Faith Venture

Yesterday I pondered whether I’ve ever been such a bad example of Jesus-follower that I’ve turned people away. Or, as Paul told Jewish people in Rome who received his letter, “You are the reason Gentiles hate our God.”

I’m thinking of a couple of “old guys” who influenced me just by being them.

I have to preface the story with history. Back in the old days when I was in high school and college there was a job called “milk man.” That was one way I earned money to survive in college. I delivered milk and dairy products to people’s homes.

Clarence lived in a big house on a hill out in the countryside. He lived alone. Probably was in his 70s. He was uneducated formally, but actually he was quite educated. He had a observatory in his upstairs. He’d sometimes startle me when I dropped off his order of milk (for his cats, I think). “What’s the morning star today?” We didn’t have long conversations. He presented many thought provoking questions.

Joe still ran marathons in his 70s. Not fast. But he finished. He clued me into some challenging books as we discussed ideas in the steam room after a workout. He also was not “educated”; but he actually was.

I’m the “old guy” now. The challenge is to be like those guys and others I’ve known. What about you? Learning? Teaching?

Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman church a paragraph directed to his Jewish leader brethren. He told them that although they had studied the words of the Law and Prophets assiduously, they had so failed to live up to the spirit of them that it was their fault that people hated their god.

In another place he wrote:

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decidenever to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

Paul the Apostle

Jesus likewise had harsh words for those who lead others on the wrong path:

It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Jesus of Nazareth

Why have so many popular and influential Christian leaders fallen causing many to lose faith and outsiders to bolster their cynicism?

The question for me, and the question for you, is…what have I done or said that would cause another to lose faith or shun God?

Someone attempts a humble act of service. It doesn’t come off as well as we might have wished. We say, “Their heart was in the right place.”

That is the key.

Having our heart in the right place is exactly what Jesus had in mind for us. He was always concerned with the state of our heart.

We exercise, abstain from smoking, eat “real food”, practice relaxation for our physical heart.

We study, meditate, pray, serve for our spiritual heart.

We start the day with a heart checkup. How are we doing? How will we do today?

Some people make things happen, some watch it happen, and some wonder what happened.

Twisted history of attributions

Have you noticed how many people seem to drift through life. Things happen to them. They may blame others or outside forces. They may pray, but those prayers may be reactions, futile, mere stirring of the air.

Some people do things with intention. The commit in their minds to do something. They may succeed; they may fail. The outcome doesn’t matter. The causation string of desire —>intention (commitment)—>action makes all the difference.

This matters to our own spiritual formation. It matters to the service we provide to others and the world.

When you pray, pray with intention.

When you serve, serve with intention.

At all times check in to make sure your intentions align with the person you wish to become.

My contemplation this morning coalesced around how we respond.

It began with fear. We have so many fears. Mostly of the unknown. Mostly of things that will never happen. Yet, we are affected. Do we respond by lashing out at whoever or whatever is around? Do we respond by freezing or hiding? Or do we respond by facing the fear and its roots and dealing with it?

The Covid pandemic is two years old. In most places of the world, things are getting better. In a few, the virus is still spreading. How did we respond? Did we maintain some stability? Did we work through the changes? As we emerge, how are we coping?

We can respond by allowing our inner drives and emotions take the lead. Often that is dysfunctional.

We can respond through awareness of the situation and ourselves. Then we choose our best response. That takes work. But it is the good work.

When Paul the Apostle wrote a letter to one of his groups, the letter was read aloud at the recipient church by one of the leaders. Straight through. But then, I imagine that the group would discuss the letter. Paul often pointed out shortcomings or things they were doing wrong. I imagine that sparked some strong emotions.

I just read his letter to the Roman church pretty much straight through. It struck me that much of the letter answered questions and addressed problems unique to this group.

That doesn’t mean we can’t learn from his advice.

One thing that strikes me is that Paul did not stop his discussion with “you are saved by grace through faith.” It’s not like that is the end. It is the beginning–the beginning of your new life.

Following his theological discussion of God throughout history and what God has done for us, Paul then describes what a new life living with God through Jesus looks like. We treat others with grace and respect. We become good citizens of our city and country. We hold ourselves holy.

He’s telling us that spiritual formation has a physical component. Putting our bodies to service of others is an integral part of our growth in the spirit. We cannot just sit on our faith.

Arrived home from San Diego last night about midnight. Slept in almost an hour. But still went over to the fitness center for workout and whirlpool. Finishing my bowl of steel cut oats when my wife exclaims, “There’s a dog on the patio!”

I play with dogs. I don’t own dogs. There is never a lost dog in the neighborhood. She thought maybe it was our neighbor’s Pomeranian mix. But one look, and no. And no neighbor chasing it.

I looked at it. Definitely not Mochi. And it looked strangely bedraggled. Oh, someone had started shearing the thing, got about half-way, stopped. There was a strange basket thing on its neck. Later, the police officer said it was supposed to be on the snout. The dog was a biter.

I spent the next hour-and-a-half on the dog. Went outside. It barked and snarled at me. Usually dogs will come to me. I’ll make friends. Tell it to go home, and lead it home. This dog snarled, bared its teeth, and was going no where. It liked our patio.

Posted on the community Facebook pages. Wrote to the association management. They said call the police. Did that. She comes and tries to get the thing. Neighbor sent her grandson with bacon. Nothing worked. Finally got it with a lasso thing.

Oh, the dog had no identification on it. I posted on Facebook that the dog was now in police custody if anyone could find an owner. I had looked around the neighborhood to see if someone was looking for a dog. Nothing. Later the association posted a picture of an incarcerated dog.

My morning was now shot. And errands and blog posting were all out of the window.

No sense worrying about lost productivity. Some days are just that way, and you live with it. Just don’t let it be a habit.

I began a practice while still quite young of treating every human that I meet on their own. I almost always initially allow some level of trust. Then they can prove their character one way or another. I never seek revenge, but there are many I’ve chosen to stay away from rather than get argumentative or angry.

Gender matters not. Nor race, age, ethnicity, disability. I’ve just never had occasion to doubt what the writers in the Bible tell us about all of us being children of God. He loves each of us. He, according to Paul in Romans, has already worked for us.

This month has been set aside by someone as International Women’s month, and I guess I missed International Women’s Day. I’m not good at these observances. But since it came into my awareness, I thought I should consider how many have misinterpreted the role of women in the New Testament.

I think of Jesus bantering with the Syro-Phoenician woman. Probably unheard of action of a rabbi. He was touched by an “unclean” woman, she was healed. He was now ceremonially unclean. But that didn’t bother him. He treated her as a child of God. He dealt compassionately with Mary Magdalene and the woman caught in adultery. His relationships with Mary and Martha may not have been too surprising, but that his followers wrote those stories is amazing.

There is more. And although patriarchists cite sentences from Paul to support male domination, try reading his letters completely. How he cites and complements women leaders in the early movement. How he told women that it was OK to pray in the assembly (the head covering thing is totally misinterpreted).

Respect and uphold the women in your life. They are children of God loved by him.

In this time where media (both mass and social) strive to exploit strong emotions such as fear and hatred in order to drive more traffic, I appreciate the words of Philip Berrigan who, along with his brother and also a priest Daniel Berrigan, exhibited leadership I respected back in the day.

I don’t gather that God wants us to pretend our fear doesn’t exist, to deny it, or eviscerate it. Fear is a reminder that we are creatures – fragile, vulnerable, totally dependent on God. But fear shouldn’t dominate or control or define us. Rather, it should submit to faith and love. Otherwise, fear can make us unbelieving, slavish, and inhuman. I have seen that struggle: containing my fear, rejecting its rule, recognizing that it saw only appearances, while faith and love saw substance, saw reality, saw God’s bailiwick, so to speak: “Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid!”

Philip Berrigan

He does not talk of avoiding fear. Nor should we try to ignore it. Rather, like I wrote yesterday about where to focus our life, walk with God.

Easy to say. Difficult to live. I, in my security of suburban American life, wonder how I would face being in the Ukraine staring at Russian tanks. Could I live my faith?