Photo by Mike Bird
It’s been longer than I thought since my last article here. I have been living a daily ritual of not feeling inspired enough to write and saying I would make up for it tomorrow. That turned into months of procrastination, a skill inherited from my father. Maybe depression and lack of energy from not meeting my goals in writing my book helped me rationalize procrastination.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing, and I have discovered it is therapeutic. I am also ministering to myself as I write these mini-sermons to you. But I got stuck on a stupid thing, the movie “The Dead Poets Society.” The post I originally planned to do using it got too long and complex. My inspiration fell apart, and I think that hurdle put me into a tailspin for a while.
Maybe it was divine intervention because this week’s liturgical calendar readings are a perfect fit for the movie's rote tradition of verbalizing the four pillars: tradition, honor, discipline, and excellence. Like Robin Williams, Jesus calls out the double standards and hypocrisy of the keepers of the law. Born into their roles, the scribes and the Pharisees receive and enjoy special privileges due to their birth rite. They care little for the heavy burdens of traditions they heap upon those who call them teachers but don’t observe.
Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father-- the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Jesus tells the disciples and us not to fall into that trap. We are all students, and the only teacher is our Father: the one in heaven. When our egos swell when we think we know it all, Jesus must remain our instructor. Only those who humble themselves in these manners should be exalted.
Religious institutions struggle when they lose sight of this, and the elders tightly clutch their traditions while the youth yearn for something relevant. It’s what Jesus faced in the synagogues as the priests were incensed by Jesus’ teaching with an authority they had not bestowed upon him. In their eyes, the following he drew was not earned properly. He repeatedly called out their oppressive orthodoxy, which eventually led to his death on the cross.
We have to remember that God’s word is active, not static. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that when they received the words of the apostles as the word of God, it began to work within them. That’s the dynamic at work in spiritual communities who must continually be aware that God’s work always moves forward through those who hear it and accept it.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers.
Those in power in Thessalonica didn’t like Paul and the missionaries upsetting the order of things by preaching Jesus’ message. Forced out of town during the cover of darkness, Paul and his missionaries fled their hostility. This was turned against them as proof that they were con artists and only in it for the money and the prestige. Paul reminded them in these verses that their visit was earnest and fruitful in that God’s word was still at work in the believers.
But all too often, young, inspired disciples find the disheartening roadblocks of rigid tradition within faith communities. How is the word of God supposed to act in new ways when tradition snuffs out the flame of a heart alive?
I guess that’s why I love the message in this movie and this scene where Robin Williams tells his pupils that while they may seem invincible and have a lifetime ahead of them, it will be over before they realize it, and then what will it all have been for? He asks them to read the beginning of the 1648 poem, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time“ by Robert Herrick, and to listen to the voices from the past, urging them to not wait until tomorrow.
Gather ye Rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to day,
To morrow will be dying.
As I watch multiple churches struggle with today’s dwindling numbers, maybe God is inspiring the next generation to seize the day, and we are to empty ourselves of our rigid traditions and consider that there’s more than one way to worship. God doesn’t only speak to elders. Let’s not be threatened by unorthodox teaching and worship. Let us embrace the mystery ahead.
Crowder’s song, Ghost, is a song about rebirth and finding the fire for God’s word in our hearts. It’s about inviting God to bring what is next because we can’t stop it. We can only empty ourselves to make room for it to take shape.
Let God’s word be poetic Inspiration in your life, and seize the day to share it in your own way with others, seeking the words that God has inspired you to speak. If tradition is in the way like a dam in a stream, find a way around it. Trust that God will make straight your way, and listen.
You may not be able to minister to everyone, but the important part is that someone is waiting for you to minister to them in whatever form that takes. Do not fear what lies ahead. May it be a blessing to you and those around you.