(I wrote this in the summer of 2020 and never published--seems good now)
I so much wanted to write a blog about my favorite Biblical theme; God present in human flesh and how we, in Jesus, through the gifting of God’s Spirit get to flesh out, together, the Divine Image. Wow!
Sadly. God said no to that idea. But I argued back. “But God, I’m so good at it cause I’ve got more flesh than most”! 😎🤷🏼♂️😊 ..yea, well, God didn’t get my friendly sarcasm either. So, here goes, a knock your socks off lesson on anxiety. “Now, that’ll capture them, God.” 👍🏼
You know, come to think of it, God’s never been very good at this marketing thing. I mean who stages only the biggest thing since Egypt’s army got their whole chariot division drowned in an inch of water—depending on whether it’s the Red Sea or Reed Sea—anyway who get’s the Son of the Most High God born in some cattle trough outside of a no-nothing place like Bethlehem?!? Jeez! I mean? Jees..us. That’s who. It’s enough to frighten you; maybe God’s caught the Biden bug, huh? Just kidding. But really, anxiety?
I don’t need to tell you that we are in the early stages of two pandemics, a stock market collapse and the Corona virus. What I do need to tell you is what God says: “Be not Afraid!” Good. Said it. Now back to fleshing the babe Jesus out! Not.
I think it was Paul who said, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself!” If memory serves he said it while in house arrest, you know kinda like we all are now. Anyway, I remember it like yesterday. He was sitting and wearing a cardigan sweater, probably made by the Pratorean guard assigned by the Emperor—so.., looking up and away from the gentle flames in his fireplace and looking straight at the camera, said, “Good evening my fellow Americans, I wanted to speak with you..” He hesitated for just a moment, an ember snapped as if on cue. “No, that’s not quite right. I wanted to chat with you right here from my ready room.” And just like that the import of the fireside chat was born. Ten minutes later Picard, I mean Paul said, “The only thing we have to fear...” Well, we covered that. I hope you are either old enough or are familiar enough with American political culture to have recognized the rush of mixed icons in the paragraph immediately above. (if you like, read it again and in the comments below identify one). My purpose, beyond being cute—which I now have to work at—was to illustrate just how we humans think and how easily we get our narrative wrong, or even slightly wrong and when it comes out the other side it can add up to a big thing. All of my blogs lately have been centered around the power of fear driven narrative and the way it distorts our communal vision. You see, as I’ve been saying for weeks, I don’t think our current troubles, and they are major, reflect our underlying national malaise (my best Jimmy Carter impersonation) and the ‘anxiety’ that underlay all of our stressed out worry. Even our anxieties have anxieties! Today one surprise happened that brought great joy and revealed just how off, off can be. It happened about 10 pm.
Being bored I did what any loyal Star Trek fan does and pulled up an old ST movie that I was sure I had seen, God alone knows, any number of times. It was “Nemesis.” As the drama unfolded I began to realize I had no memory of any scene; alzheimers anyone? Two hours later, you can imagine my pleasure at discovering for the first time a treasure in Federation space that had somehow been missed. It’s enough to make me question if God, being good, really cares? I mean, seriously. ...or, Perhaps God knowing Corvid19 was just around the corner (well 17 years, 110 days) protected me from the boredom of this national crises by making me do the impossible—miss a Star Trek major motion picture release. How much love is that? Now, what’s wrong with this picture, I mean, beyond the fact that such a belief is really a belief in fatalism, not God? ..and not mention that I’m at the center of God’s attention. How cool is that? God becoming my Netflix genie is about as loving a thing for God to do—given the very real tragedies surrounding this thing globally. It’s about as crazy as suggesting Corvid19 is God’s judgment on America for allowing equal access before the law for same sex couples who wish to marry. “Now God, I’m in a rush, can you find me a parking spot no further than 20’ from the main door? ...yes, I see it, thank you Jesus. Praise God!”
Our expectations inform our emotional response to events. We Americans, since arriving at the top of the heap—say, after the Great War—have been re-shaping our social, cultural and spiritual world views from the idea that ‘pain is a reality, pain is difficult, but very likely and part of the human journey to assumptions that ‘pain is bad—always, avoidable for moderns and just a question of the right systems being in place.’
When was the last time you heard a good sermon on Paul’s message (not the FDR version) to the Romans, another people at the very top of their game.
“I believe that the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming glory that is going to be revealed to us. The whole creation waits breathless with anticipation for the revelation of God’s sons and daughters. Creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice—it was the choice of the one who subjected it—but in the hope that the creation itself will be set free from slavery to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of God’s children”
(Romans 8:18-21).
In short, God has so created the world that pain is an essential in the formation of love in humans. Actually, not the pain, but our response to it.
If, we as a people get to the other side of this Covid thing and the attendant economic collapse:
1) Aware that we are not God, but human, limited creatures, and;
2) Are in this thing together, and;
3) Discover how and where to handle the next thing down the road, both medical and economic, difficult though they will be, we will become more fully human, less judgmental and generous in love.
That’ll be the real battle we face—together or apart.
Then there’s the current attraction of socialism over capitalism. Now, did you notice your anxiety just went up two notches?
Why? Because we are not yet humble enough to acknowledge the perspective and experience of the other—including God’s. Especially God.
They say God hears every prayer and responds with a yes, no or wait. Whoever came up with that idea is terrified of “uncertainty” and are seeking to box in both humans and the unique Persons so Perfect in Love as to be One in essential nature.
If God knows all that is knowable then I give you God knows every prayer. But hearing, obligated like a computer to answer yes, no or wait, only?
What if a quiet silence while seeing what pain has wrought in us in fact, is the most loving answer?
What if Gods intervention into an agonizing pain were to radically effect the human timeline and result in the birth of a future Hitler or conversely the loss of the next Einstein? More likely when we ask God to remove the pain God may be removing the very thing which gives us wisdom, strength of purpose, character, love.
“God, why?” Is most human question. Jesus himself asked it. It is also true that it is the one question the Bible doesn’t answer.
I’m not suggesting for a moment that we should not present our petitions, plead our case or poor out our heart before Love itself. Ofcourse we should and know of God’s kindly heart in all.
it all really comes down to this. What ever you face today, set your heart toward love, cry out before God when broken and find a great movie!
Blessings! Terry
A video example of pains power to initiate good: “Luther on theMeaning of Universal (Catholic)”
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