, to condemned prisoners. I don't know if such a link or etiology is true, and so I speak on it now without authority.
An inmate's last supper is not simply a courtesy, but a reminder of and link to Christ. As the scripture says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved..." (Ephesians 2:4-5). Though it seems such a small gesture, the last meal can be a powerful reminder that Jesus has given sinners and criminals his own body and blood to eat and drink. The last free choice a death row inmate makes is what to have for a last meal. And one meal is all they get for their death. It feels paltry and can even perhaps be felt as an insult or a joke. Yet, though the kindness is small, God's work in it is potentially great. For the last meal echoes the Last Supper and we hear the reverberations: "Then he took a cup...saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28) and again, "...'Do this...in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:25b-26).
But just as with so many of our powerful symbols, the last meal pales in comparison with the truth. The point of Jesus' last meal was not just the food, but what the food did and what the food--the meal--was doing even in that moment and continues to do across time whenever we remember or do likewise. The point was Communion, and it was, indeed, and continues to be holy. That is what the death row inmate is denied: eating the meal with their closest friends and family.
Before his trial and death, Jesus sat with the disciples. They ate; they drank; they shared life; they talked and laughed; they worried and mourned; they remembered the successes and defeats of their ancestors; they remarked on God's presence and work among them. Whatever tomorrow would bring, these people bonded in a community that night. Then, miraculously, Jesus--in that very meal--took a human community and made it a holy communion. Through Jesus, they would bond in the breaking of the bread, and they would be caught up in the pouring out of wine. From that day forward they would eat not just bread alone, but the Son of God. And in the eating, they would be unified with God and each other in bonds invisible and unbreakable.
We see the death-row inmate eat alone. But this is false. Jesus is always present at the last supper, whether it is eaten by the righteous or the sinner. And if Jesus is present, then the whole Church must be as well. Because you don't get to choose the communion, Jesus does.
This Gospel poses a problem and a scandal. I despise the idea that Jesus would condescend, would lower himself, by sitting with an abuser or murderer or rapist. How much more offensive to think that he eats with them, let alone forgives them or loves them! I struggle with the thought that he died for them. And yet the Innocent One died for the sins of humanity, we are told. What use would a savior be if he or she only wiped clean the white lies or merely things like grand theft? We require a more powerful savior than that, I think. But what a two edged sword this more powerful savior is! How painful when the Savior cuts away our sin, our sensibilities are sliced and our ability to forgive is dissected for inspection. But having a God who is unchangeable means that no matter what happens, no matter what we do, our relationship with God need not change. The Cross is proof that the steadfast love of God endures forever.
Do not mistake me--or the Gospel. I am not saying let all the prisoners go free and free of consequence. I am not even saying that the death penalty should be abolished--that message doesn't help the one having their last meal this very day. No. There are consequences in this world. When I refuse to put on my jacket when my mother tells me to, I will suffer the cold. My mother will eventually forgive me for not doing what she said, but that won't change the fact that I will be cold. If I commit adultery, my wife may forgive me, but that doesn't mean that our marriage will survive, or if it does survive it certainly will be forever changed because of my actions. When we sin in this world, we must face the worldly consequences. But with God, forgiveness is pardon. The consequences of our sins have become the Cross...and someone else took on those consequences so that we wouldn't lose our inheritance. And as hard as it is, Jesus died on the cross taking up all the sins of the world. Not just my little, forgivable sins, but also the enemy's major and unforgivable ones. I don't like it, but marvel at the power of such a Savior.
We say that Jesus died for the sinner, that Jesus (who knew no sin) took on the sins of others and died for it. We say that on the Cross, Jesus destroyed sin and death. But how many believe what is said? Until we can see the Last Supper in the last meal.... No. Until we can see Jesus in and through the guilty inmate sentenced to die, we haven't fully appreciated the gift we have all been give. Until we can bear to image God present on death row or in the injection chamber, we do not know the power of God--we do not appreciate the lengths God with go for love. Until we feel the profound unity that comes with Holy Communion, we cannot appreciate the Resurrection.
Each of us is walking a row that leads to death. At any time, our daily bread may turn out to be our last supper. Yet every bite and every sip stand as a reminder of the Holy Meal, the Holy One who brings life. And Holy Communion brings us Jesus Christ, who unites us together with our immortal and all-mighty God.
Today, we pray for the imprisoned, and for those facing execution, whether they are innocent or guilty---because Jesus was imprisoned and faced execution. And because Jesus lived and died for the ones who live it. Today, we pray for those who are ordering their last supper, that Jesus be present at that table and drink of the same cup. For by Jesus' presence sin is turned to righteousness and death is turned to life.
On the Cross, Jesus gathers ALL people to himself. And through his body and blood he makes ALL people one. And in Holy Communion, we all get a new "life on the outside."
What blessed joy is ours in such grace.
You can take a look, too: http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/12-pictures-of-death-row-prisoners-last-meals#.mt1edMPoVz
I can't help but think that this tradition of the death row last meal is linked to Jesus' story, the story of Holy Week. We remember on Maundy Thursday that on the night of Jesus' betrayal and incarceration--the night before he was executed--he shared a final meal with his disciples. Perhaps our Western culture adopted last meal from the Christian scriptures in a desire to show some small mercy, some final small sign of grace, to condemned prisoners. I don't know if such a link or etiology is true, and so I speak on it now without authority.
An inmate's last supper is not simply a courtesy, but a reminder of and link to Christ. As the scripture says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved..." (Ephesians 2:4-5). Though it seems such a small gesture, the last meal can be a powerful reminder that Jesus has given sinners and criminals his own body and blood to eat and drink. The last free choice a death row inmate makes is what to have for a last meal. And one meal is all they get for their death. It feels paltry and can even perhaps be felt as an insult or a joke. Yet, though the kindness is small, God's work in it is potentially great. For the last meal echoes the Last Supper and we hear the reverberations: "Then he took a cup...saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28) and again, "...'Do this...in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:25b-26).
But just as with so many of our powerful symbols, the last meal pales in comparison with the truth. The point of Jesus' last meal was not just the food, but what the food did and what the food--the meal--was doing even in that moment and continues to do across time whenever we remember or do likewise. The point was Communion, and it was, indeed, and continues to be holy. That is what the death row inmate is denied: eating the meal with their closest friends and family.
Before his trial and death, Jesus sat with the disciples. They ate; they drank; they shared life; they talked and laughed; they worried and mourned; they remembered the successes and defeats of their ancestors; they remarked on God's presence and work among them. Whatever tomorrow would bring, these people bonded in a community that night. Then, miraculously, Jesus--in that very meal--took a human community and made it a holy communion. Through Jesus, they would bond in the breaking of the bread, and they would be caught up in the pouring out of wine. From that day forward they would eat not just bread alone, but the Son of God. And in the eating, they would be unified with God and each other in bonds invisible and unbreakable.
We see the death-row inmate eat alone. But this is false. Jesus is always present at the last supper, whether it is eaten by the righteous or the sinner. And if Jesus is present, then the whole Church must be as well. Because you don't get to choose the communion, Jesus does.
This Gospel poses a problem and a scandal. I despise the idea that Jesus would condescend, would lower himself, by sitting with an abuser or murderer or rapist. How much more offensive to think that he eats with them, let alone forgives them or loves them! I struggle with the thought that he died for them. And yet the Innocent One died for the sins of humanity, we are told. What use would a savior be if he or she only wiped clean the white lies or merely things like grand theft? We require a more powerful savior than that, I think. But what a two edged sword this more powerful savior is! How painful when the Savior cuts away our sin, our sensibilities are sliced and our ability to forgive is dissected for inspection. But having a God who is unchangeable means that no matter what happens, no matter what we do, our relationship with God need not change. The Cross is proof that the steadfast love of God endures forever.
Do not mistake me--or the Gospel. I am not saying let all the prisoners go free and free of consequence. I am not even saying that the death penalty should be abolished--that message doesn't help the one having their last meal this very day. No. There are consequences in this world. When I refuse to put on my jacket when my mother tells me to, I will suffer the cold. My mother will eventually forgive me for not doing what she said, but that won't change the fact that I will be cold. If I commit adultery, my wife may forgive me, but that doesn't mean that our marriage will survive, or if it does survive it certainly will be forever changed because of my actions. When we sin in this world, we must face the worldly consequences. But with God, forgiveness is pardon. The consequences of our sins have become the Cross...and someone else took on those consequences so that we wouldn't lose our inheritance. And as hard as it is, Jesus died on the cross taking up all the sins of the world. Not just my little, forgivable sins, but also the enemy's major and unforgivable ones. I don't like it, but marvel at the power of such a Savior.
We say that Jesus died for the sinner, that Jesus (who knew no sin) took on the sins of others and died for it. We say that on the Cross, Jesus destroyed sin and death. But how many believe what is said? Until we can see the Last Supper in the last meal.... No. Until we can see Jesus in and through the guilty inmate sentenced to die, we haven't fully appreciated the gift we have all been give. Until we can bear to image God present on death row or in the injection chamber, we do not know the power of God--we do not appreciate the lengths God with go for love. Until we feel the profound unity that comes with Holy Communion, we cannot appreciate the Resurrection.
Each of us is walking a row that leads to death. At any time, our daily bread may turn out to be our last supper. Yet every bite and every sip stand as a reminder of the Holy Meal, the Holy One who brings life. And Holy Communion brings us Jesus Christ, who unites us together with our immortal and all-mighty God.
Today, we pray for the imprisoned, and for those facing execution, whether they are innocent or guilty---because Jesus was imprisoned and faced execution. And because Jesus lived and died for the ones who live it. Today, we pray for those who are ordering their last supper, that Jesus be present at that table and drink of the same cup. For by Jesus' presence sin is turned to righteousness and death is turned to life.
On the Cross, Jesus gathers ALL people to himself. And through his body and blood he makes ALL people one. And in Holy Communion, we all get a new "life on the outside."
What blessed joy is ours in such grace.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
The Real Halloween
I love scary stories, including scary movies. I enjoy the catharsis that comes from fear that has a bottom--that is, fear I can lose myself in to the degree I choose because I know that through it all I am safe and that the things that scare me are fictional. Fear of this kind is so much better than the fear created around world events in the news, and I am certain it is healthier. Practicing fear can even empower us by teaching us how to control our fear. For fear, like worry, is merely something within us that we ultimately create from within.
Halloween is a time when we can openly play at fear to practice facing and overcoming it. And that is why one of my favorite holy days is Halloween.
But Halloween is only safe, the things that scare us are rendered toothless only because of the day that follows: All Saint's Day.
"Though hordes of devils fill the land
and threaten to devour us,
we tremble not, we trust God's will:
they cannot overpow'r us.
Though Satan rant and rage,
in fiercest war engage,
this tyrant's doomed to fail;
God's judgment must prevail!
One little word shall triumph."
- A Mighty Fortress, Verse 3
All Saint's Eve was a night on which it was thought that hordes of devils filled the land. People began donning scary costumes as protection. If you were dressed as a demon you could move around the world incognito. You wouldn't be possessed or abducted by a demon because you were one of them. Through this trickery, people protected themselves from evil spirits.
But why were demons thought to be so active on All Saint's Eve--on All Hallow's Eve or Halloween? Because of the day after. You see, when the sun comes up on November 1st, the light of all the saints breaks into the world of darkness and fear. On the day of saints, no evil can survive. It was thought that the demons knew--could feel--what was coming, that they were doomed. And so in a last-ditch effort, they would become hyperactive while the darkness lasted. To no avail.
All Saint's Day commemorates just that: all the saints. Before the Reformation, that meant only those of the faithful who were beatified and canonized as "Saint." After the Reformation, the Church began to understand that the category "saint" was a bit more expansive. Luther said that all the faithful are saints (and at the same time sinners, lest we forget). Today in the Church, we particularly consider those who have died to be saints. And according to the book of Hebrews, the saints who have died are a "great cloud of witnesses" to Jesus, who surround us always. On All Saint's Day, the power of that communion is overwhelming.
On the Day of All Saints, many churches remember, and speak the names of, those who have died in the past year. This morning, I have been reflecting on those who have died in my life. Friends, those of the Beloved Community here in Toluca and back home, and countless Beloved Strangers around the world. And even as I remember them, each one, and I grieve, that sorrow gives way to joy. Why? Many imagine death to be cold and dark. This is why it is so comforting to hear stories of near-death experiences in which people see a bright light. Remembering the saints, we remember the good news--that death is actually warm and bright. How is cold, dark death changed into the warmth of day, into the brightness of a new morning?
"But now a champion comes to fight,
whom God himself elected.
You ask who this may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he,
the Lord of hosts by name,
No other God we claim!
He holds the field victorious."
- A Mighty Fortress, Verse 2
Jesus.
Just as in the stories of vampires and exorcisms, the Cross of Christ is our most powerful weapon against all that we fear. The cross was a turning point, the turning point from night to day. The field Jesus held was the hill at Calvary. And on that field, at the foot of the Cross, sin is turned to righteousness, despair is turned to faith, suffering is turned to comfort, sorrow is turned to joy, crying is turned to dancing, and death is turned to life. Yes, all of that--and more. The Cross is our ending and our beginning. The Cross is Jesus' defeat and Christ's victory. The Cross makes the communion of saints possible. More precisely, the One who breaks the darkness is the one who vanquishes the hordes of devils and establishes the great cloud of witnesses.
We find God and his Christ in suffering and death. Not causing these things, but striving against them. "[F]or God himself fights by our side" (A Mighty Fortress, Verse 4). And so all those devils cavorting on Halloween, trying to get in their last bit of mischief and evil, are sorely mistaken. They are not left to their own devices on the Eve of All Saint's. Evil is not its most powerful on Halloween, as the pagans would like to believe. No. Just as Jesus was most present and active on the Cross--in suffering and death, so Jesus is most present and active in the darkest night, in the midst of the most dreadful evil. The dread of Halloween can only give way to the new, bright Day of Saints because of Jesus. Therefore, Jesus works hardest and his presence is most evident in the night of Halloween. The same is true in your life. When you endure hardship or sorrow or suffering or evil of any kind, that is precisely when Jesus is the strongest within and around you.
And so, as the man said, "Do not be afraid."
"Were they to take our house,
goods, honor, child or spouse,
though life be wrenched away,
they cannot win the day.
The Kingdom's ours forever!"
- A Mighty Fortress, Verse 4
Jesus makes this true.
Thanks be to God for that. Amen.
Halloween is a time when we can openly play at fear to practice facing and overcoming it. And that is why one of my favorite holy days is Halloween.
But Halloween is only safe, the things that scare us are rendered toothless only because of the day that follows: All Saint's Day.
"Though hordes of devils fill the land
and threaten to devour us,
we tremble not, we trust God's will:
they cannot overpow'r us.
Though Satan rant and rage,
in fiercest war engage,
this tyrant's doomed to fail;
God's judgment must prevail!
One little word shall triumph."
- A Mighty Fortress, Verse 3
All Saint's Eve was a night on which it was thought that hordes of devils filled the land. People began donning scary costumes as protection. If you were dressed as a demon you could move around the world incognito. You wouldn't be possessed or abducted by a demon because you were one of them. Through this trickery, people protected themselves from evil spirits.
But why were demons thought to be so active on All Saint's Eve--on All Hallow's Eve or Halloween? Because of the day after. You see, when the sun comes up on November 1st, the light of all the saints breaks into the world of darkness and fear. On the day of saints, no evil can survive. It was thought that the demons knew--could feel--what was coming, that they were doomed. And so in a last-ditch effort, they would become hyperactive while the darkness lasted. To no avail.
All Saint's Day commemorates just that: all the saints. Before the Reformation, that meant only those of the faithful who were beatified and canonized as "Saint." After the Reformation, the Church began to understand that the category "saint" was a bit more expansive. Luther said that all the faithful are saints (and at the same time sinners, lest we forget). Today in the Church, we particularly consider those who have died to be saints. And according to the book of Hebrews, the saints who have died are a "great cloud of witnesses" to Jesus, who surround us always. On All Saint's Day, the power of that communion is overwhelming.
On the Day of All Saints, many churches remember, and speak the names of, those who have died in the past year. This morning, I have been reflecting on those who have died in my life. Friends, those of the Beloved Community here in Toluca and back home, and countless Beloved Strangers around the world. And even as I remember them, each one, and I grieve, that sorrow gives way to joy. Why? Many imagine death to be cold and dark. This is why it is so comforting to hear stories of near-death experiences in which people see a bright light. Remembering the saints, we remember the good news--that death is actually warm and bright. How is cold, dark death changed into the warmth of day, into the brightness of a new morning?
"But now a champion comes to fight,
whom God himself elected.
You ask who this may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he,
the Lord of hosts by name,
No other God we claim!
He holds the field victorious."
- A Mighty Fortress, Verse 2
Jesus.
Just as in the stories of vampires and exorcisms, the Cross of Christ is our most powerful weapon against all that we fear. The cross was a turning point, the turning point from night to day. The field Jesus held was the hill at Calvary. And on that field, at the foot of the Cross, sin is turned to righteousness, despair is turned to faith, suffering is turned to comfort, sorrow is turned to joy, crying is turned to dancing, and death is turned to life. Yes, all of that--and more. The Cross is our ending and our beginning. The Cross is Jesus' defeat and Christ's victory. The Cross makes the communion of saints possible. More precisely, the One who breaks the darkness is the one who vanquishes the hordes of devils and establishes the great cloud of witnesses.
We find God and his Christ in suffering and death. Not causing these things, but striving against them. "[F]or God himself fights by our side" (A Mighty Fortress, Verse 4). And so all those devils cavorting on Halloween, trying to get in their last bit of mischief and evil, are sorely mistaken. They are not left to their own devices on the Eve of All Saint's. Evil is not its most powerful on Halloween, as the pagans would like to believe. No. Just as Jesus was most present and active on the Cross--in suffering and death, so Jesus is most present and active in the darkest night, in the midst of the most dreadful evil. The dread of Halloween can only give way to the new, bright Day of Saints because of Jesus. Therefore, Jesus works hardest and his presence is most evident in the night of Halloween. The same is true in your life. When you endure hardship or sorrow or suffering or evil of any kind, that is precisely when Jesus is the strongest within and around you.
And so, as the man said, "Do not be afraid."
"Were they to take our house,
goods, honor, child or spouse,
though life be wrenched away,
they cannot win the day.
The Kingdom's ours forever!"
- A Mighty Fortress, Verse 4
Jesus makes this true.
Thanks be to God for that. Amen.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Walking Dead: Community
A couple years ago, I got into the show The Walking Dead. It is an AMC show I found on Netflix, and recently the newest season became available on that site. I am a sucker for supernatural horror and post-apocalyptic stories--especially ones with zombies. George Romero's entire series of zombie movies were not only genre-creating, but also dealt with a lot of existential issues. The Walking Dead is no less profound...and entertaining.
The Walking Dead, based on a series of graphic novels of the same name, chronicles the experiences of a band of humans striving to survive after an unknown event causes masses of people to turn into flesh-eating, reanimated corpses. If a "walker" bites you, you turn into one yourself. When you die, however you die, you turn into a walker--there is no escape. Walkers are only subdued by fatally injuring the brain. But walkers are not the only threat in this fallen society. Other humans, also trying to survive, are also as easily the enemy as the walkers are. You don't know if someone you meet will steal your food, water or shelter, or if they will leave you alone, or if they will work with you to survive.
The premise of the show, as well as the "rules" of the world to which it transports us, are not very different from those of Romero's ground-breaking movies. What makes The Walking Dead unique and enthralling is that it is an extended immersion into the post-apocalyptic world of zombies. One common major theme of both, which I would like to explore a bit here, is the theme of unity.
In the show, no one can survive alone. People need each other. Survival requires working together toward common goals--acquiring food & water, protection, etc. Community is the key, cooperation.
And yet, in the show we find two different types of unity. The good, life-saving and life-giving community created by our heroes is held in sharp relief by the ever-present background of the mindless zombie mob. Yes, the zombies symbolize community as well, a unity of a very different, and horrifying kind.
Now, the zombies don't have a social structure, and they do not cooperate, per se. However, just as with human survivors, the zombies' strength is in numbers. When a walker is caught alone, it is easily dispatched, relatively speaking. Meanwhile, when they are in groups, particularly large groups, as they often are found, then they are an unstoppable force. The press of the undead overwhelms all defenses, intrudes upon all sanctuaries, renders ineffectual all attempted offenses. When alone, the zombie's sole motivation is to consume--consume you! And when a group of zombies gather, they are united in that one, selfish goal--to consume. Therein lies their community. One unifying goal. True, each individual zombie is motivated only to feed itself, yet that one goal unites them. Mindless and accidental as it may be, this behavior does constitute a community of sorts.
At our worst, we are a zombie culture.
We are consumers in a consumer society. The average American (one person) produces 4.4 pounds of garbage a day, according to the EPA. This does not include the industrial and commercial waste created to create the stuff we buy, or the waste produced by the efforts to get that stuff from the industrial site to our homes. On black Friday, our culture's high holy festival, which boasts the highest worship attendance of any other single day of the year, is marked by mobs pressing against merchant doors, flooding into every nook and cranny of commercial space. In 2013, Black Friday sales averaged $13,293,981 per minute...over 13 million dollars PER MINUTE. Our mediums of communication, art, and entertainment cannot exist apart from commercials. When we face economic hardship as a nation, we are exhorted to buy more in order to solve the problem...and that probably is the only solution because it is a consumer culture. We are attracted to the motion of a new product, like the next smartphone, and we drop everything to pursue that new brain we sense. I am not immune to this, no one is.
We are a culture of individualism. Our quest is for the self. We look to our own interests. Our laws are based upon property rights--ownership. I protect what is mine. What is mine cannot be claimed by another. Yet, just as with zombies, we cannot break away from interdependence. At some level, we realize that my interests are furthered by having others around me. We do not look after our neighbors' interests, but we do not go off and live lives of solitude, either. We keep them around because their presence makes it more likely that I will succeed in fulfilling my own desires. Just so, zombies are not repulsed by other zombies, do not choose the solitary life, but will remain in groups and travel together. If proximity to other zombies decreased their chances of feeding, then they would not remain together. We remain together, tolerating each other, because we realize the benefit to the self. Community is for the individual, a tool for the fulfillment of self. Nearness to others is not about communication, but gratification.
We are a culture of mindlessness. A study was recently done, in which an actor outside of a pharmacy pretended to have a leg injury. The actor asked one set of passersby to go and ask the pharmacist for an ace bandage to wrap the injury. Another set of passersby were asked to go ask the pharmacist for something--anything--that would be helpful. The pharmacist was instructed to tell the ace bandage Good Samaritans that they were out of bandages. None of the passersby with the specific ace bandage request asked the pharmacist for some other option, they simply went back to the actor and told them there were no ace bandages to be had. Not one person thought outside of the specific request, not one person made the short, common sense leap to ask for pain medication or some other remedy. Those with the more general request, however, brought something helpful back to the actor. We live our lives mindlessly in this way. We are very task oriented, and our viewpoint about the world can easily become narrow, even myopic. In the same way, zombies do not consider anything beyond their immediate task...eating your brain.
Paul calls the Christian away from this type of society and culture. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2). Faith calls us to be mindful of the whole creation as it unfolds around us, at least as mindful as we can bear to stretch ourselves. Faith calls us to be concerned with the needs of others, as much as or more than we are concerned for our own needs. Faith reminds us that we are stewards of the earth and its resources, and not merely consumers, that it is both our responsibility and ability to preserve and conserve according to the amount we consume.
To the Christian, conformation to this world is death. If we simply conform, we might as well be zombies, the dead walking. But in Christ, we are transformed. Our minds are renewed, and we can see more options--a more beautiful world and way--than what is right in front of our nose.
Christian unity does not destroy individuality; neither is our unity just a mob of individuals; our community is a tension between the two. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive the mind of Christ. The Spirit empowers us and gathers us. And it is through the practice of spiritual disciplines, under the guidance and support of the church, that we are able to renew our minds. We must practice mindfulness through prayer, meditation, study, devotions and praise. We must practice loving-kindess, focusing on the needs of others through mission. We must practice stewardship through the act of giving generously and receiving gratefully. It is impossible to do these things by oneself. And so the Spirit gathers us.
Shall we be pilgrims, or just walkers?
Shall we be the beloved community, or the mindless mob?
Shall we be transformed, or merely conform?
Don't eat brains. Renew your mind.
The Walking Dead, based on a series of graphic novels of the same name, chronicles the experiences of a band of humans striving to survive after an unknown event causes masses of people to turn into flesh-eating, reanimated corpses. If a "walker" bites you, you turn into one yourself. When you die, however you die, you turn into a walker--there is no escape. Walkers are only subdued by fatally injuring the brain. But walkers are not the only threat in this fallen society. Other humans, also trying to survive, are also as easily the enemy as the walkers are. You don't know if someone you meet will steal your food, water or shelter, or if they will leave you alone, or if they will work with you to survive.
The premise of the show, as well as the "rules" of the world to which it transports us, are not very different from those of Romero's ground-breaking movies. What makes The Walking Dead unique and enthralling is that it is an extended immersion into the post-apocalyptic world of zombies. One common major theme of both, which I would like to explore a bit here, is the theme of unity.
In the show, no one can survive alone. People need each other. Survival requires working together toward common goals--acquiring food & water, protection, etc. Community is the key, cooperation.
And yet, in the show we find two different types of unity. The good, life-saving and life-giving community created by our heroes is held in sharp relief by the ever-present background of the mindless zombie mob. Yes, the zombies symbolize community as well, a unity of a very different, and horrifying kind.
Now, the zombies don't have a social structure, and they do not cooperate, per se. However, just as with human survivors, the zombies' strength is in numbers. When a walker is caught alone, it is easily dispatched, relatively speaking. Meanwhile, when they are in groups, particularly large groups, as they often are found, then they are an unstoppable force. The press of the undead overwhelms all defenses, intrudes upon all sanctuaries, renders ineffectual all attempted offenses. When alone, the zombie's sole motivation is to consume--consume you! And when a group of zombies gather, they are united in that one, selfish goal--to consume. Therein lies their community. One unifying goal. True, each individual zombie is motivated only to feed itself, yet that one goal unites them. Mindless and accidental as it may be, this behavior does constitute a community of sorts.
At our worst, we are a zombie culture.
We are consumers in a consumer society. The average American (one person) produces 4.4 pounds of garbage a day, according to the EPA. This does not include the industrial and commercial waste created to create the stuff we buy, or the waste produced by the efforts to get that stuff from the industrial site to our homes. On black Friday, our culture's high holy festival, which boasts the highest worship attendance of any other single day of the year, is marked by mobs pressing against merchant doors, flooding into every nook and cranny of commercial space. In 2013, Black Friday sales averaged $13,293,981 per minute...over 13 million dollars PER MINUTE. Our mediums of communication, art, and entertainment cannot exist apart from commercials. When we face economic hardship as a nation, we are exhorted to buy more in order to solve the problem...and that probably is the only solution because it is a consumer culture. We are attracted to the motion of a new product, like the next smartphone, and we drop everything to pursue that new brain we sense. I am not immune to this, no one is.
We are a culture of individualism. Our quest is for the self. We look to our own interests. Our laws are based upon property rights--ownership. I protect what is mine. What is mine cannot be claimed by another. Yet, just as with zombies, we cannot break away from interdependence. At some level, we realize that my interests are furthered by having others around me. We do not look after our neighbors' interests, but we do not go off and live lives of solitude, either. We keep them around because their presence makes it more likely that I will succeed in fulfilling my own desires. Just so, zombies are not repulsed by other zombies, do not choose the solitary life, but will remain in groups and travel together. If proximity to other zombies decreased their chances of feeding, then they would not remain together. We remain together, tolerating each other, because we realize the benefit to the self. Community is for the individual, a tool for the fulfillment of self. Nearness to others is not about communication, but gratification.
We are a culture of mindlessness. A study was recently done, in which an actor outside of a pharmacy pretended to have a leg injury. The actor asked one set of passersby to go and ask the pharmacist for an ace bandage to wrap the injury. Another set of passersby were asked to go ask the pharmacist for something--anything--that would be helpful. The pharmacist was instructed to tell the ace bandage Good Samaritans that they were out of bandages. None of the passersby with the specific ace bandage request asked the pharmacist for some other option, they simply went back to the actor and told them there were no ace bandages to be had. Not one person thought outside of the specific request, not one person made the short, common sense leap to ask for pain medication or some other remedy. Those with the more general request, however, brought something helpful back to the actor. We live our lives mindlessly in this way. We are very task oriented, and our viewpoint about the world can easily become narrow, even myopic. In the same way, zombies do not consider anything beyond their immediate task...eating your brain.
Paul calls the Christian away from this type of society and culture. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2). Faith calls us to be mindful of the whole creation as it unfolds around us, at least as mindful as we can bear to stretch ourselves. Faith calls us to be concerned with the needs of others, as much as or more than we are concerned for our own needs. Faith reminds us that we are stewards of the earth and its resources, and not merely consumers, that it is both our responsibility and ability to preserve and conserve according to the amount we consume.
To the Christian, conformation to this world is death. If we simply conform, we might as well be zombies, the dead walking. But in Christ, we are transformed. Our minds are renewed, and we can see more options--a more beautiful world and way--than what is right in front of our nose.
Christian unity does not destroy individuality; neither is our unity just a mob of individuals; our community is a tension between the two. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive the mind of Christ. The Spirit empowers us and gathers us. And it is through the practice of spiritual disciplines, under the guidance and support of the church, that we are able to renew our minds. We must practice mindfulness through prayer, meditation, study, devotions and praise. We must practice loving-kindess, focusing on the needs of others through mission. We must practice stewardship through the act of giving generously and receiving gratefully. It is impossible to do these things by oneself. And so the Spirit gathers us.
Shall we be pilgrims, or just walkers?
Shall we be the beloved community, or the mindless mob?
Shall we be transformed, or merely conform?
Don't eat brains. Renew your mind.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Reclaiming Good
While in the middle of creating, God looked upon what was unfinished and saw that it was good.
Words matter. Both the words we use with others, and the words we use with ourselves matter a great deal. Words frame and build the story of who we are...of who I am. We must be mindful of the words we use, therefore. Recently, I have been startled with the use of the word "good" in our culture today.
A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a fellow clergyman, a colleague and friend. He was sharing his struggle to find the energy to keep up ministry in the church. He is nearing retirement age, he mused. And he just didn't have the stamina and endurance he had when he was young. His fear was was not doing an adequate job in his role as pastor. This is not how he phrased it to himself, though. He said, "I just want to be sure that I am doing an exceptional job, especially for these people at my congregation." And in the very next breath he reiterated, "I don't want to be a piss-poor leader." I understood exactly what he meant. Right away, in my mind, I agreed with him. I thought to myself, 'What a noble desire resides in the heart of this man, my friend!' At first, I thought that that attitude was the one to have. After all, we want to avoid laziness and mediocrity. Then I thought again.
I noticed the words he used: "exceptional" and "piss-poor."
Then I noticed the words he didn't use.
The way he talked, it was clear to me that my friend saw nothing--no oasis or rest stop or ledge to fall on--between exceptional and piss-poor. If you were not the former, you were the latter, just like that.
I shared with my friend the chasm I noticed between the words he used to describe himself and his work. I pointed out that there are points between exceptional and piss-poor, and not all of those points are bad. I said, "What's wrong with being good?"
Last week, in confirmation class with seven 7th-graders, we were hearing again the story of creation found in Genesis 1. We talked about how, again and again while God was creating, God paused and remarked, "And it was good." I asked the class: "What does 'good' mean? If a teacher or a coach tells you that what you did was good, how would you feel?" Here were the answers:
"Good means you did your very best, but you could have done better."
"Good means you didn't do it perfect."
"Good means you tried."
"Good means you should do better next time."
All of the responses were like this. And my heart broke.
Then, I got angry at the injustice we have perpetrated upon our young people by teaching them a distorted and evil conception of the good.
In our culture, good is not good enough. We are not satisfied with good, as God was satisfied with what God saw in creation--what God saw even in the first days of creation. In fact, for us, today, good is bad. How messed up is that? And yet we teach this trash to our children. And the problem is so advanced, the truth so distorted, that even when God says, "It is very good," their first reaction is, "...ah, well, maybe next time."
But good is good--great even.
There is nothing wrong with good. Good is not bad. Good is wonderful, in fact. Good IS something to be proud of. Good means, "Well Done." Good is, and should be, satisfying. Good is enough...more than enough.
Yes, we can always be 'better.' And striving to improve is good. So, how can we be satisfied with what we do and who we are, without becoming contented--for contented means that we do not seek anything more, that we stop trying. Surely acknowledging the good does not entail such a slip into lethargy. Can't "good" also encourage us to more when we recognize it as such?
How can we reclaim the concept of "Good"? How can we develop a fuller (and more helpful) spectrum of (self-) assessment? I believe we need to start teaching our children that there are more options than "exceptional" and "piss-poor." Our productivity, our fruitfulness, depends upon it...and so does our joy.
For God, creation was not just good, not merely good.
God saw that it was good.
What's so wrong with that?
Words matter. Both the words we use with others, and the words we use with ourselves matter a great deal. Words frame and build the story of who we are...of who I am. We must be mindful of the words we use, therefore. Recently, I have been startled with the use of the word "good" in our culture today.
A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a fellow clergyman, a colleague and friend. He was sharing his struggle to find the energy to keep up ministry in the church. He is nearing retirement age, he mused. And he just didn't have the stamina and endurance he had when he was young. His fear was was not doing an adequate job in his role as pastor. This is not how he phrased it to himself, though. He said, "I just want to be sure that I am doing an exceptional job, especially for these people at my congregation." And in the very next breath he reiterated, "I don't want to be a piss-poor leader." I understood exactly what he meant. Right away, in my mind, I agreed with him. I thought to myself, 'What a noble desire resides in the heart of this man, my friend!' At first, I thought that that attitude was the one to have. After all, we want to avoid laziness and mediocrity. Then I thought again.
I noticed the words he used: "exceptional" and "piss-poor."
Then I noticed the words he didn't use.
The way he talked, it was clear to me that my friend saw nothing--no oasis or rest stop or ledge to fall on--between exceptional and piss-poor. If you were not the former, you were the latter, just like that.
I shared with my friend the chasm I noticed between the words he used to describe himself and his work. I pointed out that there are points between exceptional and piss-poor, and not all of those points are bad. I said, "What's wrong with being good?"
Last week, in confirmation class with seven 7th-graders, we were hearing again the story of creation found in Genesis 1. We talked about how, again and again while God was creating, God paused and remarked, "And it was good." I asked the class: "What does 'good' mean? If a teacher or a coach tells you that what you did was good, how would you feel?" Here were the answers:
"Good means you did your very best, but you could have done better."
"Good means you didn't do it perfect."
"Good means you tried."
"Good means you should do better next time."
All of the responses were like this. And my heart broke.
Then, I got angry at the injustice we have perpetrated upon our young people by teaching them a distorted and evil conception of the good.
In our culture, good is not good enough. We are not satisfied with good, as God was satisfied with what God saw in creation--what God saw even in the first days of creation. In fact, for us, today, good is bad. How messed up is that? And yet we teach this trash to our children. And the problem is so advanced, the truth so distorted, that even when God says, "It is very good," their first reaction is, "...ah, well, maybe next time."
But good is good--great even.
There is nothing wrong with good. Good is not bad. Good is wonderful, in fact. Good IS something to be proud of. Good means, "Well Done." Good is, and should be, satisfying. Good is enough...more than enough.
Yes, we can always be 'better.' And striving to improve is good. So, how can we be satisfied with what we do and who we are, without becoming contented--for contented means that we do not seek anything more, that we stop trying. Surely acknowledging the good does not entail such a slip into lethargy. Can't "good" also encourage us to more when we recognize it as such?
How can we reclaim the concept of "Good"? How can we develop a fuller (and more helpful) spectrum of (self-) assessment? I believe we need to start teaching our children that there are more options than "exceptional" and "piss-poor." Our productivity, our fruitfulness, depends upon it...and so does our joy.
For God, creation was not just good, not merely good.
God saw that it was good.
What's so wrong with that?
Monday, September 29, 2014
Top 7 Podcasts
Inspired by my last blogpost, I would like to share some of the top Podcasts that have my attention right now. There are so many podcasts out there, professional and amateur, that it is hard to sift through them. I would like to share some with you that will be worth a listen, in my estimation. Though I have tried many more, these 7 are the ones to which I continually return.
MORE IMPORTANTLY: I am looking for more good Podcasts to follow. My hope is that as you read this list, you will say--"Ryan just has to listen to ______. He will love it." Please share the podcasts that you are into. I would love to check them out!
I listen to Podcasts when I exercise and just around the house. The following 7 are all engaging. Some are just for entertainment. I have chosen all of them to learn more about the world, and to expand my own horizons.
7. 60-Second Space; 6. 60-Second Science; 5. 60-Second Mind
I lump these together to keep this blogpost brief. Scientific American sponsors and creates these podcasts. They are all about 1 minute long and they give condensed information about recent discoveries in scientific research. Though it sounds esoteric, the topics are chosen to be interesting, engaging and practical. There is a whole series of these 60-Second podcasts. My three favorite are above, and each deals with science and technologies relating to the topic in the title. There is also an earth science podcast and a technology podcast, and there may be others. Want to learn something? Do you lead a really busy life? Take 60 seconds out of your day and lend an ear. We live in amazing times. Average Duration of Each Episode: 60 seconds
4. This American Life
National Public Radio produces this podcast. Each week, the writers, reporters and staff of This American Life choose a theme and then bring stories that explore that theme to listeners. I would label this a "human interest" podcast. Ranging from art, literature, history, biography, fiction, comedy, journalism and so much more...contributors share all sorts of perspectives on life---particularly life in America. The podcast is entertaining and educational. Every episode has something you will relate to, or at least something you will feel passionately about. Average Duration of Episode: 1 hour
3. The Partially Examined Life
I was a philosophy major. I love philosophy still. After trying out several philosophy podcasts, this is the one that I listen to all the time. Each episode is a discussion of a particular philosopher's or thinker's works (usually a selection, not the whole body of work). The participants of the discussion are all amateur philosophers (with day-jobs), but they are all very well educated and bright. Normally, there are three or four guys who discuss the ideas, although sometimes they have guests on--every now and again the actual thinker they are discussing (unless they are discussing the work of a dead person, of course). Although I sometimes disagree with comments made by the panelists, I learn tons. In fact, I enjoy the podcast more for how I am challenged by some of the comments, reactions and ideas of the panelists. This is a very engaging podcast. It is like sitting down in a comfortable chair and discussing important ideas with a group of friends. Average Duration of an Episode: 1 to 2 hours (it is worth every minute of it).
2. On Being
Also from National Public Radio, On Being is hosted by Krista Tippet out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This podcast is about faith and life. Each episode Krista has a conversation (much fuller than a mere interview!) with an important figure in the world. It could be an author, a poet, a scientist, a religious leader--any interesting person! Krista explores the work and spirituality of each guest, and together they try to plumb the depths of the question "What does it mean to be human?" These podcasts are touching and soul-enriching. Each episode will give you a new perspective on life...and a new perspective on yourself. Don't miss this one!!! Average Duration of an Episode: 1 hour [podcasters also have the option of listening to the "uncut" conversations...these are longer, but they are worth it!]
1. Car Talk
Also from National Public Radio, this show is hosted by Click and Clack, two Italian-American car mechanics who went to MIT. These guys are smart, but they are even funnier. If you want a fun podcast, you need to try this one. Even if you don't like cars or care about cars, you will enjoy this show. Click and Clack take calls from people who have car troubles and they diagnose the car's problem on the air. Along the way, they end up digging into people's lives and discussing all sorts of issues like relationships and spirituality and philosophy. I have been listening to CarTalk since 2006, and it never gets old! Just hearing the hosts' distinctive voices--and laughs--immediately brightens my day, and gives me hope for this world. This is so much more than a car show. But I have also learned a lot about automobiles--and physics/mechanics. Average Duration of an Episode: 1 hour...totally not long enough.
So, there it is. My top seven podcasts.
What else should I be listening to?
Let me know.
Meanwhile, happy listening!
MORE IMPORTANTLY: I am looking for more good Podcasts to follow. My hope is that as you read this list, you will say--"Ryan just has to listen to ______. He will love it." Please share the podcasts that you are into. I would love to check them out!
I listen to Podcasts when I exercise and just around the house. The following 7 are all engaging. Some are just for entertainment. I have chosen all of them to learn more about the world, and to expand my own horizons.
7. 60-Second Space; 6. 60-Second Science; 5. 60-Second Mind
I lump these together to keep this blogpost brief. Scientific American sponsors and creates these podcasts. They are all about 1 minute long and they give condensed information about recent discoveries in scientific research. Though it sounds esoteric, the topics are chosen to be interesting, engaging and practical. There is a whole series of these 60-Second podcasts. My three favorite are above, and each deals with science and technologies relating to the topic in the title. There is also an earth science podcast and a technology podcast, and there may be others. Want to learn something? Do you lead a really busy life? Take 60 seconds out of your day and lend an ear. We live in amazing times. Average Duration of Each Episode: 60 seconds
4. This American Life
National Public Radio produces this podcast. Each week, the writers, reporters and staff of This American Life choose a theme and then bring stories that explore that theme to listeners. I would label this a "human interest" podcast. Ranging from art, literature, history, biography, fiction, comedy, journalism and so much more...contributors share all sorts of perspectives on life---particularly life in America. The podcast is entertaining and educational. Every episode has something you will relate to, or at least something you will feel passionately about. Average Duration of Episode: 1 hour
3. The Partially Examined Life
I was a philosophy major. I love philosophy still. After trying out several philosophy podcasts, this is the one that I listen to all the time. Each episode is a discussion of a particular philosopher's or thinker's works (usually a selection, not the whole body of work). The participants of the discussion are all amateur philosophers (with day-jobs), but they are all very well educated and bright. Normally, there are three or four guys who discuss the ideas, although sometimes they have guests on--every now and again the actual thinker they are discussing (unless they are discussing the work of a dead person, of course). Although I sometimes disagree with comments made by the panelists, I learn tons. In fact, I enjoy the podcast more for how I am challenged by some of the comments, reactions and ideas of the panelists. This is a very engaging podcast. It is like sitting down in a comfortable chair and discussing important ideas with a group of friends. Average Duration of an Episode: 1 to 2 hours (it is worth every minute of it).
2. On Being
Also from National Public Radio, On Being is hosted by Krista Tippet out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This podcast is about faith and life. Each episode Krista has a conversation (much fuller than a mere interview!) with an important figure in the world. It could be an author, a poet, a scientist, a religious leader--any interesting person! Krista explores the work and spirituality of each guest, and together they try to plumb the depths of the question "What does it mean to be human?" These podcasts are touching and soul-enriching. Each episode will give you a new perspective on life...and a new perspective on yourself. Don't miss this one!!! Average Duration of an Episode: 1 hour [podcasters also have the option of listening to the "uncut" conversations...these are longer, but they are worth it!]
1. Car Talk
Also from National Public Radio, this show is hosted by Click and Clack, two Italian-American car mechanics who went to MIT. These guys are smart, but they are even funnier. If you want a fun podcast, you need to try this one. Even if you don't like cars or care about cars, you will enjoy this show. Click and Clack take calls from people who have car troubles and they diagnose the car's problem on the air. Along the way, they end up digging into people's lives and discussing all sorts of issues like relationships and spirituality and philosophy. I have been listening to CarTalk since 2006, and it never gets old! Just hearing the hosts' distinctive voices--and laughs--immediately brightens my day, and gives me hope for this world. This is so much more than a car show. But I have also learned a lot about automobiles--and physics/mechanics. Average Duration of an Episode: 1 hour...totally not long enough.
So, there it is. My top seven podcasts.
What else should I be listening to?
Let me know.
Meanwhile, happy listening!
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Books that Changed My Life
Apparently, there is a blogger's bandwagon on which I have heretofore failed to jump. I understand that it is now in vogue to share a list of the top 10 books of one's life. I have enjoyed thinking back, and searching my book shelves to decide which books make the cut of such a list. The hard part, for me, was not finding just ten, but rather finding as many as ten! I have read countless books, for school and for fun, and yet there are only a few that have been so transformative that I would fain put them on a serious top ten list. Just as in life we only find a handful of truest friends, so too, only a few books really affect us deeply and profoundly...changing the course of our thought and life.
Before we get down to business, however, I must make a disclaimer. The Bible does not appear on this list. I think it unfair to place the Bible on this list, since it is the most effective book in my life. The Book is so rich, varied and expansive, and the Book is so transforms me--comforting, challenging, correcting, supporting and guiding me--that it is truly beyond any category, particularly the category of literature. The Bible then, properly exists before and behind this list, above it and throughout it. There is no story like the story of God and God's people.
One final note: this list is NOT in random order. The list is a countdown to the most profound book in my life, and thus #1, the end of the list, is the most impactful book upon my life.
10. Bunnicula by James Howe, et. al.
Although this book is neither a classic, nor a giant in the world of literature, it made a huge impact on me. Bunnicula is a series of books (7 now, but when I was in grade school there was only 4 or 5) about a vampire rabbit, whose evil designs are thwarted by a house cat and pet dog. Chester is the quixotic cat, redoubtable, if excitable and misinformed. Harold, the dog, is his unwitting (well, oblivious, really) partner. Adventures ensue as Chester and Harold try to uncover the mystery of Bunnicula, and work to save their unsuspecting human owners. I read these books as a child, and so I do not remember and cannot speak for their quality in writing. However, these books got me to enjoy reading. The book is full of adventure, humor, character and plot. I would not be the avid reader I am without Bunnicula, and the misadventures of Chester the cat.
9. Spider-man, Storm and Power Man Battle Smokescreen! (Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc.)
I love reading comic books and graphic novels, and not just those telling the exploits of Spider-man. This comic is what started everything off for me. This special, promotional issue serves as a public service announcement for kids against the ills of smoking. When I was in early grade school, I read this comic...and the rest is history. After this, I began collecting Spider-man comics, and to this day, Spider-man is my favorite comic book character.
8. The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene
I read this fairly recently--while I was in seminary. Although life took me through high school English, to Philosophy in college and on through the humanities, I have always been interested in science. Brian Greene writes in such a way that armchair scientists are able to sink their teeth into some of the most amazing discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology, and come away with a sense of awe for God's creation unfolding around us. If you want to know about that creation, and you love science (but don't get it)--try this book out! This (and other titles by Greene) are an entertaining one-stop-shop for amateur thinkers.
7. Imzadi by Peter David (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
I believe I read this book in high school, though it may have been middle school. As you may know, I love Star Trek. And although I have read many Star Trek novels over the years, this one stands out. At heart, it is a love story...and I display, from time to time, romantic tendencies. This book opened new worlds to me as I read about how life interrupts love and how love can evolve over time, and about regret and second chances. As will all science fiction, the advancements in technology only serve to highlight humanity. I learned a lot of humanity from this book. And it is good Star Trek.
6. The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche
I read a lot of Nietzsche at Augustana College, in my philosophy studies. I even did a senior seminar on Nietzsche works when I was a sophomore. I believe he is given a bad rap, particularly for his seemingly anti-Christian sentiments. In any event, this work of his is particularly meaningful for me. In it, Nietzsche looks back to ancient Greek culture to learn about lessons for humanity today. It taught me that the art and stories of the past can teach us important lessons. In particular, this book taught me how art can be a window into culture and thought. His distinction between Dionysian and Apollinarian art is widely applicable to life as helpful categories. This book challenged me to think about our culture, and appreciate art.
5. The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock is, perhaps, the most well-known and -loved character in all of western literature. We admire his genius and try to imitate it. Sherlock is larger-than-life, and yet very real defects in his character bring him alive to us and make him relatable. The relationship between Watson and Holmes is also an inspiration. I believe that we all long for such friendships in our lives. These stories are engaging and inspiring. Most of all, the adventures of Sherlock and Watson are fun.
4. The Lutheran Book of Worship (ELCA Hymnal)
Hymnals form us in faith; they are instructors. In and through them we learn scripture, theology, prayer and song. Hymnals knit us together in community, as we join our voices into one voice. When I was too young to remember, I am told that I loved to be in worship and hated having to go to the nursery or to Sunday School. I wanted to be in the sanctuary with all of the adults. As soon as I could read, I was using this book to guide my worship. In fact, I was motivated to learn to read just so that I could follow along with all the other people. Later, once I discovered a copy of the LBW at home, I would sit and read through it. From these readings, I gained a love for liturgy--for the different ways people can come together and praise God. This book taught me how to pray and to worship. This book was a primer for the deep theology I would later study in college and in seminary. I still love sitting down to plan and write worship services. I still love singing and praying and praising. If I had not discovered this book in my own home, I may not have become a pastor or a theologian. I love the "new" red hymnal, but I began my journey of faith with the ol' green book.
3. Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits by Soren Kierkegaard
If you know me, you know my love of Kierkegaard. As I was sitting down to make this list of books, it was difficult not to list 10 of Kierkegaard's works!!! I compromised by choosing two--this one and the next one. Kierkegaard is my spiritual and theological mentor. His words describing God and the life of a Christian are immensely helpful. In this book, a collection of separately published discourses, Kierkegaard interprets Bible passages in such a way that one can see the relevance and importance of God's Word for our lives today. His categories are groundbreaking and his dialectical reasoning is both instructive and invaluable. What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ--in practical terms? Oh, read this book. Kierkegaard is a difficult author to read, however, if you can get through his verbosity, it is worth it. His theology is profitable, edifying and unbelievably up-building.
2. The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening by Anti-Climacus (Soren Kierkegaard)
Of Kierkegaard's works, this is (in my humble opinion) his best and most useful. In it, he takes on the topic of sin. In short, he explains how and why despair is sin, and it is the only mortal sin--the only sin that can keep us from God's love, salvation and eternal life. Ultimately, he shows how faith (faith in Jesus Christ) fights and can conquer despair--and how each individual participates in and with that faith. This book made me fall in love with Kierkegaard, a relationship that continues to grow and that has, indeed, changed the way I think about God, life and everything. This book awoke me from sleep and lifted me up.
1. Dune by Frank Herbert
Dune was the first book on my list, and it is hands-down the #1 book I have read. This novel changed my life. And the other 15+ books in the series helped. Herbert created a rich and expansive universe in this book. In reading it, my horizons and perspective were expanded immeasurably. Dune treats a wide-ranging spate of issues and facets of humanity and how they function in our lives: society, history, ecology, religion, mysticism, power, politics, love, loyalty, destiny, endurance, determination, duty, justice, the future of humanity--generally speaking, what it means to be a human being in a complex universe full of unknowns. This is the only book I have read over a half a dozen times. If you fail to read all of the other books on this list, at least read this one.
Happy reading, friends!
Before we get down to business, however, I must make a disclaimer. The Bible does not appear on this list. I think it unfair to place the Bible on this list, since it is the most effective book in my life. The Book is so rich, varied and expansive, and the Book is so transforms me--comforting, challenging, correcting, supporting and guiding me--that it is truly beyond any category, particularly the category of literature. The Bible then, properly exists before and behind this list, above it and throughout it. There is no story like the story of God and God's people.
One final note: this list is NOT in random order. The list is a countdown to the most profound book in my life, and thus #1, the end of the list, is the most impactful book upon my life.
10. Bunnicula by James Howe, et. al.
Although this book is neither a classic, nor a giant in the world of literature, it made a huge impact on me. Bunnicula is a series of books (7 now, but when I was in grade school there was only 4 or 5) about a vampire rabbit, whose evil designs are thwarted by a house cat and pet dog. Chester is the quixotic cat, redoubtable, if excitable and misinformed. Harold, the dog, is his unwitting (well, oblivious, really) partner. Adventures ensue as Chester and Harold try to uncover the mystery of Bunnicula, and work to save their unsuspecting human owners. I read these books as a child, and so I do not remember and cannot speak for their quality in writing. However, these books got me to enjoy reading. The book is full of adventure, humor, character and plot. I would not be the avid reader I am without Bunnicula, and the misadventures of Chester the cat.
9. Spider-man, Storm and Power Man Battle Smokescreen! (Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc.)
I love reading comic books and graphic novels, and not just those telling the exploits of Spider-man. This comic is what started everything off for me. This special, promotional issue serves as a public service announcement for kids against the ills of smoking. When I was in early grade school, I read this comic...and the rest is history. After this, I began collecting Spider-man comics, and to this day, Spider-man is my favorite comic book character.
8. The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene
I read this fairly recently--while I was in seminary. Although life took me through high school English, to Philosophy in college and on through the humanities, I have always been interested in science. Brian Greene writes in such a way that armchair scientists are able to sink their teeth into some of the most amazing discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology, and come away with a sense of awe for God's creation unfolding around us. If you want to know about that creation, and you love science (but don't get it)--try this book out! This (and other titles by Greene) are an entertaining one-stop-shop for amateur thinkers.
7. Imzadi by Peter David (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
I believe I read this book in high school, though it may have been middle school. As you may know, I love Star Trek. And although I have read many Star Trek novels over the years, this one stands out. At heart, it is a love story...and I display, from time to time, romantic tendencies. This book opened new worlds to me as I read about how life interrupts love and how love can evolve over time, and about regret and second chances. As will all science fiction, the advancements in technology only serve to highlight humanity. I learned a lot of humanity from this book. And it is good Star Trek.
6. The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche
I read a lot of Nietzsche at Augustana College, in my philosophy studies. I even did a senior seminar on Nietzsche works when I was a sophomore. I believe he is given a bad rap, particularly for his seemingly anti-Christian sentiments. In any event, this work of his is particularly meaningful for me. In it, Nietzsche looks back to ancient Greek culture to learn about lessons for humanity today. It taught me that the art and stories of the past can teach us important lessons. In particular, this book taught me how art can be a window into culture and thought. His distinction between Dionysian and Apollinarian art is widely applicable to life as helpful categories. This book challenged me to think about our culture, and appreciate art.
5. The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock is, perhaps, the most well-known and -loved character in all of western literature. We admire his genius and try to imitate it. Sherlock is larger-than-life, and yet very real defects in his character bring him alive to us and make him relatable. The relationship between Watson and Holmes is also an inspiration. I believe that we all long for such friendships in our lives. These stories are engaging and inspiring. Most of all, the adventures of Sherlock and Watson are fun.
4. The Lutheran Book of Worship (ELCA Hymnal)
Hymnals form us in faith; they are instructors. In and through them we learn scripture, theology, prayer and song. Hymnals knit us together in community, as we join our voices into one voice. When I was too young to remember, I am told that I loved to be in worship and hated having to go to the nursery or to Sunday School. I wanted to be in the sanctuary with all of the adults. As soon as I could read, I was using this book to guide my worship. In fact, I was motivated to learn to read just so that I could follow along with all the other people. Later, once I discovered a copy of the LBW at home, I would sit and read through it. From these readings, I gained a love for liturgy--for the different ways people can come together and praise God. This book taught me how to pray and to worship. This book was a primer for the deep theology I would later study in college and in seminary. I still love sitting down to plan and write worship services. I still love singing and praying and praising. If I had not discovered this book in my own home, I may not have become a pastor or a theologian. I love the "new" red hymnal, but I began my journey of faith with the ol' green book.
3. Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits by Soren Kierkegaard
If you know me, you know my love of Kierkegaard. As I was sitting down to make this list of books, it was difficult not to list 10 of Kierkegaard's works!!! I compromised by choosing two--this one and the next one. Kierkegaard is my spiritual and theological mentor. His words describing God and the life of a Christian are immensely helpful. In this book, a collection of separately published discourses, Kierkegaard interprets Bible passages in such a way that one can see the relevance and importance of God's Word for our lives today. His categories are groundbreaking and his dialectical reasoning is both instructive and invaluable. What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ--in practical terms? Oh, read this book. Kierkegaard is a difficult author to read, however, if you can get through his verbosity, it is worth it. His theology is profitable, edifying and unbelievably up-building.
2. The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening by Anti-Climacus (Soren Kierkegaard)
Of Kierkegaard's works, this is (in my humble opinion) his best and most useful. In it, he takes on the topic of sin. In short, he explains how and why despair is sin, and it is the only mortal sin--the only sin that can keep us from God's love, salvation and eternal life. Ultimately, he shows how faith (faith in Jesus Christ) fights and can conquer despair--and how each individual participates in and with that faith. This book made me fall in love with Kierkegaard, a relationship that continues to grow and that has, indeed, changed the way I think about God, life and everything. This book awoke me from sleep and lifted me up.
1. Dune by Frank Herbert
Dune was the first book on my list, and it is hands-down the #1 book I have read. This novel changed my life. And the other 15+ books in the series helped. Herbert created a rich and expansive universe in this book. In reading it, my horizons and perspective were expanded immeasurably. Dune treats a wide-ranging spate of issues and facets of humanity and how they function in our lives: society, history, ecology, religion, mysticism, power, politics, love, loyalty, destiny, endurance, determination, duty, justice, the future of humanity--generally speaking, what it means to be a human being in a complex universe full of unknowns. This is the only book I have read over a half a dozen times. If you fail to read all of the other books on this list, at least read this one.
Happy reading, friends!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Good Gossip
Some psychologists and social scientists theorize that gossip is an evolutionary trait in humans. In other words, gossip plays some helpful role in the survival of human beings. Therefore, there are times when gossip is healthy and beneficial. When used properly, done responsibly, gossip is good.
Primates, like gorillas, spend a lot of time grooming each other. Picture a train of apes picking nits, lice or fleas out of their neighbor's back hair. This tendency not only contributes to hygiene, but also helps bond apes together into community. Those that groom together, stay together.
When humans were hairier, it is perfectly reasonable to assume that we, too, participated in communal grooming. Nit-picking, which no doubt began purely as a hygienic regimen, had the added benefit of forming human community. As we sat there, vulnerable, grooming one another, trust flourished and matured. As we lost our body hair, the need for picking nits passed. At the same time, language was advancing, and became the basis for community. Grooming turned into gossip. Imagine a circle of humans picking each other's brains, sharing experiences and emotions, hopes and plans. Gossip is the way that humans help each other with mental and emotion hygiene, the way we clean and clear our minds and hearts of things that are bothering us. Gossip is one way that we build and maintain community. Sharing intimate details of our inner lives with others requires trust and intimacy. Sharing opinions and beliefs help communities to reach consensus on issues and solutions to problems. When gossip helps us process our own thoughts and emotions, when gossip helps build communities of trust, then gossip is good.
I often share my frustrations about life and people with my family and friends. I only share these frustrations when I know that my words and feelings won't go any farther than that one conversation. But venting about my frustrations allows me to get over it...and to get over myself. When I am annoyed or discontent, I sometimes forget that I have the power within myself to overcome those feelings with joy. I forget that I am in charge of how I act and can let go of feelings and situations that bring me down. Sometimes I just need to get it out so that I can move on--I don't need anyone else to do anything to solve my problem for me. I don't need the world to change; I just need a change in perspective; I just need to purge my own emotional baggage. Gossip is good when it can help me do that. This form of gossip only works, though, when you know that your words will die with the person to whom you tell them.
At church, perhaps the most common form of healthy gossip concerns the physical and emotional well-being of others. We talk about people who are sick and in the hospital. We talk about how so-and-so was irritable or disgruntled the other day about something. We talk about our own physical ailments, sometimes trying to one-up each other in the comparison of ills--especially when the aches and pains are a result of age. When we gossip about people's health, we must do so out of a spirit of caring. Gossip about another's health is good when we listen in compassion or ask after people because we care what is going on in their life. Receiving and sharing such information empowers us to mobilize the whole community in prayer and service. When we know, we can pray; and prayer works. When we know, we can help and support the one who is ill, and their loved ones. Gossip is good when it allows us to keep compassionate contact with others.
The most common form of gossip is that concerning the sins and mistakes and failures of others. Gossip is at its worst when we talk about others in judgement. And yet, even this gossip--if handled well and performed carefully--can be good and healthy. One task of community is to regulate behavior. In order to keep the community intact, we need certain rules and social expectations. These social contracts enable us to stick together, maintain conditions that allow trust to exist, provide means to resolve conflict, and protect the individual (their rights and autonomy). When I sin, I may not realize it. When I sin, I may just sweep it under the rug, idly refusing to repent and change myself for the better. But knowing that others see my actions and are affected by my behavior, then I am motivated to learn where I have done wrong, and I am compelled to repent and change my ways. Gossip can be a mechanism that can strengthen community by regulating or limiting unhealthy behavior in individuals. Christians have a duty to guide one another. We have a responsibility to hold each other accountable to the Law and the Gospel. Gossip can help----but only if it is done very carefully!!!
Because it is so easy for gossip to simply become judgement. Gossip can just as easily destroy community and divide people, as it can build community and unite individuals. One careless comment about another person can sour a web of relationships, turning the linguistic grooming into guerrilla warfare.
When it comes to gossip about sin or bad behavior or offense, the only person you should be gossiping with is the one who has sinned or behaved badly or offended you. Because, in that case, the only people being bitten by fleas are the two of you. Groom each other first. Get rid of the fleas you share between you before you spread those fleas to others in the community. Don't turn people agains the one who has sinned, get the one who has sinned to turn around.
Evolution has provided us with gossip. When done right--with the right people, in the right way, and for the right reasons--gossip can contribute to social and inter-personal well-being. But if gossip only makes you sin, if gossip only drives you apart from someone, then cut it out.
Gossip is for grooming.
Gossip is not for dodging or judging or getting ahead or getting even.
Pick the nit, not the person.
Don't become the louse, let gossip be guided by love.
Primates, like gorillas, spend a lot of time grooming each other. Picture a train of apes picking nits, lice or fleas out of their neighbor's back hair. This tendency not only contributes to hygiene, but also helps bond apes together into community. Those that groom together, stay together.
"The nice part about living in a small town
is that when you don't know what you are doing,
someone else does." -Unknown
When humans were hairier, it is perfectly reasonable to assume that we, too, participated in communal grooming. Nit-picking, which no doubt began purely as a hygienic regimen, had the added benefit of forming human community. As we sat there, vulnerable, grooming one another, trust flourished and matured. As we lost our body hair, the need for picking nits passed. At the same time, language was advancing, and became the basis for community. Grooming turned into gossip. Imagine a circle of humans picking each other's brains, sharing experiences and emotions, hopes and plans. Gossip is the way that humans help each other with mental and emotion hygiene, the way we clean and clear our minds and hearts of things that are bothering us. Gossip is one way that we build and maintain community. Sharing intimate details of our inner lives with others requires trust and intimacy. Sharing opinions and beliefs help communities to reach consensus on issues and solutions to problems. When gossip helps us process our own thoughts and emotions, when gossip helps build communities of trust, then gossip is good.
"If any man seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue
...this man's religion is in vain."
-Bible (James 1:26)
I often share my frustrations about life and people with my family and friends. I only share these frustrations when I know that my words and feelings won't go any farther than that one conversation. But venting about my frustrations allows me to get over it...and to get over myself. When I am annoyed or discontent, I sometimes forget that I have the power within myself to overcome those feelings with joy. I forget that I am in charge of how I act and can let go of feelings and situations that bring me down. Sometimes I just need to get it out so that I can move on--I don't need anyone else to do anything to solve my problem for me. I don't need the world to change; I just need a change in perspective; I just need to purge my own emotional baggage. Gossip is good when it can help me do that. This form of gossip only works, though, when you know that your words will die with the person to whom you tell them.
"If there is anything more annoying in the world
than having people talk about you,
it is certainly having no one talk about you."
-Oscar Wilde
"We are all guilty of sin, error, and moments of sheer stupidity;
none of us should be casting stones.
The occasional arced pebble might be overlooked."
-Richelle E. Goodrich
The most common form of gossip is that concerning the sins and mistakes and failures of others. Gossip is at its worst when we talk about others in judgement. And yet, even this gossip--if handled well and performed carefully--can be good and healthy. One task of community is to regulate behavior. In order to keep the community intact, we need certain rules and social expectations. These social contracts enable us to stick together, maintain conditions that allow trust to exist, provide means to resolve conflict, and protect the individual (their rights and autonomy). When I sin, I may not realize it. When I sin, I may just sweep it under the rug, idly refusing to repent and change myself for the better. But knowing that others see my actions and are affected by my behavior, then I am motivated to learn where I have done wrong, and I am compelled to repent and change my ways. Gossip can be a mechanism that can strengthen community by regulating or limiting unhealthy behavior in individuals. Christians have a duty to guide one another. We have a responsibility to hold each other accountable to the Law and the Gospel. Gossip can help----but only if it is done very carefully!!!
"Often people that criticize your life are
usually the same people that don't know the price you paid
to get where you are today. True friends see the full picture of your soul."
-Shannon L. Alder
"The wise will hide your follies and help you learn,
but the wicked ones will gossip about it with scoundrels."
-Aniruddha Sastikar
When it comes to gossip about sin or bad behavior or offense, the only person you should be gossiping with is the one who has sinned or behaved badly or offended you. Because, in that case, the only people being bitten by fleas are the two of you. Groom each other first. Get rid of the fleas you share between you before you spread those fleas to others in the community. Don't turn people agains the one who has sinned, get the one who has sinned to turn around.
"It is presumptuous to draw conclusions about a person
from what one has heard."
from what one has heard."
-Jude Morgan
Evolution has provided us with gossip. When done right--with the right people, in the right way, and for the right reasons--gossip can contribute to social and inter-personal well-being. But if gossip only makes you sin, if gossip only drives you apart from someone, then cut it out.
Gossip is for grooming.
Gossip is not for dodging or judging or getting ahead or getting even.
Pick the nit, not the person.
Don't become the louse, let gossip be guided by love.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Work It Out Between the Two of You
"If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." (Matthew 18:15-17)
Put any two people together, in any kind of relationship long enough, and one will hurt or offend the other. The two will disagree on something, it is inevitable. It is human nature. It is life. Thanks be to God that Jesus knows us, and gives us the teaching above, which is so practical for our daily lives.
Many Bibles put section headings or titles on various parts of scripture. The Lutheran Study Bible entitles this passage, "Reproving Another Who Sins." Most entitle this section of Jesus' teaching, "Disciplining Members of the Church." Indeed, the passage above provides a simple and healthy process for governing interpersonal conflict. However, a better section title might be, "Work it Out Between the Two of You."
When you look at the context of the passage, it is clear that Jesus' intent is not to teach us how to discipline one another, but rather to teach us how to work things out, how to be reconciled to one another. Before we write someone off, we are to actively try to work things out three times, before we treat them as an outsider. (Notice, however, that even once they are an outsider--gentile or tax collector--we are still to hope for their repentance and return to the community. Jesus spent a lot of time with Gentiles and tax collectors...he healed them, talked to them, listened, ate with them, and worked with them. The irony! Treat them as Gentiles and tax collectors means befriend them! The Christian never shuns or despises the outsider, but loves even the enemy.)
When Jesus lays out this system of conflict management, he just finished sharing the Parable of the Lost Sheep. In that parable, the shepherd leaves his 99 sheep to recover the 1 that was lost. Before that, the disciples asked Jesus, "who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus responded by showing them a child, and said that the young child--vulnerable, humble, with no status in society--is the greatest. And, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Those who frustrate and offend us because they act childish or infantile...those are the ones we are to welcome....
The purpose of Matthew 18:15-17 is not discipline, but rather reconciliation. The only goal is that the two (offended and offender) repair the relationship between them.
If someone offends you, go to that one...
Go to that one, and do not gossip.
When reconciliation is the goal, the first person who should hear your grievance is God. Then, the only human being who should hear the story of how you were offended is the one who offended you. This goes against human nature. When we are offended, we want to tell everyone but the one who caused the offense. We want others to support us and to see how wrong the other is. We want someone to punish the other person. But Jesus gives us this commandment so that we seek reconciliation, not discipline! So, to do that, we have to go to the offender first.
Go to that one, and do not wait for them to come to you.
When reconciliation is the goal, the responsibility of reconciliation is placed on the one who is offended. This goes against human nature. When we are offended, we want the offender to come to us, groveling for forgiveness! We wait for an apology. And only then are we willing to consider forgiveness and reconciliation--maybe. But if you want what Jesus wants (what God wills), then you will not wait for the offender to come crawling back, ashamed and repentant. No, if you want what God wills, you will leave your 99 friends who have your back, and you will go look for that 1 who offended, so that you can regain that one.
Go to that one, again and again.
When reconciliation is the goal, the Christian never gives up entirely. After we have followed the whole process (1. go to that one; 2. go to that one with one or two witnesses; 3. go to that one with the whole church), then the ball is in the offender's court. At that point, we need not actively pursue reconciliation, but we continue to wait for it. It is no longer our responsibility, but the responsibility of the offender to seek reconciliation at that point. But we hope for it. We look for it in holy expectation. In Matthew, after Jesus has explained the whole process of "Working it Out Between the Two of You," Peter asks him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins agains me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." In other words, forgiveness is always an option. Reconciliation is always and forever the goal. This goes against human nature. When we are offended, and we have made the attempt to reconcile at least once or twice, we feel that our duty to our fellow human being is done. 'They don't want reconciliation? Fine, then I am done,' we say. Or we forgive the offender, and they just keep running over us---offending us in the same way over and over again, never changing. And so we decide to get wise, saying, 'They won't fool me again. I am done.' But Jesus explains that we are never done...if we want what God wants. We will foolishly forgive, again and again, because reconciliation is the goal. Nothing else on earth is more important...if we want what God wants. And if we don't want what God wants, then we have become to Jesus a Gentile and a tax collector. Even then, to be forgiven, we must forgive.
What a hard teaching! And yet it is elegant in its simplicity. It is practical. It works. It can be applied to any relationship. It has so many applications in our daily life. Yet, it takes love and discipline (that is, it takes faith) to do what Jesus here commands.
This is what God does...
If it is good enough for God, then it is good enough for me. When I sin against the Father, God does not go to Jesus to sneer and gripe about me. God does not turn his back, not even after forgiving seven times. God does not go to Satan and say, "Devil, take him." When I sin against the Father, God comes to me. We work it out, me and God. And what matters to God is not that God is right, but that we find a way to keep the love between us.
When we are in community with others, we hurt people. But thanks be to God that hurt can be overcome with love, sin can be overcome with grace. It is not just our mission...it is our hope. Amen.
Put any two people together, in any kind of relationship long enough, and one will hurt or offend the other. The two will disagree on something, it is inevitable. It is human nature. It is life. Thanks be to God that Jesus knows us, and gives us the teaching above, which is so practical for our daily lives.
Many Bibles put section headings or titles on various parts of scripture. The Lutheran Study Bible entitles this passage, "Reproving Another Who Sins." Most entitle this section of Jesus' teaching, "Disciplining Members of the Church." Indeed, the passage above provides a simple and healthy process for governing interpersonal conflict. However, a better section title might be, "Work it Out Between the Two of You."
When you look at the context of the passage, it is clear that Jesus' intent is not to teach us how to discipline one another, but rather to teach us how to work things out, how to be reconciled to one another. Before we write someone off, we are to actively try to work things out three times, before we treat them as an outsider. (Notice, however, that even once they are an outsider--gentile or tax collector--we are still to hope for their repentance and return to the community. Jesus spent a lot of time with Gentiles and tax collectors...he healed them, talked to them, listened, ate with them, and worked with them. The irony! Treat them as Gentiles and tax collectors means befriend them! The Christian never shuns or despises the outsider, but loves even the enemy.)
When Jesus lays out this system of conflict management, he just finished sharing the Parable of the Lost Sheep. In that parable, the shepherd leaves his 99 sheep to recover the 1 that was lost. Before that, the disciples asked Jesus, "who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus responded by showing them a child, and said that the young child--vulnerable, humble, with no status in society--is the greatest. And, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Those who frustrate and offend us because they act childish or infantile...those are the ones we are to welcome....
The purpose of Matthew 18:15-17 is not discipline, but rather reconciliation. The only goal is that the two (offended and offender) repair the relationship between them.
If someone offends you, go to that one...
Go to that one, and do not gossip.
When reconciliation is the goal, the first person who should hear your grievance is God. Then, the only human being who should hear the story of how you were offended is the one who offended you. This goes against human nature. When we are offended, we want to tell everyone but the one who caused the offense. We want others to support us and to see how wrong the other is. We want someone to punish the other person. But Jesus gives us this commandment so that we seek reconciliation, not discipline! So, to do that, we have to go to the offender first.
Go to that one, and do not wait for them to come to you.
When reconciliation is the goal, the responsibility of reconciliation is placed on the one who is offended. This goes against human nature. When we are offended, we want the offender to come to us, groveling for forgiveness! We wait for an apology. And only then are we willing to consider forgiveness and reconciliation--maybe. But if you want what Jesus wants (what God wills), then you will not wait for the offender to come crawling back, ashamed and repentant. No, if you want what God wills, you will leave your 99 friends who have your back, and you will go look for that 1 who offended, so that you can regain that one.
Go to that one, again and again.
When reconciliation is the goal, the Christian never gives up entirely. After we have followed the whole process (1. go to that one; 2. go to that one with one or two witnesses; 3. go to that one with the whole church), then the ball is in the offender's court. At that point, we need not actively pursue reconciliation, but we continue to wait for it. It is no longer our responsibility, but the responsibility of the offender to seek reconciliation at that point. But we hope for it. We look for it in holy expectation. In Matthew, after Jesus has explained the whole process of "Working it Out Between the Two of You," Peter asks him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins agains me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." In other words, forgiveness is always an option. Reconciliation is always and forever the goal. This goes against human nature. When we are offended, and we have made the attempt to reconcile at least once or twice, we feel that our duty to our fellow human being is done. 'They don't want reconciliation? Fine, then I am done,' we say. Or we forgive the offender, and they just keep running over us---offending us in the same way over and over again, never changing. And so we decide to get wise, saying, 'They won't fool me again. I am done.' But Jesus explains that we are never done...if we want what God wants. We will foolishly forgive, again and again, because reconciliation is the goal. Nothing else on earth is more important...if we want what God wants. And if we don't want what God wants, then we have become to Jesus a Gentile and a tax collector. Even then, to be forgiven, we must forgive.
What a hard teaching! And yet it is elegant in its simplicity. It is practical. It works. It can be applied to any relationship. It has so many applications in our daily life. Yet, it takes love and discipline (that is, it takes faith) to do what Jesus here commands.
This is what God does...
If it is good enough for God, then it is good enough for me. When I sin against the Father, God does not go to Jesus to sneer and gripe about me. God does not turn his back, not even after forgiving seven times. God does not go to Satan and say, "Devil, take him." When I sin against the Father, God comes to me. We work it out, me and God. And what matters to God is not that God is right, but that we find a way to keep the love between us.
When we are in community with others, we hurt people. But thanks be to God that hurt can be overcome with love, sin can be overcome with grace. It is not just our mission...it is our hope. Amen.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Kinds of Love, Part II: Agape
Having discussed, in my last post, the loves eros and philia, we now turn to the final and highest form of love, agape. Although, agape may not be unique to Christianity, one cannot be fully Christian without loving, or trying to love, in this way.
AGAPE
This type of love is actually quite simple to understand. However, this sort of love is the most difficult. Indeed, agape is offensive to our human sensibilities.
This type of love is most commonly characterized as self-sacrificing love. As Jesus put it, the love that inspires to lay down one's life for a friend. Agape is the deepest kind of love. It requires intimacy, openness and trust. When Paul writes about love in 1 Corinthians 13--"Love is patient. Love is kind.... Love does not insist on its own way..." and so on, he is referring to agape love. It is a love so powerful that we would even give up ourselves, our own life, for the object of our love. This is how Jesus would have us love our neighbors and ourselves. Being pushed to make sacrifices for ones we love is an offense to individuality--individual rights and rights of property. Agape forces us into the type of humbleness and compassion that offends our sense of autonomy. Yet the gains of agape are immeasurable. Jesus says at one point, "...those who cling to their life will lose it, and those who lose their life will gain it...." Part of what he refers to here is the self-emptying that is required for agape. Although I lose my position of central importance in agape, I suddenly and mysteriously gain an infinitely greater importance by communing with the whole in love. The whole what? In a word, God. In several words: God, the cosmos, all of humanity, etc. In agape, I never entirely lose myself (rather I gain myself!), but instead, I grow to sense my linkage to something greater--my place in the vast tree of life.
But that is not all we can say about agape. Indeed, we must say more, for Jesus commands us to not only love our friends and those we know, but also to love our enemies and strangers. Agape is not just a matter of degree. That is, agape is not simply that I love my loved ones more deeply. For instance, I am more likely to jeopardize my life protecting one of my nieces, then for a casual friend. This contrast does not make my love for my niece agapic love. Philia, and even eros, can be self-denying or self-sacrificial. Agape is not so much a matter of degree as it is of application. Agape is set apart from the other loves because agape is love that is shared with those who are difficult to love.
The word we have for such an expansive application is "unconditional." I believe that few individuals appreciate the weight of this word. Jesus died on the cross for all people--the whole world. Not just his followers, those that loved him, and those that were good, pious people, but also criminals (even the ones executed beside him!), his enemies, the people who accused and incarcerated him, and those who hated him enough to kill him. Jesus shared his love no matter what the other person thought of him or did to him. Jesus' love was not conditioned by any thought or action or feeling or -thing on the part of the other, the recipient of his love. Jesus loves us even while we are dead in sin, because his love is unconditional. If his love were not, then he would not love us until we were purified and wholly righteous.
Agape is not tolerance. Tolerance is passive. Meanwhile, agape is active and proactive.
Agape is not mere acceptance. It does not condone malicious or destructive behavior. Instead, agape works to correct such behavior in others through the process of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation, and through teaching and loving.
Agape is not a feeling. It is not even a decision or commitment. Agape is obedience to the will of God. It is following God's example of love in Jesus Christ. In this respect, agape is actually quite easy, for all it takes is to follow Jesus, our Pathfinder.
Agape is not preferential. The true litmus test for agapic love is not how deeply I love my spouse or family or friends. The true test of agapic love is whether or not one loves and shows love toward the stranger, the offender, and the enemy. Grudges chase agape out of the heart. So do vengeance, envy, hatred, fear, loathing, prejudice, bigotry, and indifference.
Agape does not search for reasons to love, despite undesirable traits or actions. If we must find a reason to love someone, then we never leave eros or philia. At once, love becomes conditional since we love because of or insofar as the other has a characteristic we admire or love.
Agape is and goes beyond every category, every judgment, every consideration. I love my Muslim brothers and sisters, not because they are faithful and peace-loving people (though they are), and not even because they are human beings (though they are), but simply because God loves them. And God's will is that I love them. I love sinners, not because of their righteousness (they have none), and not because they are repentant (they may not be), but simply because God loves them. And God's will is for me to love them, too.
Agape is a power that God injects into every ugliness, sorrow or evil---to transform it.
For the Christian it is true that the only way we can attain agapic love is through union and continual communion with God. God is source and guide and strength. Before God, the individual realizes how small, sinful and imperfect he or she really is. And realizing this, it becomes the most natural thing to love all others unconditionally (as God does). Before God, we realize that we are all completely equal when compared to God's infinite majesty and power and righteousness. Such is the mystical and cosmic unity found in Christ, that all are equal and agapic love spreads easily and equally across all...
...if we allow God's nature to offend us.
AGAPE
This type of love is actually quite simple to understand. However, this sort of love is the most difficult. Indeed, agape is offensive to our human sensibilities.
This type of love is most commonly characterized as self-sacrificing love. As Jesus put it, the love that inspires to lay down one's life for a friend. Agape is the deepest kind of love. It requires intimacy, openness and trust. When Paul writes about love in 1 Corinthians 13--"Love is patient. Love is kind.... Love does not insist on its own way..." and so on, he is referring to agape love. It is a love so powerful that we would even give up ourselves, our own life, for the object of our love. This is how Jesus would have us love our neighbors and ourselves. Being pushed to make sacrifices for ones we love is an offense to individuality--individual rights and rights of property. Agape forces us into the type of humbleness and compassion that offends our sense of autonomy. Yet the gains of agape are immeasurable. Jesus says at one point, "...those who cling to their life will lose it, and those who lose their life will gain it...." Part of what he refers to here is the self-emptying that is required for agape. Although I lose my position of central importance in agape, I suddenly and mysteriously gain an infinitely greater importance by communing with the whole in love. The whole what? In a word, God. In several words: God, the cosmos, all of humanity, etc. In agape, I never entirely lose myself (rather I gain myself!), but instead, I grow to sense my linkage to something greater--my place in the vast tree of life.
But that is not all we can say about agape. Indeed, we must say more, for Jesus commands us to not only love our friends and those we know, but also to love our enemies and strangers. Agape is not just a matter of degree. That is, agape is not simply that I love my loved ones more deeply. For instance, I am more likely to jeopardize my life protecting one of my nieces, then for a casual friend. This contrast does not make my love for my niece agapic love. Philia, and even eros, can be self-denying or self-sacrificial. Agape is not so much a matter of degree as it is of application. Agape is set apart from the other loves because agape is love that is shared with those who are difficult to love.
The word we have for such an expansive application is "unconditional." I believe that few individuals appreciate the weight of this word. Jesus died on the cross for all people--the whole world. Not just his followers, those that loved him, and those that were good, pious people, but also criminals (even the ones executed beside him!), his enemies, the people who accused and incarcerated him, and those who hated him enough to kill him. Jesus shared his love no matter what the other person thought of him or did to him. Jesus' love was not conditioned by any thought or action or feeling or -thing on the part of the other, the recipient of his love. Jesus loves us even while we are dead in sin, because his love is unconditional. If his love were not, then he would not love us until we were purified and wholly righteous.
Agape is not tolerance. Tolerance is passive. Meanwhile, agape is active and proactive.
Agape is not mere acceptance. It does not condone malicious or destructive behavior. Instead, agape works to correct such behavior in others through the process of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation, and through teaching and loving.
Agape is not a feeling. It is not even a decision or commitment. Agape is obedience to the will of God. It is following God's example of love in Jesus Christ. In this respect, agape is actually quite easy, for all it takes is to follow Jesus, our Pathfinder.
Agape is not preferential. The true litmus test for agapic love is not how deeply I love my spouse or family or friends. The true test of agapic love is whether or not one loves and shows love toward the stranger, the offender, and the enemy. Grudges chase agape out of the heart. So do vengeance, envy, hatred, fear, loathing, prejudice, bigotry, and indifference.
Agape does not search for reasons to love, despite undesirable traits or actions. If we must find a reason to love someone, then we never leave eros or philia. At once, love becomes conditional since we love because of or insofar as the other has a characteristic we admire or love.
Agape is and goes beyond every category, every judgment, every consideration. I love my Muslim brothers and sisters, not because they are faithful and peace-loving people (though they are), and not even because they are human beings (though they are), but simply because God loves them. And God's will is that I love them. I love sinners, not because of their righteousness (they have none), and not because they are repentant (they may not be), but simply because God loves them. And God's will is for me to love them, too.
Agape is a power that God injects into every ugliness, sorrow or evil---to transform it.
For the Christian it is true that the only way we can attain agapic love is through union and continual communion with God. God is source and guide and strength. Before God, the individual realizes how small, sinful and imperfect he or she really is. And realizing this, it becomes the most natural thing to love all others unconditionally (as God does). Before God, we realize that we are all completely equal when compared to God's infinite majesty and power and righteousness. Such is the mystical and cosmic unity found in Christ, that all are equal and agapic love spreads easily and equally across all...
...if we allow God's nature to offend us.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Kinds of Love, Part 1: Eros and Philia
Since we are on the topic of marriage, lo, these last few posts, it may be good to talk about love. Love and marriage, after all, go together like a horse and carriage (or so the song goes...perhaps we might find a more relevant simile). The blogpost that follows will not be overly sentimental. I am not against sentimentality, and personally, I have a very soft and gooey core. But love is a serious matter. Indeed, the love found within marriage is not and cannot be based on "feeling" or "sentiment." Love is and must needs be stronger than this--Christian love especially.
As I reflect on love here, I will use the three most common types of love delineated by three different Greek words for love: eros, philo and agape. These three distinctions are culturally determined, and therefore arbitrary. However, English really only has one word for love, and yet most would admit that we love different people differently, depending on relationship--that there are different types of love. What follows are my reflections on each kind of love in turn, as well as some general thoughts.
Enjoy. Hope you love it.
EROS
This is perhaps one of the most misunderstood of loves. From this Greek word, we get the term "erotic." As your eyes moved over that English word, a couple of things may have happened: you may have perked up, thinking something juicy was surely to follow; you may have experienced a mental red flag--"should I be reading this"; you may have made a knee-jerk judgment--"a pastor shouldn't be blogging about erotic stuff". Especially in our culture here in America, the word "erotic" comes with a lot of baggage. Erotica is taboo. Although some may be of the opinion that erotica is perfectly fine for individuals or couples in private, erotica are not allowed in the public sphere.
Eros does include erotic love, but there is also much more to it than that. Plato, writing about eros, said that eros is, at root, the appreciation or admiration of beauty in all its forms. Love of nature is eros. Love of art is eros. And, yes, love or attraction to the beauty of the physical human form--the body--is eros. Eros is aesthetic love, the attraction to things that are visually impressive or beautiful. And not necessarily just physical. A well crafted or artful piece of prose or poetry can also evoke the love described as eros. An elegant logical argument or mathematical formula can inspire eros. Eros can also be felt for an idea or action. Love of freedom or even of country is eros. I can love the action of giving one's life or money or time for another human being. All of this can fall under the heading of eros.
Eros, therefore, is good, despite what our puritanical culture may say. It is true, eros can take many unhealthy forms, but eros is, generally speaking, good. When eros tempts us to objectify someone or something, this is wrong, for instance. Also, remaining entirely in the aesthetic, in eros, throughout one's life is not healthy either. Eros is, if you will, a gateway love. It is base level love, the beginning of love. Love can grow and flourish to be so much more. If I love nature for its beauty, great! But how much better when I am able to love even the uglier or nastier parts of nature. Some plants, animals, environments and natural processes are not very beautiful. And yet a mature love will find reasons to appreciate, will find the beauty in, even the less attractive underside of nature. I ought to be physically attracted to my spouse--it is good to feel eros for my spouse--and yet, if the entire relationship is based on eros, then I have not reached the full potential of love. My love for my spouse remains contingent on the beauty I perceive in him or her. A mature love will be excited by the beautiful in the other, but it will also dive deeper.
Sex. There, I have your attention again. Friends, sex is good. And not just for its procreative potential. The Church has done humanity a disservice by refusing to embrace sex--erotic love--as a gift from God, and a good thing. We are designed to take pleasure from sex for many functional reasons. But I believe that God also wants us to take pleasure in sex simply for the good pleasure. Because sex is such a spiritually and emotionally powerful phenomenon, however, there must be limits and rules. We are protected from be hurt by sex or using sex in unhealthy ways by the teachings of the Church. Monogamy, sex within marriage, equal sharing of pleasure, consent, fidelity--all of these things and more protect us from abusive sexual relations, giving us the freedom in Christ Jesus to enjoy the gift of our human bodies, the gift of sex.
Eros can and is spiritual, can and does have a spiritual dimension, however, eros can be neither the foundation on which spiritual love is based, nor the sum total of our love. Eros is often the beginning of love, but if love does not establish roots (philo and/or agape), then it will whither and die or it will be incomplete and eventually damaging to the human lover. Eros is a wonderful and nourishing fruit of the tree of love, but it will not bear good fruit if it doesn't have a healthy root system.
A specific example may be helpful here. I do not mean to pick on anyone, but this example will help clarify eros. Take the people who say things like: "My worship of God is being out in nature" or similar things. It is true (Martin Luther even says it, so you know its true) that the Word of God is written on every leaf and cloud and star and blade of grass. Nature does make us appreciate God's good work, and gives us a necessary sense of awe in regard to God. However, the love of nature is eros, and therefore not enough in and of itself. Agape is the root and goal of Christian love. Nature, therefore, is acceptable--right, our duty and our joy--but it is insufficient. Nature causes us to love God's action, providence and love, to love the things that God does and is, but it does not and cannot constitute a full loving relationship with God. Loving God through nature is like loving my spouse because she is intelligent or beautiful. Although, such eros is a good instigator of love, it is not enough to base the fullest of relationship on. And if there is one being with whom we are to have a full relationship, it is God. And so we must dig deeper.
PHILIA
Basically, this is the love experienced in friendship or in family relationships. The English language proper noun "Philadelphia"is rooted in philia. It comes from adelphos + philo or "brother" and "love" rendering the compound meaning of "brotherly love." Hence, Philadelphia is the "City of Brotherly Love." Philia is perhaps the most wide-ranging of the three loves. Like eros, it can be applied to non-persons. Philosophy is the love of wisdom (philo + sophia = love of wisdom). An audiophile is someone whose hobby is hi-fi...someone who chases after the perfect sound, and who loves the technology that can produce the best quality music.
Although much can be written about philia, we must, for our purposes, focus on one difference. Philia goes beyond the surface attraction to a thing, to a deeper admiration. For instance, philia is the movement from loving someone for their physical beauty (although it may start with that physical attraction) to appreciating the person for who he or she is, for the whole personality and being of the individual. Notice, attraction to intelligence can also be eros. The difference in philia is that the attraction cannot be explained by any one trait. Philia is a love and connection strong enough even to withstand some disappointment and "ugliness." Philia is the love we have for our family, even when our family members may frustrate or annoy us.
Philia has limits, however. It is preferential love. In families, the initial bond is the cultural importance we put on blood relationship. I love my nieces because they are the daughters of my brothers. And that reason for my love is sufficient. In fact, it is through the sieve of that love that I also feel proud of their intelligence, beauty, talent, etc. And even when they do wrong, those failures are eventually sifted out by the love I have for them simply because they are my nieces. Meanwhile, friendship must begin with some connection based on either sympathetic thought, emotion or experience. And that is where the preference initially lies, though it may grow to become self-sustaining.
The limitation of philia is that there is a circle of relationships with a definite boarder. I love because there is a reason to love. And there is a boundary to that love that places some within and some without. There is also a boundary within each of the philenic relationships themselves. We love our friends (and to differing degrees), but we may not make the same sacrifices for them as we would for our family members. Philia is preferential. Some (things) are preferred, and some (things) are not.
Well, I believe I should end for now, as we have run long enough. My next post will treat the third, and I believe ultimate, form of love: agape. Stay tuned!
As I reflect on love here, I will use the three most common types of love delineated by three different Greek words for love: eros, philo and agape. These three distinctions are culturally determined, and therefore arbitrary. However, English really only has one word for love, and yet most would admit that we love different people differently, depending on relationship--that there are different types of love. What follows are my reflections on each kind of love in turn, as well as some general thoughts.
Enjoy. Hope you love it.
EROS
This is perhaps one of the most misunderstood of loves. From this Greek word, we get the term "erotic." As your eyes moved over that English word, a couple of things may have happened: you may have perked up, thinking something juicy was surely to follow; you may have experienced a mental red flag--"should I be reading this"; you may have made a knee-jerk judgment--"a pastor shouldn't be blogging about erotic stuff". Especially in our culture here in America, the word "erotic" comes with a lot of baggage. Erotica is taboo. Although some may be of the opinion that erotica is perfectly fine for individuals or couples in private, erotica are not allowed in the public sphere.
Eros does include erotic love, but there is also much more to it than that. Plato, writing about eros, said that eros is, at root, the appreciation or admiration of beauty in all its forms. Love of nature is eros. Love of art is eros. And, yes, love or attraction to the beauty of the physical human form--the body--is eros. Eros is aesthetic love, the attraction to things that are visually impressive or beautiful. And not necessarily just physical. A well crafted or artful piece of prose or poetry can also evoke the love described as eros. An elegant logical argument or mathematical formula can inspire eros. Eros can also be felt for an idea or action. Love of freedom or even of country is eros. I can love the action of giving one's life or money or time for another human being. All of this can fall under the heading of eros.
Eros, therefore, is good, despite what our puritanical culture may say. It is true, eros can take many unhealthy forms, but eros is, generally speaking, good. When eros tempts us to objectify someone or something, this is wrong, for instance. Also, remaining entirely in the aesthetic, in eros, throughout one's life is not healthy either. Eros is, if you will, a gateway love. It is base level love, the beginning of love. Love can grow and flourish to be so much more. If I love nature for its beauty, great! But how much better when I am able to love even the uglier or nastier parts of nature. Some plants, animals, environments and natural processes are not very beautiful. And yet a mature love will find reasons to appreciate, will find the beauty in, even the less attractive underside of nature. I ought to be physically attracted to my spouse--it is good to feel eros for my spouse--and yet, if the entire relationship is based on eros, then I have not reached the full potential of love. My love for my spouse remains contingent on the beauty I perceive in him or her. A mature love will be excited by the beautiful in the other, but it will also dive deeper.
Sex. There, I have your attention again. Friends, sex is good. And not just for its procreative potential. The Church has done humanity a disservice by refusing to embrace sex--erotic love--as a gift from God, and a good thing. We are designed to take pleasure from sex for many functional reasons. But I believe that God also wants us to take pleasure in sex simply for the good pleasure. Because sex is such a spiritually and emotionally powerful phenomenon, however, there must be limits and rules. We are protected from be hurt by sex or using sex in unhealthy ways by the teachings of the Church. Monogamy, sex within marriage, equal sharing of pleasure, consent, fidelity--all of these things and more protect us from abusive sexual relations, giving us the freedom in Christ Jesus to enjoy the gift of our human bodies, the gift of sex.
Eros can and is spiritual, can and does have a spiritual dimension, however, eros can be neither the foundation on which spiritual love is based, nor the sum total of our love. Eros is often the beginning of love, but if love does not establish roots (philo and/or agape), then it will whither and die or it will be incomplete and eventually damaging to the human lover. Eros is a wonderful and nourishing fruit of the tree of love, but it will not bear good fruit if it doesn't have a healthy root system.
A specific example may be helpful here. I do not mean to pick on anyone, but this example will help clarify eros. Take the people who say things like: "My worship of God is being out in nature" or similar things. It is true (Martin Luther even says it, so you know its true) that the Word of God is written on every leaf and cloud and star and blade of grass. Nature does make us appreciate God's good work, and gives us a necessary sense of awe in regard to God. However, the love of nature is eros, and therefore not enough in and of itself. Agape is the root and goal of Christian love. Nature, therefore, is acceptable--right, our duty and our joy--but it is insufficient. Nature causes us to love God's action, providence and love, to love the things that God does and is, but it does not and cannot constitute a full loving relationship with God. Loving God through nature is like loving my spouse because she is intelligent or beautiful. Although, such eros is a good instigator of love, it is not enough to base the fullest of relationship on. And if there is one being with whom we are to have a full relationship, it is God. And so we must dig deeper.
PHILIA
Basically, this is the love experienced in friendship or in family relationships. The English language proper noun "Philadelphia"is rooted in philia. It comes from adelphos + philo or "brother" and "love" rendering the compound meaning of "brotherly love." Hence, Philadelphia is the "City of Brotherly Love." Philia is perhaps the most wide-ranging of the three loves. Like eros, it can be applied to non-persons. Philosophy is the love of wisdom (philo + sophia = love of wisdom). An audiophile is someone whose hobby is hi-fi...someone who chases after the perfect sound, and who loves the technology that can produce the best quality music.
Although much can be written about philia, we must, for our purposes, focus on one difference. Philia goes beyond the surface attraction to a thing, to a deeper admiration. For instance, philia is the movement from loving someone for their physical beauty (although it may start with that physical attraction) to appreciating the person for who he or she is, for the whole personality and being of the individual. Notice, attraction to intelligence can also be eros. The difference in philia is that the attraction cannot be explained by any one trait. Philia is a love and connection strong enough even to withstand some disappointment and "ugliness." Philia is the love we have for our family, even when our family members may frustrate or annoy us.
Philia has limits, however. It is preferential love. In families, the initial bond is the cultural importance we put on blood relationship. I love my nieces because they are the daughters of my brothers. And that reason for my love is sufficient. In fact, it is through the sieve of that love that I also feel proud of their intelligence, beauty, talent, etc. And even when they do wrong, those failures are eventually sifted out by the love I have for them simply because they are my nieces. Meanwhile, friendship must begin with some connection based on either sympathetic thought, emotion or experience. And that is where the preference initially lies, though it may grow to become self-sustaining.
The limitation of philia is that there is a circle of relationships with a definite boarder. I love because there is a reason to love. And there is a boundary to that love that places some within and some without. There is also a boundary within each of the philenic relationships themselves. We love our friends (and to differing degrees), but we may not make the same sacrifices for them as we would for our family members. Philia is preferential. Some (things) are preferred, and some (things) are not.
Well, I believe I should end for now, as we have run long enough. My next post will treat the third, and I believe ultimate, form of love: agape. Stay tuned!
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