December 5, 2009
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A message worth proclaiming
I assume we have all had the experience of being in conversation when a small child has come up all excited and demanding attention and, when the conversation stops to listen to them, they realize they don’t have anything to say or they have forgotten what they were going to say. I can empathize with this more now that I experience those senior moments when I can’t recall what I wanted to say. I think it is quite forgivable in children and seniors to seek attention only to discover they have nothing to say. I, however, have little patience from politicians and other prominent people who demand attention and then have nothing to say. It seems to me leaders today are afraid to speak clearly and directly to issues. The current tactic is to appear sincere and say many words but never make a clear statement as to what you believe to be the situation and what you intend to do about the situation. I sit and listen expecting to hear something important enough to draw me away from my regularly scheduled life only to end up with no clearer idea of what is going on and what is going to happen. I am equally annoyed by the person who demands my attention and then spouts off ideas without foundation and which run completely counter to my experience. I am particularly annoyed by those people who use their fame from one arena to make proclamations about stuff totally unrelated to their skill or expertise. Really, why should the opinion of some athlete be persuasive in a debate about same gender loving people getting married? What makes an actor’s thoughts on transgender people news worthy? How does the fact that someone is a church leader equip them to debate whether gays and lesbians should serve in the military? I also question the validity of elected individuals telling faith communities what they should do and believe. We should not confuse our admiration for someone’s talent with respect for everything they say and do. The fact that Tiger Woods has some domestic problems has nothing to do with the amazing skill he has with a golf club. The lesson to be learned from Tiger is no matter how much talent and fame you have, you still have to keep yourself grounded. The fact that Joseph Ratzinger served the Roman Catholic church faithfully for many years and was elected Pope does not mean I accept his understanding of a Christian life as being absolute. The lesson Pope Benedict the XVI teaches me is that a life of study of and service to God does not mean you have a close relationship with God. Not everyone who gets our attention has something important to say.
It is also true that not everything we chose to share with others is important. Too often what we chose to share with others is not only not important, it isn’t even appropriate. There are some people who feel the need to avoid silence at all cost and they will babble on about nothing just to avoid it. Many of us will deal with tension by filling the space with chatter. What is said isn’t important, we may not even be able to remember what we said. There is a saying, “It is better to remain silent and appear uninformed, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” We should not be afraid of silence. Some of the most profound messages we receive come in silence. Silence is not only the opportunity for us to hear what our mind, body, and spirit is telling us. Silence is also where God’s Spirit speaks to us. The other problem with avoiding silence by filling the air with chatter is the very likelihood of saying something you don’t mean and something hurtful. Often we fill our conversation with words that are meant to make us look important or superior to others. We send out the wrong message when we share things we shouldn’t share or when we criticize others who are not present and do not know our criticism of them. Too often our messages really aren’t important.
There is no reason for us, as people of faith, to be sharing unimportant or hurtful messages. Like John the Baptist, we have been given God’s Good News of God coming to dwell in us. We have the privilege to share with others that God wishes to dwell in them. Like Isaiah and Jesus, we have been anointed to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives, release from darkness to the prisoners of darkness, to declare God’s reign and justice in the world, to comfort those who mourn, we have the message of God’s desire to bring peace and hope to this world. When we have such important messages to proclaim, why would we waste our time sharing gossip, rejections, hurtful words, or foolishness? We can bring the message of joy to all that God desires still to be born in us Emmanuel! Amen.
