Reflections and reminders: It's about -people-

Might I first mention that this blog comes biting at the heels of my most recent blog ramble!  I must also admit that perhaps nothing in this post will relate to my experience in New Zealand and it may be quite out of place for a blog which is, admittedly, awkwardly referred to as, 'Sheep and Mountains with a Side of Kia Ora'.  And yet, it is quite possible that most of the words to follow are, in fact, wholly related to my name and life in New Zealand.  Whatever the case may be, I would like to share some thoughts that have been flitting about in my soul recently and you can do with them what you like...deal?

OK, it is important to give a bit of exposition for this post as I am normally a quasi-monthly blog updater and never one to overexert my blogging interest jump the gun on updating too soon.  I've been reading book.  Yes, books.  They are bits of paper, delightfully bound and sometimes accompanied with cover art.  Additionally, you will occasionally come across books that are imprinted with wisdom, often written with no such pretense.  I've actually read quite a lot since coming to New Zealand and usually try to read material unrelated to my coursework each night before bed.  I've read some classics, things like, The Life of Pi and Catcher in the Rye.  I've also read the likes of The Road, The Passion of Alice, About a Boy, and...completely unrelated to the previous work, Boy.  In each of these works, I've found new themes and ideas to grab onto and I'm appreciative of each new text.

I also like reading books with religious spiritual overtones.  Examples of these include An Altar in the World, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Thich Nhat Hahn: Essential Writings, and, of course, The Bible.  Folks, I must say...I've been struck by these latter texts.  Some of you may know that I've had struggles with religion and the shortsightedness of the Church.  Still, others of you may have read my previous blog detailing my own personal struggle to live in way that is 'pleasing' or, perhaps better put by a friend of mine...a life of 'quiet grace' (credit to Alex Brown for that eloquence).  I must say that with each day and with each new personal experience with faith and with spirituality...I do feel like I am growing.  I am not necessarily saying that I am becoming a better 'Christian' or a better 'believer', but I do think that I am becoming more spiritual.  


I've often seen and heard the phrase, 'Love God, Love People' and it has always resonated with me.  I think that we, in the very general and far-reaching sense of the word, have lost sight of what it means to love people.  There are plenty of people who will exalt God's name and lift God above all others and yet...they would turn their backs on those they are commanded by God to love and to care for.  You will hear plenty of Old Testament arguments that favor condemnation and intolerance.  Rubbish.  You cannot love God and hold God's children in contempt.  You cannot believe in Jesus and turn your back on those he loved the most, the the ones we have marginalized and the ones we have denigrated.  I want to scream every time I see someone marginalized because of who they love, their personal beliefs, their past and present deeds.  I also cringe every time I realize that I've done my fair share of marginalization.  This is not what my God envisioned, this is not what my God is about.

I will tell you this, I was raised in a home and in a family that was full of love and support.  I was also raised in the Western-view of the Christian faith.  I am not quite sure that the God I pray to today is the same God I prayed to when I was five.  I could say that perhaps God has changed...but that would be a farce, through whatever lens you choose to employ.  What is most likely the case is that my understanding of God, along with the accompanying who and what , has grown and changed.  I will admit that I am no Biblical scholar.  I know the stories and the teachings, but I cannot recite the Word to you without prompt.  I will also admit that I am greatly influenced by other spiritual, yet decidedly non-'Christian' texts and will continue in my journey of interfaith learning.  Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist monk who has written some pretty love-inspired words and I can say that I've learned just as much about 'Christianity' from him as I have in my 23 years of Church-going and he himself acknowledges the power and the relevance of the Christian faith while not excluding his own faith or the faith of other traditions.  He's written things such as 'We do not have to die to arrive at the gates of Heaven.  In fact, we have to be truly alive.  The practice is to touch life deeply so that the Kingdom of God becomes a reality...The Kingdom of God is available here...the Kingdom of God comes to us'.  My friends, I am inclined to accept and believe this.  Why?  Because, for me, God/Jesus/Christianity/Religion/Spirituality all boils down to one simple truth: we are here to love people and to love them deeply.

And thus the crux of my spiritual ambling: whatever faith and whatever tradition you adhere or don't adhere to...you must realize the necessity for love, understanding, courage, and acceptance.  Since coming to New Zealand, I've had the time to evaluate what it means to truly live in this world and what it means to live a life of purpose.  Each one of us has the capacity to radically change the lives of our brothers and sisters with things as small as kind words or a genuine smile.  We have the capacity to completely eradicate the worries and the troubles of this world and to realize a true Heaven on earth if we could only realize that our life in this world should involve significant investment in people, not causes.  There are men and women who live and die for 'causes' that, which with respect to human life are tangential at best.  I will never die for a cause...but I will live and die and advocate for people, especially the ones on the fringes of society--the marginalized wonders of this world.  Heaven, in whatever manifestation is relevant to you, can be and should be sought here on Earth.  After all, John 17:12 tells us that Jesus said "While I have been with them in the world, I have kept them in the power of Your name.  I have kept watch over those you gave Me.  Not one of them has been lost except the one who is going to be destroyed, which is the son of death."  John 17:23 goes on to say, "I am in them and You are in Me so they may be one and made perfect.  The the world may know that You sent Me and that You love them as You love Me."  This is powerful stuff!  None of us have been lost and all of us are loved.

Christianity should not be static.  In fact, I think Jesus said something to this effect when he said "No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat, because if the new piece pulls away, it makes the hole bigger.  Men do not put new wine into old skin bags.  If they did, the skins would break and the wine would run out.  They put new wine into new skin bags and both can be used" (Matthew 9:16-17).  I think this is a call to heed the teachings of the past while acknowledging the dynamic and constantly evolving nature of faith and spirituality.  My faith is something that is special to me and it is something that I feel is very personal to me.  My beliefs most definitely do not align with any mainstream version of any particular religion and I am more influenced by a necessity to seek interfaith communities--call me an "all paths to 'God' kind of guy".  I wear a cross daily as a reminder of my own spirituality and my own beliefs and I believe we can learn things from all faith traditions.  I do not believe in a world that is 6,000 years old and I believe that it is irresponsible to defame science and reason.  I do not believe in a world where religion and spirituality are interchangeable and I certainly do not believe that Church-goers are better off than those who have never stepped foot in such buildings of mankind.  I do not believe in a God who is incapable of accepting the marginalized into Heaven and I do not believe in a God who approves and commands such behavior.  I do believe in a bigger God who is wholly accepting and a God whose Heaven is already available to us through a re-dedication to loving people, not religious rituals and worship-less pantomimes.  I do believe in people and I believe it is our mandate, spiritual or otherwise, to care for each other and accept each other without question.  I do believe that we are meant to live in communities of understanding and compassion.  These are the things I believe and I encourage you to seek out your own, personal understanding of spirituality and your specific tradition, if you have one.

I'll leave you with this, a few verses from Matthew 5--a comment in which I think Jesus calls us to each develop our own faith in the context of our own experience while fully expressing who WE are:

"You are the salt of the earth.  If salt loses its taste, how can it be made to taste like salt again?  It is no good. It is thrown away and people walk on it.  You are the light of the world.  You cannot hide a city that is on a mountain.  Men do not light a lamp and put it under a basket.  They put it on a table so it gives light to all in the house.  Let your light shine in front of men."