Good News

 

Some years ago, I stopped at an office supply place to pick up some office supplies. I headed over to the check out and after the clerk had rung me up, I handed him my credit card (no tap and pay in those days) as he looked at the card he noticed that I was a Reverend. “So you’re a pastor?” he asked. “Yes, I am”.

“Well, praise be” he exclaimed. “God is great, right Pastor”. “I suppose she is” I said. Now, right about here is when I have a choice. I can just agree with my erstwhile clerk, pay for my supplies or I can engage a bit further. Knowing full by now, that by a further engagement, I could be there for a while.

It being a quiet day, I chose the later. “Well,” he said “I was saved just last year. I can’t wait to get to heaven to see my mother, she just died just last month.” I said, “I hope you aren’t leaving us to soon, I am sure your family down here would miss you.” He thought about that for a moment and said “I suppose so. Anyway, thank you for sharing the Good News.” “Which Good News?” I asked, knowing full well that this would lead us down a path I may have a hard time getting off. “Well, that we are saved by Jesus of course!”  I couldn’t resist “Saved from what?” “From the hell fires of eternity. Isn’t that right Reverend?”

Now I really could have broken this off at this point but just couldn’t resist. “Well, actually, I don’t believe in hell. If there is an afterlife, I imagine that everyone goes to heaven, whatever that is.” I could see confusion spreading across his face. “I don’t understand”. He said “what do you mean? Only those who are saved in Christ Jesus can avoid hell. Isn’t that what the bible teaches?”

Really, I thought to myself, just pay for your supplies and get going. But noooo, I had to go on. “The bible says a lot of things, many of them contradict one another. And actually, hell only shows up in the Gospel of John, not the other three. I don’t believe Jesus, who taught that God is Love, would condemn anyone of us to everlasting damnation.” Good solid Universalist Theology, I thought to myself.

“But what about someone who got away with murder!?” he exclaimed. “How does God punish those who try to get away from their sins?” “Well” I said, “my church teaches that life is hell enough, even for those who got away with murder. Even if they did, the guilt and darkness of that life would be more than enough to punish them. Our Good News is that all people have worth even if they do terrible things.”

I think he must have had enough of me and my less than good news at that point. There was a line behind me and none of those good folks were particularly interested in the theological debate happening at the register. He rung me up and handed me my card and receipt. “There you go, Reverend” he said with just a hint of disdain.

Even now in the apocalypse, I remain a pretty optimistic. Overall, I still tend to look for the Good in people. While our government is descending into the dark side, I still believe that most people are basically good. I still believe that communities of neighbors, activists and congregations can make a difference in the world. I still believe joy is the antidote for despair. 

But that alone is not enough to invite grace into our lives. We also have to do some good work; tending to those who need care, standing up for those who are being persecuted and speaking truth to power. Even in the midst of heartbreak, we can be the ones who make a difference, no matter how small.

With Grace and Grit, John 

Curiosity is the Engine of Creation

 

My mother told me that when I was very young I asked more questions than even the most precocious of toddlers. "Why? What? When?" and my favorite apparently was "How?" I wanted to know how things worked in the physical and emotional world.

That curiosity led to studying cultures in college with a degree in Anthropology. And, I would say, it led me into ministry. I am forever curious as to how our universe came into being and how it will come to an end. 

Curiosity is the engine of creativity. When we are curious we open ourselves up to the possibilities of new ideals. Asking questions is not only interesting but it could be a spiritual practice. When we ask questions we open ourselves up to new ideas and new ways of thinking. 

One of my favorite questions to ask a newcomer to our congregation is "What brought you here?" I am amazed and often humbled by the responses I get. Most people who cross our threshold are coming to us because of a change or need in their lives. We would do well to ask that of one another and listen in holy silence to the answer.

Of course, there are those who are incurious, especially if they are experts in some field. This has led to a great deal of stagnation from the intolerance of the Middle Ages to assuming that our place in white supremacy culture is the norm of what could be.

I thou

 

I – Thou

Some of my deepest learnings have been on store checkout lines. In that moment of waiting for the cashier I have seen the best and worst of humanity. I remember the mother who was so exasperated with her life that when her three year old began to cry about not getting a candy bar, just snapped and yelled at her child to just “shut up”. Everyone turned and gave her a judging look. She was embarrassed and humiliated which just made her already difficult life all the more difficult. I did my best to not judge her in that moment – although it wasn’t easy – and to recite silently the loving kindness mantra, “May you find loving kindness”. As soon as she was at the register I made funny faces at her child who eventually smiled.

It is so hard not to treat people as obstacles in our way, so hard to see them as people going through their lives with many of the same struggles and joys we do. One cashier in particular seemed unusually hostile to me and others. At first I tried to ignore her comments,  hoping to just get through the line without incident and get on with my day. When it was my turn, I said almost nothing to her, completed the transaction and went on my way. On the way home I remembered what the great Jewish theologian Martin Buber once taught. The most essential relationship we can have is with another as a person, to treat another as God would treat us, as a “Thou”. The essence of our humanity is to treat another not as a means to an end – an “It” – but rather as another end in and of herself.  In other words to move from an “I-It” relationship to an “I-Thou” relationship. For Buber, remembering to see others as the “Thou” relating to me as the “I”, reminds us of what essentially makes us the same, and therefore holy.

So next time you are in a store line and feeling annoyed at how long this is taking, remember that there are others – Thous – who are doing the best they can with the life they have been given. Afford them a quiet respect for what you don’t know about their lives, and offer them some loving kindness with some words and maybe a smile. For me, I will continue to make funny faces at young children, whether they smile or not.

Brightest Blessings,

 John