Reflections: So what do we believe?...

So what do we believe?...

By: The Rev. Marguerite Alley

Sometimes it is really hard to identify and articulate what we believe. As busy as we are most of the time, it is hard to even find time to relax let alone sit and think about what we actually believe but it is a really important part of our formation. We must make and take time to explore who we are and whose we are and learn how to identify this for ourselves and for the world. It is far too easy for us to say “let’s leave that for someone else to sort out” or “I don’t really know enough to wrestle with these things”.

Articulating our beliefs requires a bit of work. Sometimes it might feel like hard work but it is worth the effort in the end.Those of us who spend our lives in service to the church are not really that much better off. The day to day details of parish life can become so monochromatic that we lose sight of our own faith and beliefs as well. In the final analysis, the only way to really nail it down it is to jump in with both feet, swim around in the deep end and start figuring it out.When you come across something that just really makes sense to you then share it with someone. This is particularly important. We don’t have to work on these things in a void or alone! Checking our perceptions and insights with someone is a really good way to be certain we aren’t heading down some crazy path of our own undoing.

Here is an example of my own recent mental meandering. I have come to believe that every day I have the chance to put my faith into action. Some might call these challenges. I can choose to one of three things. I can ignore it. I can choose to do what others do. I can choose to work it out for myself and therefore put my own beliefs into action. More specifically, I was on hold on the phone. I was cranky and impatient and needed to get business done and move on. I could hang up and start over again later. I could BE cranky on the phone with the poor fellow on the other end. I could wait my turn, politely state my business, get it done and move on with my day knowing that I treated that gentleman on the other end with dignity and respect and it took about 10 minutes out of my day.

I want to be very cautious here about this statement about opportunities for growth. I do NOT mean that God sends us challenges or makes bad things happen to see how we will respond and thus test our faith or to teach me a lesson. Believing that God makes these things happen is taking the cheap way out because not only is it unfair to God, it also suggests that I don’t believe in evil and sin, which is certainly not true.Perhaps even more important is that if God is doing this to“test me” then at some level I must believe that I am so important in the grand scheme of things that God would “mess with me” at the expense of everyone else involved. That folks, if you will pardon my bluntness (I sense a big TQ chuckle)is a load of hooey!

So, if I have the chance to put faith in action, and it is not a test sent by God then what exactly am I trying to get at here? (Loosely translated: “Get to the point Marguerite”) I think God is that voice in back of my head saying “watcha gonna do?” When I feel discomfort and avert my eyes at the corner because “that man” is standing next to my car with his “Homeless Vet” sign and I feel a bit hypocritical….I think that is God’s voice in my head….suggesting that now might be a good time for me to put my “money where my mouth is” so to speak. (if only my treasure were as big…..)

When I am in traffic and I have the urge to offer my special one finger salute to the lovely person (on their cell) who just cut me off…..I suspect that it is God’s voice that reminds me “be patient, it wasn’t personal, and why are you so cranky anyway”?When I am faced with criticism and or conflict, and I feel my insecurity bubbling up, that voice reminds me that if I have done my best it doesn’t matter and if I haven’t then I will next time. When I hear people arguing, calling each other names and profiling one another based on misperceptions, ignorance and outright lies, my heart is filled with a sense of fear and hopelessness for the world. Yet I hear God remind me of my call as a deacon to stand for justice, to be a voice for those who have none to remind us here at Emmanuel of our corporate call to seek and serve Christ in all. It is God who tells me to be brave when I have to tell the truth.

If I take time to listen to God, I see that I really do have a choice in how I respond to what happens to me daily, and it helps me put a finer point on what I believe. My choice of response in turn has impact on those around me and that changes the world. My willingness to be open to that voice, therefore, really does matter.