A Runner's Psalm: reflecting on the Good Samaritan

 this spoken word piece was written for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024, using the scriptures for Day 7: Psalm 10: 1,17-18; Philippians 2: 1-5; Luke 10: 36 (each day a different verse from the parable of the Good Samaritan was the focus)

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off: Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
It’s been weeks since I have heard you.
I tie up my shoes to run away,
Sneakers running from chaos.
            You stand far off- remaining silent:
            Quiet in the face of death, upon death
            Bombs fall, war rages, millions are displaced
            Temperatures rise, weather goes rogue, volcanoes consume
You have hid yourself
In crisis been invisible
And the sneakers go, 5k
Angrily carrying me away: pray, pray, pray.
 
Where is the One who makes us lie down in green pastures,
Leads us beside still waters?
It has been months since I have heard you.
I run away – looking at my feet and only a few steps ahead
            Never to the side of the road
            There are no neighbours there
            Emphatic strain -it’s too much to risk
 the accident of finding the hurt, the needy, the lonely, the dying
When what can I do – alone, no phone, no gloves, and scared
Better not to look to the side of the road
           
I run new routes – friendlier neighbourhoods-
The Nimby areas; ‘NOT-IN-MY-BACKYARD'
I run new routes to avoid:

AVOID
            Growing tent encampments
            Where litter sprawls and rats jump out;
            Broken walls and corners where needles lay;
            Go places where intersections are free
            No addicts, no coin cups, no guilt
And the sneakers go, 10k
Thumping out the rhythm: pray, pray, pray.
 
Where is the Lord, who will hear the desire of the meek; who will strengthen their heart?
Not in the line at the crowded emergency
Not at the mobile clinic
Not with the woman in conversation with 3 others in her head
Not with the man in the middle of the road – mind lost- strung out
Not with the child who sits in class not having breakfast
Not with the household stuck in violence -nowhere to go.
God, hear the prayers of your people
You promised –
And the sneakers go, 15k: pray, pray, pray.
 
You promised-
you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
            for enough foster-homes for children who need support
            for enough accessible and adequate housing spaces
            for enough food to fill bellies
            for enough resources and know-how to embrace those with precarious mental health
            for enough creativity and mercy in systems to become commonwealth
            for enough abundance that kindom is present
that those -that a broken humanity-  those on the earth may strike terror no more.
No more terror! No more fear!
 
A welcome pause at km 21, a world without terror.
For a moment I look up – breathe in Mother Earth, breathe in life;
Connect to the land, reconcile my being with all that is around me
I have a momentary glimpse of “and God saw that it was good.”
God’s voice twice heard.
Amen let this be so. And off the sneakers go: pray, pray, pray
 
It takes that long God, 21k before the chaos of the world loosens and blows away
And come to find
You are not far off but just in front of me –
Trailside - Pointing into the ditches:
            At moments  - hope – growing out of the dirt, greening;
                                    Hope – chirping away as the birds get drunk on berries;
                                    Hope – in the child catching snowflakes on the tongue
                        Hope – that look of acknowledgement passed between humans, eye to eye
In the ditches - Where there is peace? Mercy? Comfort?  -   Christ,
Resurrection  - a change to start again
Christ in:
        the consolation of love, as shelters are built and community fires stoked;
        tender affection as coffee is poured and feet are washed;
        empathy, in forms of socks and toques, and a listening ear on a bench;
        unconditional love as a door is opened, a meal shared, a bedroom given –
                  to a stranger, now friend
as I look beyond my feet,
once the shadow of the world is released,
there is Christ with dirt on the face – a holy patina -  as bright as day
 making joy complete
O God hear our prayer -
Amen let this be so. And off the sneakers go: pray, pray, pray.
 
On this road there are runners from this denomination or that;
As we pass we share the peace - with a nod or a wave
We BE of the same mind,
Once the Son-shines we have the same love,
We are filled and of one mind
we run with mercy and we pray----
we run not from selfish ambition or empty conceit
but in humility regarding others – all others- as better than ourself;
Each of us not looking on our own interests but to the interests of others.
And we meet Christ there – in the eyes of the other- neighbour!
Together whether in the ditch or on the road.
 
As our steps -your steps, my steps -fall in sync: pray, pray, pray
 the same mind is in us that was in Christ.
And in that … a marathon is run, for the healing of the whole world.
 

Do and Be It while Becoming It

 

Today is the day, 21 days into the New Year – it is a determining day for those who made New Year resolutions; if one has made it to day 21 still working on their resolution, whatever that resolution was, it is well on its way to becoming a habit. Until recently it was said that 21 days makes a habit. Research presented June of 2023 found that it takes 66 days for a habit to be imprinted and a permanent part of a person’s lifestyle.

 

In his letter to the Corinthians, Apostle Paul reprimands and encourages the Corinthian church about the lifestyle they are choosing to live. Paul identifies divisions in the community, practices of ‘old religion’ that remain, acts of immorality, and the non-uniformity of belief within the Corinthian church. His call to the community is to become of one mind and will, to be imitators of Christ.

 

Consider the resolutions of losing weight, lowering blood pressure, controlling diabetes; all are related to the person becoming healthier.  To become healthy, one needs to commit to live as if already healthy. One needs to put things in place to attain health; one practices living a healthy lifestyle by walking, eating more vegetables, drinking less wine, no smoking, getting more sleep, reducing stress- all this gets put in place before one is healthy. The motto for this new life to take fruition: Do and be it while becoming it.

 

Paul writes: From now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none. Those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealing with it.

Each of these phrases that confront us in the letter to the Corinthians are not for us to parse and figure out. Paul is making a point in his argument, suggesting that everyday individual matters are inconsequential, life is not about the individual but rather the unity of the Christian community, and the lifestyle of that community. Paul’s letter continues with emphasis on living as if the kindom of God where at hand, as though the kindom were here. He posits that time – in its present form is running out, that the present form of this world is passing away. He passionately preaches that the return of Christ -the day of the Lord- although expected far off in the future is extremely close at hand. Paul has hinted at this previously in this letter - the day of Christ’s coming is soon.

For Paul, being prepared for Christ’s return and living as though it were already so, requires that the Christian community choose to live – in their everyday actions, habits, and patterns- a lifestyle exhibiting Christ already present.

Be imitators of Christ. Do and be it while becoming it. Live in such away as your actions imitate Christ’s, becoming, not just imitators, but more and more like Christ.

 

Columnist Jeff Poor wrote: The CHURCH is like a GYM. It exists to train, equip, and challenge the body of Christ – to live in the light of the Gospel. But many treat the church like a restaurant that exists to feed and serve regular patrons.

 

An interesting thought, isn’t it? Do you come to church to workout?

Or do you come to the church to be served? Do you come for ‘the soup of the day’ and to pick and choose from the menu? --- Asking for what you want, the way you want it, in a timely and convenient manner; leaving on your plate what you do not like. And depending on how you rate your experience you decide what tip (offering) the server receives.

 

Considering church as a gym, conveys the passion and emphasis of Paul’s letter… The church exists to train, equip, and challenge the body of Christ to live in the light of the Gospel. Working out as a community we are about building faith muscles, strengthening hope, growing capacity for grace, forgiveness, and love to work through us. We learn and train, disciplined in hearing and wrestling with challenging teachings from God’s word and discerning how to apply them to our community and our lives in 2024.

We come to the gym, we come to church – not because we are Christ but because we are passionate to share God’s message to a hurting world and need to be as Christ-like as possible to do it. Changing the world to open up into God’s kindom in this time, - anytime- , requires fitness, balance, unity and health of the faith community. It takes determination, practice, consistency.

 

There has been a national non-profit organization in Canada called ‘ParticipACTION’ (action is written in capital letters for emphasis). Their mission statement is “encouraging people living in Canada to get healthy by getting active since 1977.” They promote physical activity as a vital part of one’s everyday life – as their web-site says, physical activity is “a necessity of life and one of the most important things you can do for your overall health and wellbeing.”

Christ-activity, be imitators of Christ: Christ-activity is a necessity of life and one of the most important things you can do for the overall health and wellbeing of the world.

 

Do and be it while becoming it.

This motto has been interspersed throughout the sermon, and refers to the way Paul phrased his letter:

Now, those who mourn act as though you were not mourning, those who rejoice act as though you are not rejoicing…  Act as though…

 

Have you heard people say that they feel like an imposter or fraud? Have you heard the phrase ‘fake it until you make it?’ While I do believe in honesty, humility, and self-awareness, I believe that humans are always in the processes of becoming, meaning we all act as if we already are a finished product. I act like a leader, a parent, a problem solver, a long-distance runner, capable and put together – even in times when I have no idea what I am doing. I can not count the number of times I act as though I am fearless, as if I am optimistic, as though I have hope, as if I am not shy, as if I am happy, as if I can do it (whatever it might be)…

Over time, acting as though – my participation and action, working out- becomes a habit and part of who I am and how I live.

 

We are in the middle of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The theme passage is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I preach on Wednesday at First Baptist and am to focus on the question Jesus asks the lawyer, “who was neighbour” to the man who was robbed and left injured at the side of the road? The reflection included in the prepared resources for the day says:  As with the lawyer, we are challenged to reflect upon how we live our lives, not merely in terms of whether we do good or not, but whether, like the priest and the Levite, we are neglecting to act mercifully.

This week Christians are gathering in Ecumenical services around the world to reflect on Christian unity and what it is to live lives that imitate Christ. The global Christian community receives reprimand and encouragement, like that in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The Christian community is being called to one mind and will, working as one body of Christ; each community called to act mercifully in their place and time to open the kindom of God for the healing of the whole world. 

With the global Christian community let us workout in the gym called church, so that we be of one mind, one will, one body of Christ working together.

Let us be imitators of Christ.

Do and be it while becoming it.

 

Albert Einstein and Earwigs: Psalm 139 and John 1: 43ff

 This morning I have a warm fuzzy feeling! The reading from Psalm 139 and the choosing of Nathanael in the Gospel, fondly remind me of my high school locker and my first university dorm room. I had two magazine cut-outs each glued to a piece of poster board and displayed on the inside of my locker door, and later, on the bulletin board in my residence room.

 

The first was a black and white picture of the face and head of a sculpture of Albert Einstein. Einstein had a quizzical look on his face, surrounded by wily hair, and great movement in the texture of the skin made of clay. The magazine caption read: how weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! Of course, this caption is quoting Psalm 139: 17. I posted this picture in my locker because it was a constant reminder of my outlook on life and learning; the whole point of school – the joy of wonder and discovery, the pleasure of figuring things out and being awed in the process; the continued pursuit and journey that would never end. To think that God created us this way. I love that feeling of being fascinated and confounded at the same time. And did I ever love questioning and debating, philosophizing and exploring other peoples’ thoughts; and considering God’s thoughts.

 

The other magazine picture was a colourful cartoonish drawing of three earwigs (which is a kind of insect), hanging out in a rutabaga garden. One earwig relaxed under the rutabaga tops, leaning against the stem of a plant. Another nibbled the exposed top of a rutabaga, and the other was just there chatting it up – Three earwig buddies. The earwigs in the picture make me think of Nathanael. Nathanael is minding his own business, or so I like to think, relaxing in the shade of a fig tree; hanging out with whoever else was there. Philip comes up to him and invites him to come meet the Messiah. Nathanael skeptically says, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Although skeptical, Nathanael is curious, so goes with Philip to meet Jesus.

 

Earwigs are one of the most hated insects, not because they pose harm to humans, but because of their nature – how they look, how they congregate. Now you might be skeptical, upon hearing that earwigs are the best defender of your garden spaces – although they might nibble on flowering plants or gnaw into vegetables, they are the insect that keeps other creature populations in check because they have a voracious appetite for slug eggs; aphid, mite, and other insect larvae; they will even eat other insects. They are the scavengers of decaying material. And yet, having these gifts, they are not a beloved creature to human beings.

 

I particularly liked the magazine picture of the earwigs – and hung it in my locker- because they had the best expressions on their faces! They were joyful and playful. I had all kinds of ideas about what they were doing and talking about. And the picture made a despised creature, adorable – an outsider given worth and gifts and joy- what high school student doesn’t relate to this; feeling like the ugly, the left out, the tread-upon– and wanting to belong, to have joy, and to not be despised or picked on.

In some ways, I consider the disciples to be a congregation of earwigs.

Today we hear of Nathanael and his skepticism; but what of the others- we read of Levi the tax collector (ie. traitor), Peter the denier, Judas the betrayer, Thomas the doubter, Simon the Zealot, James and John with fanatical tendencies, Philip (later on) lacking trust; as a whole group they were terrified on the lake, couldn’t keep awake and pray, presented a consistent lack of understanding, and fled the scene- abandoning Jesus on the eve of his arrest. And despite all this ---- their earwig-ness---- those pieces of themselves that were less than stellar, their weaknesses, their human flaws, their ugliness----- none of this stopped Jesus from calling them to be disciples, and to be about God’s work.

 

Nathanael whom Jesus sees before calling him to be a disciple, hears Nathanael questioning, can anything good come out of Nazareth? -which is really a holy-than-thou attitude and an expressed distain for a neighbouring conservative community outside of the city of Jerusalem where all the important stuff happened. On top of this, God having knit together Nathanael’s inward parts, knew him deeply, skepticism and all.  In this Jesus story, it is okay that Nathanael is this way, the skeptic is welcome – in fact chosen to be a beloved disciple.

 

Over the past few years at church council meetings, on our wall murals, in other groups I have asked the congregation to complete the sentence: You know what I love about this church…

My answer this morning is this: You know what I love about this church, I appreciate being fully welcomed, as me; along with my questions, skepticism, earwig-ness (yes, the bits of myself that are weird and quirky). I love that I hear a Gospel where God calls individuals as they are, to do great things within a community. I love that God embraces human weaknesses and works with them; works with and through us.

 

Later this morning in confirmation class we are taking a journey through an historical timeline starting in the 850s, following the lives of selected Christians who were…well… earwiggy. These are faithful Christians who were delightfully weird – not like others of their times. These were people called by God – chosen to be disciples, even thought, they were people who were skeptics, asked questions, pondered how weighty are God’s thoughts and if anything good could come from Nazareth. This group of people are remembered for various reasons: whether martyr, bishop, hymn writer, renewer of society, reformer – all applied the Gospel to daily living and life, being active theologians in asking questions to understand God, faith, and what that meant on the ground.

What the confirmation class will notice is that not all these figures had the exact same beliefs, that from one generation to the next different questions were asked because the world was a different place, so too each generation had and has their own understanding of God, and what faithful living is. What the class will learn is that although not the same, the continued asking of questions, continues a tradition of the challenging and reforming of church and disciples’ beliefs. – our beliefs.

 

The season of Epiphany began with Jesus’ baptism, Pastor Adam our guest preacher last week, reminded us over and over that God, in baptism, calls each one beloved. You are beloved. I am beloved. We are beloved!

The season after Epiphany continues with the calling of Nathanael – a skeptic- to be a chosen disciple.

 

You know what I love about this church, I can be who God created me to be and know that I am beloved  – even though I am weird, messy, weak, and unique; and I can ask, or rather am encouraged to be skeptical, ask my questions, to ponder God’s thoughts, and I will be included, called, and chosen -with all the other adorable earwigs that make up a congregation.

 

Those two pictures, Albert Einstein and the three earwigs, were taped up in my locker because they represented who I was and who I aspired to be. They were personal affirmations and mantras in picture form. They reminded me that I am beloved.  I am called. I am wonderfully made. I am chosen. I can ask questions and be skeptical. I can be me. I can be earwiggy -different than the world around me, and that is okay.

And with delight and joy, playfully consider and wrestle with the thought and question

 – How weighty are your thoughts O God! And can anything good come out of Nazareth?