For some time now, we have been unable to respond to the posts with comments which in turn made Pastor James less likely to post because no one could respond- UGH! That’s part of the fun of blogs- interactivity! So that has been corrected and more blogs are on their way…
Matthew 2:1-12. In the second sermon in my Christmas Characters Series we looked at Herod and how in some ways we may tend to be like him in our attitude about Christmas.
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I have been thinking for awhile it could worth the time to flesh out some of the characters who play key roles in the birth of Jesus. Too often we short change their stories. I began with a clear plan in mind, to cover three individuals and one “group,” the shepherds. As I came up to the first character, Elizabeth, I saw that there really was a piece missing in the approach I had planned: hostility to the Christmas message. Sadly, as much as I appreciate what the story of the shepherds brings to the Christmas message, Herod’s hostility to hearing there was a “new king in town” was just what I thought would round out the series. That is where we go on week 2 of the series…
2 Samuel 11:1-15. Adultery and murder! That’s what David gets into in this week’s text. What do we learn about ourselves and God from this???? Linda Patterson read the scripture in this one.
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I find the biggest challenge to my faith is the normal times. There are moments of great height and moments of great struggle which for some reason are easier to take than simply making my way through mid-range, day-to-day. What is to press us to continue to be faithful with just normal everyday stuff to do? It feels a bit like going through the motions.
Remaining true in normal times is not about the romance or long-suffering or passion but making room for the holy in the simple things which is easier said than done. In times like these, I look around and seek to appreciate just breathing and being alive and the flavor of my food and the wind in my face. The things that help me remember God’s presence. I trust that God is as present in the magnificent times and dismal times and normal times. I keep to the patterns of my life. Perhaps I will discover the voice of God even in the patterns…
I expected by now to have completely forgotten my challenge to do no harm and to do good but these have remained at the forefront of my mind (at least periodically). As with much in life, the beginnings of something new offer both a romanticized adventure and a burst of specialized energy to do that which is purposed. Now I periodically get chided by my children, sometimes half-jokingly, about the harm I am doing and I even occasionally chide myself.
How is it that the Lord saw fit to give us so much potential to do good AND so much potential to do evil? It seems to tie with the James 3:1-12 reading for this week wherein we are commanded to be reticent about choosing to be teachers since teachers are charged with helping people make informed and faithful decisions. We are also warned about the dangers of the tongue, of speaking in ways that do damage to one another. How often I let my tongue fly with biting words which leaves me regreting my having done harm. I keep giving it a try but I am still convinced that having a means of being held accountable is vital.
Add to the do no harm bit the do good and I seem all but sunk in various moments. It is not simply enough to sit idly by, avoiding evil but I must engage life to do good. Doing good requires I pay attention to my world just as much as doing no harm does. I need to be aware enough of my surroundings to catch the opportunities as they offer themselves to do good. Sometimes I’d rather just pass by instead of doing good. Doing good requires me to get involved, to invest some time, to not pass distractedly by. And where I seem quite capable of doing harm merely in my brain, good requires something more than good intentions. UGH! Doing good seems about more action; doing no harm can merely involve my thoughts.
Back to working on this in life for now…
There are several ways to dance with this passage of scripture. One is to deal with the absolutely true challenges of controlling the things we say. For such a small piece of our bodies, it can stir up a whole lot of stuff, not all of it good, sometimes not much of it good.
The other direction is to take a look at the responsibility of presuming to teach others. There is a stricter accounting for teachers than others and it is therefore discouraged as a direction for people to take. “Not many of you should become teachers…” is the line James takes contrary to all the recruitment posters for teachers these days.
So how do we take seriously the responsibilities these two tracks offer us? Careful what we say, careful what we teach… maybe just be careful could be the tagline of this passage?
James 2:1-17. The first section of this passage is about favoritism, about the church not showing favoritism towards people who have more wealth. Of course, common sense tells us that we’ll certainly reap more benefits from coddling the wealthier folks (they’ve got more to give to the church). We are not meant to be about such shallow interests. Each of us matters.
What about this passage says something to our faith community? Is there some kind of favoritism we show- financial, some other form?
I have found yet another challenge to doing no harm. The newness, the novelty, of paying attention to every action has worn a bit and so I completely forget that doing no harm is part of what I am trying to do (or not do as the case may be). This does not mean I will give up but it does mean that I am coming to understand more the need for accountability, a group of people to hold me to that standard. John Wesley had it right when he required people to be part of a small group setting and to hold one another to the standards of faith. No one is checking up on me but myself and while I try, I am not always being successful.
Reminders and accountability seem important to the process. So I must find a way to either be accountable and remember or I will have to be satisfied with only occasionally being aware enough to avoid doing harm.
It becomes clearer each day that doing no harm requires a real attentiveness to what’s going on in me. It also requires that I keep the “do-no-harm” thought before me. As I have noted before, I keep catching myself AFTER I have done harm, especially with my words and thoughts. I thought the “do-no-harm” plan was about catching myself BEFORE I did the harm.
And what about catching myself doing nothing when the situation requires action? Is it doing harm when I do nothing when something is called for? Those are more rhetorical questions than actual questions; I am coming to see that not doing something thought ought to be done is just as harmful as doing something that ought not to have been done. Ugh! So I am trying to pay attention to both my action and inaction, the words or lack thereof, and my thoughts (and non-thoughts?). Rather than getting easier over time, I am realizing just how complex it is to try and do no harm.
All this said, I am not giving up just realizing that sometimes what appears simple become more complex the deeper one goes.