Either/Or

Those of us living in the UK are well aware of the fact that we are in the run-up to a general election.  It's almost impossible to escape the fact.  We are bombarded on all sides with adverts, slogans, leaflets and those on social media making their preferences clear.  The other evening there was a 2 hour debate on television with 7 leaders of parties, each trying to put their view and policies across and trying to convince us to vote for them; making us decide; either or; which one shall we choose?  The truth is that many people listen and are in agreement with one party over a certain policy and with another party over a  different  policy.  The problem is that on the day of election, you can only vote for one party.  You can't vote for the different parties to deliver different policies.  It's about either one or another.

Depiction of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.

I am reminded that in the early Church, Paul had disagreements with some of the other disciples over the conversion of Gentiles.  Oh they were very happy that there were those non-Jews who were willing to listen to the story of Jesus and His teachings and wanted to follow His way but they also wanted them to become Jews.  The disciples were Jews, Paul was a Jew and so it was considered that all those who affiliated themselves to their cause should also be Jews.  That was their way of thinking.  You are one of us now.  You are either with us or you're not.  Paul never stopped being a Jew in every sense of the word.  He kept all the Jewish customs, observances,vows he had made and laws and had a number of arguments with others when they insisted that Gentiles should to do the same.   


Jesus was born, lived and died a Jew.  He never stopped being a Jew. But Paul realised that the teachings of Jesus were for everyone.  It wasn't about 'us and them'.  All were included.  He could be a Jew who loved and followed his religion and still be a follower of the Jesus way.  The non-Jews to whom Paul was a missionary,
 taking the message of Jesus, could be who they were, follow Jesus' way without having to convert to Judaism.  When the Galatians insisted that new converts should be circumcised Paul tells them 'For freedom Christ has set us free: stand fast therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.' (Galatians 2:11-12) The message of Jesus goes beyond tribal and ethnic observances, beyond culture, beyond religious affiliation.  It is for all.  They were known as 'people of The Way'.  Jesus himself said that he is The Way.  He said 'Follow me'.  It wasn't about observing the rules and laws of Judaism.  Jesus on numerous occasions deliberately did not observe the laws saying it was about doing the right thing not necessarily what the law stated.  It was about doing things his way, following his example, living his teachings.  It was for all people everywhere - all means ALL - a way of living, a way of loving.  Sadly 'people of The Way' became known as Christians and another tribal ethnicity was born.  Nowadays in many parts it's more about conforming to certain dogmas than living the way of Jesus.  It's more about doctrine than practice, those who belong to a certain group rather than God's love for whoever, regardless of culture or way of life.  

This Easter let's remind ourselves of the real message of Jesus - bringing good news to the poor, feeding the hungry, helping those who are hurting physically, emotionally and mentally, being there for the outcast and the unloved. It's not about which side we're on but about doing what's right, even if that disagrees with our particular tribe.  The message of Jesus is love.  He died for love.  If you haven't heard it before listen to the words of this song by Godfrey Birtill.  Love, love,love.  Lord help us to live The Way of Love.

Theory and Practice

There are some theories that are always constant in practice.  My mind goes back to school day Maths and Pythagoras - 'the square  of the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides' is the one that springs immediately to mind.  There are other theories about the sum of angles in a triangle or square or the many Algebraic formulas that I have long since forgotten since I stopped needing to use them.  To balance out our thoughts of maths with the arts, in music a semibreve is always worth two minims and there are always four semiquavers to a crotchet.  And so we could go on citing theories that will always give the same results.

   

The particular timetable in question

There are however many occasions when the theory doesn't always correspond to the working out in practice.  Last week I visited a friend's house and had worked out the time of my bus to get me back to the centre of town.  Those living in larger towns and cities need to realise that here in the country towns of the south west the bus service is not so frequent.  They are often less frequent than one an hour and the last bus I could get from my friend's house back into town was at 4.30 in the afternoon.  I left in good time, or so I thought but after having stood at the bus stop for about 20 minutes I realised that it had been earlier than scheduled and decided I'd better set out and walk the 35 minutes in to the centre of town to get the bus that would take me home.  Fortunately the last bus from town to my home was around 6.30 pm.   I'm sure that those who depend on public transport will have at some time faced the problem of the theory of timetables not matching up to their working out in practice!  In fact it is so hitty missy that you need to take that into account when planning a journey.

I remember when I first went to live in Argentina.  I had been married to my Argentinian husband for only 6 months and was so keen to make a good impression when meeting his family for the first time.  I had read books and done all the exercises to learn the Spanish language. I had learnt the rules of grammar and correct pronunciation (or so I thought).  I was all ready - in theory.  That is until I arrived and couldn't understand a word anyone said!   To complicate things a bit I was often told that what I said was Spanish but in South America some words and pronunciation were a little different.  The theory was all in my head.  I knew how to conjugate the verbs correctly and make the adjectives agree with the nouns whether they were masculine or feminine, singular or plural but the theory on its own was not enough.  I lacked the practice.  Anyone who has studied languages at school will appreciate the difference between learning a language for a written exam and actually having to speak to an examiner in the oral exam. 

There are many who know the theory (or theology) of their religion but somehow the practice of it doesn't seem to match up.  There really is no point in being able to quote chapter and verse unless we actually put it into practice.  People feel the need to keep reading and learning and explaining the theory and when we understand the explanation we feel that now we've got it.  But actually it's the working out in the practicalities of daily living that matters.  It's no use knowing the bus timetable by heart when the bus doesn't stick to the timetable.  It's no use knowing how to conjugate a verb correctly if we don't pronounce it right.  And it's no use knowing the sacred text inside out if our living doesn't match up to what we read and learn in theory.  The theory is ok but no use without the working out in practice.  Or as the New Testament book of James puts it - faith without works is dead!