The Courage To Do Good Anyway

Now more than ever we need to find the courage to do more good in our country. Sometimes we get weary of doing good. It can become easier to stay seated as things deteriorate. It’s easy to turn away and give up. It’s tough to keep standing up to do good. Especially when it’ll cost you. But with the way things are these days, together we need to keep finding the courage to do good anyway.

We see in the gospel according to Mark that Jesus didn’t shy away from doing good, even when it cost him. In one case, when Jesus restored the shriveled hand of a man in a synagogue on the Sabbath, the religious leaders started plotting how to kill Jesus.

withered-handThere was immense social pressure on Jesus to not heal this man on the Sabbath in the synagogue. Jesus challenged them anyway: “‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent.” It made Jesus “angry and deeply distressed” to watch people stubbornly sit on the sidelines and not care enough.

We have to decide ahead of time: am I going to do good and save more lives no matter if those around me do nothing?

Think about what this means for your life at home, with family and friends, with neighbors and coworkers, fellow citizens and strangers. To listen, to share, to respond to lies with truth, to be vulnerable, to resist evil, to forgive, to give compassion,  to walk with – this is more than just being polite and nice, this is doing good that saves, heals, and rescues.

We can’t have courage out in the world if we won’t show it at home.

The more material comforts we accumulate, the more power and social prestige we attain, the more advancements and accolades we desire, the greater the temptation we will avoid doing good that requires courage. We’ll do the good that fits within our schedule or career track, but we’ll stay seated and silent when it comes to doing good that could get us misunderstood, mocked, or plotted against.

quote-winston-churchill-you-have-enemies-good-that-means-youve-88522

What if Jesus is stirring in you a desire to stand up and do more good that saves more lives in our community?

Jesus knew that his healing of the man with the shriveled hand would get him in trouble with the religious and political leaders. The man with the shriveled hand got healed, but he also may have gotten a new set of hardships. But: what’s the point of doing good? To stay out of trouble? Or: to save life and bring healing, in the way of Jesus, to those who are struggling?

Jesus knew his mission: to embody the good news of God through his wise words and healing actions. This mission changed the lives of individual men and women, but also challenged the sinful structures of society – religious, economic, political, and militarily (they’re always intertwined). So it is for Jesus followers still today.

This poem was found in the walls of Mother Teresa’s home in Calcutta, where she daily demonstrated courage to care for the least of these in her country while challenging the system. May it inspire you to join Jesus in the restoration of the shriveled hands and stubborn hearts of our country.

mother_teresa_photos-6“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.”

 

May Christ grant you the courage to do what is good, everyday.

Blessed Are The Religious Rule Breakers!

Religion gets a bad rap these days. Religion has a long track record of legalism, hypocrisy, and violence. Religion gets used to justify oppression of women, marginalization of minority populations, and prejudice towards outsiders. With all this going against religion, it’s no wonder that more and more people in the United States are identifying themselves as n0n-religious.

But I find it interesting that for all that is reviling about religion, more and more people around the world are becoming more religious, not less. It seems to me, upon closer inspection, that what we hate most about religion is really about humanity: people can be jerks. One could make a strong argument that all people are religious – so the problem is not religion, but how humanity embodies that religion.

Weat Field below Mount Tabor (from area of Endor)For example, in the Gospel of Mark, there is a story of Jesus “going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.” So what, you ask? The problem here is that they did this on the Sabbath! Gasp! I know, terrible right? The Pharisees see this transgression and grill Jesus: “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

It’s this kind of picky, mean-spirited, legalistic condemnation that we all despise about people. Maybe the Pharisees meant well: the Sabbath is a beautiful idea! It ensures that people get at least one day of rest each week, a way to protect them from unjust labor practices by employers, and a way to provide space for communities to relax together. But the Pharisees turn this religious day into a rule-keeping day, which sucks the life and purpose out of it.

Jesus the religious rule-breaker resists their attempts to ruin his day and condemn his disciples. He uses a story from the Old Testament about a time when King David violated the Sabbath when he was “hungry and in need.” Jesus then goes on to remind the religious rule-keepers what has always been true about the Sabbath and religion: “The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath.” He then declares: “the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Sabbath is about rest that connects us to God and each other, not about keeping a list of do’s and don’t’s.

Think about this: rules at their best protect the weakest among us, give direction to us, and seek to intertwine freedom and responsibility for all. But like most human rules, when religious rules become more important than flourishing, when religious rule-keeping becomes more important than justice and mercy, then it’s time to be a religious rule-breaker.

the-golden-rule-1-638

What is it about religion that really causes a negative reaction in you?  For me, growing up as a kid, I was really bothered by hypocrisy in the adults. (Confession, now that I’m adult, I see how easy it is to be a hypocrite…). As a college student I reacted against religious people that talked a lot about right beliefs and right moral actions, but did little to relieve the suffering of the poor and abused in our communities. As an adult, I am disturbed by the religious justification of violence towards those who are feared or despised.

For all that I resist about religion, I’m still admittedly religious. Though I’ve been wounded by religious people and their rule-keeping, I’ve not given up on religion. Instead, I see what’s best in people and seek to draw that out for their flourishing and ours. And since I believe all people are religious in some way, I’m committed to being a religious-rule breaker, if that’s what it takes, to break open new realities for religion to work for our good again.

So let’s not give up on Sabbath keeping (go ahead, enjoy those weekends of rest, take the vacations, get a full night of sleep – it’s God’s will for you)! Let’s not give up on helping the hungry and needy (most non-profits that do this are religious based).

Lets reconsider the ways our church-going, praying, Bible reading, charity, serving our neighbors, work of reconciliation, being patiently present can reflect the religious rule breaking of Jesus – for the flourishing of all!

Timing Is Everything

On the drive into work this morning, I had a conversation with myself about how I wasn’t going to rush throughout the day but rather take my time to be with people and do great work. In feeling the pressure of a Monday, thinking about all that needs to get done this week, I wanted to remind myself to take the time to enjoy the work instead of being anxious about everything that’s not done.

Like you, I respect people who can get work done. Like you, I put a lot of pressure on myself to do good work and a lot of it. And probably like you, I tend to live in the future, focusing on what’s next on the to-do list instead of being present in the task now. The best work gets done while being present, because you can slow yourself down enough to pay attention to details. Details are everything, and so is timing.

timing-is-everything

If we’re rushing about, we’ll miss details and miss opportunities. It’s ironic: we often justify being harried as our attempt to NOT miss opportunities. But that’s not usually how it works. Taking care of people takes patience and being present, it requires paying attention to details and timing. A key conversation at the wrong time, or without enough time, can undermine the relationship. Oftentimes being patient is about preparing for the right time.

some-things-take-time-2

A small story in the Gospel of Mark retells of a conversation some people had with Jesus about why his disciples weren’t fasting when the disciples of the Pharisees and John the Baptist were fasting. Jesus replied to them that it wasn’t the right time yet. Timing is everything. While Jesus is present, his disciples don’t need to fast; once Jesus returns to the Father in Heaven, then his disciples can fast.

Jesus uses two simple illustrations about the proper way to repair a tear and the proper way to store wine to make a profound point in response to their inquiry on his not fasting.

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.

“And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, the pour new wine into new wineskins.”

With Jesus and with others, there is a right time and a right way to get things done. Like a new patch on an old garment or new wine in an old wineskin, there is a way that works in the very short-term, but will ruin your work in the end.

The proper way may take more preparation, more time, more attention to detail, but the results of the work will hold up over time. Timing is everything, and haste makes waste. Especially in marriage, in caring for your children, and honoring those you work and serve with in your community (and even when it comes to making  wineskins for new wine).

wineskins

Who are you being impatient with? With whom has your timing been off? Where in your life has haste been making waste? What details are you skimming over? What is Christ inviting you to do to be more present and pay more attention to those God has placed in your life?

There are some ways in the world that just don’t work: like storing new wine in an old wineskin. May you connect with wise friends who will help you to patiently do the next right thing in God’s eyes in the right way, in the right time.

In your work, in your home and in your community, may you be patient as an act of love.