Faith Venture

Sometimes we read too much into a situation.

Maybe there was no ulterior or hidden motive.

Sometimes people just say things without thinking that should just be taken at face value and move on.

Sometimes it is what it is.

Here are my three little buddies I have drawn parables from the past two days.

They are all walking fine, well as fine as a duck can walk.

Have no idea what happened to the females. I’ve seen none at the park this spring.

In America we celebrate a holiday this weekend. Enjoy it for what it is.

There were three male Mallard ducks. Just hanging out by the pond. Strange. Unusual. Three male ducks never just hang out in that neighborhood. Maybe they are up to no good.

Then I notice one duck is limping. I’ve never seen a duck limp. Obviously something is wrong. He must have tangled with something. Maybe a fish hook in the water left behind by an errant caster. Maybe a cat had big ideas.

Most likely the duck’s two friends were looking out for him.

It reminded me of the story Jesus told about the man who was an outcast from the local society stopped to help a wounded man from the majority culture.

Yesterday (link above), I wrote the same scene from one perspective–my initial reaction to three guys hanging out. Today, the same scene, except I was more observant.

I know nothing about duck culture. I am projecting human behavior on animals.

However the two views of the same scene offers another teaching moment.

At least three times in the past couple of weeks I have read news items where a white person has called the police to investigate black people who a) were in that place legally b) doing nothing wrong or even suspicious.

It was all in the mind of the caller. Their brains composed a story based upon some prejudice or past encounter or just fear of others not like themselves. They (not surprisingly) believed their brains’ stories. Panicked. Called the police for protection–from nothing.

Be honest. If you saw three strangers, what story would your brain create? Would you be emotionally intelligent enough to pause and question the thought? Make a further observation? Even offer help if needed?

We know that we believe whatever we tell ourselves to believe. Motivational speakers use that trick all the time telling you to just tell yourself that you are great–and eventually you will believe it.

Politicians use the trick all the time, as well. Repeat the same story over and over and pretty soon people will believe the biggest lie is really the truth.

Be careful what you choose to believe. It may be all in your head. And wrong.

Like a scene from a late ’50s movie.

Three guys. Hanging out on a downtown street corner. Wearing the uniform of the day–blue jeans, white T shirt, pack of cigarettes rolled into one sleeve. Plenty of hair creme combed into slicked back hair. Cigarette dangling loosely from the corner of the mouth. Motorcycle in background. Bored. Nothing good will happen.

Every day for the past week when I go to the park to exercise I pass three male Mallard ducks. Unusual. They are always in pairs. Maybe three couples. Never three males alone. They form a little circle. They scrunch down. They watch almost bored not moving as someone approaches. I think of this scene from an old movie (James Dean?).

And I think of this saying from Proverbs:

Walk with the wise, for the companion of fools suffers harm.

Just show up…sometimes that’s half the job.

When we have trouble getting started

Just show up…sometimes that’s all it takes

To support someone

To mourn with someone

To rejoice with someone

Just show up…and let God

Do his thing

Give you the next step

Teach you something

Use you

Where do you need to be today?

It was a time of political and religious turmoil. People in general were hungry spiritually. They often felt empty. But also confused. There were many strangers walking through the land.

There were leaders intent on devising ever more laws, rules, and regulations telling the people how to live their lives down to the smallest details.

Then a guy appeared. He taught people how to live with freedom–from blindly following rules; from the things that kept them from God like their emotional hang-ups, addictions, blindness (physical and spiritual), rigidities.

He constantly called out the leaders for their hypocrisy.

He talked about God as his father, with whom he was very close.

People loved him. Leaders (for the most part) hated him.

They killed him.

The Bible tells this story.

Dostoyevsky retells it in the time of the Spanish Inquisition in the story of the Grand Inquisitor within The Brothers Karamazov.

What if he came today. Would we kill him again?

For Pentecost I was meditating on the coming of the Spirit upon Jesus’ followers when the meditation started to focus on Jesus coming–not like we expect him. Sort of like 2,000 years ago.