THE REDEMPTIVE POSSIBILITIES OF IMPERFECTION

“Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear"  (Is. 59:2)

“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23)

     If there is one sentence in the Bible that expresses an absolute universal truth it is in this third chapter of Romans. "All have sinned," says the Apostle Paul. "All have fallen short of God's glory." "(God) makes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust," says the writer of Mattherw 5:45. No one has been born perfect or has lived a perfect life. Each of us has known the tugs of temptation to lust, to covet, to walk away from God, to dishonor our parents. Each of us has grown angry, hateful, revengeful, argumentative. We may pat ourselves on the back and say there are things we have not participated in, but there have been moments in each of our lives when we were not walking with God and to not walk with God is to be separated from God. Theologian Paul Tillich echoed the words of Isaiah that headline this post when he reminds us that "separation" from God is the very definition of "sin."

      Physical defects aside, each of us was born a perfect human child. However, each of us have our own unique story to tell regarding our growth and the cultural and emotional environment in which we were raised. Too much discipline, or the lack of it; love, or the lack of it; a value system that included a cultural emersion in politics and religion, or the lack of it, produced certain character traits that influenced who we would become as adolescents that would carry over into adulthood. The intense influence of "peer pressure" from those whose upbringing may have been totally different from our own cannot be discounted. For example, my former wife and I did not smoke and yet all our children's friends smoked. The result was that they, too, were smoking by the time they became young adults.

     I've known people who never allowed alcohol into their homes, yet their children grew up to become alcohol or drug addicts. No one is immune from heartache and tragedy. And that includes families of faith who have known the heartbreak of their teenage daughter telling them that she is pregnant, or a son calling them from a jail cell after having been arrested for rape or murder or some other crime. How many wives or husbands suffer under the heartache of a spouse who left them for another? In the midst of such turmoil and darkness parents, children and spouses cry out, "Where did I go wrong?" All of these very human encounters with the world serve to illustrate how truly imperfect we humans are. Nothing can be made right unless something has been made wrong.    

     "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death," the author of Proverbs wrote (14:12). And the Prophet Isaiah reminded us that, "We, like sheep, have all gone astray; we have turned -- every one -- to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (53:6). 

      I once met a man who made the amazing claim that he "had never done a wrong thing in his entire life." I have heard preachers declare that they have "always walked in righteousness," and, who hasn't heard those whose lies are so clearly evident yet are steadfast in their claim that they are not lying? 

    All of us, you and me, are perfectly born but we develop imperfectly. Whether it's biology, sociology or psychology, the vagaries of this life lead us astray and, yet, it is those same vagaraies that help us to find our way back to God. Once cast out of the metaphorical "Garden of Eden," humankind has spent eons trying to find its way back. And, I happen to think that is precisely how our God, who is the very Ground of our Being planned it. How can we find our way back to God if we are not at first lost? How can there be redemption if there is nothing to be redeemed from?

    "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own" (Phil. 3:22)

     I confess that I am not much of a fan of the Apostle Paul, although he intrigues me greatly; mostly because of his forthrightness. Paul is a sinner. He makes no bones of it. He freely admits that he has sinned and that he continues to sin. What that sin is never made clear, and has been the source of specultation for two-thousand years. What he says, in Romans 7:19, is that "the good I wish to do I don't do, but the bad that I do not wish to do, I do." Speculation on what the "bad" is, is irrelevant and a waste of time. The important thing is Paul presses on in his quest for righteousness in Christ, continually fighting against whatever demons plagued his soul in order to bring his message of the risen Christ to the world. Without struggle there can be no revival. Without imperfection there can be no redemption.

     And, where do we find such redemption? In church? Certainly the church should provide a nurturing environment for such redemption. Yet, I have known churches that do not welcome someone whose sins have become public. Other churches disallow participation in communion unless you are a member of that particular congregation. What about the community, can we find redemption there? Perhaps, however many communities across America have placed those convicted of certain misdemeanors or felonies on registries that ban them from housing or living in certain areas, and from even going to church without announcing their registered status, and even then they must receive the church's permission before they can worship. Separating people out, putting them in niches to be watched, prohibiting them from freely participating hardly seems the way to any kind of redemption. We are all sinners we must remind ourselves. Thinking that we are better than "that" person, whoever "that" person is, should give us all pause to rethink our belief and our relationship with our Lord.

      My maternal grandfather often said that redemption "is found on our knees." It is there, on our knees that we confess our wrongs, our mistakes, our sins. It is on our knees, where we are forgiven and where we promise to try -- and I emphasize 'try' -- to go forward and live a sin-free life through a reunion with our God. Jesus told the woman taken in adultery and about to be stoned to, "Go, and sin no more." What happened to her we do not know. But, I can tell you what will happen to the woman if she does sin again and is brought to the stoning ground and Jesus isn't there. Once redeemed from our sins we must not return to our sinful ways. We have been given a great gift when Jesus says, "Neither do I condemn you." It is this totality of love for the other that flows from God through Christ that restores us. This is at the core of the redemptive possibilities of imperfection.  

   But forgiveness requires us to forgive and forgiveness means we reach out and embrace the "other" whose only sin -- though it hurt us and offended us -- is that they, too, have been separated from God. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," the Apostle reminds us. We are all in need of redemption and there can be no redemption without imperfection and it is in the midst of our imperfection, our falleness, that we discover the love of God that leads us away from our imperfections and into the possibility of redemption. It comes when God offers us his hand; a hand that holds untold possibilities for  redemption to us all.

IN HIS FOOTSTEPS

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" - Micah 6:8

     To walk in the footsteps of Jesus; to humbly follow the path that God has laid out for us, often seems the most difficult of tasks. Even clergymen and women know the tug of temptation and, some, find it hard to resist. Why is this so?

     Well, first of all, to walk with Christ requires a commitment that places upon us certain obligations: the obligation to feed the hungry; clothe the naked; care for the poor, the widowed, the orphaned; to visit and have concern for the prisoner (Matt. 25). However, everyday we encounter those whose attitudes towards the poor, the naked, the hungry, the prisoner run counter to what Christ has called us to do. I often find myself at odds with this charge every time I come across a homeless person with a sign that says they are hungry while holding out their hand begging for change. I struggle with how often should I reach into my pocket to satisfy their need? If I ignore them does that make me an evil person? I try to comfort myself in the reality that I cannot stop on every street corner to give in this way. So I give what I can to the United Way, or the local soup kitchen, or food pantry, and when I can, I give of myself by working towards alleviating their misfortune.

    But, there are those who just don't care about them? What do we say to those who callously call such unfortunates lazy or drunkardly or addicts? To those who turn their backs on the needy and label those who were led into drug or alcohol addiction, or into a life of crime as "criminal" and deserving of their fate? How often do we hear references to certain parts of our cities as, "crime infested" or "drug laden," trigger words said to gain cheap political points without regard for the underlying social issues that produced such conditions. Do we call them "Evil?" I can't say if they are, in fact, evil, but it is evil, plain and simple. And, what is evil if nothing more than indifference? Indifferent to need, indifferent to solutions, indifferent to life. In my view, anyone who just stands around and watches evil is complicit in that evil. It is a conflict that has afflicted the world from the very beginning. After all, it was 'Evil' that tempted Eve, and it was 'Evil' who drove Cain to slay his brother, Abel, and we've only just gotten started with the Book of Genesis!

     To walk in the footsteps of Jesus means to commit ourselves and all of our energies to the creation (not just the ideal) of a world where love, peace and community prevails and where everyone (emphasis on EVERYONE) can live in an open, loving and tolerant environment in their pursuit of peace and happiness. To do God's Justice means to denounce hatred and division and to stand for that which is right and just for all. It means to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all our brothers and sisters and to do so without regard to the color of their skin, or where they came from, or what they may believe, or their sexual orientation. This is true love and solidarity. In doing so God's justice is practiced in the home, in our schools, in our economic system, the criminal justice system, and in our political institutions. This is what it means to follow Christ who welcomed all: the tax collector, the Roman, the leper, the prostitute, the adulteress. This is what it means to follow Christ who told us to "suffer the little children" (Matt. 19:14), who forgave those who killed him, and who proclaimed to the thieves who were crucified with him that, "today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). 

     Jesus calls us to take up his cross (Matt. 16:24-26), and that, my friends, is a heavy burden. It means that we are to become engaged in the crises, the social suffering and in confrontation with all the evil forces set against us. I consider myself a man of faith; a man who believes in Jesus Christ and am, therefore, a man who calls himself a Christian. But what does that mean? Does it mean that I stand up in public as an advocate for God's Justice, to protest, to take on 'the system?'  It would seem so. Or, is it enough to get up Sunday morning, go to church, recite the creeds, support missionary service and give lip-service to a doctrine of faith that often has stood in opposition to all the things that the name, Jesus Christ, stands for, then leave the pew and go to the golf course? Or, is being a Christian, as theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, committed to "the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple gives up all and leaves his nets and follows him." (Bonhoeffer, 'The Cost of Discipleship').

     What does all that mean? It means, to me, that to call oneself a Christian, there is only one way to truly walk in His footsteps and that is to stoop down and pick up the cross, the same cross Christ took to his death at Golgotha, and to fearlessly walk hand-in-hand with Him into a future filled with uncertainty, yet filled with Hope that depends on us to create. Such hope is heard in a voice that softly whispers to us the words, "Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30, NASB).

     

WHAT DO YOU DESIRE?

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart" -- Psalm 37:4

     What, exactly, is desire? By definition (thank you Merriam-Webster) desire is a longing; a wish for something; a craving. Such feelings of desire are emotional in content because they engage our feelings, occupy our thoughts, and drive our behaviors. Desire connects us to the world precisely because it defines what we are not. I want to be a good husband. I want to be a good father, I want to be a good worker, business owner, or lover. The whole of desire is found in two words, "I want." Without desire human life is without direction and when our desires go unmet, then human life is empty and it is this "emptiness" that drives us into sin.

     Still, not all desires should be fulfilled. If I want a new car but cannot afford it, then that desire must be tempered in the context that I must wait for that desire to be fulfilled. A desire for a new car that you cannot afford does not give license to steal one in order to satisfy the desire to have one. The gratification of desire must be tempered by what we hold as acceptable behavior, and acceptable behavior is, or should be, it's own desired end. Acceptable means aligning our view of ourselves with those of others. To do otherwise; to go against what others deem acceptable becomes the meaning of "outlaw" and "rogue." When Cain slew his brother, Able (Gen. 4:8), God banished him from the land, thus, taking him away from his family. Such is the fate of the outlaw and rogue.

     Secondly, desire based on our perception of our needs is not a desirable end because satifying the perception becomes its own end. For example, I see a woman I find attractive must be tempered by the fact that she is not attracted to me. However, I perceive that by persisting she will, eventually, become attracted to me. Thus, I persist in trying to satisfy my perceived desire of love and of being loved to the point where it appears that I am a stalker which could lead to criminal prosecution or I become the subject to a claim of sexual harassment, neither of which is a desirable end. Such scenarios are being played out everyday all over the wrold. Still, some persistence does pay off, and this is not to discourage one from trying. What I am refering to, above, is the misperception of reality in the failure to recognitize that she, or he, is "just not that into you." 

     The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of desire beyond the scriptural verse that headlines this post. In Paul's Epistle to the Romans, for example, we are encouraged to "walk properly" just as we do in the light of day; to avoid "orgies and drunkeness...sexual immorality and sensuality, not quarreling and jealousy," and to "make no provision for the flesh (simply) to gratify its desires" (13:13-14). 

     But, we have such strong desires, don't we? Especially, when desire regards our sensuality and need for sexual gratification. Paul says we should avoid that, Why? Because desire has more of a genetic root than a spiritual one. It's really the natural order of things. However, the natural order of things does not mean wanton sexual desire that devolves into depravity and this is what Paul was talking about. Sexual depravity ran amok in the ancient world, but especially among the Greeks and Romans. 

     Our desires need to be tempered in a reality that lifts us up rather than brings us down simply to satisfy desire. Take marriage, for example. Success in marriage calls us to be aware of the wants, needs, and desires of another. Marriage is, or should be, the ultimate human relationship guided by the desire for happiness and a family as part of a cohesive social unit. Competing desires within a marriage that leave us feeling empty and/or abused is, in my view, the number one cause of infidelity and divorce. Two people who are not on the same page are destined to fail.

     Humans are social animals, therefore, relationships are, perhaps, the, greatest desire each of us possess. The word, relationship, contains within it nearly everything that one could possibly desire. I have a relationship with my car (I love that car!). I have a relationship with my job (I love my job!). I have a relationship with the game of golf (I love to play golf); with my wife (I love my wife); my kids (I love my kids). Furthermore, I desire to be a responsible driver to avoid accidents to the car i love; a better worker so as not to lose the job I love; a better husband and father so has not to damage my family relationship with those whom I love; and to be a better golfer so I don't lose my temper, throw clubs and use words I shouldn't be using in a self-defeating assault upon myself. These are all, in one form or another, desirable goals for a happy and prosperous human life.

     However, to achieve each of these goals and satisfy our underlying desire there is another relationship we should acknowledge and that is a spiritual relationship that digs at us, eats at us, speaks to us and drives us forward to be something better than what we are. Each of us can do better. No one should be satisfied with where they are. Complacency should never be a desirable end; mediocrity should never be acceplted as success.  

     So, how is our desire satisfied in  a spiritual relationship? I think we would all agree that a successful relationship is built upon trust. We trust that those we are committed to in love are as equally committed to us. This trust projects our love outward. To achieve such an outward projection requires spirituality whether we recognize it as such, or not. Spirituality comes from within and demonstrates that we are aware of others outside ourselves and their needs, wants and desires. You don't have to be religious to have spirit although a religious spirituality confirms that our inner-selves are grounded in a trusting reationship with something within ourselves, yet, outside ourselves. This kind of trust is what is meant by the word, faith. We have faith that this something that is both within and without in turn has faith in us. Faith contains within itself the concepts of both love and trust. We trust ourselves, and are trusted to always seek to do the right thing. We love ourselves in the sense that our past mistakes are forgiven, and are trusted to, henceforth, always do the right thing. To do otherwise is a betrayal to that faith and the source of the word, hypocrisy. Faith is based on a commitment to, and an engagement in, the relationship in which another places their faith, love and trust in us. In other words, faith contains its own implicit element of desire. We desire for the happiness and well-being of others.

     As a spiritual person, I find expression of that spirituality in religion. You don't have to be religious to be spiritual, but, quite frankly, it helps. I believe in God out of a desire "to be" a person better than the person I sometimes find myself being (reference my comments on my golf game, above). I find solace in a faith in one whose life was so much greater than mine and in whom I can be shaped into that which I want to become, namely, Jesus of Nazareth. I believe in God not so much because that was what I was taught to do. That is, simply, a cultural heritage that has taught us to accept a particular belief simply because that is what everyone in the culture believes rather than a serious examination and genuine committment to that belief. I am a Christian because that is my heritage, but am I a Christian without a serious examination of what it means to accept Jesus Christ as Savior? People go to church on Sunday, say their prayers, recite their creeds, sing their hymns, and congratulate the pastor or priest on a wonderful sermon whose meaning is lost the moment they leave the church never having acknowledged that they walked into the church lacking in something and they are leaving the church still lacking.
     I believe in God because I sense in Him a surplus of that which I lack in my own life and that He gladly extends to me. This is, in my view, the essence of spirituality. It is not an emotional response, though it requires emotion. It is not a material desire, though it requires me to give of my material self. It is not a physical need, though it requires all the physical strength that I can muster. To desire to live a life in the spirit means that I embrace a reality that extends beyond the reality I have constructed for myself: my concepts of the future; the person who is, or will be, my spouse; the career that is taking, or will take me, into that future; and the lifestyle that I have, or will have, that bring me happiness and prosperity; all the things I, falsely, believe I can create. I can certainly make my own plans for this life, but withour a faith in the path that leads to the future I cannot create my life. A life without faith is, itself, empty and without meaning.

    Furthermore, believe that as much as I have sometimes abused my life, forgotten my spirituality, and not listened to that inner-voice, I am not here by accident. One particular moment in an endless chain of moments combined with one particular union in a countless chain of particular unions resulted in my birth. Chance, you say? If it is chance, then what is the meaning of life? An actuality within an endless chain of possiblities? The desire to live beyond ourselves does not require us to be religious, but it does require us to have faith and each of us exercise faith in some form. 

     We have faith in God, or faith in no-God, or faith in ourselves and the choices we make including faith that by driving 100 mph down the interstate will not lead to a fatal accident, or a speeding ticket. But, it is faith, nevertheless. Thus, faith, is it's own desire. As a person of faith I accept that I am loved by a God that fulfills what I lack and from whom such deficiancies will be overcome. Have you ever heard someone say, "If it weren't for that person, I would not be who I am today?" Or, "In my wife I learned the meaning of true love?" In that kind of love -- a love that changes us and challenges us to be a better human being -- we understand that we have been given a very special gift: the gift of "life." This "gift" means we must acknowledge that we have been given something that is not ours to keep but, rather, something that must be passed along. In loving my wife and children my love is passed to them and, they in return, pass it back to me. The same holds true for other family members, friends, and society at large. When we speak of God's love we are saying that, in faith, we believe that we are loved by a power so much greater than ourselves and who compels us to pass that love on. Who wouldn't want to share that kind of love with the world? The gifting of life is an unrestricted function of what we lack, yet so desperately desire and is an outward expression of our oneness with something greater than ourselves. 

     In the Christian faith the term, ἀγάπη (agapē) refers to the love we share with the world. Agapē is a Greek term most closely related to "charity" than to any physical attraction. Agapē is the gift God has given to us with the command to share it; to not be locked into our own little world, the world we have created for ourselves as if we are God. Locking ourselves into our own world is not only a form of mental illness, but is the ultimate definition of idolatry. Being charitable to others is its own separate desire as taught by our Lord, Jesus Christ.The gifting of God's love reverses the desire to satisfy the self -- to play God; to think that we can create a world of our own -- and fills us with a new desire whereby we become vessels for pouring out all that love of God in Christ Jesus to the world.