Not Nice

You may recall that I don’t like the word “nice.”  I don’t use it often but I do sometimes.  I’ve said that it is a four letter word and its use belongs among them.  My copy of Webster’s Dictionary tells me that its roots in Middle English and Latin meant ignorant, foolish and stupid.  No, “nice” is not a very nice word.

As Christians we often feel compelled to be nice.  We are taught that we are supposed to be kind and compassionate and forgiving.  Indeed we are, however we turn Christianity into a nice religion.  Ultimately we put it on a shelf with other nice things in our lives.

The Revised Common Lectionary that we follow for our Bible readings likes to make the Bible passages that we read on Sundays very nice.  There can be some good reasons for it, but if all you ever hear from the Bible is what is read to you on Sunday mornings then you come away with constant inaccurate reinforcement of Christianity being nice.

The Revised Common Lectionary cuts out several verses of what we read for our gospel reading for today.  I decided to leave them in; the nice ones as well as the not so nice ones.  So what is left out is Jesus’ pronouncement of woe to Chorazin, Bethsaida and even the town that has been his home for the last couple years, Capernaum.  He says that foreign cities like Tyre and Sidon were more receptive to him than the native Jewish towns he spent most of his time in.

We don’t know specifically why Jesus delivers this judgement to these towns.  It seems a pretty good deduction, however, that their fault is that they didn’t genuinely respond to Jesus’ message of salvation.  Despite hearing his preaching and seeing his miracles they responded to him with apathy at worst, and ambivalence at best.  It is as if they said, “Good job Jesus.  You do your thing and help us out and we’ll keep doing our thing, but don’t really call on us to change anything in our lives.”  In other words, make faith nice for us.

A nice faith is a very appealing thing.  In the Daily Messenger last week there was an article about youth sports and church attendance.  The whole thing came about because St. Patrick’s Catholic Church has raised the issue.  With 1700 families whenever St. Patrick’s acts people listen.  The article quoted coaches giving very logical reasons why there are so many sports demands on Sunday mornings.  It concluded with St Patrick’s call to write out a community-wide commitment to not have sports on Sundays so that people don’t feel pulled between it and church.

I don’t know what went on behind the scenes and I had no part in any of the conversations.  I couldn’t make the initial community meeting St. Patrick’s organized.  However I do think the article completely missed the point, and I know that the initiative will go nowhere.  At the end of the day too many people in our community and in our society at large see faith as a nice thing you do when it is convenient, but faith (and God) have no real teeth.  If people felt there would be serious consequences for putting something ahead of faith and worship in their lives they wouldn’t do it.

But God is nice, and faith is quaint – at least that’s the way we want it.  But God isn’t nice, and faith isn’t quaint and there are serious consequences.

We have only a limited time for this vast subject so I want to get at just one corner of it to illustrate the point.  When God is nice and faith is quaint then you run into serious problems sooner or later.  The world is full of pain, suffering and injustice.  A God who is nothing but nice has no ability to effectively address any of that.  Do you know the musical West Side Story?  What if the police were there at the fight between the Sharks and the Jets and they stood at the side and said, “Now boys you should be nice to each other.”  A fat lot of good that would do! 

Do you really think God is so ineffective at dealing with pain and wrongdoing?  The only way for God to be effective in addressing the real pains and problems of this world is if God isn’t ignorant, foolish and stupid; or nice.  The only way God can be effective with us is if we acknowledge that God has real power and God will use it.  There is divine justice and accountability; and if you don’t see it in this world it is in the next.  Jesus says so repeatedly.

If we dare to be honest with ourselves I think there is a part in all of us that wants God to be nice and faith to be quaint.  We want God to be our divine little helpmate who keeps us from scraping our knees too often.  There is a part of all of us that is just like the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum.

What do we do about it?

I think we are wise to take some lesson from our faith ancestors, the Jews.  The Old Testament gives us numerous stories about people’s faith lives: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah and the list can go on and on.  None of them had what could be called “nice” relationships with God.  All of them had stumbles and weaknesses.  All of them called upon God and made demands – sometimes justifiable and sometimes like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum.  Good or bad, right or wrong, they weren’t afraid to confront God with what was happening to them.  We should do the same.

All too often it is difficult to feel God’s presence in our lives.  We wonder if our beliefs are true.  We sometimes wonder if God even exists, and if so does God care?  Take those feelings to God.  Tell God you don’t like it.  Tell God you want more proof and stronger faith.

God seldom replies with a voice and when he does the recipient is usually scared out of his or her wits.  Don’t expect a voice, but do expect thoughts to run through your brains.  Perhaps you’ll realize that God does give you proofs.  Perhaps you’ll remember that compared to most people in the world you have far more safety and comforts and luxuries.  It’s Independence Day Weekend.  America is a deeply blessed nation, but we often forget our many blessings and take them as if they are due to us.  That’s a sure way to not feel grateful. 

If you don’t feel blessed then take that feeling to God too.  Ask for a deeper appreciation of what you already do have.  God could very easily respond, “I’ve already blessed you with freedoms and safety and comforts beyond every other nation in the world, and now you demand even more!?!”  And in good Jewish fashion you reply, “Yes God, I need even more.  Not more stuff, but more awareness.”

Faith like this is not being overly demanding of God.  It is reinforcing connections.  Do you see what is happening in it?  It is a constant turning back to God.  With every challenge, with every problem, with every blessing and with every triumph you take it to God over and over again.

Nice and quaint faith looks to God when there are problems, and maybe gives a brief thank you when prayers are answered, but otherwise is oriented towards other things, usually worldly things.  In the passage from Galatians today we read, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.  If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.  So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if you do not give up.  So then, whenever we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all…”

Jesus’ woes spoken to the towns of his day were condemning.  They were a statement of justice that would come to those whose faith was only quaint and did not want to be bothered when it called for a real change.  Jesus was not being mean.  He was being truthful.

We all have those same tendencies, but God’s power is stronger.  Turn repeatedly to God and God will change you.  It is not the strength of your determination or the power of your intellect.  It is God’s work working in you that which is well pleasing.  You probably won’t even recognize the change.  God works so subtly.  But in so doing God reaps great good for his creation and a wonderful blessing for you.  Amen