When I was a young pastor, one of my favorite jobs was being the associate pastor at a large United Methodist church in Mitchell, SD. I loved that job! I did a lot of work with youth and young families and loved the privilege of preaching to a large congregation. It was also fun to be a part of so many holy moments with this congregation. Weddings and funerals were a regular part of my ministry. One year me and the Sr. pastor did 54 funerals! But as exciting as all that was, being a part of such a busy congregation also caused some personal challenges for me. Perhaps the most challenging thing was trying to juggle my calling in the church with my calling and commitment as a father to 4 children! Let’s just say it made for some interesting times.
One I was reminded of this week was a time I was supposed to meet my SPRC chair (none other than Bruce Blumer, the lead of the mission project we are supporting here at Bear Creek during Lent called Haiti Alive), for breakfast. We had had a difficult night the night before. Sam, our 3rd child, had been sick in the night so Cyndy and I were tag teaming “puke clean-up” all night. Poor Sam! That next morning, when the alarm rang, I immediately moaned, rolled over, and turned it off. I needed some sleep! But 30 minutes later Cyndy was shaking me with these words, “Brook! Brook! Brook! Wake up! Don’t you have a breakfast with your SPRC chair this morning?”
“What? Wait a minute...what time is it?” “6:55” “Oh crap! I’m supposed to be there at 7!” “You better get moving! And when you come home to shower...don’t you dare wake me up!”
I jumped out of bed, wet down my hair, put on my glasses and headed to Perkins to meet Bruce. By then it was 7:15 and it seemed like my whole day was going to be playing catch up. As I was sharing breakfast with Bruce, though, I kept having this strange feeling. Things seemed so hazy. At first, I attributed it to the lack of sleep, but then I turned my attention to my glasses. I must have taken them off 3 times to wipe them clean. Nothing seemed to work!
After the meeting, I skipped the shower and headed into the office and was met by my secretary, Short. She had a strange smile on her face, as she said, “So, how are your glasses working?” And I said, “Strange you should ask. I’ve been struggling with them. The lenses seem to be dirty. I’ve tried to clean them 3 or 4 times now, but it doesn’t seem to help. Here, see what you can do.”
She took them into her hands and then suddenly burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?” I asked. “Well, Cyndy just called me. She told me that you headed out the door this morning with the wrong glasses. You have hers on!”
No wonder I was struggling all morning...I was looking at the world through the wrong lenses!
Lately, I’ve been realizing that that is just what we do in our Christian journey sometimes. I’ve been reading Danielle Shroyer’s book, “Original Blessing,” and in this book she shares that at some point along the way, we Christians took a wrong turn; that turn is the doctrine of original sin. According to Shroyer we have become a people who can only see our story through the lens of “original sin” and that that lens is not accurate. “The gospel,” she says, “is not a story of us being separated by sin from God. It is the story of a God who is so faithfully FOR US and intent on being WITH us that God became human to help us embody the wholeness and fullness of life we’ve been made for. It’s not a story of separation. It’s a story of invitation and participation.”
The true lens we should be looking through isn’t original sin, but original blessing. Here’s what she says: “Far more than just being made in God’s image, original blessing claims we are steadfastly held in relationship with God. Original blessing reminds us that God calls us GOOD and BELOVED before we are anything else. Sin is not at the heart of our nature; blessing is.”
Look, that doesn’t mean we don’t mess up. I of all people should know that. But just because we mess up doesn’t mean we are total screw-ups (put in any word you want here) either.
Look! Read the bible! The first story in the book is not “the fall.” The first story starts with God pronouncing the world “good” and human beings “very good.” And it isn’t until late in the second story of the bible (the story of Adam and Eve) that any sense of God being disappointed in us ever occurs.
When wead this story through the lens of “original sin” we become an abusive parent labeling the child of origin in us as a constant screw-up. And when that child hears that, they too often translate it into: “I am a bad person.”
That is entirely wrong!
But, when we read this story through the proper lens, the lens of “original blessing” we begin to realize the reality of it all. And the reality is that human beings are complicated. That the same person can be capable of tremendous good and make some major mistakes. But through it all, God remains steadfast and loving.
One of my favorite musicals is called “The Waitress” (It’s coming to 5th Avenue this year, by the way. Make sure you see it!) My favorite song from this musical is called “She Used to be Mine.”(click to hear!)
She's imperfect but she tries
She is good but she lies
She is hard on herself
She is broken and won't ask for help
She is messy but she's kind
She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up
And baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone but she used to be mine
In some ways this song is so sad because it’s a song sung by a waitress who has been so beaten down and overwhelmed that she has lost who she is or was. But in the last line, we see a joyful realization. “She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie.”
God doesn’t look into the very fabric of who we are and say, “Oh, how terrible you are. I made you for more than this. I can’t believe you took all these gifts I gave you and messed up so badly!” No! God looks down and sees an imperfect, but beautiful pie. God holds up a mirror of grace to us and reminds us that within us is something beautiful just the way it is. No, we’re not perfect. Yes, we make mistakes. But we can’t let those mistakes define us because our watermark is not “sinner” but “blessed and forever loved.” And once we truly see that, we can start living into it. We can start being empowered by it. And transformation will come.
Your friend and pastor, a little broken, a bit messed up, missing the mark occasionally, YES, but never defined by that, Brook
Comments