A Tale of Two Churches: Homeless People Sleeping on Our Porches

 © 2014 The Wired Word

www.thewiredword.com

It doesn't seem like it ought to be news when a church dismantles its sprinkler system, but in the case of St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco, removing the watering system was a significant act.
The system had been installed two years ago not to water the lawn, but to soak the building's alcoves to deter homeless people from sleeping in them. The sprinklers ran for 75 seconds about every half hour from sunset to dawn.
Some homeless people tried to ride out the drenchings, using umbrellas and waterproof coverings, but they got wet nonetheless. They eventually abandoned the alcoves at night.
The church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, which supports and helps the homeless. A spokesperson for the archdiocese explained that the intention at the time of the sprinkler installation was to redirect homeless people to safer areas on the cathedral grounds.
In announcing the decision to remove the sprinklers, Auxiliary Bishop William Justice, rector of the cathedral, said, "We are sorry that our intentions have been misunderstood and recognize that the method used was ill-conceived. It actually has had the opposite effect from what it was intended to do, and for this we are very sorry."
The problem wasn't just that homeless people were sleeping in the alcoves, but that feces, needles and other dangerous items were often left there.
"The problem was particularly dangerous because students and elderly people regularly pass these locations on their way to school and Mass every day," Justice said. He added that the archdiocese is one of the largest supporters in the city for services for the homeless and helps thousands of people every year "through food, housing, shelter programs for people at risk including homeless mothers and families, and in countless other ways," he said.
What to do about homeless people using the church grounds is a matter faced by houses of worship in many cities across the country. Congregations struggle to confront the health and safety issues caused by people dwelling on their grounds while still being true to Christ's calling to care for the "least of these" (Matthew 25:40, 45).
Recently, one Washington, D.C., congregation found a way to move people off its porches while assisting them in moving on. Over the years, a few homeless people have used the sheltered porches of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church for sleeping quarters, but the number of people doing so has increased, with people using the grounds for bathroom purposes. Some were leaving their belongings on the porches, some in plastic-covered four-foot-high piles.
The members of the church were themselves divided over what to do. Some felt an obligation to offer shelter to homeless people while others believed it was important to reclaim the building as a clean and safe place.
They eventually came to a decision: as of March 1, no one was allowed to stay on the porches. The church even hired security personnel to enforce the decision. But the next part of their decision is what made it a good solution.
Linda Kaufman, an Episcopal priest who works for a community agency housed in Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, explains the rest of the plan and some of its outcome:
[Ahead of the March 1 deadline, we met] weekly with anyone who had lived on the porches to help them make the transition. ... the church has resources to support the changes we were imagining. If anyone wanted to go home, we had the money to buy a bus ticket. If folks needed something, we would do what we could to provide them with it.
So every Tuesday at 7 a.m., a small group of us met with our homeless neighbors for breakfast and discussion. We talked about what it would take to find permanent housing and kept track of commitments.
At our meeting the first week of March, some miracles occurred:
• Dominique came for the first time and told us he had a job if he could get a bike helmet. (Bob, a parishioner, left the meeting, went to his nearby home and arrived back moments later with a bike helmet.)
• Ivy told us she had had an interview for a job at Starbucks.
• Stephen said he was going to interview later that morning for a restaurant job.
Several folks needed help with transportation, so after the meeting, Kris, a very committed and active parishioner, put more money on their church-provided transit cards.
After six weeks of support, no one is living on the porches anymore. It wasn’t easy, and we did have challenges. We did have to call the police when Eddie refused to leave his place on the porch. Having to call the police was the single sour note in the trajectory to reclaiming the porches and building an amazing community.
As a pastor, I have had to move people off property in the past. It has always felt punitive and mean. This time it felt different because we gave ample warning; we formed a team to get to know and support everyone individually; we consistently enforced the rules; and we used the resources of the church and the neighborhood to help.
I am convinced that those individuals who were sleeping on the church porches are better off now than they were in January, before we started.
I recently saw Dominique, with his bike helmet. He told me he got the job. Later that day I heard that Ivy got a full-time gig. Herbert and Sonia have a place to live. The miracles keep rolling in.
More on this story can be found at these links:
No Sprinklers Required: How My Church Kept Homeless People Off Church Steps. UMReporter
Cathedral to Remove Sprinkler System That Drenched Homeless. Yahoo! News
The Big Questions
1. Have you or someone in your family ever been homeless? If you are willing, describe that experience for the group.
2. How do you define compassion? Is it important for Christians to behave compassionately even if they don't feel empathy toward a particular person or group? Explain. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a compassionate person?
3. Are there homeless people in your community? If you're not sure, how might you find out?
4. How do you decide what helping ministries are appropriate for your church?
5. In some cases, being homeless is related to a person's mental condition. Some individuals are unable or unwilling to take advantage of programs that might improve their situations and mainstream them. Nor can they be forced to enter programs, hold jobs, take medications or otherwise be channeled into safer situations. What is our obligation to help those who do not desire any help or are unable to receive any long-term benefit from it? What is the best approach to work with the homeless if mental illness is a component in their affliction? Should the possibility of successful outcomes be a prerequisite for helping the homeless? How would you define a successful outcome?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Exodus 22:26-27
If you take your neighbor's cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down; for it may be your neighbor's only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate. (For context, read 22:21-27.)
This is one of the many detailed biblical provisions that flesh out the Ten Commandments. The basic point of this one, as with many of the Old Testament laws, is that compassion, mercy and a sense of community should trump personal benefit. True, for a lender to return a pawned cloak before the debtor repays the loan does not help the lender's bottom line, but it may save the debtor's life, and it recognizes the common humanity of both the lender and the debtor. It places community above personal aggrandizement or personal comfort.
And note that God adds the statement about his character: "I am compassionate." Another function of the law was to tell people how to be holy as God is holy. Since compassion is part of God's holiness, then people who seek to be holy ought also to be compassionate.
Questions: How might these verses apply to today's "In the News" section? To what extent does our high standard of living constitute taking our neighbor's coat? Can we reasonably assuage any guilt we feel for our level of prosperity by addressing social problems like homelessness?
Matthew 7:12
In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. (No context needed.)
This is what has been called the "Golden Rule." Its application to today's news story is probably obvious, but note that Jesus added the words "for this is the law and the prophets." The law and the prophets was another name for the Scriptures that were available in Jesus' day -- essentially the Old Testament. So Jesus was saying that treating others as you would like to be treated is the essence of the Old Testament laws. Thus the Golden Rule is not merely a nice suggestion; it is the very heart of scriptural morality.
Questions: Should the Golden Rule apply to long-term societal problems such as homelessness? Explain your answer. Is the Golden Rule only applicable regarding people in our own social and economic class (in other words, our comfort zone)? How comfortable are you implementing the Golden Rule with the extremely poor or those who are difficult to serve?
Matthew 25:37-40
Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?" And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." (For context, read 25:31-46.)
According to these words from Jesus, helping the needy, which certainly includes the homeless, is not optional for those who wish to be judged faithful to God.
Questions: When have you ministered to the "least of these"? How was your life changed? When have you turned away from the "least of these"? How was your life affected? When have you been one of the "least of these"? As you are comfortable, share a bit of your story with the group.
Mark 14:7
For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. (For context, read 14:3-9.)
This text is often quoted out of context, sometimes as a way of saying that since Jesus said we'd always have the poor with us, we probably can't do much about the problem of poverty so we ought to leave well enough alone and tend to religious things. It can even be quoted to suggest that Jesus intends for some people to be poor.
But in this text, Jesus is paraphrasing Moses in Deuteronomy 15:11: "Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, 'Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.'" And Moses' words are part of a larger passage that says when the people come into their land, they must recognize that everything they have comes from God and they have an obligation to take care of the poor among them.
Questions: What are the limits of your obligations to the homeless? What have you done when a homeless person has shown up at church? Do you think you have done too much? Enough? Do you believe there is any solution to the problem of homelessness? What are the differences between being "poor" and being "needy"?
Luke 4:16-19
When [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (For context, read 4:16-21.)
Questions: What is the relationship between Christ's "mission statement" found in the Luke 4 verses above and his Great Commission to his followers to "make disciples of all nations, ... teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you" found in Matthew 28:18-20? How does his statement in Luke 4 affect your church's mission efforts?
For Further Discussion
1. What's your opinion of the sprinkler-system approach to the homeless-on-the-church-grounds problem? Do you agree that homeless people on church grounds is a problem? What's your opinion of the other approach described in the news section of today's lesson? Would it work at your church? Why or why not?
2. Read and discuss how each of the following passages applies to today's topic: James 2:14-17; Isaiah 58:6-7; Luke 14:12-14; Proverbs 19:17.
3. Respond to this, from TWW team member Mary Sells: "It can be very challenging to keep focused on the need of the persons instead of the cause of homelessness. I find myself judging whether they are sincerely in need for reasons beyond themselves, or is it drug addiction or whatever. Big-city living can certainly make one skeptical. A friend tells me that Jesus always sees the need, not the cause. So the question is not only how we aid the needy, but also how we focus on that and get away from judgment as to what leads the person to homelessness."
4. Respond to this, from a TWW team member: "A good friend of mine who helped run a lunch program for homeless in D.C. through a church eventually had a massive stroke and for a while drifted toward the possibility of homelessness himself. He became convinced that change was not possible for most homeless, though he was committed to serving them, which he did beyond the limits of his physical capabilities.
     "The congregation I served in those days, which was only a couple of hours from D.C., still participates in working at that church once a month. Church members are committed to serving the best possible lunches, for which they bring all the ingredients and cook them on the spot, not because they will be successful as the world measures success, but because this is what Jesus wants us to do.
     "Having observed some of the problems, I have a guilty relief in not living anywhere near a major homeless population, though we certainly have enough in the county where I live. I admire those congregations who have recognized this as part of their mission, and sympathize that they soon discover that the presence of homeless brings with it the possibility of danger. However, one of the focuses of the ministry of Jesus was centered in the issue of redefining clean and unclean. Jesus states that it’s not what goes into us but what comes out of us that makes us unclean. I wonder if avoiding the homeless to avoid a level of uncleanliness actually makes us unclean according to the upside down standards of Christianity."
5. Should a person's life choices -- some of which we may disapprove of -- affect our willingness to offer that person assistance? For example, if a person hasn't been a good steward of his or her own money, should we help that person out when in need? What if the person appears to be able-bodied but is not looking for work? Do potential recipients of our help have to be, in our opinion, "worthy" of the help? How do we decide?
     What guidelines can you glean from Ephesians 4:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:10; 1 Timothy 5:1-16; and Leviticus 23:22 to help you in your decisions regarding distribution of resources to the needy? Are there any considerations that might cause you, in a particular case, to set aside the advice in one or more of these verses?
Responding to the News
This is a good time to review your church's arrangements to help the needy and perhaps encourage changing them if you feel they are inadequate or fall short of the Matthew 25 standard.
Closing Prayer

O Lord, help us to follow your Son faithfully and to act with compassion toward those in need. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Christian Prof Says Expelling OU Students After Racist Rant Missed 'Teachable Moments'

 © 2014 The Wired Word 

www.thewiredword.com

A racist song captured on video has led to the expulsion of two students from the University of Oklahoma and the shuttering of the campus fraternity to which they belonged. The video, which came to light about two weeks ago, shows two male students leading a bus full of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members in singing and clapping a racist parody on the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It." The lyrics include several uses of the n-word, speak of lynching and say "there will never be a n----r SAE."
In reality, they would be a bit late, since the OU SAE chapter has had two black members, although not in several years. Apparently, the chanting students didn't know about their black fraternity brothers.
The reaction from the university was swift and unequivocal. Stating a policy of zero tolerance for "threatening racist behavior," OU President David Boren expelled the two ringleaders shown on the video and banned SAE from the campus. The other members of SAE were given just days to remove their belongings from the building and find other lodgings.
Some observers have since said that the expulsions were done without the legally required due process and in violation of the expelled students' civil rights and the university's own procedures.
The national SAE headquarters also disowned the racism in the OU branch. "This is absolutely not who we are," SAE said in a statement. Observers say the national fraternity was within its rights to suspend the student chapter.
In the days since the incident, one of the two expelled students, Parker Rice, has issued a public apology for his actions, which was published in The Dallas Morning News. "I am deeply sorry for what I did Saturday night. It was wrong and reckless. I made a horrible mistake by joining into the singing and encouraging others to do the same," Parker Rice said in his statement.
"At this point, all I can do is be thoughtful and prayerful about my next steps, but I am also concerned about the fraternity friends still on campus. Apparently, they are feeling unsafe and some have been harassed by others. Hopefully, the university will protect them," Rice added.
There have been reports of verbal and physical assaults on fraternity members not involved with the video.
The other student involved, Levi Pettit, has made no comment, but his parents have apologized for him. In a statement, his parents said their son made a horrible mistake and apologized to African-Americans, students and university faculty. "He is a good boy, but what we saw in those videos is disgusting," his parents said. They went on to say that they believe that in his heart, their son is not a racist.
Of additional interest to us here are the comments of Maria Dixon Hall about the episode. Dr. Hall, who is both a professor at Southern Methodist University and a United Methodist minister, is an African-American. Rather than cheering the university's quick and strong reaction to the racist rant, Hall views it as a missed opportunity to teach "pre-adults" (her term for the 18-21 demographic) an important life lesson. In the judgment of TWW, her response is well-reasoned and is not a knee-jerk reaction. We can only summarize it here, but it's listed first in the links below and is worth your time to read in its entirety, including what she has to say about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the grace of God.
Hall points out that many pre-adult students have "never formed an independent idea of their own" when they enter college. Rather they've been shaped by parents, teachers, churches and the culture. "They are so programmed when they hit our [college] doors that it takes almost four years for them to really start figuring out what kind of ice cream they really like," Hall says.
She adds, "Sadly and often tragically, unlike high school, they find out that one bad night, one stupid decision, one wrong turn can lead to life-changing consequences."
At such points, however, Hall says, "when done right and when at all possible (barring criminal behavior), the university and its professors can shine a hopeful light and offer an opportunity to begin again ...." Because of that, Hall says she believes OU's response missed the mark. "While [OU football coach] Bob Stoops and President Boren were making the heroic rounds as defenders of civility, in my humble opinion, they missed a wonderful opportunity to teach their students how to live, disagree and unite as a civil community," Hall says. "They perpetuated our society's Hunger Games philosophy of total annihilation -- blame them, shame them and erase them."
Hall goes on to name four teachable moments that might have been capitalized on:
Moment 1: Outrage = Hypocrisy. "No one enjoys being called a nigger, especially me. But after living 49 years on this planet in black skin in America, I am not shocked [or] horrified when I hear it, whether it is directed at me or not," Hall says. She is bothered by progressives who act as if they have "never ... thought a negative thought about a black person, even as they locked their doors when approaching 'that side of town.' Since we all know that we all have said things behind closed doors that would have us vilified if they ever saw the light of day, how about we cut these boys a little slack?" Hall says.
Moment 2: Racism is a congenital heart condition. "White children learn the lessons of bigotry when their parents isolate them from 'those people' by sending them to private schools instead of the public schools in their neighborhoods. Their arteries become clogged with prejudice when the only people of color they encounter are those who serve their meals, clean their rooms or carry their bags," Hall says. ''So after 12 years of a steady diet of erasure, dismissal and hypocrisy when these boys have a full-blown cardiac arrest of racism, rather than giving them a defibrillator of God's grace and challenging them to see the sacred worth of all -- we pull the plug and do a dance on their graves."
Moment 3: The best way to deal with a racist is to show them the dissonance in their lives. "Rather than marching and shouting, what if President Boren invited the young men on that bus who sang their hateful song to sit and watch the video with the black staff members of the SAE house who fixed their meals and cleaned their rooms? ... What if after their live performance President Boren finally allowed Walter, the man who cooked their meals for the last 15 years, to ask the young men one simple question: 'is this what you really think of me?'" Hall maintains that most racists "hold to their views in isolation. I believe when those young men came face to face with the people who cared for them and loved them, the full impact of their behavior would then be clear," Hall says.
Moment 4: It is all about outcomes. Hall says that "every lesson has an outcome whether intentional or not." So we should ask what we want these young men to learn. "If we wanted them to learn that racism is bad, well, we missed it. Instead, they have learned the opposite. They have learned that racism must never be articulated; it must be hidden; it must [be] enacted but never espoused. ... Removing them from campus ... teaches them nothing except to make sure they aren't being recorded when they rant and chant."
Hall goes on to say that Martin Luther King Jr.'s "most enduring premise was that while laws could give us the right to go to school and eat at the lunch counter together, only the gospel of Jesus Christ could heal the heart condition known as racism." She maintains that there is a time for marching and there is a time for conversation. "This was a time for conversation and intervention," Hall says.
We quote Hall's concluding remarks in full: "Look, I know it is easier just to be done with these students. Bashing them is incredibly popular and dismissing them from the island of humanity appears to be all the rage. Unfortunately, I am called to the two most idealistic professions -- teaching and preaching -- and I believe in the power of conversion. I believe in the power of Grace. I believe in a God of Second Chances. I believe in a God who is a master teacher.
"I know. How silly of me."
More on this story can be found at these links:
A Teachable Moment: How OU Failed Transformation 101. Patheos
Report: University of Oklahoma Student Apologizes for Racist Chant. CNN 
No, It's Not Constitutional for [OU] to Expel Students for Racist Speech. Washington Post 
The Big Questions
1. In what settings and under what circumstances is a zero tolerance policy the right response? When does adhering to zero tolerance do more harm than good? Does zero tolerance ever "throw out the baby with the bath water"? Does a "zero tolerance" policy justify violating someone's civil rights? Can respecting civil rights aid in utilizing teachable moments? How does zero tolerance line up against the gospel of Jesus Christ?
2. Do you agree that teachable moments were missed in this case? What if, as Hall suggested, President Boren had invited the young men on that bus to sit and watch the video with the black staff members of the SAE house who fixed their meals and cleaned their rooms? Might it have helped if the students on the bus were to sit and talk with black SAE alumni -- their own fraternity brothers? Might that have caused real change in the hearts of the offenders? Or might it have caused them to be more secretive about their racism?
3. With the OU incident in mind, respond to Hall's comment: "I believe in the power of conversion. I believe in the power of Grace. I believe in a God of Second Chances. I believe in a God who is a master teacher." Why do you think she referred to her own statement as "silly"?
4. Are there any ways in which you think you might contribute to racist assumptions in young people by what you don't say or do? Explain. Is there a qualitative difference between willful and careless acts of prejudice? How do we, as sinners, steer others away from the path of prejudice while we may be walking it ourselves?
5. What has been your most effective means of learning life lessons? How do we "unlearn" things in which we are deeply invested, but which we have assumed to be true without examining the evidence? Is severe penalty the most effective teacher in every case? If not, what works better?
6. Should these two fraternity members be forgiven? If so, who should have the option of doing the forgiving and in what form should that forgiveness come? If not, why not?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Psalm 25:4-5, 7
Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation ... Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions ... (For context, read 25:4-10.)
These words from Psalm 25 are a prayer. In the petition to be taught God's paths, the psalmist is probably not asking for knowledge. No doubt, he could already recite the Ten Commandments. He could probably even tell you some of the ways that the great scribes and teachers of Israel had interpreted those commandments and the various situations they had described in which each of the big ten should be applied.
No, what the psalmist was praying for here was that he be made "teachable," that he be enabled to so internalize what he already knew about God's ways that they would become the guiding force in the critical situations of his life. In other words, he was asking that he learn on a gut level the things God wanted him to know, and that he learn them without having to attend the school of hard knocks.
Clearly, he's already been to that school, for he also prays, "Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions."
Questions: What has helped you to internalize God's ways? What do you think today about the transgressions of your youth?
Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (For context, read 12:9-21.)
This is a verse that first came to mind when reading Hall's article about how the OU incident might have been handled differently.
Questions: How does this verse apply to Hall's remarks? Where have you seen this biblical principle work effectively? How should this verse inform us in situations where evil refuses to be overcome with good?
1 Corinthians 1:21
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. (For context, read 1:18-31.)
Paul uses the word "foolishness" several times in the context verses for this passage, and he seems to mean it in the same way that Hall used "silly" to refer to her conclusions.
Regarding this verse, one biblical commentator said, "Satirically, God at the most foolish and weakest, as seen in the crucified Jesus, trumps the greatest human wisdom and strength."
Questions: Why do the "wise" sometimes miss the significance of Christ and the cross? What does ministry devoid of God's foolishness look like?
Colossians 3:9-11
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! (For context, read 3:1-17.)
This is part of Paul's discussion of how to live a holy life. Since Christianity was born in Judaism, some early believers felt that anyone other than Jews who embraced Christ had to also adhere to the Jewish dietary, Sabbath and other religious practices and, if they were male, be circumcised. Paul, however, insisted that under the gospel of Jesus a renewal takes place, and in that paradigm, "there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!"
Paul also referred to this renewal as a wardrobe change in which we've "stripped off the old self" and "clothed [our]selves with the new self."
Questions: Probably most Christians would see in these verses a condemnation of deliberate racism, but what does it suggest we do about our unexamined behaviors and attitudes that allow stereotyping of people -- and even of fraternity members -- to continue to find fertile ground within us? How do you express God's renewal in your life? Is how we treat people who seem culturally different a matter of right versus wrong?
How would you describe your spiritual wardrobe change: a quick-change act? a disguise? a "what not to wear" lesson? permanent attire?
1 John 4:20
Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. (For context, read 4:7-21.)
Hall quoted a version of this verse in her article when she said, "... most racists ... hold to their views in isolation. I believe when those young men came face to face with the people who cared for them and loved them, the full impact of their behavior would then be clear -- 'How can you profess love for a God you have not seen while hating (hurting) your brother that you see every day?'"
Questions: Where do you need to work on seeing others as brothers and sisters? How does your love for God express itself in your human relationships?
For Further Discussion
1. How would you have handled the OU situation if you had been in charge?
2. If you were a counselor to the young men involved in this incident, what would you advise them to do now?
3. One of the two students has not publicly commented on his part in leading the song on the bus, but his parents have said that in his heart, he is not a racist. Given his actions, what do you make of that claim? How do you define "racist"?
4. Respond to this, from one TWW team member: "I appreciate the professor's comments about this being a teachable moment, and because of her situation, she has a right to make her suggestions, but I would suggest that expelling the two students is a lesson that will not be forgotten. ... I don't think people who think lynching is a funny matter that can be part of a song deserve anything better than immediate expulsion from school."
     Another TWW member responded, "I agree. But is this enough to effect insight and change of understanding, attitude and behavior? What if Maria Dixon Hall's suggestion was added to the expulsion -- that the offenders be confronted with the real people that are being denigrated? One accepted change theory says: 'Change occurs when there is a suitable amount of pain and a suitable amount of hope.'"
5. What do you make of this? Although OU President Boren brought a heavy penalty against the students involved in this incident of racism, he previously reacted more mildly when a school football player was videotaped punching a female student in the face, breaking several facial bones. That player was given a year-long suspension from the team but not expelled from the campus. Boren said, "The University is an educational institution, which always sets high standards that we hope will be upheld by our students. We hope that our students will all learn from those standards, but at the same time, we believe in second chances so that our students can learn and grow from life's experiences." Boren went on to say that the offending player will be given a chance to "earn his way back on the team."
     Commenting on Boren's actions in the two cases, Fox sports journalist Clay Travis said, "Oh, so the star running back gets a second chance for breaking four bones on a female student's face on video, but the guys in a frat don't get a second chance for saying something racist on a video?" (See Oklahoma Stands Tall Against Racism, Weak Against Violence. Fox)
6. Discuss this, from TWW team member Mary Sells: "We seem to have a society where punishment equals removing a person from the situation where they learn, live, work and ... sin. An outsider looking at this model in the prison community says it creates factories of like-minded sinners rather than conversion from sinfulness to goodness. There is little rehabilitation offered other than what one might find in one's own heart. That's all well and good if the heart is stronger than the surroundings -- yet I think it often is not."
7. Share some personal stories of life lessons you learned the hard way.
Responding to the News
"Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths" -- the prayer from Psalm 25 that we be made teachable is one that every Christian could pray frequently. Most of us know quite a bit about the Bible and about God's will for us in general, and we have no shortage of clarity about the difference in right and wrong. But there is a real difference between head knowledge and the commitment of our will to live by what we know.
We should also consider what unfair biases we may be passing on to younger generations and seek God's help not to do so.
Closing Prayer

"Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths." Amen.

Too Beautiful to Serve God?

© 2014 The Wired Word

www.thewiredword.com

Angela Svec is a college student who's planning to enter a convent and become a nun. When people learn of her plans, they often act with surprise, and say such things as "You're too normal to be a nun" or "You're too smart" or "You're too pretty!"
Svec said that she is most surprised by the last of those -- "as if acne or a big nose is a prerequisite to being a nun."
"People are baffled that my exterior -- a 27-year-old who used to work at Clinique and peruses Pinterest for fashion inspiration -- could reflect an interior longing for consecrated life and its seemingly antiquated vows of celibacy, poverty and obedience," said Svec.
More importantly, she said such comments have forced her to confront her self-image and think about how she appears in God's eyes.
Svec also tells of staying for a time with the Poor Clare nuns in Belleville, Illinois. "I discovered that their monastery has no mirrors," she says. "At first, it was a shock for this cosmetics junkie, but it became incredibly liberating. I felt free to be who God designed me to be and more fully attuned to the people around me. I could pour the energy I used to invest in my appearance -- fretting over the reflection in the mirror, trying to alter it -- into my spiritual life."
While waiting to enter a convent, she meets regularly with a spiritual director -- an experienced Christian who guides others on the spiritual journey -- to determine her next step.
In the meantime, Svec has learned to use the surprised comments people make to her to tell them, "God calls everybody! It doesn't matter what you look like, where you're from or who you know."
"I may not look like a nun," Svec says, "but my heart is shaped for this vocation."
There has been some research about how our attitudes toward and assumptions about people are often shaped by how they look. For example, these studies show that:
•mothers of attractive babies tend to hold, cuddle and kiss them more than mothers of unattractive babies do.
•adults tend to rate the more serious transgressions of attractive children as temporary departures whereas they rate the same transgressions in unattractive children as basic character flaws.
•school teachers tend to give more attention and consideration to good-looking students, and assume that they have higher intelligence.
•adults tend to assume that handsome people are more interesting, more sociable, more sincere and sexually warmer.
•good-looking female employees often earn between eight and 20 percent more than average-looking females.
It sometime works the other way too, in that beautiful people are often assumed to be unfeeling or stuck on themselves. They sometimes have trouble being taken seriously.
According to one survey, 99 percent of women and 94 percent of men would change something about their appearance if they could.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Too Pretty to Be a Nun? Huffington Post 
The Truth About Why Beautiful People Are More Successful. Psychology Today
Beautiful People Earn More Than Their Ugly Workmates, Says Study. Daily Mail
The Big Questions
1. What assumptions have you made about other people based on their appearance? Did those assumptions hold up as you got to know those persons better? What have you learned regarding first impressions?
2. What, if any, impact has your appearance had on your willingness to trust Jesus? What impact has the "appearance" of Jesus had on your willingness to accept the gospel? -- that is, is your mental picture the same as whatever painting may have hung in your home or church? When you see a picture of Jesus that startles you because it is not the picture you have in your mind, what has your reaction been regarding that Jesus and your faith?
3. If you could instantly improve something about your physical appearance, how do you think that change might impact your spiritual life? If you have changed something about your appearance, weight, health, speed around the track, etc., has that had a long-term effect on your self-image, faith and relationship with God and family? Should it?
4. How does how you present yourself in terms of attire, cleanliness, makeup, etc. reflect your commitment to Christ? What are the expectations you believe others have about your appearance?
5. Respond to this comment from Svec, regarding being in a convent with no mirrors: "I felt free to be who God designed me to be and more fully attuned to the people around me. I could pour the energy I used to invest in my appearance -- fretting over the reflection in the mirror, trying to alter it -- into my spiritual life." To what extent could you make the same sort of statement? To what extent is this not part of your self-image or experience?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
1 Samuel 16:6-7
When they came, [Samuel] looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the LORD." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (For context, read 16:1-13.)
In the context passage, God tells the prophet Samuel that he has rejected Saul, who was Israel's first king. Samuel is told to go to Bethlehem to anoint a new king, one of the sons of a man named Jesse. This man, however, has eight sons, and God does not tell Samuel in advance which son has been selected.
So Samuel goes to Bethlehem, where he announces a sacrificial ceremony and invites unsuspecting Jesse and his sons to attend. Once they get there, each of the sons comes before Samuel, in order of age from the eldest to the youngest. The first to come is Eliab, and he is tall and movie-star handsome. Seeing this hunk, Samuel thinks to himself, "Surely this is the Lord's anointed." But God tells Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
As the incident proceeds, it turns out that the one God has chosen to be Israel's next king is Jesse's youngest son, David, who is also described as "handsome," but by the time we learn that, we also know that David's looks are not what makes him God's choice; God is looking at what's in David's heart.
Questions: When have you made Samuel's mistake, assuming from a person's good looks that he or she is God's choice for some position? In what way is God different from us when it comes to looking at people? How hard is it (or easy) to overcome those first impressions and get to know or to be known by someone?
Psalm 147:10-11 (The Message)
[God]'s not impressed with horsepower; the size of our muscles means little to him. Those who fear GOD get GOD's attention; they can depend on his strength. (No context needed.)
These verses from Psalm 147 make much the same point as the one Samuel learned in the passage above -- that God is impressed by what's in our hearts, not by our appearance. Here, however, the psalmist has broadened the lesson to affirm God's ongoing care for those who serve him.
For those of us who are not candidates for a Miss America competition or for a Hunk-O-Mania revue, that's good news, but it's also good news for those who are. For it is only at the heart level where an extreme makeover is really possible and where with God, real beauty counts. And in the case of that kind of makeover, we aren't expected to be able to do it ourselves. Instead, God calls us to trust him to make us new -- beautiful and new.
Questions: How is your faith beautiful? What remains for you to grow into a beautiful faith?
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (For context, read 5:1-12.)
The Beatitudes are the statements of Jesus that begin "Blessed are those ..." and go on to talk about states of spirituality, such as "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ...." So we can see that in God's eyes there is true beauty in the spiritual state of a humble person who is sincerely seeking righteousness.
Someone has said that the Beatitudes are "beautiful attitudes."
Questions: Where do you see yourself in relation to the Beatitudes? Are these doable in your life? Are they ideals you do or don't strive toward?
Matthew 23:27-28
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (For context, read 23:1-36.)
Here, Jesus castigates the scribes and Pharisees for relying on certain outward behaviors -- how much they tithe, how scrupulously they observe the ceremonial laws, how righteous they look. Jesus tells them that they are straining out gnats while swallowing camels (v. 24). And he adds, "So you ... on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
Jesus, like his heavenly Father, has the ability to look at the heart.
Questions: What can we learn from this passage about our "beautiful" acts of worship and charity? What constitutes truly beautiful worship in the eyes of God, in your opinion? In your own eyes? In the eyes of others in your church?
Titus 2:11-13
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. (For context, read 2:11-14.)
Question: These verses might apply to Svec's calling to enter the convent, since such a choice does call for some specific renouncing of worldly things, but how should these verses apply to all of us who seek to follow Jesus?
For Further Discussion
1. Comment on this, from Abraham Lincoln, who by no measure was much of a looker. He is reported to have said, "The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is the reason he makes so many of them."
2. Respond to this: C.S. Lewis' classic book The Screwtape Letters gives us an example of how we can be misled by appearance. The book is written as if it were a series of correspondence between a master devil named Screwtape and his nephew Wormwood, who is an apprentice devil. Wormwood has been assigned to capture for hell the soul of a young man, but he's not had much success. In fact, the man has become a Christian, so Screwtape writes to give Wormwood some advice.
     In one letter, Screwtape advises how Wormwood might trip up his Christian subject by getting him to enter into a marriage with a woman who will not be good for him. Screwtape writes, "Our aim is to guide each sex away from those members of the [opposite sex] with whom spiritually helpful, happy, and fertile marriages are most likely." Screwtape goes on to advise Wormwood in the value of "directing [their] desires ... to something which does exist -- making the role of the eye ... more and more important and at the same time making its demands more and more impossible." In other words, mislead humans into building an impossible vision of the other person based on the other's attractiveness. That way, the relationship is sure to have problems later when the other cannot live up to that vision.
3. Respond to this, from TWW team member Mary Sells: "I am not sure this [news] is so much about how [Svec] looks, as that is the headline grabber for media. It is really about her remaining true to her calling despite the distractions the world tries to throw at her -- she is too good-looking (a measure of worldly happiness?); she is too hip (how could she give up a youthful social life to be with God first and foremost?). We are distracted away from God by the world, yet if we listen and answer God's call, the riches are beyond anything the world can promise. No amount of good looks, social grace, corporate success, intelligence will 'buy' happiness."
4. Respond to this: The 1966 movie comedy The Trouble With Angels tells of a young girl at a Catholic boarding school who has a contentious relationship with the nuns who are her teachers. She is shocked when the one nun she thinks is stunningly beautiful is being sent to a leper colony. The implication is that she might well contract leprosy and her beauty will be destroyed. The girl assumes this is happening for punishment but learns from the nun that this is a ministry she applied for.

5. Discuss this, from Robin Wentworth Mayer, in Stepping Stones for Stumbling Saints (Brethren Press, 2001): "When I was little I was never selected to be an angel in the Christmas program. I've been Mary, I've been a shepherd, I've been a wise man ... seems like one year I was even that back half of a camel.
     "But the angels' roles were usually reserved for the little girls with blonde curls, fair skin, and blue eyes. I can remember drooling with envy over the tinsel halos and chiffon wings they got to wear while I trudged around in somebody's bathrobe. I also remember feeling unlucky, unspecial, unfavored ... in a word, unworthy.
     "The experiences of childhood make their mark. Now, nobody set out to hurt me; mine was just one of countless situations where stereotypes were left unquestioned, and consequently feelings were overlooked. And while this was undoubtedly not the only factor hampering the development of my self-esteem, it left an indelible impression."
Responding to the News
Today's lesson invites us to learn at least three things:
1) One is to be aware of our natural tendency to be biased toward people one way or the other based on their looks. But an even further point is that trying to avoid this bias is not just smart behavior; it is also a religious matter. If we are trying to be followers of Jesus, then we ought to work at looking past a person's physical appearance.
2) The lesson also invites us to learn a different meaning of beauty. Saying that God looked on David's heart and found him worthy to be the next king is a way of saying that even though David was a good-looking man, his real beauty was at the heart level. Jesus told the Pharisees that cleaning the inside of the cup (that is, their hearts) would result in a clean outside. That is a way of saying that they would then reflect God's beauty.
3) The lesson also invites us to learn about the moral nature of God. Frankly, we don't know why God made some of us better-looking than others of us or why he made us so that we are able to prefer certain physical attributes over others, but it raises our confidence in the moral nature of God to know that when God looks at each of us, he sees our hearts and is not misled by our appearances.
Closing Prayer

Thank you, O God, that you see us at the deepest levels and know what's in our hearts. Help us to express our inner commitment in outward ways that bless others. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Leonard Nimoy -- Star Trek's Spock -- Dies at 83

 © 2014 The Wired Word

www.thewiredword.com

Leonard Nimoy, the actor who brought to life the Vulcan-human Mr. Spock on TV's Star Trek science-fiction series and in subsequent movies and spin-offs, died last week in Los Angeles at age 83 of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
While Nimoy made his mark in poetry, photography, music, movie directing and in other acting roles, it was as Mr. Spock, the pointy-eared, brainy, determinedly logical first officer of the starship Enterprise, that Nimoy became one of the most iconic fictional characters of the last several decades.
Although Nimoy published an autobiography in 1975 titled I Am Not Spock, he says he was not rejecting the role, as some people assumed. He maintained he was only clarifying the difference between himself and Spock, whom he always enjoyed playing. But he admits that he didn't count on the fact that some people would only read the title and not the book itself. Thus, in 1995, when he published a second volume of his autobiography, he called it I Am Spock. In that book, Nimoy explains that Spock has always been a part of him.
The original Star Trek premiered in 1966 and was canceled after three seasons because of low ratings, but it birthed a cult-like following, with fans calling themselves Trekkies or Trekkers (Nimoy preferred the latter).
Spock -- the character, not the actor -- always sought to keep his emotions, inherited from his human mother, under the domination of his logic, inherited from his Vulcan father, though occasionally his emotions temporarily broke through. In Nimoy's obituary in The New York Times, Virginia Heffernan wrote, "... Spock, the most complex member of the Enterprise crew, who was both one of the gang and a creature apart, engaged at times in a lonely struggle with his warring racial halves." An unidentified author, writing on Wikipedia, said, "Star Trek depicts a trio of Spock, [Captain] Kirk, and Doctor Leonard McCoy; while McCoy often acts as Kirk's conscience, Spock offers the captain an emotionally detached, logical perspective. The character also offers an 'outsider's' perspective on 'the human condition.'"
Whether or not Nimoy is Spock, he made this comment some years after the TV series ended: "To this day, I sense Vulcan speech patterns, Vulcan social attitudes and even Vulcan patterns of logic and emotional suppression in my behavior." Apparently he was okay with that, for he added, "Given the choice, if I had to be someone else, I would be Spock."
Perhaps it is useful to define "logical," because the word gets used in so many ways. Google.com offers the following definitions:
•of or according to the rules of logic or formal argument. "a logical impossibility"
•characterized by or capable of clear, sound reasoning. "the information is displayed in a simple and logical fashion"
•(of an action, development, decision, etc.) natural or sensible given the circumstances.
In effect, something is logical if it derives by means of clear and sound reason. The opposite is not "emotional" but "irrational." Something logical can be accompanied by an emotion of disgust, of pleasure, of fear, of desire -- or by none at all. Philosophers call these sorts of things (logic and emotion) "orthogonal": they refer to different, not opposite, things.
However, in the case of the Spock character in the Star Trek series, logic is often presented as being in opposition to emotion. The logical Spock is contrasted with his friend, the emotional Dr. McCoy. Captain Kirk symbolizes the middle road, synthesizing the logical and the emotional into the whole person. Kirk's actions are motivated as much by logic as by emotion -- with the added twist that the logic is often subconscious and not fully apparent until after a decision has been made and proven to be effective.
Finally, logical conclusions are always based upon premises that are accepted as true. If a premise turns out to be false (or unknowable), then a logical conclusion may also be false -- at the least, it can have no more validity than any conclusion based solely upon emotions.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Leonard Nimoy, Spock of 'Star Trek,' Dies at 83. New York Times
Why Leonard Nimoy Came to Embrace His Long, Prosperous Life as Spock. New Republic
Spock. Wikipedia 
The Big Questions
1. Is belief in God and trust in Christ as Savior logical? Is it illogical? Why or why not? Do such things need to be logical? Do these things need to be solely logical? List some of the premises involved in belief in God and trust in Jesus.
2. What role might logic play in the search for something to believe in? Have you ever led someone to Christ through logic? or to what you considered a more reasonable position on an issue through logic? How have you responded to attempts by others to sway you to their side by logic?
3. Are there other pathways to truth besides logic? If so, what are they and on what basis do you judge their conclusion to be true?
4. Do you think God is a logical being? Explain your answer.
5. In human dealings, can logic ever be forced upon troubled situations and turn things around? Explain your answer.
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Isaiah 1:18
Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (For context, read 1:7-20.)
This statement from God through the prophet Isaiah comes in the course of a divine indictment of Judah in which that nation's disobedience is compared to that of Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 9). But instead of simply issuing instant retributive judgment on them, God invites them to think reasonably about the possibility of redemption and salvation -- to "argue it out" or, as some other Bible versions translate it, to "reason together." We might also say to have "logical discourse."
Questions: What role did logic play in your decision to follow Jesus? Did logic come more into play after, before or during the process of conversion?
Luke 2:49
[Jesus] said to [his parents], "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (For context, read 2:41-52.)
This is from the only account we have from Jesus' childhood, the time when he was inadvertently left behind after his family visited Jerusalem. When he was discovered missing, his parents searched desperately for him. They eventually found him in the temple, engaged in reasoning and learning. Luke, the gospel writer, notes that Jesus' level of discernment "amazed" the teachers present in the temple.
When Mary and Joseph asked Jesus why he had stayed there, causing them so much anxiety, he replied with Spock-like logic, using the words above.
The action of the 12-year-old Jesus was consistent with modern adolescents who make an assumption (as no doubt their elders did in their day) that they are competent to make decisions independent of those who are responsible for them. Mary's question to Jesus is based upon an appeal to emotion: "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety" (v. 48). She does not browbeat Jesus, but describes how his actions made her and Joseph feel.
Questions: Do you think Jesus' logical response to his parents was any comfort to them? Since they had been anxious about his whereabouts, should Jesus have given some additional response to them as well, such as an apology for not telling them where he was? Under what circumstances is a logical answer insufficient?
Even though Jesus probably felt his explanation trumped his parents' concern, how should we interpret Luke's statement that Jesus "went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them" (v. 51)? Looking back to when you were on the divide between adult and adolescent, when did you rely on logic, and when on emotion? How successful was either stance?
John 9:30-33
The man [born blind] answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where [Jesus] comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." (For context, read 9:1-41.)
You gotta love this guy. He was born blind, so he had never seen. But after Jesus gave him his sight, instead of dancing in the streets, he calmly gives logical answers about what had happened to him.
First, when the crowd asks how it is possible that he suddenly can see, he straightforwardly says, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight" (v. 11).
The crowd then brings the man to the Pharisees, a powerful Jewish subgroup who were especially committed to keeping every detail of the Mosaic Law. Rather than congratulate this man on his healing or thank God for it, they get all hung up on the fact that Jesus performed this healing on the Sabbath day. Therefore, in their logic, Jesus is a sinner, and if he is a sinner, then there's no way that he could be from God.
So the Pharisees ask the man what he thinks about Jesus. He responds, "He is a prophet" (v. 17). There is a quiet logic in his answer, and the force of what he is saying is that whatever else Jesus may be, he is at least a prophet.
At this point, the Jewish authorities get involved. They have already set themselves against Jesus, and they don't want a miracle story floating around about him, so they try to debunk it. Thus, the leaders tell the man to give glory to God by admitting that Jesus is a sinner. This man doesn't think himself in a position to make a religious pronouncement about Jesus' status before God. So, with perfect logic, the man answers the leaders: "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see" (v. 25).
There it is -- this man's clear logic: "I don't know the answer to all you're worried about. But I know this: I was blind until Jesus touched me, and now I can see."
With that, the leaders become verbally abusive, telling the man that he is a disciple of this hated Jesus while they are disciples of Moses. But the man is not intimidated, and he speaks to them again, with perfect logic, using the words quoted above, and concluding with "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
In terms of rational thought, the formerly blind man has won the argument, but the leaders won't admit it. Instead they dismiss him with an insult, saying he was born in sin (implying that his blindness was some kind of divine punishment) and thus he has no business trying to instruct them.
Later, Jesus seeks out this man and asks him if he believes in the Son of Man (a title for the Messiah). The man answers, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him." Jesus replies, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." The man then says, "Lord, I believe" (vv. 35-39). And so he becomes a follower of Jesus.
This man's logic led him step by step to the point where he could make a leap of faith.
TWW team member Liz Antonson comments, "Logic is not in conflict with faith/belief. The blind man illustrates this. It was not the emotion of his healing that caused him to believe that Jesus was the Son of Man; it was the process of evaluating all the factors, arriving at a conclusion and placing his trust in the conclusion (belief/faith)."
Questions: Is a leap of faith usually in a direction away from logic or beyond logic? What's the difference and why does it matter?
1 Corinthians 1:18-21
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart" [Isaiah 29:14]. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. (For context, read 1:17-31.)
The apostle Paul devoted tons of words to logically explaining the work of Christ (if you want to get a brain cramp, try reading Paul's letter to the Romans in one sitting). But here, in this letter to the Corinthians, he admits the shortcomings of logic (he calls it "wisdom"). He divides humanity into those who are perishing and those who are being saved. To the former, the message of the cross, no matter how logically -- or emotionally -- it's explained, is "foolishness." To the latter, that message is "the source of your life in Christ Jesus" (v. 30).
Paul is not rejecting logical explanations of the cross, but he's admitting that logic alone does not save us. At some point, there must be an "I believe."
Questions: How can faith in Christ be logical and, at the same time, surpass logic? How is it that logic leads some people to the place from which they can make a leap of faith and leads other people to the place where they conclude there is nowhere and no One beyond to which to leap?
Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (For context, read 3:1-35.)
We suspect modern people have more trouble with this verse than did those in the days Proverbs was written, for we have great regard for our rationality today. (At the least, we tend to believe we are behaving in a rational manner.) TWW team member Malia Miller puts it this way: "A thought I have when it comes to logic is how it can be a barrier to my faith when I can't make sense of things. There is a fine balance here. I feel I need to employ all the reasoning abilities God has given me to understand, but ultimately, I have to defer to his will. That is where my 'leap of faith' occurs. I have to remind myself of the scripture about how God's ways are higher than man's and get past my ego-driven belief that everything can be logically explained."
Question: When have you allowed trust to carry you when your understanding failed?
For Further Discussion
1. Plato coined the word "misology" to describe a hatred of reasoning and logic. Do you ever encounter misology in the church? If so, where? Does misology have any kind of useful role?
2. While Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, was an atheist, several observers have noted religious themes in some of the series episodes and movies, including, in one movie, the resurrection of Mr. Spock from the dead. This website gives several examples of religion/spirituality in {ITALIC}Star Trek. You might cite a few examples from that website and discuss them in class.
3. Respond to this, from a sermon by TWW team member Stan Purdum: "Faith goes beyond reason, but it doesn't go in a different direction from reason. Your logic may say, 'I'm not sure who Jesus is, but I know that being in church gives me peace and a sense of hope.' Or 'Well, I'm not an authority on religious matters, but I know that when I pray through Jesus, something real and life-giving occurs.' Or 'I was stuck in guilt and shame until I asked Christ to forgive me, and now I can face life full on.' Or something similar. In fact, if there's any good thing in your life that you attribute to an action of God or Christ, it provides a place to stand from which to make a leap of faith. And there are plenty of us to testify that when you make that leap, the place you land is solid ground.
     "For a few of us, logic may have been enough to move us to become Jesus' disciples. For others of us, there may have been an emotional component or the testimony of friends or other motivating forces as well. Most of the time, logic needs the guidance of love and inspiration, which, of course is the bailiwick of religion.
     "But it's good to know that following Jesus is not an illogical choice. Many of us can say some version of 'I don't know all there is know about the Bible or theology, but this much I'm sure of: Once I was blind; now I can see.' That's often enough to point us in the direction of Christ."
4. This website discusses Spock's encounter with human illogic, saying, "In The Wrath of Khan (1982), Spock says, 'Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.' Captain Kirk answers, 'Or the one.' This sets up a pivotal scene near the end of the film. With the [starship] Enterprise in imminent danger of destruction, Spock enters a highly radioactive chamber in order to fix the ship's drive so the crew can escape danger. Spock quickly perishes, and, with his final breaths, says to Kirk, 'Don't grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many outweigh ...' Kirk finishes for him: 'The needs of the few.' [Note: This is really not a logical statement, but a statement of a philosophical basis -- something outside of logic.] Spock replies, 'Or the one.'
     "In the next film, The Search for Spock (1984), the crew of the Enterprise discovers that Spock is not actually dead, that his body and soul survive separately, and that it may be possible to rejoin them -- which the crew proceeds to do. Once restored, Spock asks Kirk why the crew saved him. Kirk answers, 'Because the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.'"
     Spock learns that humans are not always logical. Is that a good thing? Is illogic part of the human condition? How does faith address that?
5. Comment on this: In character as Spock in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Nimoy said, "Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end."
6. Spock's struggle to acknowledge his human, emotional side can be a way to discuss the commandment to love God with all one's heart, soul, mind and strength. Give some examples of how we can love God with each of those aspects of our being.
7. Comment on this, from TWW team member Frank Ramirez: "I like the way Nimoy struggled to get away from the character Spock, then later in life embraced it. He wrote a book titled I Am Not Spock, and later in life a book titled I Am Spock. Who in their life of faith hasn't tried to walk away, or at least think about doing so, before realizing this is our best destiny?"
Responding to the News
This is a good time to remind ourselves that logic and reason are not the only paths to truth, and that faith can lead us to the God of truth -- as well as to remember that God does not expect us to "check our brains at the door" of church and faith, but rather that our mental faculties are an aspect of the human body created by God and given to us for the sake of connecting with God and serving the world.
Closing Prayer

O Lord, let our logic be your servant, bringing us to the place from which we can make the leap of faith and land on solid ground. In Jesus' name. Amen.