Ocean

“I know that good doesn’t live in me – that is, in my body. 

The desire to do good is inside of me, 

but I can’t do it. I don’t do the good that I want to do, 

but I do the evil that I don’t want to do.”

Romans 7:18, 19 (Common English Bible)

           Country trio Lady Antebellum released the title track from their album, “Ocean” on September 20, 2019. Co-lead singer, Hillary Scott, said that ‘Ocean’ stands for all of the things that we think and feel when we hear the word. Since its release, considerable liberties to personalize the story of the song and interpret it in a meaningful way for each listener are available on social media. Some interpret ‘Ocean’ as substance abuse, depression, or the difficulties that people confront in their daily lives. For Hillary, it is just seeing the beauty in someone else that they fail to see in themselves in a particular season of a relationship and begging them to open up. Ultimately, what each person hears in the lyrics belongs to the individual.

            I imagine that were the apostle Paul to hear this song, ‘Ocean’ would take on the symbolic image for God, “Here you are, next to me. So much beauty at my feet. All I wanna do is swim. But the waves keep crashin’ in.” Paul sees the vast beauty that is God, desires to swim into its depths and remain there forever, “You’re an ocean, beautiful and blue. I wanna swim in you.” In these few sentences of Paul’s letter to the Roman Church, Paul speaks of his desire – the desire to do good. However, Paul has trouble. “But I can’t do it,” writes Paul. “I don’t do the good that I want to do, but I do the evil that I don’t want to do.” Paul’s frustration and desperation is clear. It is as though something prevents Paul from swimming deep into the presence and life of God, “the waves keep crashin’ in.”

            Paul identifies the trouble in these few sentences, “I know that good doesn’t live in me – that is, in my body.” Sin is operative in Paul’s body. As Paul struggles to swim toward God, struggle to do what is good and pleasing to God, wave after wave of sin comes crashin’ in on Paul keeping him on the shore of the vast ocean that is God. Paul’s plea is clear in the lyrics of the song, “I’m so tired of the shore,” tired of looking out toward God but unable to enter deeply. “The waves, the waves, the waves, the waves.” Paul’s trouble is our trouble. Sin is a powerful enemy that pushes us away from entering the fullness of life in God. Moments stretch into hours into days that we fear that we will never leave the shallow waters of faith, eyes fixed on something more that is unobtainable because of the waves of sin that continue to crash-in on us.

            In the middle of this haunting song, a lyric appears only once, “Baby, look at me and swear you won’t lose me.” Standing on the shore, eyes fixed on the “ocean beautiful and blue” Paul pleas to God. It is also our plea. It is a plea that in our powerlessness to swim past the waves, God will not desert us. “All I wanna do is swim. But the waves keep crashin’ in. No, I’m not afraid to drown.” The song concludes and the listener has only a sense of loneliness. Absent is a positive resolution. Do the waves ultimately prevail? Are they overcome and the lover finally joined with the object of desire, the ocean? It seems that the songwriters have also left that for individual interpretation. Fortunately, for the readers of Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul experiences a positive resolution: “Who will deliver me?” asks Paul in verse 24. Suddenly the ocean swells, rushes to the shore in the person of Jesus Christ, and sweeps Paul out to the depths where he now discovers another stanza: “I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38).

Joy

The Two Popes

The following meditation was written by Doug Hood’s son,

Nathanael Hood, MA, New York University

“Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: 

I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me.”

Philippians 3:13 (Common English Bible)

There are not two, but three main presences within Fernando Meirelles’ extraordinary film The Two Popes about the tumultuous friendship between Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. The first two are the Holy Sees themselves. There’s Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins), the German successor of the much beloved Pope John Paul II chosen in large part for his grave, combative conservatism in the face of increasing global secularism. Then there’s Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce), the avuncular Argentinian Jesuit whose liberal theology forged in the furnace of Third World poverty sent shockwaves throughout a Church entrenched in tradition and First World luxury. The film sees them butt heads in the wake of a disillusioned Bergoglio’s attempted resignation as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Believing said resignation would be interpreted as a vote of no confidence against his papacy, Benedict refuses. When Bergoglio flies to Rome to confront Benedict personally, the two debate and argue until they slowly become friends.

The third presence only makes itself known gradually, first appearing almost thirty minutes into the film in the midst of their first meeting and, subsequently, their first major argument where they bicker about homosexuality, priestly celibacy, and the provision of sacraments for those out of communion. It’s a small, imperious voice from Benedict’s Fitbit demanding he remain active to reach his prescribed 10,000 steps a day: “Don’t stop now. Keep moving.” This voice becomes almost a commentator on the action as the film continues, punctuating arguments and announcing Benedict’s unseen presence. It’s a marvelous narrative device that keeps the film from getting mired in endless debates about theology, ensuring a sense of forward momentum for both the story and its characters. Indeed, the voice gets the last line of the movie proper before the credits begin as Benedict sits alone in the Vatican after his resignation and Bergoglio’s election as pope: “Don’t stop now. Keep moving. Keep moving.”

As the film continues, it becomes impossible to ignore the Fitbit as an embodiment of the Holy Spirit, gently nudging both Benedict and Bergoglio towards not just reconciliation but friendship. It underscores the film’s central thesis that faith and its practice cannot remain frozen in the past. “Time demands movement,” Bergoglio challenges during their first meeting. Benedict snaps back with accusations of hypocrisy concerning Bergoglio’s former conservative attitudes, particularly concerning homosexuality.

“I changed,” he admits.

“No, you compromised,” Benedict challenges.

“No. No compromise. No, I changed. It’s a different thing.”

Such change seems almost blasphemous in an organization like the Catholic Church that lives and dies by its traditions and moves with the speed of centuries, not minutes. But change it must—and not through the rejection of holy doctrine but by faithful, reverent reinterpretation. To paraphrase a great theologian, it’s the difference between drinking from a stagnant pond and a flowing river.

There are few places in the scriptures where this need for faithful, reverent change are better emphasized than in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians where Paul challenges his audience to avoid those who say that believers and converts must strictly adhere to outdated Jewish law and ritual to be saved. Referring to his own upbringing as a Jewish Pharisee as so much sewer trash—sewer trash!—he boasts that he rejected everything for the sake of Christ. It’s through living faithfully in God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that salvation comes, not through outdated ritual and calcified theology. To tear down walls, to shatter the barriers between mankind, this is what living in Christ means. And if any of our practices or beliefs hobble us in this journey, then we must listen for the Holy Spirit which whispers now more than ever to not stop now, to keep moving, to keep moving.

Joy,

Brush Strokes

“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is – what is good and pleasing and mature.”

Romans 12:2 (Common English Bible)

            Gilbert “Dibo” Doran holds the Curacao’s 2019 title as the King of Tumba, Curacao’s Carnival anthem. A music genre indigenous to this area of the Caribbean, Tumba has its roots in the history of slavery and remains popular for ending parties on a high note. “Nowadays, the Tumba Festival is the biggest music festival of the island. Local composers and musicians compete for living their culture to the max.”[1] Doran self-identifies as a “patriot to the bone” asserting that one’s culture and tradition are part of your identity. It’s your roots. Through his original music compositions, Doran desires to leave his mark on the music genre, to be an example, to contribute to the longevity of the cultural imprint of the Tumba Festival. Perseverance is key, adds Doran.

            Gilbert Doran is a man whose life is organized around a central purpose. Raised in a single-parent home, Doran neither ran away from life nor ran along with life. He set himself apart from other children by intentionally directing his life around a core passion – a passion for the culture, folklore, and tradition of Curacao, particularly as expressed in music. “Instead of a bike or a Nintendo, I would ask for drums, a piano, or cymbals as a gift.”[2] Doran stands proudly among women and men who have done the most for the world precisely because they are nonconformists. He has elevated the level of life for ages to come for the people of Curacao because of a driving passion to contribute positively to his corner of the world.

            This is precisely what the Apostle Paul is asking of those who would follow Jesus Christ. Be a nonconformist! Don’t go along with life, drifting wherever the flow of life may take you, becoming shaped by whatever forces surround you. Set your mind on God. Learn of God. Seek to know God’s will and discern all that is good, and pleasing, and mature. As Doran held, perseverance is key.  The distinguished preacher from another generation, Robert J. McCracken once observed, “The reason why so many people are at the mercy of circumstance is that they have neither discovered a faith by which to live nor a cause to serve.”[3] The “patterns of this world” exert a powerful shaping influence upon each person. The Apostle Paul provides another way. Draw on spiritual resources greater than your own. Fix your eyes on God.

            Many people today take the path of least resistance. Without a driving conviction to mature in the faith through regular time with God by prayer and reading the Bible, they are caught by the flow of life and carried along paths and channels they have not chosen. The usual result is that their life begins to reflect the standards and practices of their environment. The people they meet and the things that happen to them likely shape who they become. It is as though they surrender the brush strokes that paint their life portrait to an unknown hand. Here, in his letter to the church in Rome, the Apostle Paul urges that we submit the brush strokes that will paint our portrait to the hand of the Master, Jesus Christ.

Joy,

           

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[1] Nelly Rosa, “I Want My Legacy To Live On.” Caribbean Beat. January/February, 2020. 85.

[2] Ibid. 85.

[3] Robert J. McCracken, “The Peril of Conformity.” Best Sermons: 1951-1952 Edition (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952), 24.

The Gift of Encouragement

“So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (Common English Bible)

            In the January, 2020 issue of Runner’s World magazine, a woman shares her struggle to complete the New York City Marathon. Halfway through the twenty-six mile run, personal resources ran out. Physical and emotional resources depleted, she would walk to the sidelines and drop out. Except, there were people on the sidelines. Strangers to her. Moreover, not one of them would let her stand with them on the side of the street. They were not rude. Rather, they shouted, and cheered, and pushed her forward with words of encouragement. Strangers would not allow her to quit. She finished the marathon in last place. However, she finished the race!

            That is the business of the church! We encourage people not to give-up on the race. We shout words of encouragement. We urge them to continue, particularly when it is difficult. We do so in the certain confidence of God’s strength that never falters. Showing-up for worship is a shout from the sidelines. Serving in some ministry, alongside others, is a shout from the sidelines. Financial giving to ensure that the church continues to move forward is a shout from the sidelines. Paying attention to others, listening deeply, caring with an expansive heart, is a shout-out from the sidelines. Each is a real and meaningful means of urging people forward when they face every kind of struggle, difficulty, and challenge.

            Some years ago, the distinguished Christian thinker and teacher, Lesslie Newbigin taught that the primary task of the Christian is engagement. Preaching is important. Teaching is important. However, the primary task of the Christian is deep and meaningful engagement in the lives of those we encounter every day. What the church preaches and what the church teaches is not the primary concern of most people. What is most urgent in the lives of the common person is the question “Is there someone who cares?” Authentic engagement in the life of another, championing them through difficulty, creates a ripple effect that changes multitudes of lives.

            The single greatest mistake that Christians make is the assumption that their faith is a private matter. Such an assumption directs the believer down the path of selfishness. Comments such as, “I can be a good Christian without going to church” reveals that selfishness. As Newbigin argues – and as the apostle Paul asserts here in his letter to the Thessalonian Church – Christians are to gather so that they may mutually encourage one another. Demonstrations of care, support, and encouragement are shouts from the sidelines to those discouraged and defeated by life. These “shout outs” become enough for those whose own resources have become depleted to finish the race.

Joy,

           

           

Diet Religion

The following meditation was written by Dr. Hood’s son,

Nathanael Hood, MA, New York University

“At this, many of his disciples turned away and no longer accompanied him.”

John 6:66 (Common English Bible)

When I was a grad student in New York City, I lived down in the Bowery in lower Manhattan. Walking back from class I’d frequently find myself strolling through Greenwich Village, that perennial home to New York’s strange, artistic, and eccentric. On warm muggy nights amateur psychics would seemingly sprout up from the pavement, setting up shop outside cafes and trendy restaurants with signs offering fortune tellings for a meager $15. Some offered palm readings, other astrology charts, but the most popular service of these armchair clairvoyants were tarot card readings. For the price of a good pastrami sandwich a few blocks over at Katz’s Deli, they claimed they could use their cards to predict your fate. Heavy with the weight of an ancient esotericism, they would sigh and moan with the flick of a wrist, this card predicting a successful career change, this one the failure of a promising relationship. 

Ask these psychics how they learned their craft and they would twinkle an eye and say that it takes years of study and practice. What they probably won’t tell you is that you can google “learn tarot” right now on your phone and get links to countless sites and YouTube videos promising to teach initiates how to read them in just a few hours. It turns out reading tarot cards is much easier and less mystical than originally advertised. And while many will claim that tarot cards originated in the courts of ancient Egyptians, in reality the first tarot card decks appeared in 15^th century Europe, not as divining tools but as playing cards. It would take around two more centuries for them to gain widespread use among fortunetellers, and even then mostly only in French and English-speaking areas. Go to other parts of Northern, Central, or Southern Europe and you’ll find people still using them as they were originally intended: as simple playing cards.

But have you ever tried telling anyone who believes in the power of tarot card that they’re pure charlatanism? That their art is only a few centuries old and would be laughed at by the people that created them? The polite ones will hem and haw excuses. The impolite ones will scream at you for “violating their beliefs.” Tarot cards and other forms of New Age quackery have weeded their way into the lives of millions and the emotional dependence they engender is tantamount to brainwashing. It makes sense why: they provide the benefits of religion with none of religion’s demands. They give the customer a sense of cosmic purpose, personal direction, and even community, but without the insistence of moral improvement, personal reflection, and acts of charity towards the poor and disenfranchised. Have you ever heard of a palm reader telling customers to seek counseling for anger management? A salesperson for essential oils to volunteer at a soup kitchen? The answer is no. And the reason is that all of these things are, quite literally, diet religion.

We see the perils of diet religion even in the time of Jesus. Think of the rich man in Mark who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life and left after being told to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. Perhaps this man was hoping for a dose of diet religion. Or what of the lawyer in Luke who asked Jesus who was his neighbor and was told his bitter enemy the Samaritans. Was this man seeking a diet religion answer full of reassurance? And then there’s the sixth chapter of John where Jesus chastised and offended the multitudes who sought him for his miracles of loaves and fish and not the Bread of Life. The scriptures literally record his disciples complaining that the message of his ministry was “too harsh” before abandoning him. They too were seeking diet religion. Real religion—the true Gospel of Christ—is demanding and difficult. It requires the complete transformation of one’s life. It takes a lifetime to learn with no guarantee of mastery. We come to church, we come to Jesus, for something greater than fortune cookie platitudes. We come for rebirth. But if that’s not what you want, then I know several people in Manhattan who for a modest fee would be happy to help.