I am about half way through my second reading of Red Letters by Tom Davis - I'm reading it to Todd this time. We read a chapter here and there, and then discuss it. This book has really made me stop and think. While Davis' main focus is on the AIDS crisis in Africa, he speaks generally of suffering, poverty and injustice around the world. I have been challenged to look for ways to really "live a faith that bleeds".
One point that really struck me as I read and re-read it was the way in which the early church responded to the needy. I know I have read other things about how the early church was known for caring for the sick and needy when no one else would, but Davis quotes some documents written to instruct the early church. " Didache (perhaps written around 100 CE), instructed Christians to 'Give to everyone who asks thee, do not refuse'."
Especially since my husband works with the local homeless population, I would (and do) undoubtedly refuse to help the guy on the corner with the sign. Because I know that if he wants a place to sleep and three square meals a day he can walk over to the Rescue Mission. I know he won't go to the Mission because he is supporting an addiction that he doesn't want to give up. If I give to him, I am feeding his addiction. But the heart of the early church was to give "without asking doubtfully"! And how did Jesus respond to people? Matthew 9:36 (NIV)says
- When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Remembering that there is nothing new under the sun, I have to assume that some of the people Jesus was having compassion on were, like the addict on the corner of Hiawatha Blvd.., perpetuating their own troubles. But he didn't judge or worry about enabling them. He had compassion.
One other place that Davis takes Jesus words and uses them to cut through indifference of my heart is when he examines Matthew 25:41-45... It is a familiar passage to many - Jesus is telling his followers how one day he will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep go to heaven and the goats roast in hell. And what is it that determines who goes where? The people who "asked Jesus in their hearts" get to go to heaven, right? I mean, that was the core of what I was always taught. Say the magic prayer to get into heaven. As I grew in my faith and understanding, I came to understand that far beyond the magic prayer one must live a life that bears fruit consistent with following Christ (patience, goodness, self control, etc). But even this is not the determining factor according to Jesus.
The litmus test, according to Jesus, is this: Did you feed the hungry? Give a drink to the thirsty? Offer a bed to the homeless? Clothe those who were cold? Visit the prisoners? Davis asks "What if a life of faith is all about what Jesus was saying here?...If this is true, then those heavenly transcripts that list what we did for the poor, the needy, and the suffering will show evidence of whether or not our Bible study, our discipleship groups, our quiet times, and our pew-sitting actually moved the short distance from our head down into our heart."
For most Christians in America, that thought must be terrifying. I know it is for me. We cling to excuses like "I don't have the time to volunteer, I don't have the money to give, I don't want to expose my family to those things...." But, what if that is it? We busy ourselves with church programs, filling our heads with Christianese while using our busyness as an excuse to ignore that which Christ has commanded us to do. We can afford flat screen TVs, gas guzzling SUVs, houses that are too big for us, and lots of fast food, but we can't afford to give to those in need.
Davis points to this quote from Richard Rohr's book From Wild Man to Wise Man: "It is the risk of 'acting' like Jesus acted that reconfigures your soul. We are converted by new circumstances much more than by new ideas... we do not think ourselves into new ways of living we live ourselves into new ways of thinking." (emphasis added) So Todd and I have been asking... "How can we live ourselves into new ways of thinking?"
