This evening we went to the garage to pick the car up and drove it home. The whole thing has cost less than the the most optimistic estimate that we had in front of us when we went to take our driving tests last week. Not that all is necessarily well - the repair was not exactly cheap and has a health warning -the engine may be damaged - but it seems to be running fine, so we hope it is actually healthy and not just biding its time.The rest of the evening was spent with most of our church-planting core team. We had a really good time and I think turned a corner in our mutual understanding. One of the issues that we discussed was dualism - how we allow things to be labelled as sacred/holy/religious and other things secular/profane and how that plays out. I want a faith that is relevant to my everyday life and a life that is informed by my faith in every part - not to become like the Fast Show character at a party who turns 'How's the wine?' into 'You know that reminds me of the blood of Our Lord Jesus...' but more like Ryan in The Cobalt Season's "Help me out here" who, tired-out by saying one thing and living another, launches into a tirade about love and consistency in personal and world affairs that ends with this:
Still we choose to tell each other lies / That the kingdom could never be realised / The master never could have meant the words he said / I'm getting tired...would you help me out here?
Just maybe church could be a place where we believe that Jesus did mean the words he said and where we help each other out when we're getting tired. I like that idea.
Oh yes - second consecutive cheap pun post title...would you help me out here?
The other day I heard the Dalai Lama quoted as saying 'My religion is kindness.' It seems like a good starting point for any religion or life philosophy. Discuss?
ReplyDeletePS - hope your car really is A-okay.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteInteresting question. I certainly wouldn't argue against kindness. Paul writes "against such things there is no law" when listing it amongst the things that the Spirit develops in us. One of the things that bothers me the most about religion is that too often it seems to defend itself at the expense of its own core teachings. So that you can have Christians preaching hatred or even proposing killing of those who disagree with them when the heart of the gospel is that we should love because God loves.
We all know that people who are trying to defend an impossible position become dangerous - too often the church has allowed its members and leaders to get into this position - not (as they probably believe) defending the gospel itself - far from impossible I would argue, but trying to defend the position that they have everything right (and therefore those who disagree are wrong).
Just after Paul's words about kindness he says, "Carry each other's burdens" and "Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else."
We need to set aside our desire to be right and aim first to be good and faithful - for me that means Christ-like, but I doubt that it looks much different from the Dalai Lama's ideal of kindness.
At the risk of making this the longest comments section ever, I came across this quote from an old friend of mine who died a few years ago, and thought it might be pertinent. He was a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers).
ReplyDelete"The first Friends had an apocalyptic vision of the world transformed by Christ and they set about to make it come true. The present generation of Quakers shares this conviction of the power of the spirit, but it is doubtful whether it will transform the world in our lifetime, or in that of our children or children's children. For us it is not so important when the perfect world will be achieved or what it will be like. What matters is living our lives in the power of love and not worrying too much about the results. In doing this, the means become part of the end. Hence we lose the sense of helplessness and futility in the face of the world's crushing problems. We also lose the craving for success, always focusing on the goal to the exclusion of the way of getting there. We must literally not take too much thought for the morrow but throw ourselves whole-heartedly into the present. That is the beauty of the way of love; it cannot be planned and its end cannot be foretold."
Wolf Mendl, 1974
Thank you for sharing that, it is beautiful and very much in line with my thinking.
ReplyDeleteHere is another line from The Cobalt Season: Read those words again and you might see life, where you saw death and a way to your salvation.
Like them, and your friend, I choose not to focus on a remote future. I don't see this 'wait around for death or transformation' message as a strong theme in Jesus' teaching. Rather, I see redemption - the transformation of woe into joy - and an invitation to join in this work.
And, at the risk of choosing Bible verses to support my position, in the old testament Micah wrote:
"...what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God". The context of this is that living otherwise, but fulfilling your outward religious requirements is not pleasing to God.
My hope and prayer for myself is that I will be doing this right-living better today than I was yesterday. As for tomorrow...