Here’s the major question posed: do we forgive too quickly? Or, when there’s no actual remorse shown on the part of the person who wronged us, should we forgive at all? To quote the article: “Religious and social conventions imply that the only way to recover from terrible hurt is to forgive the perpetrator. But experts, from God on down, don’t agree… social pressure pushes many people to forgive too quickly, hurting themselves in the process”. There are even three passages of Scripture quoted and an interesting interpretation of Luke 23:34, which is often quoted as evidence that we need to forgive no matter what. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on this.
My fiancée Karen and I watched Tiger Woods capture his 4th Masters’ title the other day. Now, aside from this being another sure sign that she really loves me, i.e. loves me enough to let me watch golf, it also created the grounds for a rather interesting discussion. The commentators were talking about Tiger Woods’ “legacy” and his quest to win the most major championship titles of any golfer. They and I were also getting caught up in the myriad of story lines that were taking place during this championship. You had Tiger Woods, the anointed king of golf, who had been off of his game for a couple of years attempting to reassert himself. He was being chased by a relative unknown, Chris DiMarco, who was attempting to carve out for himself a place in golf history and who matched Tiger shot for shot as the tournament neared its conclusion. DiMarco challenged the aura of invincibility surrounding Tiger as no one had ever successfully caught Tiger in the a major championship if he held the lead during the final round. Eventually, Tiger prevailed in a playoff hole after DiMarco had caught him on the last hole of regulation play. A thrilling finish, made all the more rich by the subnarratives swirling around it.
However, Karen did not quite share these same range of emotion. To her, we were watching guys whacking a little white ball around some golf course. Afterwards, as we went for a walk, she asked me why anyone would care about Tiger’s “legacy,” or any of the other story lines that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. It’s a legimate question….why should I, or anyone else among the millions of people watching, care if Tiger Woods wins golf tournaments? What global significance does this event have? Who does it help?
These are not questions that a sports fan really wants to consider, if only because the answers tend to reveal our narrow outlook on life. Also, in the interest of fairness, we cannot single out sports as the only thing insignificant narrative to which we pay too much attention. We could probably add such things as soap operas and romance novels to this list. However, despite the knowledge that of the ultimate inconsequentiality of such things, many people allow the narrative behind a sporting event, or television show, or novel to engage us deeply. This consequently makes us emotionally invested in what transpires. On the whole, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, but it is easy to spend far too much time on such fun narratives that eventually we lose perspective and allow them to become the dominant narrative of our life.
As I was thinking about narrative, I came up with two reasons why they can resonate with us so deeply. First of all, they can be shared. In the Tiger Woods example, I was one of many people who were participating from the sidelines in that event, either watching on tv or in person. Even from Karen’s living room, I could feel a sense of connection. This was especially reinforced as just as the tournament went into the playoff, the phone rang. It was my father. He had tracked me down by calling my apartment, then calling Karen’s place because he wanted to share this moment with me even though we were 200kms apart. That moment lifted this experience to a new level, as no longer was I just watching an exciting golf tournament, I had also shared it with my father.
Secondly, I think people resonate so deeply with such narratives is that on some level they can perhaps identify with what is happening. I love to golf…I’m not very good, but it’s something I love to do. Watching it on television, I can vicariously feel a small reflection of the emotions that those players must have had as I reflect on my own experiences “under pressure” on the golf course (hey, dinner at Wendy’s is huge stakes!!).
As I continued to think about this, I started to wonder about how narrative can influence our perspectives on faith and our walk with Christ. First of all, our walk of faith is at its best when we place it into the context of a shared narrative. We all have had different journeys that have brought us to where we are today and different experiences that have shaped how we understand our faith, but there is an underlying sense of connection in the fact that our stories all share the same foundation…Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, and the revelation of God given to us in the Bible. Our story of faith is exciting as not only are we connected to each other as an Oxygen group, or as a local church, but we are connected to a global story that stretches back to the creation of the world, punctuated by the arrival of Jesus Christ. The author of the book of Hebrews captures this sentiment well in Hebrew 12:2 which reads, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us.” Who is this “great cloud of witnesses?” It’s the people that he mentioned in the previous chapter…the great “by faith” chapter of the Bible. Moses, Abraham, Rahab…and on and on and on. These people took part in God’s narrative by faith and now they are witnesses for us as it is our turn to pick up the story they created and to run with it.
Secondly, our own personal narrative of faith is one that we should allow us to identify with the greater narrative of Scripture. Although relatively few of us may have experienced persecution like the apostles or the early church, we have all experienced temptation as did David with Bathsheba, or Jesus himself in the wilderness. We have all failed and need to hear the words of rebuke given in the prophets who warn the people about the wrath of God. We have also experienced grace and redemption which we did not deserve like the Prodigal Son. Perhaps we have experienced times of great joy and times of deep lament which the words of the Psalms can express so wonderfully. Our personal narrative can thus resonate with the Biblical narrative in ways too many to number.
The ultimate challenge I found in all of these thoughts is to hear the narrative set forth by God, then to go beyond simple hearing, arriving at active engagement with it. It is the greatest story ever told, and it is one which we shared with millions upon millions of people around the world and throughout the span of history. It is also one that speaks vividly to us today, one that resonates with us no matter who we are and where we’re at. So let’s connect with the story, and become passionately engaged with it. Who knows, perhaps this will cause others to want to experience it with us!
Here’s an interesting article from today’s Toronto Star regarding one perspective on the changing role that religion is playing in an increasingly globalized world:
The gist of the article is that as political borders become more and more irrelevant, people are increasingly turning to religion to define their identities and devote their loyalties. Consequently, the author argues that religious leaders must not only shepherd the church spiritually but also take a more proactive and consultative role in solving global problems such as illiteracy, poverty, and human rights (since they are the only leaders truly able to motivate their constituencies to make a difference in the world).
This is relevant to the church/state conversation we had before on this blog but also seems timely with the TrueCity conference and H2O Day coming up soon as Philpott begins to attempt to tackle some of these societal problems head-on in our community.
For your studying/boredom time (not necessarily mutually exclusive I suppose) entertainment, here are some actual entries from church bulletins in the United States (perhaps some incentive to read the Philpott bulletin a little more carefully in the future).
- Todd
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.
Evening massage - 6 p.m.
The Pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.
The audience is asked to remain seated until the end of the recession.
Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 to 8:30 p.m. Please use the back door.
Ushers will eat latecomers.
The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.
For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
The Rev. Merriwether spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.
The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, “Break Forth Into Joy.”
During the absence of our pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.
Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on “It’s a Terrible Experience.”
Due to the Rector’s illness, Wednesday’s healing services will be discontinued until further notice.
Stewardship Offertory: “Jesus Paid It All”
The music for today’s service was all composed by George Friedrich Handel in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth.
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the church basement on Friday at 7 p.m. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
The concert held in Fellowship Hall was a great success. Special thanks are due to the minister’s daughter, who labored the whole evening at the piano, which as usual fell upon her.
Twenty-two members were present at the church meeting held at the home of Mrs. Marsha Crutchfield last evening. Mrs. Crutchfield and Mrs. Rankin sang a duet, The Lord Knows Why.
A song fest was hell at the Methodist church Wednesday.
Hymn 43: “Great God, what do I see here?” Preacher: The Rev. Horace Blodgett Hymn 47: “Hark! An awful voice is sounding”
On a church bulletin during the minister’s illness: GOD IS GOOD - Dr. Hargreaves is better.
Potluck supper: Prayer and medication to follow.
Don’t let worry kill you off - let the church help.
Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
A new loudspeaker system has been installed in the church. It was given by one of our members in honour of his wife.
Please join us as we show our support for Amy and Alan in preparing for the girth of their first child.
There’s just something about our prayer meetings which inspire me to blog (if you’ve never come out, please consider joining us at the next meeting on May 1, it’s an amazing place to sense God’s presence). Tonight, Larisa brought to our attention several “friendship questions for God” suggested in a book whose title I have already forgotten (maybe you could post the title in a comment for those who are interested, Larisa?). While our relationship with God must be balanced in recognizing Him as both our friend and as our King, Jesus Himself calls His disciples “friends” (John 15:15) and thinking about how we relate to God on that basis can reveal a lot about the state of our hearts and how strongly we are “thirsting” after God in our lives. I personally (and I think the group as a whole) found these questions very striking in provoking thoughts on our relationship to God:
What’s exciting to you these days? Why?
What’s grieving you these days? Why?
What do you like about me? Why?
What do you see when you look at me?
When was the last time you wept over me? Why?
When was the last time you laughed over me? Why?
If you could meet me anywhere face-to-face, where would it be?
If my heart is your home, what does that home look like?
Try turning the questions both ways, asking them from your perspective about God as well as God’s perspective on you — as we experienced tonight, it’s a frequently really tough (how can any sinner ask God “What do you see when you look at me” and not feel broken?) but a really powerful way to analyze where you are in your walk with God.
Praying without ceasing means at least three things.
First, it means that there is a spirit of dependence that should permeate all we do.Even when we are not speaking consciously to God, there is a deep, abiding dependence on him that is woven into the heart of faith.
Second, it doesn’t mean that, verbally or mentally, we have to be speaking prayers every minute of the day.It means we should pray over and over, and often.Our default mental state should be:“O God, Help….”
Third, it means not giving up on prayer.Don’t ever come to a point in your life where you cease to pray at all.Don’t abandon the God of hope and say, “There’s no use praying.”Jesus is very jealous for us to learn this lesson.He knew our experience in prayer would tempt us to quit altogether.So he says, “Never lose heart.Go on praying.Don’t cease…”
We are told to pray, “without ceasing”.We may do it anywhere, anytime.It is the air we breathe.But that will cease to be the case if there are no disciplined times set aside for prayer and a plan to keep them.If you want to have a vital hour-by-hour, spontaneous walk with God, you must also have disciplined regular meetings with God for prayer.A husband who says he never has special times alone with his wife because the daily air is charged with intimacy will not long breathe that air.The plants of ceaseless prayer grow in the garden of persistent discipline.(John Piper, When I don’t Desire God)
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·Prayer at its deepest level is nothing less than a love affair between a person and God.(Sheila Cassidy)
I will freely admit that I am a big fan of TV (got to validate the purchase of digital cable on a monthly basis I say). Tonight, NBC premiered a new series called “Revelations”, based semi-literally on the Book of Revelation and the “Left Behind” series of apocalyptic novels. While there have been (Highway to Heaven, Touched By an Angel) and continue to be (Joan of Arcadia) many “feel-good” religiously-centred programs on TV, “Revelations” certainly doesn’t follow the typical “religious program” script (I can imagine the conversation in the network war-room - Guy #1: “What could we do to rake in the viewers this year? Guy #2: “I know - a series about The Rapture” Guy #1: “That’s gold - let’s do it!”
Whatever you may think about it, the “Revelations” has sparked a series of interesting thoughts on how religion and God are portrayed in the entertainment industry. As one article points out, the media generally portrays God in one of two lights: the “antiseptic, feel-good, something-for-everyone” God (ie. God is Love) or the “apocalyptic fire and brimstone” God (ie. God is justice), forgetting that God is both in a perfect package. Ironically given its initial reception by many Christian groups, many now claim that “The Simpsons” gives the most accurate portrayal of religion of any show on TV (seriously, they actually sell a book called, “The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Guide for Group Study”…. wow). What do you think about how God is portrayed in the entertainment industry (or on how far we should go in using popular culture to address Biblical truths)?
As Protestants, we are often at best dismissive and at worst hostile to the office of Pope. We obviously don’t accredit the pope with any special authority to talk on God’s behalf; however, many non-Christians believe that the Pope speaks on behalf of all Christians, and John Paul II in particular spoke out strongly about issues that we as evangelical Christians care a lot about (the sanctity of life, preservation of the family unit, salvation through Jesus, and defense of the absolute truth of the Bible). Indeed, as you can read in this excellent collection of commentaries by a variety of different religious leaders, John Paul II’s life was in general editorialized with more admiration by Protestants than by the liberal wing of the Catholic church. Whatever we think of the papacy (ie. not much) and the Catholic church in general, it’s important to acknowledge the really amazing amount of good that John Paul II did during his ministry and pray for the Catholic leaders as they select the new Pope - hopefully another strong and passionate advocate of issues which Christians of all stripes care about.
I know this has very little to do with anything remotely important, but I thought it was important to bring this incredibly shocking news about Cookie Monster of Sesame Street fame to your attention. They have forever ruined the “C is for Cookie” song for me now At least, as the article attempts to comfort us, “Will he still scarf his food? Yes, plus the occasional object”.
If you missed any of the pictures from Friday’s Amazing Race, want to see what was going on, or are already desperate to relive your team’s glorious moments from the night, check ‘em out on Photobucket:
Of particular interest: Team TALL’s “Tim Horton’s Birds in a Car” series, multiple teams risking arrest to re-inact important moments in Hamilton rail history at Liuna Station, and The Knight Riders’ mad cannon-riding skills.
Thanks to Laura, Edu, and Joanna for putting the event together - it was too much fun (and no traffic accidents to boot - special bonus!)
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At least, as the article attempts to comfort us, “Will he still scarf his food? Yes, plus the occasional object”.