Covid Travels With Rob D ~ Part 1

2,600 Miles, Global Pandemic, and the Word of God

“Essential Travel”

A few days before the beginning of my 2,600 mile drive from Los Angeles to Spokane and back, my friend Scott Newhouse challenged me to write about my experiences along the way and somehow tie those experiences to Scripture.  I’m not really sure why, but I accepted his challenge.  

These blog posts will be my musings on traveling during a global pandemic.  I will not be thinking anything through; no outlines, no plan, no editing, but rather just riffing on whatever thought enters my pea-brain during the process.  So here we go.

I shut the door behind me in total darkness on April 13, the day after the resurrection of the Lord, Easter Sunday.  I waited till after-Easter Monday to make this journey because I’m a Pastor and Easter is kind of a big deal.  And because the following Wednesday is the day my daughters said that they would be ready to come home from college and isolate with their parents (and more importantly, dog).  

With a daunting 2,600 miles and at least 40 hours of driving ahead of me, I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel at that moment; excited to be taking an adventure during a stay at home mandate or bummed knowing that my knees, hips, and back would be killing me after just a few hours of driving?  The truth is that I was probably somewhere in between.

The first thought that occupied my time was the term ‘essential travel’, which is now something that all of us have heard plenty about over the last month.  I began to worry as I sipped my delicious McDonald’s black coffee at 6 am……is my travel really ‘essential’?  What if I get pulled over?  Will I get a ticket?  Will I be fined?  As you can see already, I sweat the small stuff, always have.  I am the guy who doesn’t worry at all about an airplane crashing, but gets anxious and sweats it out (literally) over the thought of not getting any overhead bin space.  Now that we got that out of the way……

Essential travel means that we are supposed to stay at home as much as possible, keeping 6 feet of distance between us and the other.  The law says that you should not leave the house unless you have a “reasonable excuse”.  As long as you present no symptoms, you may go grocery shopping, care for an elderly member of your family, You can leave your house to exercise once a day, but only in open spaces.  You may leave the house for medical needs or travel to work if you cannot work from home.  The law also says that you may leave the house to avoid injury or harm (thanks Captain Obvious).  How would we ever get by without that kind of wisdom from our government?  You may leave to access public services or take your pet to the vet, which we had to do, but that’s another story! 

I didn’t see “moving daughters home due to school closure because of a global pandemic” on the list of approved essential travel, but it didn’t seem illegal either as they are my daughters after all and they needed to move out of their homes in Spokane in order to shelter in place wither family.

There is a ton of essential travel in the Bible.  I could have chosen from hundreds of stories, but the trip that came immediately to mind was pregnant Mary and Joseph making the 3-5 day, 90 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  Was their travel essential?  A few thoughts.  For starters, when Caesar says ‘jump’, you say…..(you get the drift).  Like Census 2020, they needed to be counted. But the more theological reason for their essential travel was to get Mary to the City of David before Jesus was born in order to fulfill the ancient prophecy of Micah 5:2 that places the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem.  Personally, I would call that ‘essential travel’.  

They made it in time, but we learned that there would be no room in the inn and that baby Jesus would be born among the stable animals.  The question remained: would there be any room for me in the inn?  Would there even be an inn that was still open during a global pandemic?  Expedia promised me that there would be, but the weird notifications they were sending me weren’t all that convincing!   

Would I too need to sleep with the barnyard animals?  When I first struck out, I actually wasn’t sure of the answer.  Stay tuned to find out.

Peace

Rob D.  

Wood Wide Web

Robert Frost begins his poem Birches:

When I see birches bend to left and right

Across the lines of straighter darker trees,

I like to think some boy's been swinging them.

I loved to climb trees as a kid.  I’d climb as high as I could until the branch bent under weight, threatening to break and throw me back down to earth.  

Did you know that trees can actually move resources and share them with struggling, weaker or dying trees; even trees of different species thanks to a common fungi?  

When Birch tree saplings were “weeded out” of reseeded forests that had been clear cut, a curious thing happened.  The Douglas Fir saplings that were being replanted, deteriorated and then died prematurely.   

Canadian forest ecologist Suzanne Simard began to ask the question, why?  She came to believe that these Birch trees weren’t “competing” with the Douglas Firs for the soils precious nutrients, but quite the opposite; that somehow they were helping not hindering the firs, so she decided to investigate.

It turns out that that a common fungi that had previously been considered harmful to plants was actually existing in a subtle mutualism.  These so-called ‘mycorrhizal’ were weaving themselves into the plants roots and thereby creating this underground system which allowed the saplings to join together in an ‘underground social network’.  

The beautiful thing is that these fungi didn’t just connect Birches to Birches or Firs to Firs.  They formed a non-hierarchical network that connected plants of different species which allowed Birches to share their nutrients with Douglas Firs.  When the Birches were “weeded out” of the sapling forest, the Douglas Firs weren’t getting enough photosynthetic carbon and began to die off quickly.

Instead of seeing the forest as plants being in competition with each other, we now see it as producing a collaborative intelligence that Simard calls ‘forest wisdom’ and others refer to as the Wood Wide Web.

I learned all this today as I was reading, Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert MacFarlane.  When I read it, I wondered almost out loud; are our human communities destined to be only a competitive system that highlight the vast inequalities between the rich and the poor?  Or is it possible that a human community can be more like the forest; a subtle mutualism?

What is the Church which exists for God’s mission in the world?  A subtle mutualism that shares its resources across boundaries of every kind.  What is the ‘forest wisdom’ of the church?  How might we, who follow in the way of Jesus learn from the mutualism of the forest in order to share the resources we have with those have less, those who need more?

In a time of Corona crisis, the Church needs to lead in the way of Jesus. 

So….next time you climb a tree, remember what’s going on underground!

And before you reduce me to a label of one kind or another, hear the Word of God from Acts 2:44-45 and tell me that you don’t see the Wood Wide Web…..the underground social network…..forest wisdom……subtle mutualism……all for the sake of sustaining each other.

"All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their                 possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need."

The Word of Lord.  Thanks be to God!

Lament Can Be Healing

We enter the world with a cry of protest and we don’t stop crying after birth. To cry is to be human.  The Apostle Paul shares in Romans 8.22 that even the creation groans because of a world infected by brokenness.  Sorrow is a part of the human experience.

The other day my Canadian friend, Pastor Matthew Brough posted a good video giving people permission to “feel how you actually feel” and remember that there is a God who is with us and loves us dearly.  

The Bible talks about people of faith as having their own unique way to express our sorrow called lament.  Over a third of the Psalms are laments as is the entire book of Lamentations.  Lament is a form of prayer that shares the pain we are experiencing with a trustworthy God.  In lament we cast our fears, anxieties, frustrations and sorrows on a God who is big enough, loving enough to take it.  

Read Psalm 13 which has the 4 essential elements of lament:

1. Turn to God.
2. Bring Your Complaint.
3. Ask For Help.
4. Chose To Trust. 

Lament is one of our prayer languages.  To cry is human….to lament is to cry out as a person of faith.  

Creating A Lament Bulletin Board:

So what are your laments during this unique time of crisis?  

1. Use the comments section below or find this on our Facebook page to create a Lightshine Church Lament Bulletin Board.  And together we will hold each other in prayer!

Open Hand or Tight Fist?

The big question seems to be; Is there enough toilet paper to go around.  Judging by the amounts of it I've seen recently in cars, vans, and shopping carts, the answer seems to be 'no'.

Now.....before you think I'm on my high horse, let me assure you, I'm not!  I've got my own issues, believe me!

According to the toilet paper companies themselves, there is no shortage at all.  The stores aren't out of toilet paper because there isn't enough to go around (there is actually plenty).  The stores are out of toilet paper because people are buying up far more than they need.

The other day, I saw a 15 passenger van filled with hundreds of rolls of toilet paper and case upon case of bottled water.  I took out my phone to take a picture saying to myself, "Now that'll preach", but I felt guilty and put my phone back in my pocket.  Maybe they had a family of 30 and I'm just being a jerk, but somehow I doubt it!   

When we buy more than we really need, we fall victim of the myth of scarcity.  The myth of scarcity says that the world is like a pie with a finite number of pieces.  The myth of scarcity always says that there isn't enough for everyone so I need to get my share and then some before it's all gone and I miss out.    

The Scriptures and the toilet paper companies both want us to know that there is more than enough for everyone if we would just chill out.

The great theologian Walter Bruggemann says that the Bible starts out in Genesis, chapter 1 with a liturgy of abundance (read it); a song of praise for God's generosity.  The world created is called good, even very good!  

The longest creation poem, Psalm 104 (check it out), serves as a commentary on Genesis 1.  The Psalmist surveys creation and names it all.  

Verse 27-28 are almost a table prayer:

These all look to you

   to give them their food in due season; 

when you give to them, they gather it up;

   when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

It could read today, "You give toilet paper to all because you love them".  

I was struck by the open hand (metaphorically speaking).  In giving good gifts, God open's up God's hand.  When we are open handed (not tight fisted), God fills us with good things.  We are open handed when we are ready to receive a gift, BUT we are also open handed when we give a gift away!  

The Psalm ends encouraging us to not worry, to not succumb to fear because God... is.... reliable.  The fruitfulness of the world is guaranteed because there really is more than enough if we are willing to open up our hands. 

But the truth is that we can (and do) mess up God's good thing.  We can 

take.....use....grab....possess.... hoard....and make a fist! 

We can consume more than what we really need.  I may not have done this with toilet paper, but like I said, I did it with other things!  A quick look in the mirror reminds me that I too am susceptible to the myth of scarcity just like I am the CoronaVirus.  My actions show that I don't always believe in a world of abundance and a reliable and trustworthy God.  That's why I need to remind myself and re-read Genesis 1 and Psalm 104 so that the truth of generosity makes it's way out of my life and not the lies that tell me to grab what I can.

If God is utterly reliable and the world is filled with abundance then it is we, who aspire to live out the way of Jesus, who will have to open up our hearts and our hands (to freely receive the gifts of God and then freely give them away).  A release of sorts will have to take place.  We will have to surrender our tendencies to grasp more in order to ensure that there is more than enough to go around.

Do you struggle with the myth of scarcity?
What helps you to open up your heart and your hands?
How might you practice generosity today?

Comment below.

Peace to you all.

Rob D.

  

“For a moment, I expected the impossible. And then it happened.” by Shay McReynolds

Where are you?

Wild winds whipping up against a desolate landscape. Cold skies and a raging heart. You have been uprooted. Torn from the comfort of the ordinary, you have been exposed.

But do not go blind.  Look around you. The air is clearing. There are dolphins swimming through the rivers inside Venice. There are people who can suddenly see stars. You have never seen a magic quite like this inside the world. Did you know that it has been here all along?

You are laid bare, but be brave. Ships are always safest in a harbor, but that’s not what they’re meant for. Live boldly. Raise your words, and not your voice. Speak kindly and remember there is nourishment in stillness.

Look at our world, now the mother of exiles. How she harbors each of us—give me your tired, your poor. Give me your hungry and your burdened. Give me the sorrows of a changing face, beneath a galaxy of windswept stars.

Do not go deaf.  Else we must roust you with the loudness of our song. Else we must come unto you like storms and wash you of your fears so that then, finally, you will learn to love the rain. A seed must crack before it can begin to grow, and storms make trees take deeper roots. Remember, light cannot exist without the darkness.

Our lives here are sublime. As are the lives of those who’ve come before how they’ve departed, leaving wisdom in their wake. Are we too evolved for learning? Too impassive for new growth?

Do not go quiet. Isolation isn’t loneliness, and fear is just another opportunity for love. Hate and anger, they are chased away by kindness, and despair is just another word for hope.  What matters at the end of the day isn’t the storm, but rather how well you withstood it, and the person you became.

Breathe in your courage, and exhale your fear. Because this is the part where you find you who you are.

Mission Statement of the Church

At Lightshine we say, Gather Well, Scatter Better.

Covid-19 has changed the way that we gather (at least temporarily).  No more public gatherings for worship.  For a people driven by fear, this could be very scary.  No more worship?  NOPE......we can still worship, just not on Sunday's at 10:30 together at the YMCA like we are used to.  But we are not a people driven by fear, but by hope.

The question is: can we still gather in new, innovative ways?  Can we still be a worshipping community?  I believe that we can.  Can we continue to scatter better?  We know that we can.

Acts 1:8 gives us the mission statement of the Church.  Luke writes,

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’"

Jesus could easily say today, "You will be my witnesses in Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, and Newbury Park".  Covid-19 doesn't change the mission of the Church because our mission is to join God on God's mission.  Father, Son, and Spirit send the Church to join in this witness; the witness of Good News.  The love of God in Jesus Christ is Good News and needed in these moments, perhaps more than ever!

In this time of unprecedented need, the opportunities for being Christ' witnesses in our neighborhoods and community abound.

How will you live out the mission statement of the Church today?  When you do this, you will scatter better!

Let's share with each other concrete ways that we will commit to God's mission in our communities!  The mission statement of the Church from Acts 1:8 is a call to BE who we already are....we are witnesses to God's love in Jesus Christ.  Fear can paralyze us but mission can get us moving again!

Peace to you all.

Rob D.

Missional Coffee?

I know the word “missional” is everywhere, but I recently read an article in Christianity today that said that even coffee could be missional.  Why not?  Everything else sure seems to be. 

I absolutely love my coffee; addicted to it for sure!  Just a few months ago a family owned and run craft coffee shop went in about a mile from my house, Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters.   They use only the finest coffees and then roast in small batches and hand brew it to perfection!  Just thinking about their coffee gives me a caffeine buzz! Because of Ragamuffin, I now fully understand that what I used to buy at my local Chevron station when I was in college was really just dirty water!  

The owners of this incredible establishment are Christians (wonderful people).  Sean was a former Youth Pastor in a church right around the corner from my home.  Their coffee shop is packed with Christians.   I wonder, does that make Ragamuffin’s coffee “missional”?  I saw one missional coffee company online that called on Christians “to switch to a java with eternal significance”.  Really?

Maybe I have too low an opinion of coffee (although somehow I doubt it).  I am just not convinced that coffee can take on eternal significance.  It can play a part, for sure.  It has a role, but eternal significance might be taking it too far.  

The word “missional” has come to mean a lot of different things to different people.  It’s meaning has become confused and of course there are consequences for this.  Recovering the true meaning of this word is important as I believe it is a word worth keeping (despite the confusion).  

Maybe a proper understanding of the word begins with the fact that God is a missionary God.  After all, it was God who called and formed a people of His own to be a treasured possession and a light to the nations.  It was God who took the initiative to redeem creation by sending His Son, Jesus.  It is the trinitarian God of Scripture that sends the church (you and me) to be an integral part of this redemption process.  Jesus said, “As the Father sent Me, so I am sending you (John 20:21).  Maybe it’s the sending nature of God (the Missio Dei) that can help us recover a true understanding of what it means for the church to be missional.    

Coffee can certainly be sent.  As a matter of fact, I would recommend sending some Ragamuffin Coffee as a gift to your friends and family members; you will be a hero for sure (it’s that good).  The question is: will the sending of the coffee make it missional?  You be the judge!  #dontoverthinkitjustdrinkit  

Robert Douglas - Organizing Pastor - Lightshine Church