Learning to swim on dry land

Mental Floss is a fantastic site. Like Brain Pickings, Mental Floss is full of wonderful internet curators of creative content. If you are just now hearing about these sites, then take a moment to peruse their stuff (and maybe make a donation). 

Recently Mental Floss posted these vintage photos of people learning how to swim. One of these photos quickly reminded me of the spiritual life:

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IMAGE CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

I have no idea where these lads are, but from what I can see they are not near any water. Imagine that you have to teach people how to swim without the aid of a pool of water.

The Christian spiritual life is one that is built on practices: fasting, praying, studying, worship, contemplation, silence and sabbath (to name a few). These practices are not just things we try to do when we feel like it, these practices define the spiritual life. Put another way, if you are not doing these practices you are neither spiritual or religious. 

An often overlooked aspect of the spiritual life is one of the imagination. We tend to leave our imaginations behind when we become "adults" and this is to our detriment toward maturity. It is our imaginations that give us the creative space to find ways to do that which we thought to be impossible or improbable - like learning to swim on dry land.

Dry land is often the landscape of the spiritual life. Some Christian teachers will tell us that if you want to learn to swim in the abundance of God then you must first find water. There is no other way to swim. You have to find the living water, be baptized and then you can learn to swim in the abundance of God's sea of grace. Notice that this approach is not invalid, but it also lacks imagination for those who are in a deep desert and the only water that is visible are mirages. How do those in the wilderness learn to swim if there is no water? 

Imagination is required. Imagination is needed in the spiritual life. Imagination is not a child's play toy, but perhaps the most valuable gift we have to foster the spiritual life. 

Why I don't say "I was saved"

© 2010 chris m., Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

In some Christian circles it is commonplace to be able to share the time, place or date of when you "were saved". Some Christians, like myself, don't have a moment in time that I can point to and say, "this is the moment". But that is not the reason I do not say "I was saved". Mine is more theological rather than biographical. 

I believe that salvation has little to do with what I do, say or feel. If there was a time that I "was saved" it was in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. I do not say "I was saved" in some moment in my life because God's action of reconciling all things predates my existence and actions. 

It may also be worth noting that what we are saved "from" is a large topic of discussion. And, as far as I can see, there is no one thing that everyone needs to be saved from. There are a lot of things. While some need to be saved from our pride, others need to be saved from our self hate. Some of us need to be saved from starvation and others of us need to be saved from slavery. To say all this is "Sin" may be generally accurate it also removes the specific need. God so loved the whole world and in this love God saved the world. 

The good news is we are saved and we did not do anything to earn it. Now, we get to live in thanksgiving, humility, gratitude and grace. And we have faith that living with the posture of thanksgiving, humility gratitude and grace leads to life eternal. 

The tension of doing things to be seen

Near the beginning of the "sermon on the mount", Jesus teaches the following:

"Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

The common understanding of this text is straightforward and literal - don't do acts of piety in order to be seen.

“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.” - Albert Einstein 

The truth be told, there are some things that I do in my life in order to be seen - especially by my sons. I want him to see me be graceful toward others, so sometimes I act graceful even when I do not feel graceful - just so they will see graceful models. There are times when, as a pastor, you have to do things that you may not want to do in order to set a better model for others. I do not get the luxury of going to worship and just sit there and not talk with anyone - even if that is what I feel like doing. I have to be "pastoral" sometimes just to be seen and set a model.

Do you know how many times pastors go home or sit in their offices and scream or cry at the amount of venom they encounter? And at least half of our emotions are because we cannot do what we want to do or what others seem to have no problem doing. Pastors have to act in ways in order to be seen, not for bragging, but as a way to set an alternate model. And before we jump to the conclusion that pastors are hypocrites (which everyone really is), there are strong social pressures on pastors to be a certain way.

For instance, pastors cannot cuss, they have to wear suits (or at least tuck in their shirt), be older/experienced, etc. There is a pressure for a pastor to "look the part" and if they don't then there is an aura of suspicion. 

From internal pressures and external expectations, pastors are asked to do a lot things in order to be seen. And that makes this teaching of Jesus very difficult for church leaders. 

The Methodist Marianist

The phone rang and it was a staff member of the alumni magazine it get from Saint Mary's University. He said that they had gotten word from a current professor that I graduated from St. Mary's and this professor thought I might be open to share some of my story. 

Just a word of advice to all reporters, if you ask a preacher to share their story and worry they might not - don't worry. Preachers are always ready to talk. 

After about 90 minutes or so and a photo shoot later that month, the story was sent to press. 

Today, the publication arrived. 

I am very proud to be a graduate from St. Mary's University. It is there that I learned the power of diversity. I learned the strength of multiple viewpoints. I learned how to live on $100 a month. Living in San Antonio gave me glimpse into what it is like to be outside of the majority culture. While I did not retain much Latin, I did learn new language that has changed my life (which you can read about on page 28 in the publication below). I am forever indebted to St. Mary's University and the gifts it gave to me.

I encourage anyone who might be interested in taking risks, but never being in danger, to consider St. Mary's University. I am honored to be a Rattler and hope that I can live into being the "Methodist Marianist".

Read more about the Society of Mary (AKA the Marianists) here.