Seeing our own faults

 How do we see? How do we look? How do we perceive the world around us? We would probably, at least the majority, with our eyes or maybe through sound or touch. Would we use terms like taste or smell I wonder?  No matter the means of our sight we interpret that through our own minds / brains and have been inculcated with a certain response to certain sights, sounds, tastes, smells, etc. One of our challenges is to see without the interference of our senses and prior knowledge. Samuel failed miserably in determining the status of David (1 Sam, 16.1-13) as did the Pharisees (John 9). I expect that all of us fail in the same way as we jump to conclusions from our prior knowledge and our upbringing.

A good example is highlighted by the Dalai Lama when he reminds us of is our own propensity to see violence as glamorous rather than to see relational harmony as the preferred norm. However, If we doubted this propensity to blindness in any way we need only look at the immediacy of the judgements of the twitter-sphere and social media over the past few years to see this blindness in operation. It is inherent in all of us, as we make judgements of others in terms of our own experiences and our own imaginaries.  The issue with this ultimately biased view point is that we are quite capable of  not seeing the marginalised, the fringe dwellers, those that we judge as being beneath, literally and figuratively, our notice. It is only when those that are on the margins make a big enough nuisance of themselves, the blind man (John 9), that we take notice of our own challenged views. Even then we may do nothing about them as we are too blinded by our own thoughts that we cannot conceive of an alternate way of seeing. This blindness can overtake us in everything that we do, not only in the public realm but also in the private and the faith dimensions of our lives. Everything that we do is coloured by our pre-judgements.

Our blindness leads to our not seeing with God's eyes

In our Lenten journey we are asked to face up to the more difficult aspects of our lives. One of these is really looking at ourselves and acknowledging our own faults so that we can seek God's grace and Spirit to guide us into a new space of  possibility.  It is only when we begin to see through the eyes of God that we begin to understand our relationships and develop our community. The commandment is to 'love our neighbours as ourselves', if we are unable to acknowledge, let alone love, our own faults how can we manage to love our neighbours. It is often this task of self acknowledgement that we neglect and avoid.  Samuel is chastised for his lack of effort at the beginning of the reading (1 Sam. 16.1-13) and proceeds to compound this lack by using his own judgements to second guess God. It is only when David comes that he realises that God judges on other criteria and not the criteria we as humans use. In looking around at ourselves we should be strong enough to understand that our pre-judgements are not those of God.

It is when we actually 'get over' our own self doubts and self indulgences that we begin to realise that God is actually affirming and drawing the people of God into new relationships. The joy and the wonder that is God's presence in our lives is only truly visible when we place ourselves on hold. Samuel finally realises that by working with God the world is changed. Like the blind man we must accept the Spirit of God in our midst, even if it looks strange because we are seeing it with a new openness that was not there before. We ourselves are blind until we allow God in to change our sense of perception. To be holy is to see the world through the eyes of God and to further God's demand for justice and peace.

Water water everywhere

 Water scarcity was highlighted in 2015 when  UNICEF reported that 1 in 10 people were unable to access potable water for drinking. A horrifying statistic when the human body is so dependent on water to live. The lack of fluid sustenance, water, is the one thing that is guaranteed to bring about complaints from a group of people quicker than the lack of food (Ex. 17.1-7). Coupled with the fact that we live on a world that is about 70% water and thus have an abundance of it; it is perhaps odd to think in terms of scarcity. It is this difference between abundance and scarcity that is highlighted by Christ at the well (Jn 4.5-42). A stunning comparison when looked at in light of the Israelite's response in the desert and that of the disciples. We also need to re-think our response in our Lenten journey to determine if we are being like Christ or seeing through the eyes of complaint.

The pressure that is placed upon the leadership group of the Israelites through complaint comes to a head in the scene in Exodus as Moses pleads with God for a solution. As we read elsewhere this becomes Moses downfall as he behaves in an irascible manner (in a way we cannot blame him given the moans of Israel; how many of us have been in similar situations?). In times of pressure when people are without or believe themselves to be without we act in a way that is often detrimental to the community as a whole. For example while we are told of a 'lack' or shortage of water in places around the world I am always amazed by two things.  Firstly, we allow all the abundance of God that falls on our streets to go out into the ocean in our urban areas. A ruler, in Sri Lanka, Parakma Bahu III if I am not mistaken, at one stage dictated that no water that fell on the ground should go into the ocean without first being used at least twice by the population. Secondly, some populations in their complaints will not look at the potential of recycling water to ensure a good supply. Even populations in parts of Africa and astronauts do that. This just shows us that we look at things from the point of view of scarcity rather than God's abundance.

Do we see abundance or scarcity?

Christ in his interactions at the well talks about abundance, not scarcity. God as we have just seen, with the stories of water, is an abundant God, we just have to steward that abundance in a manner that is beneficial to all. The disciples moan about Christ's interactions without seeing the abundance that is evident in God's presence as the whole community is brought into interaction with Christ. Christ saw the need and the underlying complaints, of derision and exclusionary practices, but was not panicked into full hardy grandiose shows of power. Rather he sets the seed into the fertile soil and allows the crop to come into harvest in God's time. In all our own interactions, wishes, wants and complaints we need to be mindful that God acts not in the way we want but in the way God wishes that will bring benefit to the whole of the community, men, women and children. We just have to see with eyes that are attuned to God's abundance rather than looking through eyes that are avaricious, greedy and lustful that see opportunity in scarcity.

In times of difficulty within our own lives we tend to see scarcity rather than abundance. In our inability to see the offerings of the Spirit we turn away seeking new sources of abundance rather than understanding that the arid conditions will yield a bountiful harvest in God's time when we work with God rather than for our own needs. The joys of the Spirit our around us even in the depths of despair.  God works with the abundant overflowing joy of God's grace. Once we turn around and see God's abundance will we come to see the abundance n our own communities. An abundance that is waiting to be harvested just like the run off from the rain. It may be that we are asked to see things from odd angles and different views. Ones perhaps that we do not want to engage with, re-cycled water, but will bring us into abundance once more.

Turning back to be re-born

  At the heights of Charismania and even today we shudder, or at least I do, when someone asks "Have you been born again?" asking of course if you had accepted 'Jesus' into your life. For any Christian of faith this is undoubtedly the most inane and disrespectful question to ask. In the end it becomes boring and embarrassing, perhaps because of the overly enthusiastic manner of the asking or maybe at the end of the day thinking 'I am a Christian, why do I need to be tagged by these embarrassing invitations to a charismatic event I know I will just shrivel up and die at?' or some other similar thought. I always felt that their tag along lines were fatuous and boring not really portraying the reality of Christian life. Rather it appeared to be a summons into a frivolous and superficial life that had little to do with the way of Christ and more to do with their understanding of what a Christian was. Yet, Christ asks us to be 'Born again' and as Nicodemus asks 'How can someone be born when he is old?' (Jn 3.3-4).

If we are to think of these things in any manner of depth we start to realise that what puts people of from the question "Have you been born again?" is the earnest frivolousness of the poser of the question and the embarrassment felt for their misunderstanding of the question.  The question is real and needs to be thought about especially when Christ is surprised at Nicodemus' ignorance. The real response that Christ is trying to elicit is a turning or rather a re-turning towards God, in essence being born again to God. A conscious movement of metanoia, the re-establishment of God's commandments in our hearts so that we can live them rather than mouth them.  Looking back towards the end of the age of Charismania  the turn off was with regards the embarrassing debacles that many found themselves trapped into and what in reality turned out to be major scams, which lacked any real re-turning. All that it created was a hit in terms of negative publicity for faith in and of itself and in reality turned people away from God and not a re-turning to God. The failure of so many is in the misunderstanding that the call to be born again is a one off singularity that bears no relation to our lived lives.  This is not true because our lives are only human the call is a constant one that is repeated every single day.

The blind lead the blind like lemmings off a cliff but Christ leads us to re-turn to God and new life 

The call of 're-turning' is a long and hard journey as Abram found out (Gen. 12ff).  All that Abram had was a promise from God.  All that any of us has is a promise from God.  God does not promise us an easy life all that God asks of us, in return for his promise, is faithfulness.  God knows that we are only human and have the failings of all humanity. Christ is our example of a life that is to be lived in God, re-turned to God and lived with God; born again.  All we have to do is follow.  We follow where God leads this does not mean that we are lemmings following blindly as we run off the cliff.  Our paths are not always paths that are conducive or even easy but so often we are pulled from what God calls us to by our own petty minded wants and wishes.  It is when we focus on these that we are again reminded that we need to re-turn to God.  In focusing on God we begin to live lives that are filled with the Spirit and bring hope into the lives around us.  If we begin to believe that it is 'our' ministry or 'our' leadership, or 'our' sermon that is changing lives then sadly we have missed God.

Lent is a time for us to re-turn to the path that God calls us to.  It is a path filled with struggles, low places, high places, places of sadness and places of joy but it is a journey that God calls us to.  It is the journey to the resurrection and new life.  It is a journey that calls us to be 'born again' and 'again' and 'again'.  Each time we turn from God's purposes we turn from new life, each time we go our own way we turn from new life.  Just as our initial birth is both a joy and hard labour so our re-birth is joy and hard labour.  Lenten journeys ask us to reflect on who we are, what we have become and to re-turn to Christ-likeness on the long path to God.  Too often we indeed act as lemmings rather than as intelligent beings made in the image of God rushing after this saviour or that only to find disappointment.  God constantly calls us to re-turn and a new birth.  A change in our lives so profound that we ourselves are changed.