Care for those who Care
Some images are haunting. There is something about the “everyday”, becoming something of the past. For example, landline telephones. We live with the ghosts of these haunted things (I am seeing a landline next to my desk as I type).
I remember there was a time when we used to go to Blockbuster/Movie Gallery/Hollywood Video to rent a movie. Obviously, you were not guaranteed to get the movie that made you grab the keys for a drive in the first place. These places do not exist any longer (although there is one remaining Blockbuster in Bend, OR if you are feeling nostalgic). But we still see the remains or the “where it used to be's” if there is no physical remnant. So many old landmarks come and go, and we continue on and on with only a faint awareness that something has changed. And we all know that something has.
The above image is one of those haunted images for me. It is not because it is a church that is falling apart or that it is a very creepy space to place a church. No, it is what it portends. This will not be a “we are in trouble” post. I prefer to look hopefully at what the Spirit may be saying to us. I can imagine the Spirit saying something similar to these words, “Those old wineskins, my friends, will not work any more. Do you hear what I am saying? Join me!” It is up to us to listen and discern where we are in God’s grand adventure.
The church has done so much harm to so many people. Myself included. The church has chosen power over love and wisdom. We see and hear the old ghost of Christian Americanism; the Falwalls, the Swaggerts, the Bakers, the Robertsons, speak through a new generation of Christians who spew hate and confusion wherever they go. Making the faithful on the ground look like fools. Great Christians like Rev. William Barbour who fights for equal rights for our African-American brothers and sisters (along with all the poor) or a theologian like Miroslav Volf who witnessed the horrors of the Balkan Wars and came out with a radical understanding of God’s love through the radical act of forgiveness.
These are the ghosts that may haunt the church today, but we are called to resist any ideology other than Christ Crucified, dead, buried, and resurrected so that all may be saved. The image above may be haunting, but the image of the Great Banquet Feast is not. All will be there no matter race, sex, creed, or gender!
This is the hope that is given to the world through the church. Let us be the hope in this strange, but momentous time.
Zac