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In This Moment
Doing With Each Other
Are you feeling lonely today? If you are, you are not alone. In a study published in the American Sociological Review, researchers from Duke University share that Americans have one-third fewer close friends and confidants than just two decades ago. The study states that research done in 1985 showed that the average American had three people in which to confide matters that were important to them. By 2004 the same research showed that the number had dropped to two people in whom we felt we could confide. Most sad and disconcerting is that one-quarter of all Americans have no one with whom they feel they can share what matters to them most. Lynn Smith-Lovin, co-author of the study, said this kind of sociological shift in only two decades is rare. They are not sure what is causing the shirt, but possibilities include our steady migration to the suburbs, longer hours spent at work and the use of electronic games for recreation.
What we do see is the toll this lack of meaningful social connectedness takes on us. "Close relationships are a safety net," Ms. Smith-Lovin says. "Whether it's picking up a child or finding someone to help you out of the city in a hurricane, these are people we depend on." What happens when we don't have people to depend on? We no longer have our safety nets, which means there is more stress on individuals to do literally everything for themselves. No matter how superhuman any of us believes ourselves to be, none of us can be in two, three or four places at once. You cannot work a standard full-time job at forty-plus hours per week, manage a household and raise a family without help. If you are single and live alone, you find yourself in charge of all the decisions of life management by default, but believing you should never ask for or accept help can lead to a very limited world.
Either way of living presents challenges and opportunities, but both carry the burden of the American belief in the individual being able to go against all odds, work twenty-hour days and come out the other side saying it was all worth it. What we don't talk about is how socially isolating this belief system is, or what the cost is mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually, both in the short and long term. If we are unwilling to rely on other people to support us, we probably are also unwilling to help other people in need, assuming they can do for themselves too. The end result is a country full of overtired, stressed out, crazy-busy people.
Is crazy-busy the legacy we want to pass on to the next generation? Do we want to come to the conclusion of our lives and realize the only people we have connected with are computer technicians and customer service representatives from our credit card companies? Unraveling why we ended up here is more than a paragraph of analysis can hold. What we can do differently can be considered by looking at the life of Jesus for clues on how he handled the important balance of work and connecting personally with other people.
Jesus' life, the last three years of which were spent on the road in a demanding public ministry, was what we would term crazy-busy too. Up at dawn, traveling on foot from location to location, constantly surrounded by co-workers and new followers, rarely having a moment to himself, and always aware that Rome and the Chief Priests were looking for him to slip up so they could dispose of him before they lost control of the masses. He had no vacation to look forward to, no weekends off and not even breaks from the ever-growing populace who came to him for help. The balance is that he didn't have property to maintain, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, bill paying or child-rearing tasks to perform. While Jesus' life on the road was strenuous, demanding and exhausting, he wasn't trying to "do it all" and keep a household running in his absence.
But while Jesus was on the road he relied on other people, the kindness of friends and strangers, to provide the everyday essentials of food and shelter, but also companionship and all its pleasant nuances. Paul would later refer to these pieces of relational connectedness in his letter to the Galatians. "The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)." Jesus spent time with Mary, Martha and Lazarus, siblings living outside of Jerusalem, in Bethany, whenever he came to town, especially during Passover celebrations. He relied on them for support, friendship and the basic necessities of life. Jesus gave a great deal of himself during his ministry, and as a friend, because he was willing to open himself to the reality that he wasn't doing it all, couldn't do it all and needed what other people had to share with him. Jesus clearly enjoyed the children who came with their parents to meet him. He also experienced the peace of private homes, away from the crowds for a few hours. Kindness, generosity and faithfulness were offered to him in simple, human interactions that made his life richer, and gave him strength to live his version of a crazy-busy life.
The first step to making connections with people is realizing that helping and supporting each other is a good thing. God intended us to live and work together, to enjoy each other's company. We don't have to live lives of isolation. We can allow ourselves to be known and be open to knowing each other in ways that will help us feel whole and united as a community lush with the fruits of the spirit.
God's blessings,
Cory
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In This Moment
Out of the Shadow of Death
Last week brought forth a moment of joy few expected to see so soon, if ever again. Bob Woodruff returned to the ABC News studios for a surprise visit to his colleagues, the first since he was injured in a roadside bombing attack in January while covering the war in Iraq. With wife Lee by his side, Woodruff was greeted by a spontaneous round of applause. "You could literally see the emotion in each hug. There was barely a dry eye," according to World News Tonight executive producer Joe Banner. Woodruff, recovering from head injuries and broken bones, appeared energetic and thrilled to be among friends that day. "I missed you all," said Woodruff. "I woke up in the hospital and looked up and just thought about you guys and I thought about everything I wanted badly to come back to. Man, it's good to be here." His doctors have called him lucky to have survived his injuries, let alone have recovered so well from them. His wife Lee has mentioned that his healing was also helped by being surrounded by loving people.
ABC News was ready for some good news and so was our nation. Peter Jennings' death late last summer shocked and saddened all of us. Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas had only been named co-anchors of World News Tonight the month before the attack on Woodruff and his team that almost killed him. The occupation of Iraq itself by U.S. forces is lasting much, much longer than the American public was led to believe. This public experience of the horrors of war is another reminder of how much politics does influence individual lives, and how much individual lives touch each other in ways seldom expected.
The account of Lazarus' resurrection from the dead might have been a story any news anchor would be interested in covering for many reasons. Jesus, the itinerant preacher reported to have called upon God to raise Lazarus from his tomb, was a close friend of Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. Mary had, in fact, been the woman who had anointed Jesus' feet with very expensive oil, then wiped his feet with her hair. Reports from Bethany, where the sisters and their brother lived, indicated that they had notified Jesus, traveling outside the area, by messenger of Lazarus' illness when they believed it had become life-threatening. They had asked him to return to Bethany as quickly as possible. While friends of Jesus, they had also become followers, believing his message, and that he was the Messiah, long-awaited in the Jewish community. Their message to Jesus wasn't only a call to a friend for support, but also a plea for healing for their brother that they had seen Jesus perform for others.
By all accounts Jesus didn't seem upset or worried about Lazarus, and said to his disciples, "This illness will not lead to death, rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after hearing that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was (John 11:4-5)." The disciples traveling with Jesus were relieved. They had no desire to return to Judea, the region in which Bethany was located, as the locals had attempted to stone Jesus the last time they were there. Their relief was short lived. Two days later Jesus told them it was time to go to his friends. "When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days (John 11:17)."
Located within a few miles of Jerusalem meant many people from the Jewish community had come to mourn Lazarus, but also to see when, or even if, Jesus would show up. Jesus' reputation in and around Jerusalem, site of the Holy Temple, was not as positive as in other areas, as the attempted stoning would indicate. The Chief Priests and Pharisees were more able to raise doubts about Jesus' teaching and miracle working on a consistent basis here. Word had already spread that the sisters had called on Jesus for help and he had basically said not to worry, he would be there in a few days. The gossip mill between Bethany and Jerusalem, and beyond, was running strong on that tidbit alone. What would Jesus say to these women now that he had arrived?
Martha had met Jesus outside of town, and their conversation included Martha's belief that Lazarus wouldn't have died if Jesus had been there, but she also still had faith in Jesus as her friend and the Messiah. Martha went back to the house to notify Mary privately that Jesus had arrived and was asking for her. As Mary left to meet Jesus, the crowd followed her, assuming she was going to her brother's tomb to grieve. "When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved (John 11: 32-33)." From there, Jesus, the disciples, Mary, Martha and the crowd of mourners moved on to the tomb, ostensibly to allow Jesus time to grieve as well. But something quite unexpected happened instead.
Jesus called for the stone to be rolled away from the front of the tomb. Against everyone's better judgment, the stone was rolled away, but many people kept their distance, anticipating the four-day-old stench of a dead body as more than they wanted to deal with. But instead, Jesus called for his friend to come out of his tomb. And he did. It isn't every day that we see a resurrection.
Bob Woodruff and Lazarus both returned to the public eye when hope was gone, and never more needed or prayed for. Lazarus' family and friends were probably no less shocked and grateful than we are for Bob Woodruff's return to us. But Lazarus' resurrection did not protect Jesus from further scrutiny by those in power who sought to destroy him. In fact, if anything, the resurrection from the dead of Lazarus spurred on Jesus' enemies to continue to work against him. Neither does Bob Woodruff's resurrection from a war zone absolve we, the United State's citizenry, from the responsibility to scrutinize our continued military presence in a country asking us to leave, a place we do not belong, and a president who has a need to keep us there for reasons not fully explained.
Resurrections do not mean all is fixed, just that God has not given up on us. Let us not disappoint in our response.
God's blessings,
Cory
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In This Moment
Searching for the Kingdom
Henry Mora saw an opportunity and seized the day.
A gold detector tested positive near the patio in the front yard of his Montclair, California, home and he figured this might be something big. So he grabbed a shovel and started digging. While he only intended to go down three or four feet, ten days and sixty feet later the Montclair Fire Department showed up, sidestepped the hole and shut down the whole operation. The hole was as deep as it was going to get and no significant amount of gold had been discovered. The city officials commented that the homeowner had gotten carried away and they were lucky that no one had gotten hurt in the process. The hole has been fenced off and Mora is required to work with a civil engineer to correct the situation. Interesting that a hole could cause such a stir.
I've wondered a time or two if Jesus based his parable about the kingdom of heaven being like treasure buried in a field on a real-life event, or if he discovered the image buried in his own imagination. The Gospel stories of the Biblical-era Henry Mora are simple and to the point. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field (Matthew 13:44)." Apparently the main character in the parable was a little more adventuresome, or a little more crazy than Mr. Mora. At least our modern-day treasure hunter already owned the land on which he was digging and didn't risk everything on an expedition that turned out to give him nothing back. And therein lies the question. When are we supposed to take risks with our lives and when are we supposed to stop digging, fill up the hole and go home?
Questions are a good place to start regarding Jesus parables. He taught using these compact, seemingly-obvious lessons to draw people in and then encourage them to really think about how the stories spoke to their faith and informed their lives. The people with whom Jesus conducted his ministry were from a variety of backgrounds. Some were farmers, others were shepherds or tradespeople. Those differences didn't matter because everyone living in the Roman Empire in the first century understood who was in charge. Rome's kingdom stretched far and wide, fully beyond most people's comprehension.
But when Jesus spoke of a kingdom of heaven, people wanted to know what that meant. Would Go'd's kingdom be like Rome's? That couldn't possibly be, so they asked Jesus, and themselves, what a kingdom with God as ruler would be like. Establishing that God's kingdom would be based in justice, mercy and love, all good things, the hunt to find the kingdom of heaven, wherever it may be, was on. Where should they look? Where should they start? Eventually these questions would bring them to Jesus' simple affirmation that the kingdom of heaven was already among them. But how could something so glorious be here on earth, especially an earth they mostly knew to be harsh, painful and oppressive?
Jesus gives them several examples, one of which is to see that the kingdom of heaven is so precious and rare that someone's joy in discovering it makes them act in ways that the world would describe as crazy. The kingdom of heaven is a treasure, hidden away on a piece of property that this person discovers by chance. But they recognize what it is, hide it again, and come back with every asset they have laid on the table to buy the land that holds the treasure. We don't know what happened after that, but we do know the original owner wasn't aware of the wealth their land held. Some people seem to be able to see the kingdom of heaven, know its true worth and be willing to put everything they have into making it their own. Seeing it and not realizing what it is would do the person no good. Neither would seeing it and recognizing its worth without being willing to stake everything on buying it. Awareness, recognition and investment, risking it all, is the way to discovering the kingdom of heaven. Faith is the answer if you have asked the right questions, and works embody that faith fully and deeply.
Henry Mora hasn't mentioned whether he was seeking more than gold in digging his front yard hole. If he was he is honoring the Biblical tradition of inner joy and outer silence. Seeking the kingdom of heaven is to be first on our list, and we are told that everything else will follow. Henry Mora's story is a modern reminder, a parable for today that tells us to pay attention, recognize God's kingdom and its priceless value when we see it and to be willing to give everything we have to claim it as our own. It doesn't matter how high the risk is of our friends and neighbors thinking we are crazy. Chances are they owned the land in the first place.
God's blessings, Cory
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In This Moment
Courageous Love
Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, chronicles the ninety-one days that Immaculee Llibagiza and six other women spent stuffed into a three-by-four foot bathroom while almost one million of their fellow citizens were being tortured and killed. Placed in this refuge by a caring, brave pastor, they were instructed clearly and simply to remain completely silent, or they would be discovered and die. What is most chilling about this story is the author's realization that the people seeking her death were not strangers, but people well-known to her and her family. Ms. Llibagiza writes that, "There were many killers. I could see them in my mind: my former friends and neighbors, who had always greeted me with love and kindness, moving through the house with spears and machetes and calling my name. 'I have killed 399 cockroaches,' they chanted, 'Immaculee will make 400. That is a good number to kill.'"
What is most amazing about this story, this woman, is her faith, and through that faith her ability to forgive the people who killed her family and heal her own life. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer said of Ms. Llibagiza in a recent email I received introducing her book, "Immaculee's journey will undoubtedly change the way we view faith - forever. It's a story of love for God that was so strong that hatred and revenge were forced to dissolve in its presence." In this same email, Dr. Christiane Northrup shared her thoughts: "Immaculee is a stunningly beautiful woman who emanates peace and light. Her story is one that confirms the existence of a power of Divine Source. After reading her book I came to understand and trust at a whole new level that true communion with God is possible for every one of us." Immaculee Llibagiza is someone who has lived into Jesus words: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for on another(John `2:35)."
As you read these words people's lives are, again, literally being destroyed. Sudanese government militia have invaded the Darfur region of their own country and are burning people's homes to the ground and systematically killing whole families - men, women and children. The violence is now moving across the Western border of Sudan into Chad and into the refugee camps that offer only minimal protection from the violence. In a recent news release from the international relief organization, Care, another woman's story was told. Zeriba is twenty-two years old. Her home was burned and as she ran for her life with her children, the militia followed them to steal their cattle, the only resource she had left. While she and her family escaped, they had to walk for days to reach a refugee camp. She gave birth to her twins two days after arriving at the camp, but could not bear to name them until they had survived a full week.
Thousands of people are living in these camps, people who have no shelter from the weather or continuous raids by the militia. They do not have enough food or water. Zeriba is one among so many that her full story will likely never be known.
But make no mistake. This is another holocaust. In what is being called the first genocide of the twenty-first century, 180,000 people have already been murdered in the last three years and another 200,000 have been forced from their homes. Imagine that everything you depend on, everything you are sure of in your life was suddenly torn away and you were left standing with nothing but fear propelling you forward with pure survival instinct. That is what the people of Darfur are feeling right now.
Immaculee Llibagiza's journey is one I pray that I am only faced with sharing in the reading of her book. But I am compelled to open my heart to the deep pain and horror she and her country faced. As I have learned of her story and the life-threatening events unfolding in Darfur, it is clear to me that one informs the other and we cannot ignore either if we are, as people of faith, to claim any connection to living that faith accurately in God's name. When we speak of Biblical martyrs, Jesus' words about whom we should fear are often quoted, a reminder that eternal life is the real focus, not the number of years we are given here on earth. I cannot quote those words here without feeling shallow and ashamed, knowing my faith requires and demands more of me. I do not know what it is to look murderous evil in the face and live.
What happened in Rwanda was horribly wrong. What is happening now in Darfur is even more horribly wrong because we are aware of what is happening. Our own president has said another holocaust would not happen on his watch. Again, as people of faith we have a moral obligation and a faithful obligation to discern how to be and to act in this situation. The simple truth is that our faith, though personal, is not a solo act. We were created for community and the people healing in Rwanda and those needing our help in Darfur are part of our community. There are many choices of faith to be made, those of prayer for safety and refuge, research to understand this conflict and the people involved, contributions of our voices to political actions that can help protect the Sudanese people, and choices to contribute to the organizations in Darfur who are providing for the immediate needs of refugees seeking hope and peace from their pain and suffering.
Even though Immaculee Llibagiza's journey is highly personal, something we may never be able to fully grasp or understand, she is also a part of our community. She is able to teach us forgiveness and love as active tools of God's grace in the face of humanity turned evil. She is able to teach us by stunning example what it is to hold fast to God and God's love in the face of death times one million souls. A Buddhist saying I encountered several years ago speaks of forgiveness in these words: "Because of deep love, we are courageous." I believe this is the kind of love Jesus spoke of, and the quality and power of forgiveness born of this love cannot be underestimated.
God's blessings, Cory
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In This Moment
Cross-Cultural Communication
The residents of West Milford, New Jersey, have an amazing story to tell tonight, a story of heroic proportions that will not soon be forgotten. For it was reported today that Jack, the fifteen pound orange and white tabby cat treed a bear in his own back yard. Twice. At first Jack's owner, seeing the cat sitting on the ground staring up at the bear, assumed Jack had simply discovered the bear. Bears aren't uncommon in this wooded area of Northern New Jersey. But as it turned out, the bear was afraid of the hissing cat. After coming down from the first tree, the bear, in the process of running away from the cat, climbed another tree. "He doesn't want anybody in his yard," explained Jack's owner.
Clearly.
My own three indoor cats have a fairly placid relationship with the creatures who come and go through our yard. Several neighborhood cats come to sit outside the back door of our house while my cats sit inside on the other side of the glass. Everybody stares at each other and are gracious to include me when I walk over to see what's up. I feel honored. Cats are pretty fussy about who they hang out with. Most of being with them is understanding them, and accepting them for who they are and what they have to offer. Dogs are geared to please their owners as the leader of the pack, but cats have a different agenda. Cats wake up ready to pursue their bliss and please themselves. Accept that, and everything else about them falls into place. If a cat is in your home with you it is because they want to be there, they enjoy your company and they respect you as worthy of being in their presence. If that doesn't make sense to you, or you think no animal has the right to commandeer your home, you are missing the point - and a glorious opportunity to understand an incredibly wonderful part of God's love for us.
Consider that before Jesus' arrest he spoke to his disciples about how he would be with them after his death. "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning (John 15: 26-27)." The disciples did their best to hear and understand what Jesus was telling them, but they were baffled by his words and blinded by their own hopes for the future. Three years of recreating their lives around Jesus' message had not come without a price. It he was now saying he was giving up or running away, which seemed incomprehensible, how could they even grasp that Jesus was forecasting his own death? Despite having grown up in the same culture, despite having been Jesus' closest followers, the disciples were hearing the words come out of Jesus' mouth and were not understanding a word he was saying. None of us would have done much better under the circumstances. Hindsight is theoretically 20/20, but we still struggle to discern and live Jesus' message today.
How the Advocate would come was never discussed, or at least never recorded until Pentecost came as a flame on the wind and the tongues of the people gathered that day. "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filed with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave the ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each (Acts 2:1-6)."
Amazing, isn't it, that in this incredible, joyful celebration of God's Spirit literally blowing among these people, not one of them was asked to give up who they were to be able to hear and understand each other. All they had to do was be there, to speak, and to listen. God's Spirit, the Advocate, worked the crowd and united them and their communication. They didn't lose their identities in their speaking or their hearing. They were able to hear everybody speaking to them in their own languages. No communication issues. No language barriers. No reasons not to understand what the people around them were saying, or to wonder if they themselves were being understood. Reflecting for a moment on the fact that we now refer to Pentecost as the birthday of the Christian church, we can, I believe, look upon these amazing gifts of acceptance and communication as two of God's greatest gifts to all of us.
I don't believe, though, that we have used these gifts all that well. We waste a lot of time as Christians thinking we are supposed to fit preconceived notions of what people of faith are like. Apparently we all think, act, speak, dress, worship and vote exactly the same way. No variations, no thought process and by that definition, no personality. So much for calling God the Great Creator because if that's all God can come up with in terms of human beings, best to go back and start over. Well, we aren't all the same and, in fact are pretty interesting if we want to invest some effort in figuring that out. And, owing to the fact that we have that responsibility to love and accept ourselves as God created us, Pentecost also reminds us we have an equal responsibility to open the gift of mutual respect for each of God's other human creations, including in how we communicate with each other. Especially in how we communicate with each other. Which brings us to Pentecost as one of those big reminders God has given us to remember the two greatest commandments, to love God, and to love each other as we love ourselves.
Which brings us back to cats. Once you accept cats for what they are, not for what you want them to be, you can hear what they are saying. It's all pretty easy after that, especially when you realize that is all they wanted from you, and what they wanted to give you in return, in the first place.
God's blessings, Cory
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In This Moment
Reunion
A bright red postcard told the tale: Mark your calendars for a very special event. The Sturgeon Bay High School Class of 1976 30th Class Reunion. Plans were listed for a family picnic, a golf outing, an evening with dinner and dancing and an ecumenical worship service. Arriving well in advance of the mid-summer dates listed, there would be plenty of time to jockey personal schedules into the summer-stocked limited availability of lodging on Wisconsin's Door Peninsula. The postcard arrived weeks ago, but the actual graduation happened thirty years ago today. Having not attended any of the clockwork-consistent reunions staged by my former classmates every five years since we graduated, I am fascinated by all the stories we each have to tell about our own lives. They may not be especially dramatic or unusual, but most of our stories began at a shared time and place that we each still carry with us.
We started kindergarten in September 1963. Between the common ritual beginning our education and our return to classes for sixth grade in the fall of 1969, President Kennedy, his brother, Robert and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. would be killed, human beings would stand on the moon and the Vietnam War, and rallies against its continuation, would escalate to the point of nightly inclusion in Walter Cronkite's news reports. By the time this turning point called our high school graduation rolled around we had already seen the United States live through one of its most turbulent periods. For us it was simply when we grew up.
Where we grew up informed our lives as well. While bitter cold and a thick layer of snow and ice covered Wisconsin most of the winter, the summers were just shy of being the Garden of Eden. As a child you learned early not to complain about the weather, and to appreciate the beauty around you while you had it. The extraordinary and the ordinary meshed easily and simply to create our world.
But after that day, our individual lives emerged and our paths diverged. The few times I bumped into former classmates in the years immediately after graduation, I learned that we didn't really know each other all that well. Having grown up together in a very small town only meant that we had mostly absorbed the community perception of each other. Familiarity has been known to breed contempt, but it can also inspire an interpersonal lethargy, a thick layer of social numbness that keeps the social order in place without too many jolts and jostles. As a child who craved the expansiveness of a bigger, deeper world, I moved on to graduate school and other parts of the country, then visited other parts of the world I had only imagined as a little girl. When I read the online edition of the Door County Advocate, the local paper, I caught glimpses of the people who stayed and made Sturgeon Bay their adult home. Once in awhile I have romantic notions about living there again. But there is no longer home, only where I am from.
The Bible speaks about people of faith who stayed put in their ancestral homes, but also shares the stories of wanderers whose home is left far behind them, except in their memories. The Gospel of Luke draws to a close the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem with their safe return to Nazareth. "When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of the Lord was upon him (Luke2:39-40)." Jesus set out on his own journey years later, and after his temptation in the wilderness also returned to Nazareth. Unlike his parents, Jesus wasn't meant to settle back into the rhythms of small town life. After he read from the prophet Isaiah at the synagogue, his hometown wanted nothing more to do with him. "They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff (Luke 4:29)." Not everyone gets such a send off into the world, but for many there is that sense that their future lies elsewhere and they must reach for it.
We each have our own story to live and our own faith journey to follow. What is so interesting to me is how each community we are a part of still exists as how we remember it, but also ebbs and lows with the tides of time to become much larger and deeper than anything we could possibly remember or imagine. There is a part of me that is curious about what it has been like for the people who stayed and have witnessed all the changes and growth that have occurred there over the years. What is that like? But I also am curious as to whether the people who stayed wonder what it would have been like to move out and on, and to see if another place in the world would be as satisfying to them.
Reunions, whether you attend them or not, are about a different sort of fellowship, one of memory and hope, and the realities of the decisions that shape our lives with subtle force over time. Standing on this side of thirty years of living, that shaping feels quite good. I hope my classmates feel the same way.
Until next time, God's blessings,
Cory
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In This Moment
Who Are The Chosen?
The New England Patriots have announced their desire to create a Hall of Fame celebrating their team's players and accomplishments. While eleven former players are considered Hall of Fame members for their contributions to the sport, their "hall" has been six pages in the team's media guide. With three Super bowl victories to their credit in the past five years, the Patriots are ready to establish something more permanent. Plans are being developed for a Patriots museum, a place at which the team's artifacts and memorabilia can be displayed, and past heroes can be fully honored.
But here in lies the new challenge. Who will be included in the Patriots Hall of Fame? Those already chosen crossed the threshold from star player to sports legend without meeting any predetermined criteria because no criteria had been established. Now, facing the broader reality of having to decide who else gets in, and why, choices must be presented and decisions made in a whole new light. It's a different ball game when your team has become so popular that you have to set up rules and regulations to include the few and exclude the many.
Does the idea of picking and choosing sound familiar to you? Perhaps you recall your school gym classes in which sides were chosen by team captains selecting player after player, until one poor soul remained. Or maybe there was a party you hoped to be invited to, but the invitation never came. And, later in life, there may have been a job for which you felt you were strongly qualified, but someone else got the call back you anticipated.
Deciding who plays for which team, attends a social event, or even who gets the job, are decisions that are out of our hands, even if we can determine how those decisions were made. If you couldn't play basketball to save your soul, you probably reconciled yourself to being the last one standing a long time ago. High school social events are usually about popularity, as much as adult functions are about building success. Sometimes a party is just a group of people spending time together because they want to. Jobs often go to people of moderate skill or talent, but with great positive attitude that will carry them forward. In short, judgments are made every day to include some people and those decisions automatically exclude many others.
One would hope that faith decisions would not fall into this category, but that would be false hope. We in the faith community are quite adept at making choices based on our perceptions of how we think God wants us to interact with one another. While we include people who agree with us, we exclude those whose own faith or worship practices are different than our own. Using the label "Christian" to describe our music, films, vacation destinations and books defines our preferences, but also limits our understanding of God's expansiveness in the world. Not everything God has a hand in creating has the word "Christian" in front of it. Even when we are supposed to be aiming to create churches that embody God's Word and Spirit, places that are supposed to encourage and equip people to identify and use their God-given spiritual gifts, we frequently have a need to truncate God's spiritual activity because it may change the status quo. We talk a whole lot about God and Jesus Christ changing our lives, but we are not always so pleased with the idea that God works with other people's lives too, and that God still has work for each of us as well. The phrase, "God is in control," has emerged as the calling card for many people who are quite comfortable in believing that they have their faith, and their God, firmly under their own control.
Looking back over Jesus' three year public ministry, two things are evident: Jesus was Jewish, having never left the Temple, and Jesus died a martyr, a political prisoner because he challenged people to be inclusive. While the Romans were not happy that Jesus stirred up the crowds during his public preaching and teaching, the real issues erupted within his own faith community because he stirred people's souls.
Jesus knew that many Jewish prophets and religious leaders had been killed before him. The Jewish faith had, and continues to have, a long memory, shared through an oral and written tradition, of how God worked among them to lead their nation every step of the way. Jesus was well aware that his time was limited, and the breadth and depth of what he accomplished in such a short time could be considered his greatest miracle. He didn't waste time wondering if he had offended someone while speaking God's truth. He didn't label his work or mission as Jewish. Although it is fair to say that the majority of his listeners, and all of his disciples, were Jewish, Jesus didn't exclude anyone from his ministry. He also didn't consider himself better than anyone else, or for that matter, closer to God. He lived his faith and did the work to which he was called. Romans and Samaritans are clearly a part of Jesus' audiences. He met them face-to-face and included them in his conversations and his teachings. No matter how much the crowds and the disciples tried to deny people they didn't deem worthy access to Jesus, Jesus always paid attention to the people who most needed his attention, and he gave them what they needed from him. Jesus included everyone - the blind, the lame, the lepers, the tax collectors, the women, the children - whether his followers or his own religious leadership were comfortable with what he was doing or not.
While parts of our faith culture seems very comfortable labeling certain groups and behaviors as Christian, and are equally comfortable feeling inclusive in this practice, it is the least Christian of behaviors possible. Christian programming, books, media and vacation resorts are only as Christian as the people creating, leading or participating in them. If such definitions extend to dictating the behavior of the participants based on the leadership's personal beliefs, claiming any connection to the Biblical, historical or risen Jesus Christ is over. Jesus never made decisions of faith or behavior for anyone but himself. If any of us surrenders that personal choice of faith to another human being we have chosen to exclude ourselves from God who created us and chooses us over and over again.
Who are the chosen? The New England Patriots are working that out as we speak. Regarding our faith in God, we are all chosen. We always have been and always will be. But we must also always bear in mind that, while easier to include ourselves or others based on criteria other than God's love, mercy and justice, it is rarely, if ever, Christian.
Until next time, God's Blessings
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In This Moment
What Remains
Forbes.com recently ran an article that was rather shocking and intriguing all at once. The job market is not what it used to be and it is not going to look the same twenty years from now. Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock and Revolutionary Wealth, is quoted as saying that, "Most jobs are going to change. They'll survive, but they'll change." Almost any job dealing with technology will adjust to the advances we are used to seeing in media , communications and information technology. Some jobs will not fair so well and will disappear altogether, positions like cashier, CD store manager and construction worker. Machines will take over and make human beings unnecessary. And there will be new jobs created with titles that speak of how we envision our future world: flood area worker and quarantine enforcer. The former evokes chilling images from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the latter stirs renewed concerns for pandemics that are no longer if, but when scenarios.
But back to Mr. Toffler's original observation. Many jobs beyond technology-related ones will stay with us for one simple reason: we still need them and they require a certain human touch. The list is quite varied, and includes barber, politician, mortician, tax collector, artist and religious leader. It's curious that despite the fact of being a technology-driven culture, we still want a human being to cut our hair, represent us in government, prepare our bodies for burial, collect our taxes, create beauty in the world and guide us on our journey with God and each other. All of this is good to know as we move beyond this initial toe-dip into the new millennium. It's 2006, we haven't completely destroyed the planet or each other, and we have some work ahead of us.
That work, as people of faith called to a living community known as the body of Christ, is something that has not changed much at all since the first Christians began gathering together in each others homes centuries ago. This work we are called to is outlined by Paul in his letter to the church at Ephesus. "The gifts God gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4: 11-13)." For as much as we still desire a human being in the pulpit and at our bedside when we are ill, Paul is talking about each person of faith taking responsibility for figuring out what their role is in helping to equip the body of Christ, fellow believers, in strengthening their faith and ministry.
Does this concept fit with your understanding of the faith community? There is a lot of discussion and programming built around spiritual gifts, but how much of this work is applied to nurturing each other, supporting each other in the important work of building up the body of Christ?
It is no coincidence that Paul also included a few observations on what it meant not to move forward into a fully-committed work on behalf of one's faith community and how the body of Christ looks when it works well within itself. "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every word of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love (Ephesians 4:14-16)."
Cashiering jobs may disappear in the next twenty years, but apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in the body of Christ will always have work. We will always have the chance to speak truth with love, the opportunity to grow in every way in living our faith, and giving of what we have been given to our fellow believers. This is what remains.
Until next time, God's blessings
