“When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions”
Matthew 19:22
The eye twitch. You ever get those? I've got one right now in my left eye. It's subtle, but I can definitely feel it. It has been there for about three weeks now, so I got concerned and started to read up on what can cause eye twitches. I first learned that I had to distinguish between an eyeball twitch and an eyelid twitch. Mine is definitely in the lid region. I took a brief quiz online, asking me all sorts of questions, inquiring as to my level of stress, my physical health and well-being, how much caffeine I take in, how often I sit in front of a screen of any type, and my mental health status. It turns out that I have been feeling a good deal of stress lately (new baby, personal and church finances, taxes, a task list that never gets shorter...), I drink at least two cups of coffee per day, and I spend a lot of time in front of the computer, all of which greatly increase the risk of the dreaded eyelid twitch. Of course, I should have seen the three-fold solution from a mile away: reduce the stress in my life, lower my caffeine intake, and get away from the screen. But the question is not whether I am able to do those things – it surely does not take a feat of super human strength to do any of them – but am I willing to do any of them? The fact is, if I want to reduce the symptoms, I will either have to do these things or get comfortable with an ever-twitching eye.
To the outsider, it seems silly to live with such an annoying thing just so I can continue my high-stress-lifestyle laden with coffee and computer time. “Do what you need to do to get healthy! Take care of yourself, for crying out loud!”
Therefore I find myself in the position of the rich young ruler. He had done all the commandments and yet was still left unfulfilled. And Jesus recognized that the man was still holding something back: “Go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come, follow me.” The man, who had been able to do all the other “important” commandments, was sad because he just could not muster up the courage to change this last part of his life. He chose instead to continue to live his unfulfilled life. I pray that I will muster up that courage to implement change in my lifestyle choices which have caused enough physical harm that my eye twitches.
Similarly, I have heard it said to many a church leader that if the church wants to grow in vibrancy and service, the solution is relatively simple: it needs to analyze how much of its energy is spent on its own internal operations. If that is greater than the effort it is spending selflessly in its community, then stop it. And if the church cannot stop it, “sell” what is preventing it, look outside of itself, and then let the church (the people who follow Jesus, not the building) begin living in non-self-serving ways in the communities that could most use its help and support. Simple solution. But extremely difficult to implement. Does the Church find itself sadly walking away from Jesus?
The story comes to mind of that older woman who attended a medium-to-large church with an aging congregation who lamented in a workshop that her church no longer had any young children in attendance. When asked by the workshop leader how many of the church members were volunteering at the public schools or at after school programs, or who was accompanying children of need in any significant way, she responded that there was not anyone she knew who was doing any of those things. The questioner than said, “Why do you want any young people to come to your church if you are not engaging with them in any way in the 'real world?' It sounds like your church is actually perfectly content with where it is at.” She was frustrated by the answer because it indicated to her the reality of what they were up against: it was not some outside force conspiring against the church, but it was their own decisions and misplaced priorities. That is a tough sell to a community.
My doctor cannot convince me to want a life without an eye twitch. She can present me with all the evidence, and the possible solutions, but it is ultimately me who must want a life that is twitch-free. Jesus could not (and did not, by the looks of it) convince the young man to want to be be free of his stuff and share with his impoverished neighbors. The workshop leader cannot convince the woman to want to be in relationship with the children in their town.
We can have the courage to pray to be transformed. But we have to put some meat on those prayers.
First, become familiar with God's mission. Where do we get familiar with God's mission? How about Jesus' life as recorded in the gospels? Matthew is a good place to start. Seriously, if you have questions like “What does God want my life to look like?” then read Matthew cover to cover and see if you find answers. Once we are familiar with God's mission as lived out in Christ (who thus commanded that his disciples also live out), then we pray to be shaped into a person whose mission is God's mission. We tell others of our prayers so they can pray for us. And we share with them where the spirit is moving us as a result of such prayers. If this is the pattern of our life, we pray with patience and become optimistic. We have optimism because, through this prayer pattern, God has greater ability to work through us, a willing piece of clay. But if this is not the pattern for our lives, and yet we still lament about church growth, or finances, or building issues, or eye-twitching, then we, like the young man or the old woman, better learn to get comfortable with where we are at, because nothing is likely to ever change.
I believe the Resurrection life is one that constantly asks the spirit to transform us and to shape us into disciples who are willing to let go of lifestyles that are harmful or unfruitful, and to prayerfully seek out a new way of being. God is yet alive and can do anything through those who give all of themselves over, holding nothing back: not even their coffee!
Peace,
No comments:
Post a Comment