Dismissals

I was at a table with scholars and theologians. The to and fro was arcane but lively. I said nothing until the topic turned to a practical consideration of what it might be like to live the ideal Christian life. I offered a rambling and imprecise paraphrase from G. K. Chesterton. I thought it germane but Wham! They were all over me, tut-tutting, correcting, parsing. I kept sinking lower in my chair until they moved on to some fine point of Greek. My pride was dented but I survived and now I want you to have the precise quote so that, when the occasion arises and you are in the company of academics discussing the ideal Christian life, you will…

If you have a flat tire, have it in front of Pete’s house. Pete will come out and help. Pete will hold the lug nuts so they don’t get kicked into the high grass. Pete will stand by the jack to be sure it’s secure then help you get the old tire into the trunk. When the job is done, Pete will be sure that the hubcap is on good and tight and invite you in to wash up. Keep an eye on the road in front of your house. One day, that could be Pete with a flat tire. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

I read aloud from the 13th chapter of First Corinthians: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.” As I read, I recollected a bearded man at a marble control panel with levers and rotating handles. God, from his cloudy realm, controlled my thoughts and my movements. I was a child and afraid. “When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.” I am older now, and less afraid. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

His name was Luis. I sat next to him at dinner and thought him fussy when, with a frown, he picked the avocado from his salad and set it to the side. Later, he told me that he grew up in the slums of a city in El Salvador. There, overripe avocados fell from street-side trees and his family often ate them for lack of anything else. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

This is a portion of the Confession of Sin, written by Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, prayed at Kol Halev synagogue on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement: For the sin we committed before you … By not reading enough. By reading too much and not acting on our reading. By not serving our community. By serving our community and neglecting ourselves and our family. By having a narrow point of view and not listening to those who disagree. By listening to others always and not having convictions of our own. By chasing after material possessions. By thinking we are unworthy of owning nice things. By neglecting our dearest friends. By chasing friends and running away from ourselves. Go in…

I have a friend who has had some troubles. I told him we could talk, if and when he wanted. For a long time he said nothing so I offered again. He said, “Just to talk would be good but I know that you are a Christian and I know how Christians like to convert people. I don’t want to be preached at.” I told him I would keep the preachy-churchy talk to a minimum. We spend a little time drinking coffee and talking about our lives. Recently, he asked me what we did in our church on Sundays. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

Bob Knight’s Diary was a fictionalized account of a young man’s 1890’s schooldays. My grandfather read it to my father. When I was a boy, my father read it to me. I wanted to read Bob Knight’s Diary to my youngest son but, after a few pages, I could read no more. The book has an undercurrent of racism which, for the life of me, I don’t recall hearing. Had I forgotten the racism? Had I unknowingly absorbed it? Recently, I opened the book, read a few pages and I knew: My father had edited as he read. Seamlessly, cadence unbroken, my father had excised the racism from Bob Knight’s Diary. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!…

The visitor to the homeless shelter looked across the room, at row after row of bunk beds, and asked one of the residents, “Do you feel safe sleeping here?” The man thought for a moment then observed: “Some places, a man’s got to sleep with his shoes on. You take off your shoes, they won’t be there in the morning. This place, it’s not so bad.” Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

There was once an elderly man who felt called to be a deacon. At a critical interview before a learned committee he was asked, “Who is Jesus to you?” The committee settled back expecting perhaps to hear words from the Council of Trent or the Athanasian Creed. The old man sat in silence for some minutes, drew in a breath and said this: “Jesus helps me every day.” That is all he said. The committee sat in silence for some minutes, then drew their collective breaths and sent him on to be a deacon. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

I sit in the hospital waiting room listening to the drone of daytime television and one-sided cell-phone conversations. There are worn magazines with movie-stars on the covers. A man and a woman enter. He has a beard but no mustache. He wears a pale blue shirt, denim pants, suspenders and work-boots. She wears a grey dress, a bonnet, and black shoes with thick soles. They look around the room and then sit across from me. I nod to the man and he nods to me and we wait together, the three of us, saying not a word. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

You run to first base, the ball is thrown, the umpire shouts, “You’re out!” and you begin your slow walk back to the dugout. The priest says, “I now pronounce you…” and the newlyweds embrace. “Bad puppy!” and the little rascal stops chewing your Armani handbag. As these ‘performative’ words are uttered, an action occurs. Suddenly, the world is different. Imagine a contentious gathering where tempers are short and enmity abounds. You stand, take a deep breath, and say for all to hear, “The peace of the Lord be always with you!” And it is so. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

At the homeless shelter, we gather to talk about current events. Some days, the discussion is lively and animated. This day, the news is cheerless and the talk among the men is subdued. Outside, there is a breeze. The curtains blow into the room and settle back. We hear voices from the street and hear the quiet shuffle of someone passing in the hallway. Sitting silent in that room, the Spirit moves among us. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh