The Perils of Comfort

1 Samuel 3:1-18

The old priest Eli is an interesting character. His quote in 3:18 is telling; “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.” That is his response to the impending death of his sons and the impoverishment of his family? What brings a man to that point? We read later that he is old and fat. Now in those days, no one was fat. He had grown fat off the offerings of the people. As a priest and judge, he led his people and taught them the ways of the Lord, but somewhere along the way he grew comfortable. Comfortable in the good life afforded a priest, too comfortable to stop his sons from taking advantage of people and their position, too comfortable even to lament God’s judgement. Too comfortable to repent. He isn’t overtly doing evil like his sons; he’s just grown too comfortable to do good. He is passive before the Lord, blandly accepting judgment as if he has no choice in the matter. 

Contrast this attitude with the parable of the unjust judge and the widow who won’t stop demanding justice from him (Luke 18:1-8). Jesus tells us that we are called to take action, never to stop praying, never to grow comfortable with injustice. Of course, that requires getting uncomfortable. It’s much easier to chalk things up to “the will of God,” when you see injustice, close your eyes, stop your ears, and keep on in your comfort. So, where could you get a little more uncomfortable in pursuit of justice?

Molesters or Sodomites? An Issue of Interpretation

“But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ* for all who believe.” - Romans 3.21-22

*or through the faith of Jesus Christ 

The verse above, from Paul’s letter to the Romans, is critical to Paul’s theology and to the argument of the letter. And yet, in this important sentence, we have an issue of translation. In the original Greek that Paul wrote, the phrase he uses at the end of verse 22, “pisteos Jesu Christou,” is a construction that can mean either “faith in Jesus Christ,” or “faith of Jesus Christ.” Although most modern translations use “faith in” in the text, they include this difference in the footnotes. This verse is incredibly significant for our understanding of salvation, the cross, and a host of other things. Does God’s righteousness come through our faith in Jesus, or through Jesus’ own faithfulness to God? The text of scripture does not tell us here; we must use other parts of scripture and other things we already believe to decide how to correctly interpret this verse.

I am highlighting this particular verse simply to make the point that scripture is not as easy, cut and dried as it first seems. A student of the Bible, seeking to grow in faith and more deeply understand the scriptures, will soon learn of all of the decisions that must be made in the interpretation of these ancient texts. This example is linguistic; there are also cultural and historical barriers to overcome, textual variants to account for, and lots and lots of symbolism.

I want to convince you of this truth not to discourage you from reading the Bible, but to encourage you to read the Bible in conversation with other Christians who have studied it. Resources such as a study Bible can bring you into conversation with scholars and pastors. In the Sunday sermon, I attempt to help you to interpret it according to the Gospel. Ultimately, Jesus is the key to interpret scripture, so the Holy Spirit inside you is also a faithful guide.

Wise interpretation is vitally important in our current discussions about human sexuality. One side will tell you that the other side doesn’t love others and preaches a Gospel of judgment. One side will tell you that the other side has left the Bible behind to follow culture. Neither of these are true. Both sides are seeking to love others; both sides are seeking to faithfully follow the Bible. What we actually have at issue is biblical interpretation. What cultural, historical, theological, and linguistic tools do we need to understand the prescriptions of the law in Leviticus 18:22? What if I told you that 1 Corinthians 6:9 has a long history of being translated “boy molesters,” not “sodomites,” and was only changed to indicate homosexuality more generally in 1946?

But I’m not trying to convince you of my point of view. I’m trying to help you have better conversations about a deeply personal and painful issue that is ripping our churches apart. Please stop saying people are hateful because they don’t agree with your interpretation of the Bible. Please stop saying people don’t follow the Bible because they don’t agree with your interpretation of it. Please study the approximately seven scriptures that are at issue in this debate. Learn the history, learn the culture, learn the language that will help us understand what they are actually talking about. And approach your brothers and sisters with grace to listen and love.

Who Sinned?

One tiny boy that Anna saw in the clinic in Haiti stuck out to me. He was maybe about 4, the same age as Jack but much smaller. His teeth were rotten; four molars and four front teeth to be extracted. If sin is the corruption of God’s good creation, then why is there this effect of sin in his mouth? In John 9, the disciples asked Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” So, who sinned, this child or his mom? On the surface, he has cavities because he drinks too much juice. Of course, then, it’s his mother’s fault; she sinned, she’s the one who lets him drink the juice. That’s how I was raised to think about sin; it’s all about individual choices. Her sinful choice to not properly take care of her child caused his teeth to rot. 

I no longer believe that the answers are so simple. When you look beneath the surface, you realize that tooth rot was not as big of a problem in Haiti until little plastic bags of sugar water became cheap and easy. Companies, some from the US, exploit the poor by selling sugar that rots their teeth to children and parents who don’t know any better. They don’t know because they have little to no education. His mom didn’t have Health Ed in school; she doesn’t see a dentist regularly. How is she to know that drinking juice causes cavities? Now deeper. Economic inequities cause her lack of education; there is no free public school in Haiti. Corruption in government and economic sanctions over the years, including a crippling debt load that drives inflation, destroyed Haiti’s economy. Racism and fear are part of that, as well as greed and abuse of power. 

So who sinned? The UN and IMF, the US government, the juice companies, the corrupt Haitian government, the mom, or the bacteria? Rather than looking for who is to blame, like the disciples and the Pharisees, we must learn to recognize the greater forces that shape individual decisions. People are caught up in destructive systems created by a thousand little individual choices of unkindness and self-interest, “systems of sin”. The Bible refers to this as “powers and authorities.” (Eph. 6:12) Systemic sin is impossible to avoid and difficult to overcome. “We are all sinners” not simply based on our choices, but also based on systems we participate in and prop up because we don’t know, don’t care, or think we don’t have the power to break. If you are involved in the system of capitalism and international free trade, like say you order things off Amazon; if you enjoy the freedom and wealth of the US built at the expense of our neighboring countries, then you are culpable in this system of sin. We are all sinners in need of grace.

Jesus derails the blame game by pointing instead to an act of mercy, “that the works of God may be revealed in him.” Jesus heals the blind man in Jerusalem and thereby reveals God’s work in opposition to the hypocrisy of the Jewish government that values safety over justice and adherence to rules over mercy. When Anna pulled this baby’s teeth, she showed that an act of mercy is more important than following systems that value safety over mercy and that say who deserves mercy. Such an act is God’s work to oppose systemic sin in Haiti. It is only possible by God’s grace. Grace forgives us for our complicentcy in sin, grace enables us to do works of mercy, and grace empowers us to work against the systems of sin in our world. A thousand little acts of mercy, made possible by God’s grace, is our best hope for overcoming sin, for joining in as God brings the reign of God on earth, as it is in heaven. 

Four Scenes From Haiti

A boy is screaming. The lady across from me in the office takes notice. Is it her child? Is he hurt? Scared? Badly injured? It turns out he is scared. A man is carrying him down the street and he doesn’t want to go. I thought She was going to help the man, but she grabs him to make him stop. He pushes past her and keeps going down the hill, the child yelling all the while. After a few more steps, one of our guys strides out into the street and grabs the man by the backpack he is wearing. He mildly but clearly restrains him as the man tries to pull away. He talks briefly to the man, not yelling but clearly firmly telling him to put the kid down. The man complied and stalks slowly back up the hill. Hertz says that he saw some guys drinking moonshine this morning. It seemed to me that this man certainly may have been drunk. He had asked me for $5 for a new phone earlier today. I had the sense that he might jump on me when I said no, but we were surrounded by our crew working on the hill. What was that all about?

I had about half a loaf left over from communion yesterday with the Pastors. I wanted to share it without causing a food riot. I found some kids that had been watching my seminar all week. They were in the school; I assume they live in the houses behind the school. I broke the remainder of the Body of Christ and gave it to them, because I’m sure they are hungry. They gratefully and playfully ate the bread and then invited us to play soccer with them. Hertz and I kicked a little inflatable ball around and had a blast. It’s the first time I’ve given communion as a feeding program. 

I hiked to the top of a hill to see Sainty and Nelson’s church. Sainty remembers going there as a child. He and the other children would take off at top speed after the service, burning off the pent up energy from sitting still for three hours by careening down the mountain to see who was the fastest today. It reminded me of the “Rambo” trail from the mountain chapel at Asbury Hills. The current church is tin; easily destroyed in a hurricane. The Foundation Patrick Charles, renamed after our friend, partner, and founder who died last year, was building a concrete church for them, but they laid it out too large so it was not complete. The church is also where Nelson passed out Bibles that we bought for him. It is stunningly beautiful at the top of the mountain; I would like to go to church there. 

At night, we stay out at the beach in Cormier. Thanks to a new road, it hardly takes any longer to get there than the beach in town, and it’s the same price. Last night after we got back from another long, hard, hot day, I took a dip in the ocean, had fresh Caribbean lobster for dinner, and played guitar on the beach until it was time for bed. The time away refreshes us to get back at it the next day. 

We Do What We Can

We wrapped up the seminar today. I engaged the Pastors on topics that they told me they wanted to discuss. The big one that has been a theme throughout the week is the interplay between faith and grace. We particularly discussed the status of Israel. I led them through Romans 9-11 with the conclusion that God’s promises will not fail. Some of the pastors liked the emphasis on grace and some did not. We then worshipped together. The pastors are great singers, and we sang a few tunes I knew, “Blessed Assurance,” and “I’ve Got the Joy Down in my Heart.” I played “Amazing Grace” and a Crowder tune for them. Then pairs of pastors prayed out loud for us while the others sang. It was very spiritual. We shared testimony next. One pastor testified about God saving him from from a grave illness. Another testified about God calling him to ministry. I also told my call story. Then the final pastor took the cake with his tale of being attacked and God saving him by draining his attackers energy to strike or stab him. After that we took communion together with bread and wine I brought. I was surprised that they all didn’t mind the wine. It was a great ending. 

Anna felt much better today. She pulled 32 teeth. People have serious infections in their mouths and nothing to do about it. It causes pain, sleep loss, and at worst, the infection can get in their blood and kill them. Anna works in the hot, cramped conditions, bent over her patients sitting in a reclining lawn chair for 7 hour days. She is a rock star. Since she works with the local dentist, who mostly does cleanings using her ultrasonic scaler that she taught him to use, he tells us that the people wouldn’t get treatment otherwise. They cannot afford his services. 

Overall I realize I’ve become comfortable with the scene in Haiti, almost too much so. It takes some mindfulness to open my eyes to the poverty and difficult living conditions. There is so much need and so much difficulty. We deal with impossible situations, a child who needs an x-Ray, a man who needs a computer for college, another who wants to build a church, every day. I get tired of saying no. We can’t help everyone. Do we help enough? Do we bring hope? I don’t know. 

Today in Haiti

I’ve been busy writing this longer theological piece on Haiti and I’m missing the chance to simply write about our day to day, so I’ll get to it. I’ll work backwards. Today was rough, certainly the roughest we’ve had in Haiti. We both woke up with upset stomachs. That’s a first for us. Usually we always go to the same place for lunch, but it was closed so we tried something different. We all said the hamburgers tasted a little funny, some kind of seasoning. Apparently, the special seasoning was bacteria. I had diarrhea, but got it stopped. Anna felt nauseated but powered on. Eventually she puked and rallied to see more patients. Hertz felt pretty terrible all day, too. We weren’t sure Anna would make it through the second half, but after some Gatorade and a lunch of white rice, she got back in the saddle. She’s so tough!

She’s helping a ton of people. Dr. Benoit is cleaning teeth and she’s mostly pulling them, 23 yesterday. Dr. Benoit is the local dentist. Normally he sees 50 people in a year he said. He will see 50 people this week. He seems very happy. The clinic is in our office in the Bon Aire community of Cap Haitien. 

I am teaching a class in the morning for pastors. They requested that I teach. We are discussing Acts 20:28-32, “What does it mean to be a Pastor?” Today we talked about taking care of ourselves. They seemed very excited about that, and my translator Sainty agreed. We broke into pairs and prayed together. Afterwards, they talked about trying to meet together on a regular basis to support each other. It was pretty cool. We also talked about the Shepherd image from the passage. We agreed that we must love our people, and that can be hard sometimes. Tomorrow I’m going to try to answer some of their questions, which may be pretty hard. Please pray for us. 

It’s going well. We are building steps to help the community access the mountain, plus the clinic and the seminar. Not bad for 4 people! Of course it’s not just 4, but our whole Haitian team that works very hard to see all the work done. It’s great to work with friends.