I had two excellent questions posed to me yesterday after the sermon and our opportunity to talk it out. First was from Kellie Tompkins and the second was from Heather. I'll share on Kellie's today and Heather's Thursday. Kellie asked, What can Christians do to set themselves aside, to make themselves look different? The last stanza of the poem, "Mad Farmer's Liberation Front" by Wendell Berry provides some beginning reflections.
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
First, a story. In the early 2000s there was a lot of terrorism associated with the #18 bus route in Jerusalem. Suicide bombers and other horrors. Some Christians, a significant minority in the area, decided to hold a prayer vigil. Not your average vigil, though. A vigil on the #18 bus route. They prayed for peace in the place of fear. Did it end terrorism? Of course not. Did it set them aside as strange? Sure.
The challenge of Christians is to live out of the hope for a renewed world because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The wisdom of Daniel was that he did it in the simplest of things: What he would eat. Was what you ate serious to Daniel? Of course. But it was simple and daily and formative--it shaped who he was. What Christians do on a daily basis is what will set them aside and generate the impetus to be set aside--daily things like what we eat, where we shop, whether we exercise, how we parent, where we live, what we drive.... Daniel could have gone unnoticed in his eating regimen for many people in the kingdom. I think many Christians, in their desire and activity to be set aside, may go unnoticed, as well.
3 comments:
Ties in nicely to the message, I'll be curious to hear what Heather asked.
Interesting! Thank you for sharing that poem and also the story. I have been thinking about this on and off since Sunday and thinking of the Jews at the time of Jesus who wanted Christians to be circumcised to set themselves apart as God had commanded in the OT. Only that wasn't required anymore.... but to them it had been/was so important in looking different. But to God it was unneccesary at this point. I wonder if some things I THINK are necessary to "set myself apart" are, to God, not the main thing. Obviously being different for the sake of being different isn't the point, either, but instead to attempt to be as closely associated with The Lord as possible. Not to be focusing on me at all, but on being His body, hands, etc.... whatever that looks like in this day. Hmmmm.... food for thought, for sure.
Excellent reflection. We sometimes skip over the circumcision thing, wondering how anyone could be so strange to think that. But it makes perfect sense they would! In the end, it was what people thought of God and what they thought God was up to that made the difference. In other words, theology mattered. Here's the thing: We all have implicit theologies in our actions. Working out the theology of atonement is what led Paul and others to affirm a covenant marked by faith through God's grace, rather than by the Law. So, I suppose the question for us is, how has God worked to come to us and how can we act to communicate that to those around us? (Someone should write a book about that!!)
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