I couldn’t find all the videos I was looking for, but here are a few classics that give much needed evidence to finally prove once for all that Christians are weird…in all the wrong ways.
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And one freebee that’s gotta be shown at least every six months…
It’s funny how one of the first places we all went when the tumor stuff started was cause. Why in the world would a tumor pop up in the middle of my spinal cord in the middle of my back? (clearly and soberly the hope is that it didn’t metastasize from some other place. If this ends up being true then the jokes just aren’t quite as funny! Which makes me want to write this blog sooner than later! Ah!) I’ve been joking about how I never should have started taping my cell phone to my back as I walked around. Damn celular radiation! Then we had some who have questioned the 1920’s community home that we live in. Are we living in a mold-infested and toxic laden home that is causing both my son and I to have negative and surprising health concerns?! We’re all trying to figure out the why question and so I’ve decided to make a list of some of the things that changed 4-5 months ago. These things are potentially directly correlated to the emergence of the tumor in my spine and Jones’ swollen lymph nodes and must be treated as so:
Changing gears and speaking a big more seriously I am not one to look for causes. I am not one to seek out justification, to try to figure out how God has “willed” something like this to happen. My five year old son seems to share my perspective because the night before my surgery I sat down with my son and tried to have a special conversation with him regarding “daddy’s big day”.
Jones: “daddy, it’s not that big of a deal”
Me: “You don’t think so?”
Jones: “People all over the world have tumors right now”
Me: “I guess you’re right. I guess this is something new to our family but it’s actually pretty normal on a global perspective huh?”
Jones: “Yeah. And many of those people are dying from them.”
Me: “Dying? I like to think that many people are finding new life as those tumors are removed from their bodies!”
Jones: “What about people in Africa who do not have access to adequate medical facilities or doctors?”
Me: “Wow, you’re right. I guess we should feel really lucky and special that we live in a place where we have such good doctors huh?”
Jones: “Yeah. Can I have another pillow I’m ready for bed.”
Me: “Sure. Goodnight.”
Talk about perspective right?! Stuff happens and we don’t know why. Sometimes we’re blessed to find a cause and sometimes we are not. In my case…and I may look foolish in saying so I just can’t help but marvel at the timing of it all. The week I finished grad school and entered into what was supposed to be a two week sabbatical period was when the painful symptoms emerged. Then week following my two week sabbatical was the moment I had been counting down to when my time was completely 100% freed to do what I had been working toward doing for four years–namely giving myself completely to the work of creating the Grassroots Conspiracy in the downtown community. Instead on that first “free” Monday I was on my back for eight hours in MRI machines. Timing wise nothing was going according to plan, my eagerness to enter into new activity kept getting interrupted by all this health stuff! A good friend of mine and someone I respect deeply reflected that it
Seems like health issues come in waves, especially when…on the cusp of some strategic ministry breakthrough.
Essentially it seems like when big things are about to happen big things tend to happen (I’m quite the writer eh?) The irony beauty of all this is that instead of ME trying to work and create something in our community, everything has been turned around. I’ve been thrust into the test tube of our own dreaming. We sought out to create a community of people who are learning to buy into the Jesus way of dying to self and living for others and rather than having space and energy to live it out myself I am being forced to be the guinea pig. At first I hated it, it embarrassed me to be the recipient of all of your love. Today it still embarrasses me and continuously freaks me out as my family is showered with the love, care, and selflessness of an entire community! I’m supposed to be caring for you! I’m supposed to be doing this, I’m supposed to be coordinating meals for MY neighbors, I’m supposed to be helping YOU. Oh the irony beauty of it all. You all are amazing. Whether you like it or not you are living out the Christian narrative. Isaiah 61 captures the backwards nature of it all–broken people are bound up, mourning is turned into joy, justice if found, beauty instead of ashes–everything is turned around made backwards and beauty emerges. Love it.
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
and its happening before my very eyes…
Like Jones said, “tumors happen”. The real story here is that prayer, love, and sacrifice that has been given to my family because of you all does not “just happen”. You people are co-conspirators of the greatest kind.
Very few people, if any, want to be considered dull. I certainly don’t want you to think I’m boring…or even worse, I don’t want to actually be boring! Boring people are…well…kind of boring to be around.
On the side of a hill one day Jesus powerfully told a group of outcast followers that
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
These are especially powerful words if you consider them written to marginalized people with little financial, political, or legal control in their lives. Think about it, how many of us have moments where we approach a migrant worker and let them know that their lives bring flavor to our world, that if they stop being who they are our world will lack zest and flavor–that essentially we not only need them but want them to be a part of our world! (as a side note, this is the potential beauty of a little idea festering on Facebook called “Vancouver Speaks” that seeks to honor the often invisible people who bring life and meaning to the city of Vancouver. Check her out and engage)
Even though it’s a powerful idea to remember that Jesus often elevated marginalized people into places of honor and beauty it still does not actually get to the point of his words about flavor. His point, I think, was that in following Jesus–in taking up his invitation to live radically, to love radically, to be transformed by an alternative (and redemptive) story one becomes a flavor changing force in the world around! Those who follow Jesus cannot be boring people because they are living out the epic story of hope, significance, meaning, sacrifice, and generosity! If you’re not bringing flavor then what are you doing?
Christians should be genuinely worried about being boring. They should be genuinely concerned with living out of the reality of the Jesus story which is one that brings joy and empowerment to marginalized peoples, it invites us to honor and dignify our children and elderly, it questions our selfishness and invites us into otherness, it should be tasty, flavorful, refreshing, and useful.
Because if your story doesn’t taste good…what’s the point?
We do not usually start our story until Genesis 3. Genesis 1-2 is the story of creation. Whether you take the creation story as literal or not, what we understand about ourselves in that story is remarkable. According to the biblical tradition humanity is not an accident, we were created out of peace and stillness, we were created out of unified love (“let us make man in our image), the created world was not incidental rather it was crafted with intention and purpose, communion and relationship are a part of our story, and man and woman were intended for intimacy and mutual self-sacrifice. Whether or not you take this story as literal or not, we are invited to be shaped by the truth that this is our genesis, this is our original purpose and intended beauty, this is who we really are. We are intended to be defined by peace, stillness, tranquility, fruitful activity, communion, purpose, relationship, and self-sacrifice for the sake of others. Are those markers that define us? Besides the fact that we have raped creation to the point of destroying beautiful species of animals and plants, we live our lives finding our identity in a post Genesis 3 story. We find our identity in our brokenness. Don’t get me wrong, we try to put a good spin on it, but do we not all see the bumper stickers that say “I’m not perfect, just forgiven”? Don’t we all understand Jesus’ saving work on the cross only in juxtaposition to our brokenness? Don’t we think about the coming of God’s future kingdom with some sense of worry concerning his judgement of our brokenness?
While I understand that there is some truth to the reality that brokenness is where we are at, we live in a broken world, we are broken people, and we find hope for healing in the work and life of Jesus Christ…BUT…that is one of the beautiful things about following Jesus…it’s utter foolishness! It was foolish for Mother Teresa to spend so much energy and time with people who are dying. She would have been better off finding healing and eternal salvation for these people right? It was foolish for Jesus to do what he did, to make himself human, to hang out with a bunch of Jews, to tell people to be quiet about his message, and to eventually allow humanity to kill their maker. It’s foolishness to not find your security in retirement and trust funds. Its foolishness to believe that you experience love more fully by giving more of yourself away. Its foolishness.
The invitation, I believe, is to act out of the reality that we put our hope in. The Christian message says that our identity is more clearly understood in Genesis 1-2 than in Genesis 3. The Christian story says that we have a hope in future kingdom (that is breaking in even today) where one day all peoples will be reconciled together with each other and with God. The beginning and end of our story is one of peace, communion, and joy…what if we did the foolish thing and tried to live out of this reality today?
**I feel the need to add that I also really recognize that for many this world just plain ol’ sucks. As a follower of Christ I hope to work toward hope for these people in their lives today (starving people need food, etc.) while also realizing that sometimes our only hope is in God’ future realized kingdom.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and say all sorts of evil things against you because of me. For great is your reward in heaven…”
-Jesus
I keep asking myself the same question: is the good news (as Christians use it) good? It should be, and I think it is. At its very core good news is news that is good, that is welcomed, that is hopeful and of positive value for the recipient. News that is good is not rote, it is the proclamation of a newsworthy event that happened (and is happening). News isn’t an idea, it is the announcement of something that has been experienced. If it is not experienced it is not news. And if its not hope producing, of positive value for the one experiencing it, or joy-inducing then can it be considered good news? Good news must be news that is good.
I think that Christians have allowed some of the words of the Bible to get us off the hook for our image problem. As I re-posted (from Relevant Magazine) on facebook/twitter recently ?”When ‘non believers’ were asked to rank their level of respect for various groups, only prostitutes scored lower than evangelicals.” this should cause us to question the goodness of our news. While I realize that Scripture talks about the Christian good news message being foolishness to those who do not believe (though if I remember correctly the context is more connected to philosophical rather than practical realities) I would argue that there are many things that we as a culture find to be utterly foolish and yet completely good! Mother Teresa acted foolishly in what she did, but we all recognize what she did as inherently good news. Good news is generally pretty easy to spot. In the same way not-good news is equally easy to spot.
Dogma is not good news. Correct doctrine is not good news. Proving someone is wrong is not good news. Showing someone that you’re right is not good news. Past events without present or future implications are not good news (I believe it would be considered ‘old news’ which is neither good nor interesting). None of these are newsworthy events full of goodness! They are not good news.
It’s good news for a single mom to have help with her children, with transportation, work around the house, etc. Its good news to be a part of a community of people who care for you, who celebrate with you, and who hurt with you. It’s good news to learn to let go of self and care for others. It’s good news to have hope in a future that is free of pain, suffering, and brokenness. It’s good news to know that you’re loved, that you’re valuable, and that you have something unique to offer the world. It’s good news to know that your failing body will one day be restored to something more whole and complete. All of those are tangible news worth events that I would consider good. Foolish? Maybe. But definitely good.
In my minimal experience I’ve come to really believe that very very very few people hate Christians (or would place them as the second least respectable people around) when they encounter Christians who are experiencing and pursuing news that is good. The persecution, ridicule, and hate that scripture refers to is more often than not connected to the very Christ-like activity that is in opposition to the powers of this world. Some will most definitely hate you when you stand courageously in opposition to the death whether it be the death penalty, abortion, or war. People will definitely hate you when you stand up for the marginalized in society whether it is undocumented immigrants, the poor, or the homeless. People will definitely hate you when you pledge allegiance to someone (Jesus) or something (his eternal kingdom) over and above your nation or political system. People will most definitely hate you when you stand in opposition to the destruction of materialism, consumerism, and security. There’s room for people to hate you because of bold (and peaceful) opposition to the powers of our broken world. But when it comes to relationship, when it comes to you, me, our neighbors, and our coworkers the true reality is that good news is…well…good.