Does anyone remember those sketches that show a different picture depending on which way you look at it? A type of optical illusion? For example – there’s a number on the floor, and the person standing on one side says it’s a 6, and the other sees a 9.
Or this creation… one way, it’s a rabbit, another way, it’s a duck.
You get the idea, I hope.
Because what these teach are that not everyone sees things the same way. And that’s fine – but for effective dialogue, we are invited to try and see things from different perspectives – it helps gain a fuller understanding, and that can help a relationship grow and develop.
And part of the journey to get there, of course, is not JUST the willingness to engage with another person’s perspective, but to try and understand not just what the other person’s point of view is on one aspect of life, but the entirety of what they see – what brought them to that view point.
And this is where many factors can come into play… what our history is, what we’ve been taught, what our experiences are right now…
With the duck-rabbit, it’s apparently more likely to first see a duck in the fall, but a rabbit in the springtime with Easter on our minds.
It also shows our willingness to flexibility. Seeing just the rabbit and denying the duck is a very closed perspective; and thus can lead to missing out on the benefits of duckdom (new word!) and those who enjoy it.
So – if we are to really aspire to connect with folks, wherever they are coming from, sometimes we are given the opportunity not just to imagine where someone is coming from, but to take our own perspectives and flip them around. It’s a topsy-turvy world sometimes!
And sometimes, that may take us outside what our personal comfort zone is:
It doesn’t mean we need to stay there forever, but it does help us to have that dialogue – that sharing – and it allows us to extend more compassion and kindness.
It’s not about being right or wrong (unless you see – I don’t know, an elephant? There’s no elephant). But even in that there’s the invitation to try and see a different way.
And that topsy-turvy-ness is actually in our scriptures today. There’s an invitation to engage with the world – strong and unwavering in our faith, but open to new ways of discussing faith, religion, belief, what it means to be a Christian – all of that!
In our reading this morning from Esther (a book I *highly* encourage you to read, by the way. She’s great.) Esther turns a lot of things over. In this short passage today, she shocks the king (her husband) and the rest of the court by revealing her Jewish heritage: suddenly the Jewish people are not unknown others kept somewhere else, but beloved and regal and literally right in front of them – and having that perspective shift changes the mind of the king to prevent the genocide his advisor had planned. Topsy-turvy for good!
And that’s not it; Esther also reveals that a hidden plot to kill the king by a horrible enemy is in fact NOT by someone outside the palace, but by the king’s closest advisor (who wanted the king out of the way for his own personal gain). Again, topsy-turvy for good; with the exception of Haman the traitor, and his family.
…and we see that the power of Good could have been missed or overlooked or ignored had the king not been willing to try and see the situation from a different perspective.
The Psalm today shows the challenges of seeing things only from one perspective:
If God had not been on our side, the psalmist writes, we would not have had military victory.
This suggests first off, that people are *not* in the umbrella of God’s pervasive love.
It also suggests that God is playing favourites with peoples’ lives.
… and we know that’s just not true. We know that God does not Hate people… God does not deny anyone love or grace… God does not, in the words of Albert Einstein, play dice with the universe.
Instead, God loves. God encourages us toward non-violence. God walks with us in compassion, not conflict. This is the type of one-sided thinking that has us, to this day, seeing people write “God bless US” on bombs to be dropped; as though killing is a blessing.
It can feel like God is blessing us when things are going our way: but we’re also to consider how things look to others in the mix as well – and to consider where God is.
Topsy-turvy indeed.
The letter to James is another shocking epistle to the community, as it invites prayer.
Now: the invitation to prayer should never be a surprise! But for the folks hearing this letter, they had become comfortable – and so he reminds them to pray: when they are suffering or sick, as well as when they are cheerful. The power of prayer is to infiltrate every aspect of their lives. (What’s not explicit here is the amazing way that our perspectives start to shift when we do couch everything in prayer: when we start our days in praise and head to bed fresh from a conversation with the divine! Our whole lives shift because we shift our hearts to see God in the every day, every day.)
And James also turns things over when he reminds folks that just because they’ve asked for something from God, doesn’t mean they’re going to get it. Even James had the “prosperity Gospel’ challenge, where people presumed to tell God what to do – rather than delight in the abundance of blessings already being received.
And, of course, the Gospel! How beautiful are these words!
Jesus turns the community over… it’s a challenging time, with basic survival depending on knowing who your friends and allies were. It’s the time “if you’re not explicitly WITH us, you must be against us” – a life of skepticism and fear and exclusionary mentality.
And Jesus says: Nope. Don’t see people as ‘others’ who may become friends; flip it over and start right off by seeing them AS friends. As Christians. As God’s people. It’s an important distinction when he says “If they’re not AGAINST us, they must be for us.”
It’s a shocking perspective: to grant the benefit of the doubt. To listen to people’s words. To trust that other people have our best wishes at heart (even if they do things differently from us).
It’s not saying everyone will be wanting the kingdom of God, but that there is more than one way to live out our faith, and that our practices may be as topsy-turvy to other folks as their ways are to us: and that’s okay. God loves great variety.
God has given all of us ways to live out our faith; we all have different opportunities and ideas and creativity and energy – and they’re all holy and good, as we bring them to use for the glory of God.
So even if the disciples are feeling topsy-turvy, they can find ways to engage in the ministry of Jesus.
…and that applies to us, as well.
When we are feeling topsy-turvy, there are still ways for us to engage in the ministry of Jesus.
When our perspectives change as we experience new things and as the world around us changes, there are still ways for us to engage in the ministry of Jesus.
So today we’re reminded of the many ways and paths that have brought us here. And we give thanks to God! Because we ARE here.
And we’re reminded that things WILL change in our spiritual journey, because God’s world is always changing. And we give thanks to God! Because these new changes are wonderful opportunities to share the unchanging truth of God.
And we’re reminded that the topsy-turvy reality of life can feel unsettling, but that God is with us on all sides; and we give thanks to God because differences are invitations to broaden our experience of God’s love revealed in the world.
After all: duck or rabbit: they’re both good; but duck AND rabbit: that’s double the goodness.
No comments:
Post a Comment