pioneermeditations

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The idea of walking into a bright light is connected with divinity and the afterlife.  Do we ever stop to think that light, which we call white, is actually every color?  Unless we look through a prism or observe a rainbow, we miss the beautiful colors that all blend together to make full light.

            As a way of describing the “glory of God” we use an image that is very inclusive.  Why then do we want to exclude so many people for so many reasons from the community of light?  Excluding any one part of the full spectrum makes true white light impossible.  I think the same is true of humanity.  Unless all people are included we do not experience the true light.

            At the same time, we will not appreciate the full beauty of the light unless we get to see the separate colors.  Each color of the spectrum contributes to the beauty of the whole and can be valued individually, but when all other colors are excluded the remaining color becomes tedious and boring.  With people we also see their full value when compared and contrasted with others in the full color picture of life.

“If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.” 1 John 1:7

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Lost in the translation of a famous conversation is the difference between two Greek words for love.  Agape is the word for love described in 1 Corinthians 13.  It is unconditional and willing to sacrifice for the good of the one loved.  Philo is the kind of brotherly love or caring that may guide our actions, but is much less willing to endure all things. This is the way I see the conversation between Simon Peter and Jesus on the shore of Lake Galilee in John 21, using “love” for agape and “care” for philo.

Simon, do you love me more than any one else does?  [Remember you claimed once that you did?]

Jesus, you know that I care for you.

Simon, do you love me. [I’ll drop the comparison to others.  Do you love me with the same sacrificial, unconditional love that I have shown for you?]

Jesus, you know that I care for you.

Simon, do you care for me?

Yes, Jesus, you know that I care for you. [Wait. What happened here?  You know that I cannot live up to your standards of love, but you love me anyway?]

Simon, follow me.

As Simon Peter I cry “LIFE! I can’t live up to this expectation to love!  I know I said I could.  I said I would.  But I can’t!  I tried.  I failed.  I just can’t do it. I am too weak. But I still care.

And to my great relief I hear, “I know, child of the earth.  I have known that all along.  Still, that kind of love I give to you freely.  I love you as you are.  Come with me for I will always love you unconditionally.”

When we fail to live up to expectations, even our own expectations of ourselves, we may feel that no one can still love us.  Yet, the Living One does love us in full awareness of our failures.

When we feel the most unlovable, when we need it the most, God’s love is there for us. Love is a wonder! 

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            From one tuft of green grass to another, a sheep is concerned about filling his own stomach, satisfying his own appetites.  When the green grass ends, will he be among friends? Will the tufts of grass be able to come back, or will he have destroyed them all?

            What characteristic of sheep is the reason for using the analogies related to sheep as in “the LORD is my shepherd”, “Jesus, the Lamb of God” and “the Good Shepherd”, and humanity as “sheep who have gone astray”?  Is it the innocence of sheep?  The stupidity?

            Increasingly, I see the analogy being an accurate one for the way we feed our appetites.  Where the green grass is, there we will go.  When we have consumed it all, we move to other places. We consume to the point of destruction of the pasture, the habitat.  When it is unlivable, we take from some one else’s pasture.

             We use up family and friends.  We use up the earth’s resources.  We use up our own bodies in the quest for pleasure without purpose.

             If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, do you jump the fence or find out how they made the lawn so green and work to make your lawn look like that?  When I see a church that is going well, I can either wish I could get a position there, or I could look after the church I have and make it as healthy as any other. 

             Many animals seem to have no more concerns in life than to eat and reproduce.  Humans have more complex lives.  We should be able to see beyond ourselves.  We have learned to produce more food than we need for ourselves, so much so that we have troubles with diets of excess.  We have trouble with lifestyles bent on consuming resources, accumulating wealth and pursuing pleasure.

             We can become so focused on feeling pleasure that we destroy other necessary aspects of our lives for the sake of the drugs, the sex or the adrenaline rush we crave. We have eaten our way lost.

             Our visions of faith that look beyond our appetites help us to balance our present with the known needs of others and the needs of our own futures.

             Somewhere between Search for the Lost Ark and Wizard of Oz we realize that there is no place like home but to make that home a good place takes work.  Home is not necessarily where your parents are.  It is wherever you are.  It is your living space, your circle of friends, and your planet earth.  It is your heart, your appetite, and your mind.

             Your Good Shepherd is one like you who has learned to balance individual needs and desires with the needs for community and environment.  Pursuing only our desires will surely be nibbling your way lost.  Putting back in a concern for the human community and earthly habitat will guide us into making our pastures green once more.      

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Besides community, I think a second reason for organized religion is to keep the vision for a just and equitable society in front of people. 

When Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was making big waves, the Christian church responded with the idea that the Bible was factually true.  The same thing had happened centuries earlier with Copernicus’ new ideas about the universe.  The church reacted as if it was the sole repository of all truth, spiritual and scientific.

What would have happened if the church had admitted that its teachings were about spirituality, not science?  What would have happened if the church leaders had simply concentrated on their true mission?  Instead of fighting science, it could have been an opportunity to give organized religion greater clarity and importance.

I can picture a response to Darwin’s supporters like this:  Yes, evolution develops along the laws of natural selection and survival of the fittest.  However, as humans we have developed the ability to envision something different.  Our spirituality allows us to rise above the self-centered instinct for survival.  Nature can be cold and cruel, but let us show you the more excellent way of love.

We are still human beings.  We still need to rise above our basic evolutionary instincts for survival.  Spirituality, I believe, is in part about that ability to envision and live into a society that is more than our natural evolution.  It requires us to control our own moral evolution as individuals and society.  That is a very god-like thing to do.