Introduction and Chapter 1: Difficult Love

Well, I just finished reading the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Jesus Mean and Wild, and let me be the first to say that the Jesus that Galli is talking about is frightening.  I keep going back to the quote from Annie Dillard in the Introduction:

...The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning.  It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets.  Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.

I don't know about the rest of you, but that description of being a Christ follower doesn't really make me want to rush out and sign up to be a "Christian soldier," as the hymn goes.  However, there's something that really rings true about Galli's description of God's love.  It's complex, mystifying, scary, and comforting all at the same time.

I've been thinking about how to handle the chapter questions at the back of the book.  I think what I'm going to do is pick the one question that speaks to me and write about it.  Think of it as a conversations starter.  If you want to respond to my answer, feel free.  If you want to write on a different question, do that.  Everybody is welcome to comment and respond to everybody.  That way we can get a healthy dialogue going.

Question 8.  Do you think all suffering can end in loving service?  Are there some forms of suffering that simply cannot be redeemed this side of God's kingdom?

Of course, my intellectual side wants to say, "Yes, God can take any suffering and make it into something loving and beautiful."  God can do anything, right?  In the months after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the first sign of rebirth were the scores of beautiful flowers and plants that started blossoming in the ash and rubble.  God can do that, transform a forest fire back into a forest again, so to speak.

However, I can think of hurts and atrocities that just don't make sense.  Period.  I spoke to a friend on Sunday who's going through a really tough time, having to let go of a child's she's helped raise.  It's difficult situation, full of anger and outright hatred for the person responsible.  My friend kept saying, "She's evil.  She's just evil."  All I could do was sit and listen to my friend.  Tell her that I'm praying for her and love her.  I don't see God at work in this situation.

I don't see God at work in Syria when I watch the horrifying video of those innocent victims (children even) of the chemical attack.  I can list a bunch of other examples of suffering that simply doesn't make sense to me:  the Holocaust, the 9-11 bombings of the World Trade Center, my wife's mother dying of ovarian cancer.

Am I blinded by my own anger and hurt in these situations?  Am I focusing on the pain too much to see the loving service that's taking place?  Or am I going to have to wait to see the other side of God's kingdom before I understand?

So, there are some of my thoughts on this week's reading.  Feel free to respond if you like.

Do you want to follow Jesus into the wilderness?

Welcome Aboard!

I would like to welcome you to this Sunday School blog, sponsored by Mitchell United Methodist Church in Negaunee, Michigan.

This blog class is for people who can't always attend a Sunday School but would like to be part of a Sunday School community.  The process to become a class member is very simple.  All you have to do is sign up as a member to this Disturbing and Comforting.

We will be reading and commenting on the book Jesus Mean and Wild by Mark Galli.  Each week, we will read a chapter, and I will post discussion questions and invite observations from class members.  To fully participate in this process, you will need a copy of Galli's book.  If you are not financially able to purchase a copy, please let me know, and Mitchell UMC will try to accommodate your needs.

Welcome to our class.  Stay tuned for this week's discussion questions/topics.

The class's book