As my third month as volunteer coordinator approaches, I must confess it has caused me to think a lot about the organizational requirements larger churches must go through on a day to day basis. When my time as coordinator ends at the end of March (and it WILL end then regardless of whether or not someone else can take over the job), I feel I must give praise to one person in the Bible who remains an inspiration to me for all things organizational: Martha.
We all know the story from the Gospel of Luke: Martha is head of the household and welcomes Jesus into their home and does all the work while Mary sits around and listens to Jesus. Martha gets mad about this and is chided by Jesus saying that she is distracted by many things while Mary has “chosen the better part” by taking time to listen to Jesus. We don’t really know what happened after that, Martha probably agreed with him or (if she was like me) she probably would’ve made the mistake of telling Jesus “Then fix your own $#@% dinner!” Although we can concede that Jesus was right and Martha was wrong, Martha still remains a veritable patron saint of people with type-A personalities. The pastor of my parents’ church said in a sermon that a group of people at her old church served as the logistical hub and named themselves “The Marthas.”
Although Jesus’ teachings and actions usually serve as the cornerstone of a Christian community of faith as they should, those who are driven to attend the organization of who does what and when remain a significant part of any church’s ministry (including our own). After all, “Meals under the Bridge” remains a very well-known and respected interfaith ministry here in San Antonio and it would not be possible without Ellen Ott’s attention to detail.
Like with Martha, our work in the Church is to honor and serve God since Martha’s OCD actions were in appreciation and respect for Jesus. However, what happens when that work causes us to loose sight of the bigger picture that is Jesus’ message of love and salvation? More than once I vented over the day to day business of being Moderator and how it can feel like frustration personified to friends who, unwittingly, got drawn into my diatribe. One time I was on one of these rants and the friend said: “If you hate being Moderator so much why do you do it?” This caused me to take a step back and realize that, in getting wrapped up in the minor details of being moderator, I had lost sight of why I did it which was to further the mission of Spirit of Peace which, I think the whole congregation can agree, is what God wants us to do (and because no one else wanted the job, but I digress). Although I did not hate being moderator, I got so wrapped up in the less-savory aspects of the position and forgot the reason I took the task on.
Probably someone who was a better organizer than I could ever be was Mother Teresa. When she started her ministry to the poor of India she had no start up money, was one of the few who actually reached out to the poor of Calcutta, and she had to do pretty much everything herself. In her Biography, she talked about her early months where she was tempted to return to Convent life, her response was: “Of free choice, my God, and out of love for you, I desire to remain and do whatever be your Holy will in my regard.” Well, fortunately Mother Teresa didn’t have to keep doing everything herself and her organization the “Missionaries of Charity” has grown to more than 4,000 nuns caring for people in over 123 countries. Still, although a great drive to work made her service possible, would she have continued to reach out to others if she had forgotten why she was doing such a tireless and thankless job?
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Anti-Hero
If you are like me and spend a great deal of time watching television, you have probably noticed a shift in the type of programming that is on most nights. The lines between the good guys and bad guys are more often blurred and we have come to see the emergence of what we call “the anti-hero,” an individual who is the protagonist of the story yet is either not a “good guy/girl” or at least not fitting the typical stereotype of what the good guy/girl should be. Probably the first anti-hero of television was none other than JR Ewing of the show Dallas, he was “the man everyone loved to hate” yet he was the primary focus of the show and without his twisted antics the show would’ve been too boring for words. A more recent example is the show: “Sleeper Cell” which details the activities a cell of terrorists in the United States. So much time is spent developing these characters and showing the good and bad about them, you become drawn into the story and concerning yourself more with them than the FBI agents who are operating to stop them.
The Bible also has ample villains in it and they are many things, but certainly not boring. For example, the queen Herodias and her plot to kill John the Baptist is scheming on a level that would put Alexis from the show “Dynasty” to shame. Probably the first character that would be considered an “anti-hero“ of the Bible would be Pharaoh in the story of the Exodus. After each plague the Bible says God hardens Pharaohs’ heart, which would indicate that God is moving this story along to a very dramatic and serious finale. One character in the show “Oz” talks about this story and, bluntly, raises the question: “So if God harden’s Pharaoh’s heart after each plague, who’s side is God really on???” This is a valid question, why would God prolong the Hebrews’ slavery in Egypt if Pharaoh would’ve given up on his own after one or two plagues?
I do not think God allows bad things to happen for the sake of great drama. However, I am of the belief that God can truly show the extent of his love for us by showing the extremes He is willing to go to in order to help his people. After all, would the nation of Israel been as faithful to God to wander in the wilderness for 40 years if God said “let my people go” and Pharaoh said “ok.” If you have more of an attention span as I do, you have read the lengthy list of laws and rules God laid out for us. Just as with any relationship, there has to be some quid pro quo, we need assurance that our obedience to God’s law will be rewarded by having God on our side against even the most aggressive foes. In the Bible, we see people faithful to God triumphing over others who have more money, a bigger army, or the law on their side. In another dramatic story, it was Martin Luther King’s faith in God that allowed him to stand against those in favor of segregation even though when he began the segregationists had more money, more political power, and had the law on their side.
Ultimately, in our lives, God may ask great things from us, ask us to step outside our comfort zone, take risks, and in general prompt people to ask: “what are you on and why aren’t you sharing?” Still, when that time comes it is my hope we will remember that God is likewise able to make great things happen and he has the track record to prove it.
The Bible also has ample villains in it and they are many things, but certainly not boring. For example, the queen Herodias and her plot to kill John the Baptist is scheming on a level that would put Alexis from the show “Dynasty” to shame. Probably the first character that would be considered an “anti-hero“ of the Bible would be Pharaoh in the story of the Exodus. After each plague the Bible says God hardens Pharaohs’ heart, which would indicate that God is moving this story along to a very dramatic and serious finale. One character in the show “Oz” talks about this story and, bluntly, raises the question: “So if God harden’s Pharaoh’s heart after each plague, who’s side is God really on???” This is a valid question, why would God prolong the Hebrews’ slavery in Egypt if Pharaoh would’ve given up on his own after one or two plagues?
I do not think God allows bad things to happen for the sake of great drama. However, I am of the belief that God can truly show the extent of his love for us by showing the extremes He is willing to go to in order to help his people. After all, would the nation of Israel been as faithful to God to wander in the wilderness for 40 years if God said “let my people go” and Pharaoh said “ok.” If you have more of an attention span as I do, you have read the lengthy list of laws and rules God laid out for us. Just as with any relationship, there has to be some quid pro quo, we need assurance that our obedience to God’s law will be rewarded by having God on our side against even the most aggressive foes. In the Bible, we see people faithful to God triumphing over others who have more money, a bigger army, or the law on their side. In another dramatic story, it was Martin Luther King’s faith in God that allowed him to stand against those in favor of segregation even though when he began the segregationists had more money, more political power, and had the law on their side.
Ultimately, in our lives, God may ask great things from us, ask us to step outside our comfort zone, take risks, and in general prompt people to ask: “what are you on and why aren’t you sharing?” Still, when that time comes it is my hope we will remember that God is likewise able to make great things happen and he has the track record to prove it.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
In Sickness and in Health
On a day work was pretty dead, I decided to take off a little early in the afternoon and check out a movie from the library (I COULD check out a book I know, but film remains my medium of choice when I want to veg). The movie of choice on the said afternoon was “Warm Springs”, an HBO film about Franklin Roosevelt’s struggle with Polio and his attempt to find treatment at the Warm Springs spa in Georgia. Although it was later believed that FDR suffered from a disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome and not Polio, history usually credits FDR’s illness with an increased attitude of compassion towards disabled people. The movie deals with him coming to grips with his illness and also finding hope to face the future.
The topic of health is one that is prominent in the Bible and in most other religious traditions. Rev. Rita preached a sermon once on the significance of Jesus’ healing in the New Testament given that even a minor cut or injury could spell disaster for someone before the time of clean water, Neosporin, and urgent care clinics. Beyond that, I think disease can be seen as a “great equalizer” in that there are many diseases that know no race, gender, or economic lines. After all, Ronald Reagan’s political accomplishments didn’t spare him from Alzheimer’s and Bob Marley’s talent as a musician didn’t prevent him from getting cancer.
Many people at Spirit of Peace have training in Medicine and Biology and I think they can agree disease in its myriad shapes and manifestations in an inescapable part of the human condition. Although the advancements in medical sciences towards understanding and curing disease is enough to make my head spin, at some point we must remind ourselves that we will probably never rid the human race of disease all together and, in truth, doing so would almost be against nature since part of being a living thing is being vulnerable to injury, disease, and death. I am reminded of my Maternal Grandmother, a woman who was always accomplished at maintaining her health, who went for her physical and her doctor detailed out a list of problems he had noted with her body chemistry, liver function, and circulation. Her response was (paraphrasing) “I’m in my late 70s, what did you expect?”
We focus a lot on God’s ability to heal, but we could also argue God can use disease as a way to direct people to do things they otherwise wouldn‘t. After all, if FDR was not stricken with his illness, would his wife Eleanor be thrust into public life and become the force for women’s rights that she was? Likewise, if not for Howard Hughes persistent (and, arguably, pathological) fear of illness, would his wealth have been used to begin the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a organization known for funding cutting edge research in the biomedical sciences? That is not to say God paralyzed FDR or gave Howard Hughes an irrational fear of getting sick. However, such things can be part of the human condition and, out of them, individuals have to dig deep to access the gifts God has given them.
Overall, I see life as a “package deal” from God, just as we experience joy, love, and pleasure we also have to experience pain, sickness, and loss for the good things God has given us to be more meaningful. Unfortunately, we cannot pick and choose what parts of God’s gift we really want. All we can do is have faith that, just as obstacles have been up in our way, we have been given depths of strength by God to face the adversity in life ill-health can bring.
The topic of health is one that is prominent in the Bible and in most other religious traditions. Rev. Rita preached a sermon once on the significance of Jesus’ healing in the New Testament given that even a minor cut or injury could spell disaster for someone before the time of clean water, Neosporin, and urgent care clinics. Beyond that, I think disease can be seen as a “great equalizer” in that there are many diseases that know no race, gender, or economic lines. After all, Ronald Reagan’s political accomplishments didn’t spare him from Alzheimer’s and Bob Marley’s talent as a musician didn’t prevent him from getting cancer.
Many people at Spirit of Peace have training in Medicine and Biology and I think they can agree disease in its myriad shapes and manifestations in an inescapable part of the human condition. Although the advancements in medical sciences towards understanding and curing disease is enough to make my head spin, at some point we must remind ourselves that we will probably never rid the human race of disease all together and, in truth, doing so would almost be against nature since part of being a living thing is being vulnerable to injury, disease, and death. I am reminded of my Maternal Grandmother, a woman who was always accomplished at maintaining her health, who went for her physical and her doctor detailed out a list of problems he had noted with her body chemistry, liver function, and circulation. Her response was (paraphrasing) “I’m in my late 70s, what did you expect?”
We focus a lot on God’s ability to heal, but we could also argue God can use disease as a way to direct people to do things they otherwise wouldn‘t. After all, if FDR was not stricken with his illness, would his wife Eleanor be thrust into public life and become the force for women’s rights that she was? Likewise, if not for Howard Hughes persistent (and, arguably, pathological) fear of illness, would his wealth have been used to begin the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a organization known for funding cutting edge research in the biomedical sciences? That is not to say God paralyzed FDR or gave Howard Hughes an irrational fear of getting sick. However, such things can be part of the human condition and, out of them, individuals have to dig deep to access the gifts God has given them.
Overall, I see life as a “package deal” from God, just as we experience joy, love, and pleasure we also have to experience pain, sickness, and loss for the good things God has given us to be more meaningful. Unfortunately, we cannot pick and choose what parts of God’s gift we really want. All we can do is have faith that, just as obstacles have been up in our way, we have been given depths of strength by God to face the adversity in life ill-health can bring.
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