July 25, 2010
Roy Nelson's Reflection
"I never met a man I didn't like". Taken by themselves those words raise a question in our minds as to their validity, as it seems unlikely, based on our own experiences, that a person would like each one of the countless others met in the course of their daily living.
The statement is attributed to Will Rogers, an American humorist, cowboy, comedian, vaudeville actor and social commentator. A sample of his humour is this: ÒI'm not a member of any organized political party. I'm a DemocratÓ. He was world travelled so it is even more unlikely that he liked everyone he met. The statement is quoted out of its original text and when complete, reads ÒI joked about every prominent man of my time and never met a man I didn't like.Ó Now it has credulity. Life is about relationships. We can't expect to like everyone we meet or to be liked by him or her. In reality we have a built in early warning system that is triggered by something in the stranger's manner that warns us off and forestalls an association. Relationships are vital to us as social beings but we are naturally selective.
A few years ago, in a conversation with my sister-in-law the topic of God came up. June felt that one of the contributors to a moral decline in society was that people no longer feared God. I questioned her use of the word ÒfearÓ in our relationship with God and thought a better choice would be ÒrespectÓ, because how does one build a good relationship that is boundried by fear? Imagine yourself in such a situation. You would be constantly wary of your position, never knowing if you were pleasing or not.
Were you doing the right thing at the wrong time or the wrong thing at the right time? It would be akin to living in the camp of the enemy. We need to have an open relationship with god. That relationship is crucial to our relationship with society. It is the underpinning of a just society. How can we hope to achieve that trusting relationship with god if it is corrupted by fear?
In the scripture read by David this morning, Jesus is responding to a request from the disciples to teach them how to pray. He uses this opportunity to introduce a different concept of god. He likens god to a loving, caring parent, a provider, a protector, and a god that is approachable. This new image of god was a distinct and radical departure from the god who dwelt in the high mountains and heavens, out of reach, coercive and wrathful. Jesus brought about a new understanding of god and thus a new relationship between god and the people.
Imagine if you will that you are an observer, following Jesus in his travels, watching the encounters between him and the people he seeks out and those who seek him. You are in the situation but not part of the action. Now you see first hand the interaction between Jesus and the people and the building of his relationship with them. Picture the meeting between Jesus, a Jew, and the lady, a Samaritan at the well. She is so astounded and amazed by Jesus knowledge of her that she leaves her water jar at the well and hurries back to the city and calls to the people, "Come and see the man who told me everything i have done. He cannot be the messiah can he?" That question still lingers in the minds of many to-day. Is Jesus real? Is he God's son? Is he the messiah? Then there are all the other encounters:
When I picture this scene I see someone like Danny de Vito up in the sycamore tree seeking out Jesus in the crowd and trying to catch a glimpse of him. What compelled Zacchaeus to go to such lengths? And JesusÉ It was as if he knew Zacchaeus was looking for him.
"Hey, Zacchaeus, up there in the tree. Come down. I'm coming to your house to eat with you to-night."
Zacchaeus would have been surprised, uneasy a little embarrassed, but at the same time pleased and excited at this turn of events. His encounter with Jesus began a relationship with Jesus ideologies that changed Zacchaeus and his relationship with the people.
We are all on our faith journey and likely not all in the same place on the path. Think how fortunate were those who encountered Jesus while he was alive; to meet him first hand, to experience the living Jesus, to feel the aura about him and to benefit from his philosophies, his manner, ids wisdom and ids take on the temper of the time. It wasn't until after ids death that many of those people would recognize the reality of the man. In the words of the roman soldier at Golgotha, "truly this was the Son of God."
Some struggle with the virgin birth and the validity of the miracles. To me these are not important. The reality of the man validates his message and that message delivered in his spoken word and actions assures us that God is a god of love. As each day unfolds we are surrounded by the complexity and reality of our individual lives. We have to come to terms with the relationship we have with our family, our neighbours, our community and the world. We no longer live in isolation immune to what is happening on other continents and among other people. We are affected by markets in Europe and the Far East, by the on going wars, by AIDS in Africa. By the tar sands in Alberta, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, by the plight of the world's hungry and our own homeless. We are not islands unto ourselves even if we wish it were so.
In view of all the turmoil and uncertainty and bad things that happen is it any wonder that we ask, "Where is God?"
Well, God is right where God has always been — right here, around us, the guardian parent, allowing us to make mistakes, helping us up when we stumble. As humans we create the situations we find ourselves in, but we are not alone in extricating ourselves. Jesus tells us, "Ask and it will be given you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you." The key is in our relationship with god.
In one of my earlier churches there was a UCW group who called themselves ÒThe SeekersÓ, questing for answers to life's troubling situations and their place in their relationships with society, the church, and god. I admired their willingness to expose themselves, to reveal their uncertainty, to risk being vulnerable in order to achieve grace and serenity. In their case I am reminded of the life cycle of an under water crustacean. It is protected from its natural predators by its very hard shell. But as it grows it must shed that shell to grow a new one. It is part of the growth pattern but during that shedding it is naked and vulnerable. It is part of the growing experience. I think that for some of us we must be willing to shed the protective shells and walls we build around ourselves, and risk being vulnerable so we can grow into the image and role God created for us. We must believe that god loves us, worts and all, trust in that love and build a relationship with god that sees us through each day of our life.
Our concept of religious teachings, the place of the church in modern society and our place in the church is constantly changing and being challenged. We must be open to new growth. That may mean we have to expose ourselves, our beliefs, and our intellect to that change so that we are an influence in the evolution. It is all about relationships. When he was alive Jesus was the tangible link between god and human kind and the new covenant. Jesus is still the link to-day. To know Jesus is to know God. This reflection has been about relationships and God's love for us. A line from a song of the early 50's says it all: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return." ("Nature Boy" by eden ahbez, published in 1947)
How much does god love you? That is between you and god but somehow I think the answer echoes in the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
– the ten lepers and the one who returned
– the woman who bled for twelve years and touching the hem of Jesus' robe was healed by her belief
– the centurion and his sick servant
– Nicodemus and the rich young man to name a few but also
– Zacchaeus, the little tax collector. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.