29th
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Spiritual & Moral Tenderness allows us to Survive
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This weekend I visited Duke Divinity School and went to a conference there called “Friendship at the Margins: Mutuality in Ministry Among the Poor.” I haven’t felt for a long time that I was surrounded by people that I could look up to in many ways and follow them as they follow Christ. Chris Heuertz from Word Made Flesh was an awesome example to me of what it looks like to follow Christ. And, its rare to find those kind of examples.
Chris’ face is lined from suffering and his eyes are full of sorrow in a beautiful kind of way. When you look at him, you see a depth of humility, meekness, and sorrow that only comes from the experience of suffering.
He knows what it means to suffer, and his friends are still in the midst of suffering. All the same, he does not seem afraid of it. The beauty seems to come from that. He knows suffering yet he still chooses to go near it. His eyes are sad but compassionate. He is willing to join those who know the pain of injustice, the torture of being forced to kill, the victimization of being forced into the sex trade, and the social stigma and hopelessness of living with aids while your parents are no longer. His willingness to approach and join those who suffer, his lack of fear of that suffering, and his knowledge of a good God in spite of it, they all make him seem to hold a veiled, hidden and resilient power. And that is because he does carry a hidden power: that of the crucified, saving king who himself has conquered pain and death and beckons us into his way and kingdom, himself being our prize. There are few examples in our lives, and I am thankful for the humility, meekness, and challenge that Chris’ life demonstrates while I simply got to be around him.
Christine Pohl was also incredible. I typically have an attitude against scholars that God has been changing and humbling in my life. Chris and Christine spoke together with such a beautiful submission and mutual respect. Chris is grateful for what Christine offers the church and for what she has spoken into his life.
It is all to easy for people on “the ground” to have an attitude towards those who sit in seminaries in their “ivory tower of scholarship.” Scholars seem so distant sometimes. But the perspectives Christine offered took the raw, painful experiences of Chris (that were provocative and challenging) and presented them in such a way that they could be digested, understood, followed, and even emulated. She spoke about safety and the illusions we hold and the beauty and safety of relationships in places of danger. She also spoke about the ambiguities and how it is not the strong who are able to survive.
I really needed to hear that.
“Spiritual and moral tenderness, an awareness of our own frailty, is what allows us to survive in these ambiguous places.”
I idolize strength. I think, “this person or that person is not strong enough to be able to handle these rough environments.” It is not our strength that allows us to survive. We will crumble when it is our strength. Knowledge of our own frailty allows us to depend on God. Spiritual and moral tenderness will allow us to live with those who suffer despite not having an answer to give them. Grace, not strength, makes life on the desperate margins possible.
