Parker Palmer, founder of the Centre for Courage and Renewal (what if there was a church like that?) speaks of “functional atheism” - I know I’ve mentioned it here before, and it’s readily in my mind because I suffer from it on occasion. That we act like God doesn’t exist when we think we’re the only ones who can do the work. If we don’t trust that others have gifts and talents and abilities equal to, or even greater than our own, if we think we’ve got the only answer, if we’re convinced no one else could do the job, we ignore so much of what God has created. In this manner we function like atheists. ...
Jesus himself demonstrates that he cannot do things alone. He needs in the input and involvement of others. 35 (or 36) teams of 2 headed into the towns and wilderness. They went to the places where he would be going. They went to lay the groundwork, prepare the foundation, blaze the trail, pave the way.
They would go, and they themselves were hardly self-sufficient, relying entirely on the kindness of strangers. Without provisions, supplies, or a change of footwear, they hit the road offering they only thing they had left: peace. If was accepted, they stayed. If it was not welcomed, they left, going so far as to shake the dust off of their feet – so that they leave with nothing of that place, not even a speck of dirt.
As communities of faith, how then might we be welcoming to a greeting of peace? How do we show hospitality, care for the strangers, for those who do not have anything, for those who are in need of shelter, food, a change of clothes? To grow the church, Jesus sent these teams of people into cities, towns and villages to see which of them were ready to be the church.
His call and instruction was for the disciples to go out into the world, and then go even further out beyond that. They were to spread out and tell the story of wonderful love, tender and true, that Jesus loves me, and saved a wretch like me. The word needed to be shared, preached and taught.
So by the same token, when the call to move onward comes, one can’t ignore it figuring that God’s greatness will compensate for our inaction. It may sound like I’m preaching out of both sides of my mouth – relax, God’s mission is bigger and more important than any of us; but get out there and do your part because God needs us.
And that is the delicate balance that a minister in our time and tradition needs to navigate. I am wearing sandals, but I am not wiping any dust from my feet. I have found the churches and communities to be incredibly hospitable, receptive and accepting to the greeting of peace.
We see the movies where the aliens arrive and come in peace, but we know that they really don’t. It’s always breaks down into suspicion and conflict and intergalactic warfare. What a world it would be if we could trust each other’s word. So we spend our time in relationship and community to see what is what, who is who and how best to get along and get things done.
We live in times that feel like we, as a faithful people of a church congregation, are like lambs in a world of wolves. Amid G8 and G20 powerbrokers gathering for high class, international hobnobbing or Black Bloc and violent demonstrators forcing their objection into the headlines of media outlets, we find it hard to connect. Our simple message of love one another, treat each other with kindness and compassion, seek the divine in ordinary things, pay attention to your family, these simple messages can’t compete in the competitive kingdom of gadgetry and brand name recognition.
Yet we continue to gather on Sundays, we still seek God’s Word, we try to live as best we can. We may not tread on scorpions unharmed, or cause Satan to fall from heaven, but we do find joy in doing God’s work. Here, in the living of our faith it is not reveling in the power over evil, of rejoicing at another’s expense, but in being of right relationship with a hope of peace, an air of welcome and hospitality, and moving onward from there.
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