Hope is a powerful medicine. Paul placed in among the big three in his first letter to the Corinthians. Faith, hope and love, he wrote, open a path to joyful living filled with fruits of the spirit.
Often we view words like faith, hope and love like pretty pictures, or hear them as sweet musical notes that charm us but carry no deep meaning. Doing so allows us to go on leading the pedestrian lives we seem to prefer.
But they have real meaning for those who wish to feel their power. Faith is the conviction that all of God’s creation was meant for good, and hope persuades us that with enough faith we can restore that goodness. But this is possible only if we live our lives with love for God and one another. The big three: faith, hope and love.
So now we have a new president. The nation -- and the world -- is full of hope that changes we’ve wished for will come to pass. But do we have enough faith and love? Without faith and love, hope can accomplish nothing. Paul ends the 13th chapter of First Corinthians by saying that of these three, the greatest is love. Do we have love? Without love, neither faith nor hope will prevail.
So now we have a new president. For many there is a great euphoria of victory. Among some who did not support the winner there also is hope -- even if faith is lacking -- that a restoration can begin. Almost everyone agrees that change is needed.
Most of us like to believe our answers are the right answers. So when our side prevails in a presidential election, we are swept up in hopefulness for a new and improved era. Ronald Reagan’s devotees called it “morning in America,” and I still recall hoping that that the Carter and Clinton victories would restart the march to freedom begun under FDR. But morning gave way to afternoon showers, and the march forward bogged down in economic self-interest and the mire of distant battlefields. So here we are in 2008, full of hope but wondering whether there will be enough faith and love for hope to win out.
Jesus said the antidote to fear is belief, and I do believe in God’s goodness and the power that comes from embracing it. I do not fear, but I do doubt. Doubt, I suppose, is the opposite of faith. Fortunately, there is a correction for doubt, which is called Love.
As Paul writes to the people of Corinth, in the end it is only love that can carry us through:
“If I speak in the tongues of mortal and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. … Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. … And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”
As we look around the nation and world in this post-election time, hope seems to be rising like the phoenix. If you watched the faces in Chicago’s Grant Park Tuesday night, or listen to the voices of those for whom the new president is a dream come true, you might see a possibility of faith taking hold. But what of love? Listen to our news media and you hear a “noisy gong or clanging cymbal.” Love? That’s church talk. Maybe even crazy talk. Certainly not the job of those reporting the news. So the charges and counter-charges continue.
Hope? Yes, we have it. Faith? Maybe we can get it. But love? Without love hope and faith will whither on the vine. Jesus says that if we desire to be a special people, we must go beyond greeting our brothers and sisters with love. Anyone can do that, he says. The true test of love is to love those who oppose us. That is what makes us true children of God. That is what will make us the great nation we aspire to be. Let’s hope that with enough faith, love will overcome our doubts and fears.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Jesus's Actions Speak Louder Than Our Words
Talk is cheap! Actions speak louder than words! I’m sure you’ve heard both of these scraps of wisdom. Here’s my favorite, learned from my father: “He talks a good game.” A star in the locker room, a flop on the court.
If I’m repeating myself, I apologize, but over the years I’ve become less and less interested in theology and more interested in results. I could say the same about political philosophies. I’m hoping on this election day we see the beginning of a new pragmatism and a silencing of ideologues preaching political “theologies” which have been proven not to work. We all know what we want this country to look like. Why don’t we just do it?
I wrote in an earlier column of how representatives of the Methodist Church ranted against homosexuals at their 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth while a predominately gay and lesbian Methodist congregation in Chicago ignored the brickbats and continued living the Gospel message in service to their community. I could picture God in heaven looking down on the Fort Worth gathering and muttering, “they talk a good game.”
It doesn’t matter who we say God is, God is not confused. While I believe God is still speaking, I don’t think God’s intentions for good have changed since creation. It’s really quite simple and only gets complicated because we make it so as a sleight of hand to advance our own selfish interests.
Let’s be honest; if you read scripture with a biased heart you can find an isolated proof passage to support your prejudices -- as slave owners once did. Read with an open mind and the true beauty of God’s glory will shine through. I was raised Lutheran and was educated in their schools and colleges, then later became a United Methodist, serving for many years in UMC churches. I now worship in a United Church of Christ congregation because their inclusive spirit appeals to me. When others try to probe the theological nuances of these different denominations and how I can jump between them, I say “it’s the same Jesus.” And it is. He’s easily recognizable: teaching a spiritual path, healing and loving all who come seeking the true heart of God. The very same Jesus.
When we read the Gospels it’s easy to see who this Jesus is and who he isn’t. Certainly, he’s less complex or conflicted than most of us. Historically, we’ve struggled to describe his dual nature and his place in the Trinity, but the Jesus of the Gospels is a pretty clear-cut character. He is a man of compassion, uniquely connected with God’s creative and holy spirit. He is a man of courage who doesn’t back down from the establishment’s threats of danger or suffering. He is a man with open arms, welcoming all to come and place their burdens on him. No one is rejected by him, although some disqualify themselves. He is in the business of opening doors, not closing them. The only people who seem to irritate him are those who are always looking to exclude others from God’s kingdom -- like the Pharisees.
Because Jesus is the Great Includer, I’m often surprised to find Christians still dictating who can be forgiven and who cannot, or teaching a theology that designates who can and can’t be saved. Jesus himself says that kind of decision is up to God, not us. Jesus himself had a crystal clear vision of how the world would change if it could be reborn in God’s image. He acted to make it so. Philosophy and theology? He said keep it simple: Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Enough said. We -- especially we Christians who would seek to carry our faith into the political realm -- will be well served if we do the same.
If I’m repeating myself, I apologize, but over the years I’ve become less and less interested in theology and more interested in results. I could say the same about political philosophies. I’m hoping on this election day we see the beginning of a new pragmatism and a silencing of ideologues preaching political “theologies” which have been proven not to work. We all know what we want this country to look like. Why don’t we just do it?
I wrote in an earlier column of how representatives of the Methodist Church ranted against homosexuals at their 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth while a predominately gay and lesbian Methodist congregation in Chicago ignored the brickbats and continued living the Gospel message in service to their community. I could picture God in heaven looking down on the Fort Worth gathering and muttering, “they talk a good game.”
It doesn’t matter who we say God is, God is not confused. While I believe God is still speaking, I don’t think God’s intentions for good have changed since creation. It’s really quite simple and only gets complicated because we make it so as a sleight of hand to advance our own selfish interests.
Let’s be honest; if you read scripture with a biased heart you can find an isolated proof passage to support your prejudices -- as slave owners once did. Read with an open mind and the true beauty of God’s glory will shine through. I was raised Lutheran and was educated in their schools and colleges, then later became a United Methodist, serving for many years in UMC churches. I now worship in a United Church of Christ congregation because their inclusive spirit appeals to me. When others try to probe the theological nuances of these different denominations and how I can jump between them, I say “it’s the same Jesus.” And it is. He’s easily recognizable: teaching a spiritual path, healing and loving all who come seeking the true heart of God. The very same Jesus.
When we read the Gospels it’s easy to see who this Jesus is and who he isn’t. Certainly, he’s less complex or conflicted than most of us. Historically, we’ve struggled to describe his dual nature and his place in the Trinity, but the Jesus of the Gospels is a pretty clear-cut character. He is a man of compassion, uniquely connected with God’s creative and holy spirit. He is a man of courage who doesn’t back down from the establishment’s threats of danger or suffering. He is a man with open arms, welcoming all to come and place their burdens on him. No one is rejected by him, although some disqualify themselves. He is in the business of opening doors, not closing them. The only people who seem to irritate him are those who are always looking to exclude others from God’s kingdom -- like the Pharisees.
Because Jesus is the Great Includer, I’m often surprised to find Christians still dictating who can be forgiven and who cannot, or teaching a theology that designates who can and can’t be saved. Jesus himself says that kind of decision is up to God, not us. Jesus himself had a crystal clear vision of how the world would change if it could be reborn in God’s image. He acted to make it so. Philosophy and theology? He said keep it simple: Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Enough said. We -- especially we Christians who would seek to carry our faith into the political realm -- will be well served if we do the same.
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