STARTING SMALL

We are all aware of the truth that big things often come in small packages and that size is not always a measure of worth. In fact it almost seems that smaller is better and that less is more, or at least it often happens this way in life. There are thoughts to reflect on in every one of these truths to be sure. There is another truth about size and that is that if we want something to become great, we really have to start small.

Corporations do not begin as corporations. Often they begin as a one-man operation in the founder’s garage. The Ford Motor Company began that way. The telephone company began with one man and his associate. Microsoft began with two college dropouts and an idea. The list is long. The founders may have begun with big dreams but those dreams could only begin to come to fruition by starting small.

So with the kingdom of heaven, with the proclaiming of the Gospel message, with the church: the seed has to be planted and then take root before the tree can grow into a fruit-bearing plant. The yeast has to be mixed into the message so that the message can be expanded. The Gospel message is proclaimed one person at a time and the church grows one person at a time and we grow as persons one day at a time. We do not arrive in this world as adults. We grow into it and we grow up.

We often find ourselves impatient with the slow pace of things, frustrated with others because they are taking too long to catch on, angry because the situation is not going as planned. When that happens, what we need to remember is that growth always takes time and almost always takes longer than we had planned and certainly much longer than we desire. We want a solution to our problems sooner rather than later, now and not tomorrow, easier rather than more difficult.

I sometimes think Jesus must have been impatient with the slowness of his disciples to catch on and with the reluctance of so many to even give him a hearing. But Jesus was not. He knew it would take time for his message to get through and that it probably would not finally sink in until after he was gone. And so it happened.

I think that is one of the reasons why he told parables about the growth of the kingdom. He did so to remind his followers that they should not become frustrated when it seemed as if they were failing and that they needed to just hang in there. The message would get through, eventually. And it did, as it always does. As it always will.

When we start small, as we must, patience is a virtue we must cultivate especially when if or when we find ourselves in over our heads with an issue, whatever the issue. We want a vaccine to kill the virus and we want it now; but it will take time. We want to get back to normal, whatever that is, but it will take time. Everything that is worthwhile takes time and usually more time than we would like.

In the meantime, whatever it is that we are awaiting, we do so knowing that all time is in God’s hands and in God’s good time all will be well.

IGNORANCE IS NOT, IF EVER, BLISS

What we don’t know can hurt us as we have all learned the hard way – which, unfortunately (perhaps) is the only way we seem to learn. What we do know can also hurt us if we ignore the truth, especially when it is right there in front of us, up front and personal. This is certainly true about the virus that is consuming the news, our world and each one of us personally.

I was reminded of this truth amid this pandemic when Arlena and I were out for a drive with her Mom. Nanny is 98 and doesn’t drive, but she has a 1999 Lincoln Towncar with 54,000 miles on it sitting in her carport that needs to be driven on occasion. She also needs to get out of the house on occasion. Thus, we merge the two needs and take her for a drive anywhere she wants.

The last time out we were turning onto a country road. There was a poster on the corner that announced a wedding and reception. The first words out of Nanny’s mouth: “They don’t know what they are getting into.” So true. For that couple, ignorance, at moment, is blissful. There will be unblissful moments to come when they learn how difficult marriage can be at times no matter how much they love each other.

Why? Even if they have lived together, marriage changes reality. Living together is usually a 50-50 proposition. That’s manageable. Marriage is 100-100. That’s difficult. Learning that the other always comes first is not always blissful. In fact, it can be painful even when what is done is done out of pure and total love. So, yes, Nanny is right. We really don’t know what we are getting into when we marry.

I dare say that the same would be true if we had to make a decision today whether or not we wanted to be a Christian. The same is true even as we have made that decision. We really don’t know what we are going to get into when our faith is put on the line, when we are called by circumstances to prove that we truly are Christians. As in a loving marriage, so in living out our faith: for the most part, it is not all that difficult. It can even be blissful.

We will never know what demands will be placed upon us as we live out our faith (or our marriage). That ignorance of the future can be blissful. Why worry about what might happen because it just as well might not? The point is that when the difficult demand does happen, when there is nothing happy or blissful about it, we need to remind ourselves that it goes with the territory, if you will.

The difficult and hard times come and they must be faced honestly and not with blissful ignorance. Otherwise we will indeed learn the hard way just as those who thought the virus is/was a hoax. Ignorance, especially chosen, is not and never will be bliss. It is always painful. So, as well, is the truth sometimes. We need to be prepared to face it.

WINNING IN LOSING

Over the years we all have lost a lot of battles we had hope to have won. We lost because we were up against something or someone superior. We lost because we went into the battle unprepared. We lost because of events or situations that were out of our control and which got the upper hand. No one is a winner every time out. We are all losers in one way or another. That is a given.

And that is okay. In fact it is good. We learn, or should learn from our defeats. If or when we do not, we set ourselves up for more defeats, more failures and, I dare say, more pain and heartache. When I was growing up, I played Little League baseball for one year. I wasn’t very good even though I thought I wasn’t as bad as I really was. When I went out for a second year, I didn’t make the team. What was worse, my skinny little brother made his. I was devastated.

Losing, losing out, always hurts. If it does not, then there is something wrong with us. What I learned back then, even though it did take time for the pain to subside and the learning process to take in, is that I have to be honest with myself, as painful as that can be. Thinking I am better than I am, that I can do something I really cannot and should not do, only gets me into trouble. That does not mean that I have never put myself into a situation where I was in over my head. I am still learning the hard way.

Aren’t we all? We are in a situation right now in our country where we are losing a battle to an enemy that, presently, is more powerful than we are. Many don’t believe that, much to their pain and suffering and, for some, even their death. For whatever reason, we, as a country, are not getting a handle on this virus, and until we do, sadly and tragically, more and more will die.

We will eventually win this battle. We will overcome. But will we have learned anything from it? My old history professor had a favorite line after every war we studied: Status quo ante bellum.  In other words, nothing really changed after the battles were fought. We learned nothing. That’s why history repeats itself. We think, even believe, we won’t make the same mistake the second time around or that others made, but we do.

We are presently learning the hard way as we continue to lose this battle. When we eventually win it, the question will remain: Have we learned anything? The losing side in all those wars in the past could have been real winners if they had learned anything from their defeat. But, as history tells us, for the most part they did not. They believed they were the exception to the rule, like those who flaunt the CDC guidelines today.

As we struggle through the days and months ahead, we have the opportunity to reflect on what we are learning from this battle we are presently losing. Will we turn out as winners who learned from our losers who will make the same mistake somewhere down the line?

STEPHEN’S EXAMPLE

Stephen was the church’s first martyr. We do not know very much about this man, this saint. What we do know is that he was one of the seven men the apostles chose to become the first deacons in the aspiring community. The seven were called to aid the apostles in their ministry. Stephen had to have been someone special to have received this calling, this honor. And, as the events in his life played out, he certainly proved to be not only someone very special but also very worthy of such a calling.

What it was that set Stephen apart in the first place, we do not know, other than he and the other six were full of wisdom and the Spirit – the only two requirements demanded by the Apostles of these men. Stephen was so full of God’s Spirit that he even worked miraculous deeds – which certainly attracted the attention of those in authority among the Jews and the Romans. Like Jesus before him, it was dangerous business to work miracles because miracle working attracted the attention of too many people.

Stephen, because of all the attention he was getting, like Jesus before him, became a threat to the authorities. And Stephen, like Jesus, was eventually put on trial because his good works were somehow perceived as a threat to both the Jewish nation itself and even more so to those in authority. The leaders tried to find fault with him. And when they could not and did not, they simply decided he was a blasphemer who should be put to death, just as their predecessors did with Jesus. And that they did. They killed him by stoning him to death.

Like Jesus, even in death Stephen could find a way to forgive those who were unjustly putting him to death. Both Jesus and Stephen are reminders that doing what we are called to do can get us in trouble with others. Goodness, like evil, always attracts attention. Granted, evil deeds gather all the headlines. Stories of people doing good rarely do unless it is the season – or the day – to report on such good deeds, days like Christmas and Thanksgiving. But the truth is we upset more people by our good deeds than we do by our evil deeds. That seems strange, even wrong, but it is true.

A doer of good, like Stephen, is a living, walking, waking reminder to everyone of what all of us are called to be and to do. The good deeds of others stand in contrast, often stark contrast, to the sinful deeds we do – and vice versa. No one likes to be reminded of his or her failings, especially by another human being’s actions. Thus, that living reminder is persecuted, like Stephen, because he is doing what he is supposed to be doing by those who know they are not doing what they know they should.

Human nature, to be sure, but unjustified, also to be sure. We are not called to be Stephen. He had his special call. But so do we. Stephen in his day was not more important than we are in or day. What Stephen did was use his God-given gifts to the best of his ability and then let the chips fall where they fell. We are to use our God-given gifts to the best of our ability and let the chips fall where they will fall. We cannot control the response of others. Only they can. What we can do and must do, and hopefully do, is live out our faith as best we can. That’s all God asked of Stephen and all God asks of us.

ALL IT TAKES IS A CUP OF COLD WATER

In my fantasies I have imagined myself (Big Ego engaged to its fullest) doing wonderful things. (I’ll spare you the humiliating details.) Even so, the truth is that in order to be able to do giant acts of goodness and righteousness, even large ones, we have to begin small. Just as we do not begin teaching children higher math but begin with simple arithmetic, so we begin doing good deeds by doing small deeds like, as Jesus tells us in the gospel, giving a glass of water to a child.

That’s no big deal, we might say. And it is not. But that is precisely Jesus’ point in all of his teachings. It is no big deal – to us. It is a big deal to a child who is thirsty and who is too small to be able to get a drink for herself.

As that child grows older we will be asked to do even greater deeds, perhaps even make great sacrifices for her. We will be able to do so and will want to do so not only because we love that child but also because over time we have done small deeds that came at no real sacrifice to us. We learned how to do great deeds from the small deeds we did. And that is the way it should be. Heroic acts of kindness are the result of being a hero for those to whom any act of kindness seems heroic.

Sometimes I think we miss that truth about how important little acts of kindness really are. It is not simply a matter of doing the little things well so that we are able to the bigger things when it is time to do them. Rather it is in the recognition that all acts of kindness and love, no matter how small, are important and they can never be taken for granted or, worse, not done simply because they are so small.

Yes, someone may come along immediately after us and give that child the glass of water, the glass we refused to give because it was no big deal and we were too much in a hurry anyway. But it was a big deal to that thirsty child and should be a deal important enough for us to, well, deal with. As a Christian our responsibility is always to do for the least first and to those who have the most last.

We know this, it is true. Jesus is simply pointing out the obvious. Yet sometimes the obvious is so obvious that we take little or no note of it. Not to belabor the obvious, perhaps this thought can be the impetus for us to take some time to reflect on those daily deeds, small though they may be, that we do for others and others do for us. Becoming more aware of just how important they are in the grand scheme of things may help us to become even more attentive to them. It may even help us to be able to accomplish even greater deeds when that time comes.

It is also a reminder, to me at least, to be thankful you for all those who, in ways large and small, helped me in my faith journey, who gave me that glass of water when I needed it and who still do.

NOT PEACE BUT A SWORD

Jesus, before sending out his disciples on missionary adventure, reminds them that he has “not come to bring peace but a sword” (Mt. 10:34). That’s rather harsh language coming from the Prince of Peace, isn’t it? It seems completely out of place. But, of course, it is not. Even people of peace have to raise their voices every now and then if only to be heard and certainly to be taken seriously, otherwise they will be written off as mere do-gooders and their words and examples ignored.

That is not always, if ever, easy. Saying what needs to be said, especially when it is the truth and when that truth makes others very, very uncomfortable, is difficult. Many people followed Jesus for a while. But when the going became rough, when more was demanded of them than they were willing to give of themselves, they simply walked away. Thus, Jesus knew that he could pull no punches if his mission and his ministry were to be carried on after he was gone.

Jesus also knew there would be conflicts among his followers, the external variety as well as the internal. There would be times when the living out of faith in Jesus might force one to make a choice between doing what the faith demands and doing what our family and friends want us to do. In fact, our faith is put to the test every day in this way. Our boss asks us to be less than honest in a project we are charged to oversee; our friends want us to go to a party with them when our parents have already said we could not; our, well, the list is endless. Our faith in Jesus’ is put to the test daily by forces – family, friends, and the like – outside of ourselves.

Our faith is also tested internally every day. We not only struggle internally with those decisions others want us to make that are against what we believe, but we also struggle internally when there is no one trying to force us into an action we know we should do. Temptations to be selfish, to put ourselves, our wants and desires, above what Jesus wants and desires of us, come more often than we realize, certainly more often than we would wish. With those temptations also come seemingly sound reasons why we should go against what our faith demands.

Yes, there will indeed be times when our faith in Jesus’ pits us against our family, our friends, even ourselves. Being strong and remaining faithful during those times will never be easy as we have all discovered. But what we have also learned is that we can remain strong and refuse to give in because God will always give us whatever grace and strength we need to remain faithful. All that is left is for us to cooperate with God’s gifts.

We know there may be times today when we will be tempted to say or do that which we know we can and must and temptations to do just the opposite. What we must do is cooperate with God’s always-offered grace and say "no" to what we should not do and “yes” to what we know in faith we should.

FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS

When I as in the active ministry, every congregation I served wanted to grow. That’s what we were supposed to do: go out and preach the Gospel and make disciples of Jesus of those who were not disciples. It was a daunting task and one which we strenuously avoided. Sharing our faith with another was just not what a proper Episcopalian (and I dare say Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran, etc.) would do. Leave that to the evangelicals. But when their congregations grew and ours did not, we found reasons to explain away their growth – as in, as many are going out the back door as are coming in the front door, as if that left us off the hook.

Of course, the main reason we wanted to grow was, in all honesty, financial. The reason why so many of the smaller churches are closing is, well, financial. There are not enough parishioners to pay the bills. And now it’s too late. The horse is already out of the barn, as they say. Besides, what we often forget is that the ones we should be recruiting feel uncomfortable in a church. Why? Church people are rich. They have discretionary funds to give away while they hardly have enough to make ends meet.

So what did we do? What are we doing? Maybe a day care will bring in people. Maybe a free meal once a month will. Maybe this, maybe that. It doesn’t matter. If we do what we are doing to bring in new people, we’re doing it for all the wrong reasons. We do what we do as best we can because that is what we are supposed to do.

That’s preaching the Gospel. After that, let the chips fall where they fall. If people join us because they want to share in our ministry, well and good. If they simple want to benefit from it, also well and good. As Jesus once said, when we spread the seed of our faith, we really have no idea what type of ground the seed will fall on. We just scatter the seeds and leave the rest in God’s hands. That’s all we can do.

There are, of course, all kinds of programs out there on how to evangelize, how to bring people to church. The problem is that it really takes a special person to be that kind of upfront evangelist. Most church people I have served with over the years are not those kind of people. They are dyed-in-the-wool introverts. If it were not for the few-and-far-between extroverts in every parish, we would have died on the vine years ago.

The reason why we do what we do as Christians is that’s what we are supposed to do. We do not have to have any long- or short-range plan. We are to simply live out our faith as best we can wherever we are every day of our lives. We will fail. We will come up short. We may never know if we made any difference in anyone’s life.

What we do know, if we stop to think about it, is that we made a difference, and still are making a difference in our own lives. That’s what matters. That is what is important. That is all we can do. The rest we have to leave in God’s hands.