Thanks to those of you who responded to my first blog. Allow me to reflect a bit more on the 'reframing' I described in the last blog in light of an experience I had this last summer. In July, as many of you know, I took a Greyhound bus from Alma to my hometown, Casper, Wyoming, a nearly 40 hour trip by way of Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Fargo and Billings. Whew.
During one of those stops, I switched buses, and as I climbed on board my new bus, I noticed that it was already quite full. Near the front sat a lady who had sprawled all of her belongings across two seats, making it clear that she didn't want to have to share her space with anyone. Since most of the seats were already taken, I politely asked her to move her belongings so I could sit next to her. She immediately tried to dismiss me, making it very clear that she wanted both seats to herself. Her attitude struck me as somewhat rude, particularly in light of the fact that she, like everyone else on the bus, had paid for only one seat. But what really struck me was that later, on a different leg of the trip, the same lady placed herself in the seat across the aisle and behind the bus driver, where she spent much of that leg of the trip witnessing (very loudly!) to the driver about her faith in Jesus. So, here's the picture: here was a lady who didn't want to share the limited space (something that almost everybody on the bus was willing to do), didn't want to practice hospitality, but did want to talk to people (from a distance) about Jesus. Something's wrong with this picture.
Now, imagine the same bus trip. Suppose that a Christian on that bus were to approach his or her presence on the bus differently than the lady I've just described. Suppose that they were to attempt to be genuinely present to each person they met; they would practice hospitality, ask questions, be curious, be genuine. Suppose that they were to watch for opportunities to be helpful, to contribute in some small way to the quality of the bus trip for everyone on the bus. They would look for opportunities to build community, diffuse anxiety, and work for peace (and believe me, on a long Greyhound trip there are plenty of opportunities to diffuse anxiety and work for peace!). Such a person would undoubtedly delight in opportunities to speak in genuine ways about their faith, to bear witness to the light within them. But such witness would, in every way, be consistent with their life.
I'm trying to describe an 'incarnational' approach to Christian living, where praying and working for the will of God being done right here on earth is our goal. It will never do to shout the message from a distance; the goal is to be genuine and present right here on earth, to join our lives to the dream of God for this world.
What do you think?
5 comments:
"Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words." (Saint Francis of Assisi). It is all about connecting with people where they are in life. From a music perspective, I say it all the time: people will remember what happens off-stage FAR more than they will remember what happens on-stage. Why would someone want to listen to me at the microphone sharing a story about a song about how Christ is the focal point of my life if I get off stage and don't care to hear and be engaged in the stories of others?!
It is very easy to not be "genuinely present" to people in situations like sitting at a table as a long line of people wait for autographs. But what great times those are to be present to people by asking questions, as you said. There are few things, I think, that show you care more than by asking questions.
I admire your open heart and willingness to put yourself into potentially difficult situations for an extended period of time (like a forty-hour bus ride). I strive to be sincerely present to those around me, but at the same time, I like to have my "out;" to know that if I am just not in the mood, I can show interest (genuine interest, not fake) and have the conversation done a few minutes later. Forty hours on a bus would not be something I would be inclined to enter into willingly. Probably because it is easy to be interested in someone for five minutes, but it takes a lot more effort to "go deep" with a new person. Selfish? Probably. That is something I would like to work on.
As someone who travels all the time, I can see both sides of this coin. The inconsistency of loving someone enough to tell them about Jesus, but not enough to share a seat, let alone a life, with them is pretty sad. BUT I have had many occasions where I tried to be present but was not welcomed. I guess the question remains "Lord, what would you have me to do?"
Sounds Like a good example to us all to examine our own lives. I know I can think of many times that I have treated people poorly or done something wrong that definite was not in line with the christian measage I want to portray. I remember a trite old saying,"You are who you are when you 'think' no one is watching" of course God is watching all the time, so we are just fooling ourselves and other people when we try to act diffent around christians. This was a great challenge for me, I identified and area where I was not being genuine and have taken steps to correct it, includeing prayer and time with god and change of behavior. I hope it challenged others too.
I think that all Christians should take a bus trip it really opens ones eyes. I felt that we were really with the least of these. John and I were able to ride the bus from Lasing to Spring Field MO to see my brother and meet up with my parents on their return home from Fl. This has been a few years ago now but the people that we shared the ride with are still very real in my memories. single mom traveling with young chilren late at night. There was one young girl traveling all alone. The bus driver giving her a hard time with her stuffed (big) animal. she had it in the seat next to her. The bus driver wanted it put away or she was going to charge her for the extra seat. there was extra seats open so there was no need for the seat. It was good to see how preveiledged we are. And that God is good all the time.
Great to receive each of these comments! Thanks for posting. A word of apology: I'd like to figure out how to respond to individual comments (right beneath them). I haven't figured that out yet, but hope to do it soon. Curt, great to hear from you. It's exciting that this 'online community' can include folks like yourself in another state. As a musician, I think you can really appreciate the challenges of 'being there' with people.
'pml,' thanks for bringing up the other side of the coin. There's a fine line between being present and being pushy. You're absolutely right, knowing the difference is a matter of discernment, no easy thing.
John and Kelly, good to hear from you both. It's very cool to me to see the desire to genuinely be present with people in Christ' name. By the way, I should note that for a good deal of my bus trip I enjoyed a good spy novel, too.
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