"Called by Your Name"

(Graphic is "Jesus the Good Shepherd", a stained glass composition by J. Le Breton, glass studio of Gaudin, Paris, 1933) 

Lectionary Scripture - John 10:1-10 NRSV
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Reflection on the Lectionary

“I am.” In 1908, G.K. Chesterton inked these cryptic words in response to the London Times’ question, “What’s wrong with the world?” For me, I think Chesterton got it right, i.e. we human beings make up a whole lot of what’s wrong with the world. Thankfully, some people strive to help us recognize and understand the related mental and spiritual illnesses. One such person is Tom Shadyac who directed the movies “Bruce Almighty” and “The Nutty Professor” and “Ace Ventura”. One of Shadyac’s latest works is “I AM”, a documentary film that asks the question, “What’s wrong with the world?” But also asks the question, “What can we do about it?”

Struggling through debilitating depression from post-concussion syndrome after a deadly bicycling accident, Shadyac nearly gave up on life. Despite all his life success, its accompanying wealth and prestige, the multiple lavish homes he owned, he felt hollow emotionally and spiritually while recovering from his injuries. What previously gave him pleasure and contentment no longer provided that for him. “What’s wrong?” ultimately led to “What’s wrong with me?” and then to “What’s wrong with the world?” From there a quest began in order to discern what could be done about it.

For me, I think this dark night of the soul was God calling Shadyac out into the light of day to show this creative genius what having life is truly about and how to have it more abundantly. In turn, the experience blessed not only Shadyac, but it also blesses everyone else with an ear to hear and a mind open to seeking and understanding. As New York Times best-selling author Marianne Williamson put it, “Entertaining and enlightening. The I AM Documentary is a spark of light and a work of love.”

The documentary’s ministry (at least to me) is its affirmation that at a very deep, intricate, inherent level, particularly in terms of what physics has to teach us, we are all interconnected. And not only us, but that interconnectedness includes all of nature. As stated in the movie, what we do at the individual level truly affects outcomes elsewhere in the world. Here we discover the documentary’s most crucial and engaging message which is that a new narrative is forming. The narrative says that we are far grander than we have been told and capable of experiencing what each other feel at a much deeper level than we previously thought. Furthermore, technology is carrying all of this forward with phenomenal speed and enhancing its ability more so than we ever thought possible. Long and short of it, from what the most influential minds of our times have to say, there truly is no other option for our survival but authentic cooperation and full democracy.

Alternately, this means that the mental illnesses of rampant consumerism, unbridled capitalism, greed for power and control and domination over others must end. As “I AM” puts it, “The shift is about to hit the fan.” For Shadyac, one of his own healing steps involved selling his lavish residences and buying a manufactured home in a trailer park. Good for you Tom! And who knows, Jeri and I might even do the same when our local market improves. Lord knows we tried to sell our home and downsize for six months last year. We simply couldn’t find a buyer despite dropping the price three times for a total reduction of thirty-six thousand dollars. Maybe God has something else in mind.

While watching “I AM” something else struck me, i.e. Shadyac’s long hair and beard. I thought to myself, “There’s even a Christ-like quality to the guy’s appearance.”  Being a follower of Jesus, the effect may have allowed me openness to the documentary than I might not have had otherwise. What really snagged me however was Shadyac blending together two of my passions, i.e. science and scientific minds along with notable thinkers and persons of faith such as Desmond Tutu, Thom Hartman, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, and Lynne McTaggart.

I loved the film’s even more succinct statement, “The shift is about to hit the fan.” It describes for me a sense of something deeply felt for a long time now; something that seemingly eludes churches, ministers, even denominations and other world religions. It’s something theologians, especially Christian ones, dismiss or denigrate for they fear their version of God and/or Christ will no longer dominate the airwaves or their adherents’ way of thinking. And sorting through it or making sense of the mess (that will surely follow) is not an undertaking they want at a time when organized religion is becoming increasingly fragile, declining, fragmenting, and needing money -- and lots of it.

To what am I referring? Simply this, there is interconnectedness between all faiths and religion traditions. God wants us to discover it. Jesus wants us to discover it. Mohammad wants us to discover it. Buddha wants us to discover it. Mahatma Gandhi wants it discovered as does Mother Teresa. Any other great teacher or prophet walking on the earth now or in the past wants it discovered – unless of course you don’t believe these great souls exist any longer. And from this discovery, what’s also wanted is that we realize our spiritual interdependency no matter what our faith of origin may be. Finally, if there is to be any chance of a lasting and just peace upon the earth, I and you must become as completely at ease worshipping in an Islamic mosque or Jewish or Buddhist temple as we would be in our home congregation or home faith community. As the Catholic theologian Hans Kung once put it, there can be no genuine world peace until there is peace among the world’s religions.

I think it’s here that some of us we need a lesson from the historical Jesus, a man who like Shadyac heard his name called and responded. In answering that call, Jesus took on the organized religious establishment of his time and dared to claim “I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” Jesus made that claim and lifted that banner high while teaching a message of compassion and unconditional love. He did so over and against a religious system that had lost its way and mired itself in rigidity and harsh judgment. In the centuries and millennia that followed, Jesus’ claim reached around the world.

Regrettably, distortion of that message occurred. Much evil has been done in the name of compassion and “loving the sinner” but hating the sin. What reaches the ears of many contemporary persons about Christianity is that it is a religion of harsh rules and intolerance. For example, “Get Jesus, get saved, or spend eternity burning in Hell.” Entire non-Christian religion traditions have been left to see themselves as God’s rejects -- or at best to be benignly avoided while we tolerant Christians focus of matters in our house yet secretly believe that God still choses us over and above persons of other faiths.

If like with Jesus, there’s a proverbial “shift about to hit the fan” then it’s time to end our silo mentalities of faith and embrace the Divine’s prophetic activity. Activity I believe that is calling each of us by name to the mission of fully embracing our interconnectedness, our interdependence upon one another -- even fully embracing and affirming the spiritual and religious diversity that God wisely placed into this world and blessed it with. For me, I am convinced that there is no other means by which we will come to a full and complete appreciation of our common humanity unless we do so. It is the key to a full and just peace for every living soul upon the earth and requires nothing less than abolishing poverty and end suffering for everyone.

I apologize for such words to the world’s ultra-wealthy and corporatocracies, but you have had your chance to be altruistic. You have chosen instead to live within the sheepfold as a thief and bandit, even then you had a chance to selflessly make the world a better place, not only for yourselves but for all those who suffer and die each day. You opted instead for greed, power, and dominion over others – particularly for dominion that allows you to throw away people the instant they no longer create profit or serve your bottom line -- whether that involves one person or thousands. The shift is coming for you too. Maybe not today or tomorrow or next year or next decade, but it’s coming and it will bring an end to the dysfunctions, disenfranchisements, mental illnesses and suffering you perpetuate. In its wake you will hear these words eternally echoed in your ears, “I came so they may have life and have it more abundantly!” Rest assured, I AM is here and here for you.