Week 3 - Reflection on Stranger God, Emotional Battlefield

Parable of the Fig Tree - and as it is Lent, let us not to forget the Cross

From Wikipedia

— Luke 13:6–9, King James Version   A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

 We are the fig trees ... taking up valuable space in a vineyard yet not bearing the fruit that the owner expected.  Despite being told by the exasperated landowner to cut down the barren tree, the vine dresser, Jesus, makes a plea for more time during which He will carefully tend the tree - us - in full expectation that given time, we will bear fruit.

As we approach the second week of Part 2 of Beck's Stranger God - The Emotional Battlefield - we rejoice in Jesus' grace, always knowing we are "works in progress," he faithfully tends to us none-the-less.  We pray that as we challenge ourselves to honestly look at our biases and prejudices, we can turn the hate to love.  Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate , exhorts us to....“Lavish love on others and receive it gratefully when it come to you. Cultivate friendship like a garden. It is the best love of all. ”


Chapter 6 - The Murderer in Our Heart - we took time to reflect upon the smugness and superiority that causes us to contemptuously disregard others whom we feel are below us.  The Gospel's Good News would have us break down the walls of this hostility.

Chapter 7 -This hostility bred of disgust and contempt, cannot co-exist with hospitality.  The Walls go up to keep THEM out, and fear is intentionally cultivated to rationalize the need. The Love that we are asked to show to our neighbors is just way too risky. Our children, jobs, homes, and even our lives are threatened. 

Chapter 8 - Triggers - and the personification of the Devil - Evil - is useful for now creating the binary of good and evil.  In our discussion, we recognized that rarely is anyone purely good or purely evil, but that all of us have elements of both.  Bryan Stevenson, author of  Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption famously remarked "Each of us is more than the worst thing we have ever done."

We spoke of how risky we felt it was to start conversations with strangers not within our emotional circle.   Educating ourselves and opening our hearts to those even on our Trigger List is key.  A past exhibit at the Jones Library featured background bios of the Panhandlers that take up residence on our busy intersections was brought up as one way to breach that divide.  Others confessed feared saying the wrong thing, being rejected, or not being understood. We group sourced tips for reaching others positively.  These included saying "How do you spend your day?" and making an effort to make eye contact.  We  shared stories of how this led to being shown pictures of grandchildren and making new friends that now great us everyday.  Some shared the happiness with which others shared their stories while others noted a growing trend, especially among young people, who are tired of having to explain themselves to us and don't want the burden of educating us.

It was noted that a book read by the Bookgroup, James Doty's Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart
covered many of the same themes that Stranger God was covering, and members of both groups were delighted to add this way of thinking about