Author: jkwest44

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Worship is God’s act of creation/re-creation; it is the story setting what we do apart from the rest of the world and the training to become what God has re-created us to be; it is the performance of the biblical script, which engenders the type of life toward which God has called us.

The Rebar Bible

The bible is like the rebar of faith. Rebar is a strong and important part of reinforcing structures, but it will not, on it’s own, produce a viable building. To build something out of rebar may very well produce a structure that can grow to great heights and stand strong even in the midst of horrible weather. But to walk along a floor of rebar will always leave you just a few inches from falling straight through the cracks. What may feel and look like solid ground is actually a structure so full of holes that you cannot even move without risking a great fall and without focusing intently on precisely where your next step will fall.

The Holy Spirit is the concrete that supports the foundation upon which the faithful stand. It doesn’t matter much how it is laid or where it falls – as long as we are standing upon the foundation of the Holy Spirit, we are on solid ground. Concrete can be used to build structures as well, but without the reinforcement of rebar, those structures are not likely to withstand the things nature may throw it’s way. A building of concrete will crack and fall in the midst of a storm or an earthquake if it is not properly reinforced. It may provide a sure footing upon which to stand and a complete surface on which to walk without hesitation; but without reinforcement it will not survive its first disaster.

To build a proper life and house of faith requires that we receive the sure foundation of the Holy Spirit AND that we seek after the reinforcement of God’s Word to learn how to build our house. It is dangerous to think we can simply read and accept the Bible at it’s face because there will be constant holes and edges off of which we will fall when left to our own devices. It is equally dangerous to think that we can build something meaningful and Godly through unquestioned experiences of God without the lessons God reveals in the Bible; when tragedy strikes or when egos get involved, it’s far too easy to stray from the path God lays out before us and to see our foundation crumble beneath our feet.

12

Jesus of the gospels is historically plausible partly because to experience (to have direct present access to) an event is already to begin interpretation; to tell of an experience is to interpret again and to hear of an event is at least a third layer of interpretation. To see, tell, and hear all require the power of the Holy Spirit to give us eyes to see, words to speak, and ears to listen; to know the historical/theological/political Jesus requires that the grace of God reshape our imagination by the power of the Spirit.

Is it a sin is like is it offensive

I ask every couple in marriage counseling to consider how their childhood affects their expectations of the marriage. This same topic was on the table for one particular couple whose childhoods didn’t share much in common because they were from entirely different states and cultures. The man (white, mid 40s, from an upper middle class family) and the woman (hispanic, early 30s, from a poor family) were asked who cleaned the house when they were growing up. The man responded, “Well, her mom would do the cleaning in their house because they couldn’t afford a maid. And her mom would clean our house because we could.” He grinned from ear to ear, proud of his joke.

My heart beats just a tad faster even typing out the joke because I think it might just be offensive to hispanics and women and maids. But after just a few seconds of silence, the woman burst out laughing at the man’s joke. She loved his sense of humor. I can only imagine how my wife would feel if I told an analogous joke at her or her family’s expense. It would not go well.

When a Christian tries to parse out whether or not a particular action is a sin, I cannot help but think of this man and woman. To ask “is it a sin?” is like asking “was his joke offensive?” The answer is probably almost always, “yes and no.” Yes, it would be offensive to a lot of people. But no, it was not offensive to her.

Zoom in or out on your perspective regarding just about any word or action and you will find a similar dynamic at play. Every action will hurt and help someone. No matter your intentions or desires or the consequences, we exist within so many various and competing frames of reference that there is nothing we can do to prevent a word or action from harming someone, somewhere, at some time.

The question “is it sin” is ultimately a useless question to ask. The better question is the same one you have to ask about the couple above – does this word or action build up the relationship or tear it down. The best we can hope to do is align our intentions with building up all of God’s children in love and apologize when (not if) the consequences don’t match our intent. A life of faith is not a life in which we do not tear down; it is a life in which we participate in God’s mission to build the kingdom here.

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Worship is the space of the most focused intentionality to do the work of God in a way that both illuminates and is illuminated by the light of the gospel story. Worship is the space that forms our ability to see the world as it has been shaped by the creative hands of God. It cannot then be an activity that is primarily passive and for; worship must be active and with.

Creation as a Warehouse

The way I hear many people talk of salvation makes me think of creation as one large beach with a big line drawn in the sand. On this beach there are three judges, one on each end and one in the middle empowering people to step from one side to the other. The Father’s side is the one to be on, the Son is on the other side encouraging people to cross over to the Father’s side, and the Spirit makes the cross happen. There are others all over the place directing people where to go, but only the three judges really know the rules of the game. At some point a whistle is blown and the judges take note of who is where. Those on the right side of the line have a party with the judges – complete with party hats, hamburgers, and ice cream. Those on the left side are cast aside to anguish in their defeat forever (or perhaps if one is feeling particularly harsh, they are thrown in the fire pit to serve as charcoal for the burgers). Getting lost in the mix or following the wrong directions is no excuse for being found on the wrong side at the end of the game.

If this depiction were the best way to think of creation I don’t think I could argue much with those who say Christians are exclusive and hypocritical. I don’t really think we’re all running around and hoping to be found on the correct side of the line when the whistle blows. I don’t think our lives are nearly as simple as that and even if there is a big line in the sand I don’t think we have the perspective to say where many (if we can even say where any) people are standing. Even if it is true that there is finally a big line in the sand, we are clearly acting like children running around drawing so many lines (and boxes) in the sand that we have covered from our sight the only line that really matters. Even if there is a line, thinking in these terms is almost exclusively more of a distraction from what we ought to be doing than a gauge of spiritual health. I don’t believe our knowledge influences the outcome of the game anyway and, it’s not so much about us and where we stand as it is about God and how much we are transformed by the light of and from Christ.

I find it more helpful to think that creation is like an unmeasurable warehouse, with no walls and no windows, no electricity and no skylight. Hanging from the roof at the center of that warehouse is a single point of light. The source of the light is infinitesimal; the reach of the light infinite. The light shines day and night, winter and summer, rain and shine. The light is carried out so that the whole warehouse receives some measure of the light. From everlasting to everlasting the light has shone forth from the center and it has returned as by a clear and perfect mirror just beyond the edge of infinity. At some point, humans were created in the midst of the warehouse like a small mirror to reflect the light, but its surface was quickly dimmed and its edges quickly broken. 

Humans are given free range of the warehouse to walk as they see fit; wandering to and fro as mirrors dimly reflecting a portion of the light. From time to time they give birth to new mirrors as they fragment where they stand and each can see in the other a portion of the light. The beauty of the light draws some toward the center like a moth to a flame, though they still stumble and fall in the dimness along the way, or are distracted from time to time by the reflections they see in their companions. They can never reach the true center of the light, though it’s brilliance grows as they come closer. As they move closer to the light, they begin to see more and more how far they must travel to reach the light. As they continue to walk, their eyes adjust and what was once blinding now appears dim and faded. Some lose heart, preferring to stay where they are rather than continue the quest. Some press onward hoping to see the pure brilliance of the light in its fullness. 

Others ignore the light and prefer to follow after the dim shadows towards the outer reaches of the warehouse. They strain their eyes to see, thinking that if they look just a little harder, their surroundings will become clear. What they see is a tiny portion of the light, but instead of turning to its source, they prefer their own reflection. From time to time, someone on the far reaches of the warehouse turns, whether by accident or intention, and sees the light for the first time. Though they see but a fraction of the true light, it is blinding to their eyes that have known only darkness. Once they have seen the light, they are drawn to the light, its power is overwhelming and they begin to move forward, towards the center where others have begun to gather. 

As more begin to journey towards the center, they see their cracked and broken edges. Some of their edges fit better with others and when they find their best fit the light that they reflect together gets just a little brighter. As more and more join to walk together, they find strength in each other and are moved by the power of the light even when their own portion has grown dim. In groups, they zig and they zag, moving forwards and backwards, but always seeking to be closer to the radiance of beauty, to the source of the light. From time to time, parts of the group grow weary and rest. At times, some zig while others zag, none realizing their separate reflections have grown dim. Sometimes mistaking their union for the source of their newly found radiance, they become afraid to move for fear of growing dim. At other times, groups join one another to shine more brightly.

At some point, the mirrors shall all be cleaned. The pieces will be fused together and made perfect once again. In that day the light and the darkness shall become as night and day. To those who fail to turn and see that the light is good, it will be a time of despair. Either the shadows that once testified to the presence of the light will be removed and utter darkness will be their sight. Or perhaps they will at once be blinded by the full force of light’s pure source. To those who are facing the light and have grown accustomed to its brilliance, it will be a time of rejoicing. Even the tiniest specks of dirt have been removed and they will glory in the pure light forever.   

*Written spring 2013. There’s far too much going on to analyze, but it’s still an interesting visual.

 

Rights ARE Responsibilities

The notion of rights as a substantive determination for how a human is to be treated is only effective in so much as those in power recognize their responsibility toward those without power. It is the responsibility to raise up those without power that forms the foundation upon which rights can serve as a meaningful imperative toward action. Responsibility to another is, therefore, more basic than rights. And the reversal of this reality in modern America is in no small part a driving force toward the vapidity of rights as a theory that can be constitutive of decision making.

Rights, seen as basic, are inherently violent because they pit the desert of one human being against that of another and coercion is the only way to resolve an inevitable conflict. Responsibilities, embodied fully, are inherently self sacrificial because they force each person to consider what of their deserts might be outweighed by that which they owe to another. Neither rights nor responsibilities are sufficient to ensure a just society, but the latter can at least give the language to speak of justice in terms that recognize a victory for one as loss for another. Viewed through the lens of rights, a victory may seem to only be the manifestation of a justice that was previously hidden, but already existed and only waited to be found. But that view cannot do anything to address the real feeling of loss for the party responsible for giving up what they believed to be theirs.

For instance, if I own land that is later found to have been stolen by the person from whom I purchased it, it may be that my responsibility is to give the land back to the ‘rightful’ owner, but that doesn’t make the loss of land by me any less significant than the fact that someone else may have the legal right to its ownership. Focusing only on rights implies that my sense of loss is invalid because I never had the right to the land in the first place. Saying I have a responsibility to justice at least gives the framework in which my real sense of loss is given expression and value. Rights are a zero sum game in which one or the other prevails. Responsibilities open the possibility for each participant to submit to the notion that human flourishing is often greater than the sum of its parts.

I believe my deepest qualm with rights as practiced in America is that it now operates from the wrong direction. It is understandable that as a minority group who felt persecuted, the founders of our country would start with what they believed to be their rights in opposition to the forces that held them down. However, now that rights are being discussed and put in place by the majority in power, the problems with rights are exposed. To be consistent with what it meant to claim rights as an oppressed minority, the government now ought to speak from the perspective of our responsibilities to one another. The outcome may be somewhat the same in principle, but the execution, as explored above, makes all the difference if you see rights or responsibilities as the more basic reality. The violence of rights can become problematic, but it is easily suppressed if embodied by one without power; the self sacrifice of responsibility is necessary, but hardly discussed when wielded by those in power.

To be sure, responsibilities can easily become an assertion of power just as problematic as oppositional rights. To assume that those without power need whatever it is that those with power want to give is to do no less violence to human flourishing than to pit the rights of one individual against those of another. I do, however, believe the distinction is worth making because there is, within the language of responsibilities far more so than rights, the possibility of a constructive notion of mutually beneficial community, even when the needs/desires of one member conflict deeply with the needs/desires of another. Perhaps the first responsibility of us all is to take the time and effort to simply listen and deeply hear the stories of the men and women who do not look and think and act like us – especially those with less power and influence than us.

Intercessory Pony

Intercessory prayer is important in at least the same sense that it is important for a child to ask a parent for a pony. What matters most in the parent child relationship is not the answer to the request, but the process by which the encounter happens. No child has ever been hopelessly broken merely by a parent’s refusal to buy a pony in the same way that no child has ever achieved everlasting joy by receiving a pony. On the flip side, plenty of children learn resilience and patience when a parent can’t offer such an extravagant gift and plenty of others have been hopelessly spoiled by the assumption that they deserve everything they desire.

Neither answer inherently changes anything, but the process by which a yes or a no occurs does dramatically affect the way a child develops and relates to parents and others. To simply not ask does as much to reflect and shape the relationship as getting either answer. In prayer, as in asking for a pony, almost no lasting or meaningful change happens based on the answer – what does change both parties is the willingness to make what is inside of us known and the embrace of what is found deep inside. To no longer make known the desires of our hearts is to forego the possibility of intimacy with God.