Pastors are like manure. So the saying goes. They are best spread out in the fields. When they are gathered up they only make a stink and scorch the earth. It would appear that October is the month of theological conferences for pastors. It’s a brief window before advent, but after the fall ministries are back up and running when we can get away for a little bit.
This past week I was in La Quinta, California with church leaders from throughout California. The theme was: Grief. A real light and refreshing topic? I think not. The conference finally made sense to me, though, at our closing worship. Bishop Brenda Bos had the sermon translated live into Spanish. She preached on “grief.” But when Pastor María Paiva translated the word grief, she used the Spanish word, “duelo.” Over and over again I heard the word “duelo,” which means yes grief, but also pain from the word “dolor.” This was supremely helpful because often when I think of grief I think of a generic term to describe the process a person goes through when they lose someone they love. Grief is just what you go through. But by hearing the Spanish word, “duelo,” it made me think and feel more honestly that grief is about pain and hurt.
It is fair to say that we have experienced and are even still feeling “duelo,” grief and the pain that comes with it. We have lost both people and relationships, and it hurts us to the innermost recesses of our soul. Or then again maybe it doesn’t! The problem with painful grief is that it can be so overwhelmingly painful that we do all kinds of crazy things to try to avoid it. We have discovered and curated a panopoly of devices to temporarily distract us from the god-awful pain of loss: money, work, shopping, alcohol, drugs, sex, entertainment, and religion.
Honestly religion may be one of the greatest culprits of anesthetizing people from their pain. Marx said that religion was the opiate of the masses. But he wasn’t the only one. Dietrich Bonhoeffer also criticized the church for the same failing. During the rise of Hitler a solid super majority of Catholic and Lutheran leaders quietly supported the fuhrer. They did not criticize or resist. Maybe they tried to comfort people and relieve them of their pain rather than resist the injustice. Bonhoeffer called this “cheap grace,” in his book, “The Cost of Discipleship.” Cheap grace relieves us of our duty to strive and sacrifice for what is right. It asuages us of guilt and smothers us with a false hope that God will come and fix everything.
Costly Grace is what Bonhoeffer advocated for. It takes the cross of Jesus as the center of faith, and so every human being which suffers as being close to the heart of God, and so demands our care, respect, and efforts to resist that which hurts and destroys life. It means feeling the pain and not just looking the other way or distracting ourselves with cheap promises of resurrection. When you feel pain you are actually feeling God’s costly grace. Grace makes all of creation sacred. You are sacred, and so are the people in your life. When you feel pain you are alive to the holiness of all these things. We are in real trouble when we stop caring; and stop feeling. When we cut ourselves off from others and excuse their suffering as merited because of their sins.
The Pharisee in Jesus’ parable is guilty of this. He is stuck trying to avoid the pain of his life. He looks with contempt on the tax collector judging him in order to not have to sympathize or empathize with him, in order to not have to be concerned for his well being. And he has lots of good reasons to do so. Today we all love and respect tax collectors, right? Haha. Well it was even worse in Jesus’ day. Tax Collectors were sending the hard earned money away, impoverishing their own people for the sake of Rome, and keeping plenty for themselves. There was a reason to hate them. But if you believe in Grace then you believe that all people are sacred and beloved by God, especially your enemies. The Tax Collector in this moment is justified because in his soul he is accepting God’s grace. He is coming to terms with the fact that he hasn’t just exploited disposable people; he has made bereft his own brothers and sisters, and so his heart is breaking. But he is justified because he finally has faith. He believes in his heart God’s grace and that people matter; so he leaves the temple determined to change his life radically. Faith without struggle is dead. The tax collector is struggling to do right by the people, so he has faith.
Today we will study the first chapter of Bonhoeffer’s book, “Life Together.” In this chapter called, “Community,” we will read about Bonhoeffer criticizing retreats and theological conferences. He says that nothing is more toxic to faith than a short term gathering of Christians where they feel so happy and uplifted. True community is to be with the very people who you have a hard time with. So let us modify our original refrain. Christians are like manure. They are to be spread out in the field doing good, and not piled up making a stink.
Friday night was homecoming at Upland High School, and our daughter Rebecca took the field with the Pioneer Junior High band to play alongside the Highlanders regiment and marching band. The cheerleaders stood at attention. The football teams leapt with vigor. The students danced with glee. The parents and grandparents cheered with pride. A host of staff and volunteers made it all happen. The opposing team and their entourage made it all worthwhile. When I saw this old tradition unfold anew for this generation I was comforted. Despite everything we’ve been through, and all the challenges we face it gives us hope to know that the children are okay. They are laughing, crying, arguing, flirting, running, and showing us that there is a future. They matter. This world matters, and it is worth living, it is worth struggling for. This is the world into which you are sent, to be life giving manure in God’s football field.
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