A Long Walk Home #3

"Mercy Lord!"

What appears to have been lost in all of this is the essence of or original spirit of Christianity. What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? What is the character of this faith that has been entrusted to us? What is the spirit of the thing? “This thing of ours.” This thing of which we are apart called Christianity, and which they called “the way.” Is it even possible to find our way back to a simpler way? Is it possible for an imperfect people to perfectly, practice any form of religion? Is there a way back that leads forward? It would be presumptuous even arrogant of this writer to assume a special insight or knowledge that would permit him too perfectly answer these questions.

These questions (as well as many others) are simply the product of a personal journey along the rough and rugged “way of the cross.” The old hymn says, “The way of the cross that leads home.” It often feels as if home has become increasingly farther away and more difficult to find. Home has become a faint dream, a longing, a mist, a cloud which any attempt to grasp is like trying to hold water in ones hands. It is a struggle at times to remember the warmth and welcome of that place called home. The journey home is the road toward Eden (the garden which God created), the paradise of God. It is still the way of the cross, which for Jesus was a path of suffering, betrayal and agony and must be much the same for his followers.

During military Basic Training (Boot Camp) there was an obstacle course that the recruits were required to complete before graduation. The powers that be renamed this course, “the confidence course.” It was thought that every time one completed the course it would instill confidence in the recruits. Changing the name did not change the fact that there were obstacles to over come on the course. This is also true of the “way of the cross” it matters little how one may try to recast it, the path is filled with pit falls, pot holes, struggles and even the possibility of death. To attempt to remove or even rename these would be to remove the power, nature and essence of the “Way of the Cross.” To remove the pain, suffering and Christ’s destiny with death on the cross would be to “empty it of its glory.” Should we expect an easier course than that of our Savior?

This personal journey has become more complicated (which seems to be the nature of life). The road chosen (“the road less traveled”) has been fraught with obstacles, detours, distractions and failures. With each halting, hesitating, stumbling and difficult step, one is forced to be more dependent upon grace. Compelled by some irresistible urge, a force beyond comprehension forcing this lost one to cry out for mercy. Acknowledging the truth and reality found in a verse from a recent Christian song which says, “When I could not reach mercy, mercy came a running." These are the prayers, petitions, yearnings and cries of a deeply flawed follower of the one who is “the way.” One who hopes beyond all hope that these cries will be heard by a merciful God.

Finding the correct path continues to be a mystery of epic proportions. The way ahead is shrouded in the fog of uncertainty, doubt and fear. It is gloomy haze filled with enemies, traps and pitfalls which threaten to envelop, engulf and imprison a tortured soul who has lost his way. Sometimes the simple nudging of The Spirit reveals the path. Floating like a feather on the wind, a gentle breeze as if it were blown by the breath of God. At other junctures the course is forced upon one like a blacksmith forging iron and hammering it out on his anvil. Is this reality or simply the melancholia of a man battered, beaten and bruised by the journey? The questions and doubts remain, a raging storm in an over active mind. In this too is his doubt and uncertainty revealed which calls for more grace and mercy.

It is said, “You cannot go home again.” The path behind is a fading memory often shrouded in euphoria and nostalgia. For, in truth all the fondness and joy found in remembering the "good old days" or "happy days" can often be attributed simply to selective memory loss. Maybe, just maybe, the only way forward is backward and the only way backward is inward. How do you go back when you cannot find your way? How do you chart a true course when you are lost and alone and surrounded by enemies? What is the correct direction when you have made too many bad choices, ethical compromises, and followed so many dead end trails? How do you find your way when being lost has become a way of life, but not one to be desired? This is like the lyric's of a song, "the night life ain't no good life, but it's my life," is the unfortunate reality in which I live.

This current dilemma is a bitter tasting medicine that requires "just a spoon full of sugar to help the medicine go down." Only the great physician has the prescriptions for this ailment. The journey home, the search for restoration is so intensely painful and deeply personal for this broken man that that he cannot help but reveal and lay bare his tortured soul. Restoration is a course to charted, a way to be followed, a desire of the heart and a grace to be received.

To be continued.....
Bob

A LONG WALK HOME #2

In nineteenth century America the plea to be Christian’s only, rapidly degenerated into debates, dialogues, and discussions about how to accomplish this goal. These interactions tended to focus upon forms and functions that would ultimately determine fellowship between humans. The mechanics and mechanisms of doing church right overshadowed being church (the incarnate body of Christ in the world today). They were heavily influenced by at least one spirit of the age (western philosophy and age of rationalism of which they were a part). They could no more escape their philosophical moorings (worldview) than we can ours.

One must also admit that the heirs of this “movement” (this writer included) are connected to and influenced by these same philosophical shackles. There influence is felt in both the adherence to their ideals and reaction to the conclusions drawn by this philosophy. This influence can also be seen in much of the self-help literature and religious literature of modern American culture. Success in both secular and religious circles means following the right pattern. The “Better you” or the Good Life is a result of the steps you take or to be more accurate the things you do. It is all about formulas and formats to achieve the American Dream.

Success is to be found in following the proper formulas. Happy marriages or raising “good” children is simply a result of following the correct procedures. One wonders about the damage done and the guilt that people continue to carry around when they follow the steps and fail to achieve the promised results? What happens if your children do not become Christians or even model citizens? What happens when marriages fail among good church going people and divorce results? It would be worse than naive to assert that these things never happen among us. Statistics show that the divorce rate among professing Christians is almost identical to that of the population in general.

In this environment then it is a short jump, a simple journey, to an Americanized form of Christianity. This type of Christianity looks and sounds the same as the self-help and success message that dominates so much of the literature of our culture. This form of Christianity is all about doing the right things, saying the right things all in the right way. This is indicative of the Christianity that is practiced by many if not most Americans.

In this “Brave new World” of our own creation we give little more than lip service grace and mercy. While we cry out in mournful tones to God for an extra measure of his mercy and grace, we so often deny the crumbs of grace and mercy to our fellow man. This writer pleads guilty as charged on this account. As a lost and tortured soul he desire, like a man dying of thirst longs for a sip of water to wet his parched lips, a second or even third chance. Yet, he demands a demonstration from others, evidence and proof that they have truly repented before granting even a teaspoon of the grace and mercy they need the most.

There is the presumption of some special, unique blessing upon America by God. In this culture, Americanism and Western Philosophy has become synonymous with Christianity. American Christianity seems to believe that it truly has a “Manifest Destiny.” It is doubtful that the disciples of Jesus would recognize much of what is presented as Christianity. In a society where happiness seems to have become the greatest virtue of all, it is only natural the preaching of a prosperity and feel good gospel is on the menu, and is the food for far too many lost sheep.

For a civilization where obesity has reached epidemic proportions (because we have sated our hunger on sweets, fast food, fats and a generaly unhealthy diet) is it any wonder that the menu in our churches would become filled with “junk food” rather than the “bread of life.” Dare I be so bold as to propose that the church in America’s twenty-first century is not unlike the church in Laodicea of the first century, who claimed to be rich but were really "poor, wretched, blind and naked?”

To be continued.....
Bob