solution side
One of my friends and mentors Jim Liske had a lot of sayings. For those of you who know him, you also know about his sayings. Things like, "Thin edge of the wedge." "Do the ask." "Land the plane." And the list could go on ... and on ... and yes it could well keep on going.
One thing he used to say that would often turn conversation in a brand new direction was one of my favorite of his particular sayings. “Get solution side.” What he meant was, “Good you have identified the problem, stop beating that dead horse. What is the solution to that problem.” Someone would speak about a problem, and he would say, “Get solution side.”
I recall one conversation when I was complaining about something and he dropped the “solution side” thing. I knew where he was going, but I really wanted to complain about the problem. He once again said his “solution side” mantra, and I found myself getting irritated. Did he not know how good it was feeling to complain about my problem?
I know that others have felt the same thing. People generally like to complain about things. And not just complain, but really complain. And not just really complain, but really complain to as many people who are willing to listen. As if this is not enough, those to whom they complain compound the perceived problem.
You may know how this goes. If a person has something or someone that bothers them, often they will tell another person. More often than not, the person listening to the complaining, in an attempt at empathy, replies by lodging their own complaint about that same something or someone that has been identified as a perceived problem. They go back and forth about a particular perceived problem, until at last they begin repeating their initial complaints, then they know it is time to stop.
It is not just complaining about a perceived problem either. People use fear mongering when speaking about something they perceive as a problem. Generate enough fear and the problem will get bigger. If the perceived problem is worse more people will get on the side of hate. But this does not work. People rarely develop good, creative, sustainable solutions when they are rooted in fear.
Some, when speaking of a perceived problem choose their language recklessly and use slander or hate speech. In doing this, they demonize the perceived problem. Then we can really objectify the perceived problem, especially if it is a person. But this does not work. No good comes about from tearing down a person or a group of people. If one is weaker because of our vilifying him or her, we are all weaker.
The most popular form of speaking about a perceived problem that I have encountered is mockery and sarcasm. It is also the hardest to detect for the one issuing the mocking rhetoric can always say, “I was joking.” But they are not joking. With every jab, bite, and smirk the true feelings of the person lies just beneath. Alas, this also does not work. The more we denigrate with words, the more trivial the perceived problem becomes, and over time we cease to look upon it with any urgency whatsoever.
We expend all of this energy what is accomplished? Nothing. Something or someone who was identified as the problem has only become the object or victim of harsh criticism. They only result is that the complainers, fear mongers, slanderers, and mockers feel justified (not to mention more deeply entrenched) in their own opinion (or dogma) about a particular problem.
So when someone throws out a “solution side”, many would rather not. To get to the solution requires more of us than simple complaining. It requires understanding the thing or person who is bothering us. This requires listening, learning, educating ourselves and possibly giving up preconceived notions about what we thought about the thing or person believed to be the problem (it may even mean that we recognize we are the problem!).
With this new knowledge of the problem, we are then forced to think about solutions. This is where it gets tricky. This means more listening, learning, educating ourselves and possibly giving up preconceived notions about what we thought about the thing or person believed to be the problem.
Then we have to instigate the solution. We have to generate a plan that makes sense for all those involved, and that all involved can agree to. We need to explain why we are doing what we are doing. We need to be able to accurately define the problem without complaining, gossiping, mocking, or slandering.
We are forced to give reasons why it is a problem (based on education and research not on our own opinions), and why our solution (also based on education and research not our own opinions) will work. In all of this we have to walk to the end of the solution all while being able to listen and change course when necessary.
This “solution side” thing is starting to sound like a problem, isn’t it? While it may be a problem, it may well get us to the other side. Just imagine what our world would be like if people listened, treated those who disagreed with a smidge of dignity like those who disagree were actually made in the image of God, and stopped using mocking names. Could you imagine a place where people of every persuasion began working together to get “solution side?” That would be something.
As for me, I say we get “solution side.” Can we stop using complaining, fear mongering, slander, hate speech, and sarcasm as substitutes for real solutions to all of our perceived problems (religious, political, familial, social, etc.)? If you disagree with something, great. But why? What is your solution? Does it work? If you do not have a solution save all of us the misery of hearing more complaining ... stop, think, listen, learn, develop a thought, and then speak with intelligence (that is my solution to the mire we find ourselves in).
And one more note, if you think this blog is a problem, that is fine. But why? “Get solution side.”
I have started using Twitter. The electronic leash strikes again. Follow my tweets: http://twitter.com/michaelhidalgo or @michaelhidalgo.
beginning with the artwork
The Bible also defies categorization. It is a story, but not a novel. It speaks about what is true, but it is not a list of propositional truths. It is able to teach God’s people how to live rightly, but it is not an instruction manual. At times it is perfectly clear, at other times it defies interpretation. In some ways it is more like an indescribably beautiful painting than a book of words.
Consider all the different interpretations of the Bible. Some want to say that this is a weakness. However, I believe that this may point to the beauty of the Bible. For centuries men and women have approached this book, and recognized the mystery contained in its revelation. Maybe this is what keeps so many coming back again and again.
We just cannot stop staring at this work of art. We want to look at it in different light. Examine it throughout the seasons of our lives and see how it speaks to us in new and different ways. We want to hear how it speaks to others, and allow their understanding to shape ours.
What is fascinating about all of this is that the Bible is not about the Bible. The Bible is about God, who is love. One might say we are fascinated by the artwork, not because of the artwork itself, but because of what it says (and does not say) about the artist. We throw ourselves into understanding the work of art so that we might grasp something about the artist.
Many have spoken about wanting to know what the Bible says about this or that. However, my experience has told me otherwise. I have seen many people who want the Bible to tell them that their views, opinions, or presuppositions are true or warranted. In this we are beginning in the wrong place.
We are not beginning with the artwork or the artist, we are beginning with something else. Consider the way we often approach other people in an attempt to know them. Often we begin with questions like, “Where are you from?” “Where did you go to school?” “What do you do for work?” "Married or single?"
All of these questions remove us from where the Bible begins. The first chapter of the book tells us that we are the image of God. This instantly imparts to all people dignity, worth, and honor. Yet often we reduce one’s dignity to where they live, their occupation, or their appearance. We begin somewhere else.
This reality grows tenser when one approaches what are perceived to be cultural or political issues from the Bible. Conversation around these issues can be a lightning rod for some. Military. Non-Violence. Poverty. Immigration. Care for the sick. Environmental care. Racism. Equality. Raise one of these issues, and inevitably there will be a strong reaction.
Typically the reaction that is engendered from raising these questions is abrasive, antagonistic, demeaning, disrespectful, angry, or any combination of the above (these reactions, I would contend, is not what the Artist had in mind). Yet, if we are honest the Bible speaks toward each of these issues plainly, and therefore demands our examination of it. It calls for the people of God to wrestle with these and all conversations it speaks into. For in its addressing of them it ultimately tells us something of the Artist who painted the work in the first place.
Often times however, we do not move toward the artwork (and therefore the Artist), we move toward our own thoughts and ideologies. We dismiss quickly the thoughts of those who are also looking into the text, or possibly even the text itself, to hold on to our stuff. We base our idea of truth and understanding on our political persuasion, economic theories, family traditions, or academic knowledge. We begin somewhere else.
This is not to say that one has it right, and the other wrong. Who goes to an art exhibit and walks away telling everyone they see they were right? However, we have to begin somewhere else. We have to begin, as best we can, with what we understand the Bible to be communicating about God. We cannot begin with anything else; for when we do the Bible becomes secondary, and merely serves to frame another painting.
As God’s people trying as best we can, with the aid of the Spirit, we must try to understand what God is teaching us about himself. Some things are much clearer than others. And for those parts that are difficult we should not ignore them. Rather, we ought to spend more time gazing into them together, hearing from a wide variety of God’s people so that we might see more clearly the beauty and mystery that is before us. As God’s people no part of the painting should be off limits, nor should any one group or sub-group claim one piece of the painting as their own.
As we attempt to navigate our world and life, we must do what we can to continually develop and redevelop a proper understanding of the Bible. Looking into all parts of it – the easy, the difficult, the comforting, the disturbing, the hope, the judgment – for the Bible as a whole is what makes the artwork so compelling and beautiful.
All of the Bible is for all the people of God to dive into together so that we can better know the Author of the words. Indeed, that first sentence is an understatement.
the inefficient church
ef⋅fi⋅cien⋅cy [i-fish-uhn-see]: Accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.
There is nothing at all wrong efficiency whatsoever. But many of the conversations to which I have been privy have dealt specifically with efficiency within the Church. I must say I find this a tad confusing. The Church by nature may be one of the most inefficient things out there.
You may, in reading that last statement, have one of a few thoughts:
1. Absolutely it is! I can’t ever get anything done at my church!
2. Good thought, but my church runs with unbelievable efficiency.
3. The idea of efficiency within the church makes me sick.
In interacting with those thoughts, it does seem that the first two speak not toward the Church, but to an institutional system in which a group of people who follow Jesus decide to organize themselves. Within this organization there are hierarchies, policies, procedures, by-laws, articles of incorporation, websites, buildings, structures, and the list could go on. With all these moving parts it is now wonder people want to know and learn about the efficiency in the church.
However, none of those systems and structures are the Church. The Church is the full body of Jesus that exists for the benefit of our world and the worship of our Creator. The Church is people. By nature this makes the Church inefficient.
I know a group of men and women who served one family in need for years … and the family never joined the Church. Those who have served were not upset or discouraged. They recognized their call to serve (end of sentence). How inefficient is that? Could they not have put time, energy, and effort into something else?
A friend I know goes to Retirement Homes and sit with the elderly who had no visitors. He would learn what their favorite books were and read to them for hours. On the occasion that one of them would pass, he would always be sure to see that they received a proper funeral. Sometimes he was the only one around. How inefficient is that? Could he not put his time, energy, and effort into something else?
I know a fellow who fell into drug addiction. He moved away from home and left everything he knew. One day he heard a knock at his door. He looked outside and saw the one friend who had never given up on him. This friend used to call once a week and always tell him “Whatever you need I am good for it.” He did this for years. My friend who was addicted to drugs ignored the knocking. But he kept knocking and knocking and knocking … for three hours. My friend who was formerly addicted to drugs tells that story as the thing that changed his life. Years of persistence. Hours of knocking. How inefficient is that? Could he not put his time, energy, and effort into something else?
Some people at our church have begun meeting face to face with those who call DCC home to help them connect relationally. Some have said, "How long is it going to take to do this?" Others have suggested email, web-based sign-ups, etc. The response from the team has been to point out that every person is valuable, and at the very least deserves another person spending time with them to remind them they are cared for. How inefficient is that? Could they not put his time, energy, and effort into something else?
The Church is about relationships, and these may be the most inefficient of all things. Relationships do not cooperate with our best-laid plans. Spiritual formation is not something we can track, rather it is only something to be observed over a long period of time. Healing and wholeness are a life-long pursuit. Walking with a friend who is hurting, depressed, or disillusioned is not something on which we put a mission statement. Living as the embodiment of Jesus for the healing of our world defies the one, three and five year plan.
All of these things are inefficient. When we make efficiency the goal, we are left with a well-oiled machine, but no soul. And as one prophet once said, “The goal is soul.” Systems, structure, policies, procedures, hierarchies, and everything else too often become the focus, and we lose sight of what ultimately matters. So let’s be more efficiently inefficient, and may healing, wholeness, and hope come with it.
more than a day
There is a lot of build up to this day. The journey to the empty tomb begins weeks before Easter on Ash Wednesday. Then for forty days, during the Lenten Season, we dig into the muck and mire of our own souls. In prayers and practices of repentance, accompanied by fasting, we are reminded of our own depravity and our need for God. We remind ourselves that we are incapable of finding our own redemption.
During Lent, the dark season of the church calendar, we anticipate the celebration of Easter. We know inside, that our story does not end in ashes, but in the hope of the resurrection.
Through Good Friday (which is a curious name) and Holy Saturday, we wait until we wake up on Sunday. It is Easter. We celebrate, some even dress up for their church’s gathering, and we eat large meals with friends. As well we should, it is a great day. It celebrates the moment on which those of us of Christian faith place our hope. But then it ends.
Monday comes and we move on with our routines. We look ahead toward summer and hope that Spring is drawing closer. For the most part however, Easter is over toward next year. Why do we spend so much time building up toward Easter, but then experience such an abrupt halt after the day?
This year I have begun to question this. If we spend at least forty days preparing, shouldn't we spend minimally forty days after celebrating? (This is the beauty of the Liturgical Calendar keeping the resurrection as a part of our celebration until Ascension Sunday.) If we removed Christmas from the Bible we would lose a couple of chapters from Gospel of Matthew and a few from the Gospel of Luke. If we removed Easter from the Bible we would lose the majority of the New Testament. Yet Easter is a blip on the radar in our yearly calendar.
While some celebrate Lent, and spend forty days preparing for Easter, fewer spend anytime after. Beyond that Lent is a dark time that precedes the resurrection; shouldn’t we spend more time celebrating the resurrection – at least more than one Sunday when we dress up? The Church is a community based on the resurrection. The Church is called to be a people who live as a resurrection community – that is a community of hope.
Luke tells an interesting story in his Gospel. After Jesus has risen two of his followers are walking to a town called Emmaus. They are in intense discussion as they walk along the road, and they are joined by a stranger, who is Jesus, but they do not recognize him.
The stranger asks them what is going on, and they reply “Are you not from Jerusalem, don’t you know what has happened here in the last few days?” They simply are confused as to why Jesus was killed, and why his tomb is empty. The stranger then tells them about what was really going on. Luke says, “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
Jesus reframes the story of the Hebrew Scriptures. He shifts their common paradigm. The resurrection sheds a whole new light on the Scriptures. It is a whole new story. A story that gives these disciples a new way of living, thinking, and seeing.
This is what Easter does. It reframes our story. It shifts the world in which we live. It gives those who follow Jesus, not just something to believe in, but an entirely new creation. This is something certainly worth celebrating, but not just for one day.
If Easter reframes our story that means everyday we are living in light of its hope in the front of our minds. We ought to remember, proclaim, live out, and celebrate Easter all year long as a resurrection community.
bread: a sermon
be careful what you quote
What is interesting to me is that the ones who most often condescendingly make comments to me, are ones who call themselves “followers of Jesus.” More times than I care to count I have people ask, state, or remind me of the Bible by quoting Jesus who said, “Just remember, Jesus said, ‘The poor you will have with you always …’” My usual response is to ask, “And what words comes directly after that?”
According to the Gospel of Mark, the rest of the sentence is, “…and you can help them any time you want.” Jesus says this because some of the disciples are upset about how money is being used, and claim it could go to help the poor. But there seems to be another layer to Jesus’ teaching.
Jesus’ statement about the poor, is his quote of Torah. Perhaps Jesus was using an ancient artful teaching tactic called remez. Which means “hint”. Rabbis did this by quoting one piece of a verse in Scripture in a teaching or a discussion. Remember, that many in Jesus’ day would have had much of the Hebrew Scriptures memorized. So if they quoted one part of a verse, they knew that their students would know the context of the verse, and probably be able to quote the rest of the verse.
Jesus used this method of teaching often. When Jesus told the religious that had made the temple into a “den of robbers” he was quoting the prophet Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 7, the prophet says to the people of Israel, “Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?”
Jesus is saying a little more than, “You are ripping people off.” He is calling them murderers, adulterers, liars, and pagans.
We see this again in Matthew 21 where it says, “… when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things [Jesus] did and the children shouting in the temple courts, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant.” How did Jesus respond? With a hint, or remez? He quotes Psalm 8 saying, “have you never read, ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’”? The Psalmist also writes in this Psalm, “…you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”
Jesus is communicating something to them using remez. He is telling them they are his foe, and God will silence them.
When he is chided by his disciples, he quotes what has become a familiar verse related to poverty. Many have used this verse to excuse themselves from pouring themselves into helping the poor. The attitude seems to be, "If Jesus said, 'The poor will always be hanging around ...' then what good is it going to do to help them?" But Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 15, saying, “The poor you will always have with you …” Which is interesting because the full context of this portion of Scripture says,
“There need be no poor people among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.”
Interesting. God says, “If you do things my way there will be no poverty.” But God seems to know that even his own people will not do things entirely right so he speaks about the fact that there will be poor people in the Land. So he continues,
“If anyone is poor among your people in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need … There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward those of your people who are poor and needy in your land.”
So for those who so quickly want to quote Jesus saying, “The poor will be with you always …” I say quote away! You are only reminding all of us that if we follow God there does not need to be poor among us, and if there is that we should be openhanded toward all of those who have need.