Faith Seeking Understanding (Not Explaining)

There is a subtle irony in the nature of jokes. If you understand the joke, then you laugh. If you don't, and someone explains it to you, then the joke is much less funny. Jokes shine from understanding and loose their luster with explanation. 

The same can be said about the life of faith. 

The life of faith is one that seeks understanding a deep wisdom that is not only difficult to explain but sounds ridiculous. For instance, Jesus says the meek with inherit the earth and that the peacemakers are blessed; turn the other cheek, forgive our enemy seventy-seven times, the last will be first and the first will be last, and that Jesus is found among "the least of these." Frankly it all does not make any sense. 

In my short time as a preacher, I can tell you it is getting to the point of silly to try to explain the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God is like a joke: not only does it often sound silly but it also shines in understanding and looses something with explanation. 

This is why the mystics were less interested in prose and more interested in poetry. Why the ancients were less worried about doctrine and more interested in practicing the disciplines. The Church seems to be at her best when she is not explaining God (and getting bogged down in the silly conversations like the big bang vs. "creationism"), but seeking the peace that passes... well you know what I mean.

Taxidermists and God

While in Seattle, Estee and I attended worship at FUMC Seattle. Which is a fantastic church. For instance, this church is the center for the entire state of Washington for a political movement to require background checks on all people who buy guns anywhere in the state. Regardless of your thoughts on guns, I think we all agree that we do not want guns in the wrong hands. (As a side note, I think that just as some criminals loose the right to vote so too should some people lose the right to own a gun if they commit certain acts. Cough *Aaron Hernandez* Cough.

Anyway, while we were there the preacher, Sandy, told an old joke that I had not heard before. So I share it with you.

Two taxidermists are looking at this stuffed owl in the window of another taxidermist shop. They each notice that the wings are a bit off balance and the eyes are not even. They even notice the talons were posed in a not-natural posture and there must be some rod that is holding the owl up, because owls cannot stand like this owl was posed. The two taxidermists each spoke about what they would do to correct the poorly stuffed owl, when the owl jumped of the branch it was on and landed on the branch below it.  

In the context of worship, replace the "owl" with God and the taxidermists with people, and you have a sermon right there.