Critical Thinking With Love Brings Scripture Alive

"Your sorrow shall be turned into joy." -- John 16:20

Last night I went to a house concert in my neighborhood, held by neighbors who hail from Minnesota, and who import the musicians, Bill and Kate Isles, to play folk music for the neighborhood. It was a pleasure to listen with friends in such an intimate setting, taking in beautiful music that was partly spiritual in its pure tones, partly in its lyrics, drawn from specific heartfelt life experiences.

Though I was late, I made it in time to hear the song "Take It As It Comes," about embracing life even when it hands you lemons, or sour apples, as the case may be.

It reminded me of the scripture we had studied in a class earlier in the evening in the Education for Ministry women's program at St. Luke's church in Prescott. The curriculum developed by the Sewanee School of Theology of the University of the South involves critical study of the Bible, as well as an exercise called "Theological Reflection," in which we take a problem and break it down according to tradition, experience, culture and our positions. Last night we did the process using a scripture. It's often a challenging process, but it helps lead us to implications and strategies for actually living our beliefs.

The song was a philosophical reflection, but the scripture is something we long discussed in how it is meaningful for every person of faith. From the point of view of tradition, we discussed similar scriptures that advise us to keep faith in spite of troubling days in our lives. For instance, the Beatitudes promise that in spite of all of the suffering in this life, we will be rewarded in the future, as well as in heaven. At the end of the book of Revelation, God promises to wipe away every tear in the End Times. In other scriptures, we are promised that the last will be first and the first in this life on earth will be last in heaven, as well as many other statements that ensure that our faith will be rewarded -- and that Jesus' suffering, too, was not in vain.

From a cultural perspective, we discussed the clash between chaos and order, the struggle between barbarism and civilization and the way people of faith act in order to achieve the balance through volunteerism, non-profit groups and the charity that restores human belief in the goodness of God.

I won't discuss our examination of our own experiences, since those are confidential, but I will say that from my own experience, I've discovered that only by the bad times can we appreciate the good. We examined several experiences in retrospect, and realized that they've led us to the path that we are on now. As one of our group put it, we are like the butterfly in that we much suffer through our life as caterpillars before we create the cocoon and emerge as the creatures we were meant to be. No one can avoid that struggle if they want to grow in faith.

So, we concluded that one of the implications of the scripture is that we should not try to avoid the chaos that is inevitable -- we must embrace it in faith. Another implication is that we can't always fix other people's problems, but the best counsel we can give them is to put their trust in God. We can tell them that with faith they can replace their sorrow with the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). In addition, we have to model our own faith and beliefs to others -- walk the talk -- if we want to have a positive impact on the world and to reduce suffering.

Based on the discussion, as a group we composed a Collect or prayer that distills all of these ideas. It is our song on the subject, and though it may not be as lyrical or elegant as Bill and Kate Isles' songs, it is a practical poetry.

"God is our hope, in charge, ever faithful. He is our rock. He knows us. We pray for faith, patience, trust, strength, tolerance, courage and wisdom, so that we can see the joy and not avoid the trials we must endure. So that we can see God's hands at work and be good witnesses. So that we can grow into the people of faith that God wants us to be. Amen."

Animals in the Bible Have Much to Teach

Written by a former veterinarian assistant and zoo keeper, "All God's Creatures: Spiritual Lessons From The Animals of the Bible," is a book that recently taught me not only a great deal about animals in general, but also gave me insight about many scriptures. From the lion, wolf and sheep to the bear, camel and eagle, certain passages that just sailed over my head in the past are now clear because I have the context and knowledge to grasp them.

The scripture that I used to name my blog, for instance, has a deeper meaning than what I'd assumed, based on what author Gary Richmond learned about snakes during his years at the Los Angeles Zoo, the fifth largest zoo in the world. Richmond wrote that he never quite understood the teaching from Jesus until he thought about it for several years, so I don't feel quite so ignorant.

The quote from the RSV Bible that he used goes as follows: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew, 10:16. (My quotation says "shrewd" as snakes, which fits their profile better. The photo is of a gopher snake.)

As Richmond put it, snakes are creatures that people tend to fear and even hate because of their great difference from us. Also, they aren't very smart. Snakes are born with instincts to survive, and are taught nothing from birth to death. So the passage didn't make sense to Richmond until one day he realized that Jesus was likely referring to the snake's inherent "watchfulness." Snake eyes are covered by a scale that is lubricated on the inside, which enables them not to need an eyelid, or to blink. Because snakes cannot close their eyes, they are always keeping watch, even when they sleep. If they are asleep and a leaf falls from a tree, it doesn't waken them. But if their eyes view images of predators, they instinctively awaken and evade them.

"The Jews considered watchfulness one of the main characteristics of wisdom," Richmond wrote. "To be watchful is to be on guard, aware, careful. If you watch what you're doing, you make fewer mistakes. If you keep watch, you are ready for your enemy. If you are watchful, you live longer and better. These things show wisdom."

Richmond explains that snakes are better equipped to survive than many other animals, and tries to show that they get a bad rap overall by pointing out their better qualities. For instance:

1. Snakes are clean animals. Despite moving on the ground, they do not pick up dirt because at the base of each scale is a tiny oil gland that secretes and coats the scale in front of it. The oil dries and hardens and nothing sticks to it. (Contrast that with sheep wool, which has an oil in it that keeps them cool or warm, but is a magnet for dirt.)

2. Snakes are sensitive, "feeling" oriented animals that can detect heat. Sidewinder missiles were designed to mimmick the heat-sensing capability of the viper.

3. Snakes are well-equipped to find food through sensing molecules of scent by flicking their tongues.

4. Snakes are incredibly patient and capable of enduring much -- such as long periods of thirst, hunger and being trapped in tiny spaces.

5. Snakes are at their best when they are in the light for awhile. (When their bodies are warm, they are better hunters.) They seek light over dark.

Unfortunately for the reputation of the snake, they are often used as a symbol of how God punishes people for their wickedness, which doesn't exactly warm people to their image. Asps, vipers and venom are cited as appropriate payback in several books of the Old Testament. Thanks to Jesus, however, snakes have at least one good quality that's cited and embraced -- watchfulness. Even snakes are redeemed to some degree by Christ.

Why I Love the Irish

My father was a wonderful storyteller, a gift I did not inherit in verbal form, but I do my best with the written word. He was best at telling stories about fishing trips, the people he worked with and about his own foibles. I remember waking up to him getting louder and louder at the kitchen table as he drew near the punchline of some tale, then the explosive laughter from his friend or friends who were having breakfast after an early morning fishing trip or arrival from an overnight work stint on the railroad.

My mother was always gracious about these unexpected visits, serving coffee, eggs and bacon as she yawned her way to wakefulness. I would often throw on my clothes and join them at the table, because I enjoyed the spirit of fun they exuded. They weren't educated men, but they had heart, common sense and humor. They were telling redneck jokes about themselves before it became an industry for a new generation of comics.

My father was at least a quarter Irish, I've been told, so I inherited some small amount of that magic with words, I think.

Today The New York Times ran an excerpt from a book that was published a few years ago about "How the Irish Saved Civilization," by Thomas Cahill, following the fall of the Roman Empire. I'd read about the book before, but still enjoyed the retelling of how the books that were brought to the Emerald Isle prior to and during the Dark Ages by good old St. Patrick -- a Roman teen living in Britain who was kidnapped by Irish slave traders -- and later returned on his own to convert the unwashed masses there as a priest. He taught the heathens English and Christianity, and his converts later preserved, embraced and then cherished the books he brought to them. Other Roman Catholic priests who followed his example ingrained a love of the language and the written word. The Irish, God bless 'em, eventually became among the greatest proponents of the Western literature, which otherwise would have been lost to us due to the burning of the libraries in Rome.

Ireland has been home to great writers and poets ever since, from Joyce and Yeats to Nuala O'Faolain and Iris Murdoch. Even today some of its best poetry is written by songwriters, like Bono of the band U2 and Siobhan Fahey of the defunct pop girl group Bananarama.

And, of course, the storytelling tradition continues. I presume it's best experienced in a pub on a day like today.