Test Driving Theology

One Saturday morning, when I was probably about 10 years old, my dad said “Todd, today I’m going to teach you how to mow.”  My eyes bugged out; it was a terrifying sentence.   I didn’t mind the idea of mowing…but I was scared to death of the mower.  It was a beast…this big old Sears Craftsman… probably built in the late 1950’s.  It was super-heavy.  I think it was made of iron.  With a ginormous engine that you cranked…yes, cranked this spring…and then hit a switch to release it, praying it would start.  If it didn’t start, which I think was about half the time, you’d have to squirt gasoline directly into the carburetor…then you’d have to re-crank and release…and then it would start with this giant “bang” and a big cloud of smoke.  I was convinced it was going to blow up on me someday.

My dad was very particular about his lawn.  So, handing it off to me was a big deal.  He had developed a 4-week strategic plan for how I should learn. 

• The first time we went out, he mowed, and I watched…so I’d learn his mowing pattern…and the exact way he wanted it done.  Yes, watching my dad mow was exactly as exciting as it sounds. 
• The second time, we did it together…which meant that I walked alongside him as he mowed.  Again…it was not thrilling.  
• The third time…I did it, with dad walked alongside me.  He would offer me “gentle correction” when my lines weren’t perfectly straight, or I was letting the bag overfill.  
• And the fourth week…I was on my own.  My dad sat on the patio and watched, while drinking an ice-tea.

Now, while I’m not sure that learning to mow really required this much training…I get what my dad was trying to do.  He was trying to set a standard…to show me how it should be done.  To offer me a model for proper mowing techniques.  

Watching…learning…modeling and then doing…this is how we develop new skills, isn’t it?

And in my parenting, I have occasionally found myself mimicking my Dad in his methods of teaching when I’ve had to show Sam or Nathan how to do something. 

There is a standard of some kind…a model…a template…and we look at that, and then we picture ourselves doing it that way…and we mimic…we learn…and then, we do.

This week we are looking at the spiritual fruit of “goodness.”

Goodness is a largely misunderstood concept.  We most often simply think of it as “doing something good.” When I do the things that are hoped or expected of me…I’m being good, right?  I mean, those are the values we teach our kids.  

Every TV special or movie where a child sits on Santa’s lap begins with Santa asking the question: “Have you been a good little boy or girl?”  The question is really about their behavior.  We equate being good, with acting good.

But real goodness, the kind the scriptures are talking about here, goes much deeper.  The spiritual fruit of goodness isn’t an activity…it is a quality.  It isn’t about what we do…it’s about who we are…who we were created to be.  And according to Galatians 5, goodness is a fruit of the spirit…meaning that goodness is a gift of God that comes to us through the Holy Spirit…and like the other fruit of the Spirit, it is a gift we receive it in our baptism.  And like the other fruit of the spirit…once given, it is ours to use…to grow…or to ignore.

Paul describes this quality of “goodness” on a deeper level in our first reading, in his letter to the Philippians.  Paul writes: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.   As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Here, Paul is describing the qualities of “goodness”.  They are what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, and gracious…and then Paul goes on to say “do these things…model them after me, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Paul is setting up a standard for how we are to live and act.  It is a template…a plumline…a tuning fork.  

Yes, a tuning fork.  

Let me show you what I mean.  A tuning fork is a piece of metal, that has been engineered in a way that when it’s struck, it vibrates at a precise frequency.  For musicians who use tuning forks, they are often precisely engineered to vibrate at exactly 440hz…when you strike it, it will produce a perfect note; an “A” on the musical scale.  Now, if I struck a tuning fork in here, most of you could not hear it…it’s too quiet.  But like everything in the world now, there is an app for that.  And it will produce a tone at exactly 440hz.  

Maestro, if you please? <Sound> That is a perfect “A.”  440hz. 

Then, all I have to do, is take my guitar, and take the A string…and adjust it until it matches the A.  Like this.

And from there, once you have the perfect “A,” it’s relatively easy to tune the rest of the strings.  

We tune a guitar by finding the perfect A…and then we match to that.

The apostle Paul is telling us that this is how our lives work.  We are given this gift of goodness…it is those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, and gracious.  That is our standard.  And our call is to draw close to that…to bring our lives into alignment…into tune with that…with the perfect 440hz.  Now to be honest, we know that living this way can be a challenge…no…more than that…because of the brokenness of life, living this way can feel impossible.  

Unless we have a tuning fork…a standard…a model…a guide.

That model…that standard…Paul is helping us understand, is Jesus.  Yes, Jesus came to bring love, and grace and salvation for all of God’s people.  But Jesus also came to teach, and to lead, and to live a life that is an example…and example for us to watch…to model after…to learn from and to follow.  

Jesus doesn’t just talk about love.  Jesus is love.  Jesus doesn’t just talk about grace; Jesus is grace.  Jesus doesn’t just talk about radical hospitality and welcome…he lives it. 

Why is it so hard for God’s people to live this way?  I think it’s because we lose site of Jesus as our model and example…our perfect 440.

It is fascinating how worked up people become about the way others live their lives. I see and hear people saying things, getting angry…upset… writing things…posting things that are full of bitterness and judgment.  And sometimes people will cherry pick a particular scripture verse, without really understanding it…or knowing its context, and they will wield it like a weapon…and do so like they are speaking on behalf of God.

I don’t know how many of you in the last few weeks have found a ziplock bag on your driveway with these hateful, racist flyers in them.  Someone has been distributing them…leaving them on driveways overnight.  I know of several neighborhoods where they have appeared.  These flyers…I’ll just call it like it is…they are evil.  Wrong.  Hateful.  They are the opposite of goodness…the opposite of what Jesus taught.  These flyers remind me that there are still forces in the world that work against goodness.  And these flyers misinterpret and weaponize the scriptures…to try and justify their lies. 

But the thing is, Jesus didn’t do that.  Never once did he tell someone that their actions, or choices, or very lives would separate them from him…or from God’s great love.  In fact, Jesus went out of his way to show welcome, and love, and grace to all of God’s people, regardless of who they are, what they look like, who they love and what they do.  

Now let me be clear…of course Jesus cared about how people live their lives.  He was constantly teaching and prompting and guiding.  But he never did this from a perspective of judgment.  He did so with truth, honor, justice, purity, and graciousness.   This is goodness.  This is the spiritual fruit that Paul is writing about…that is a gift from God.

And that, my friends, is our standard…our plum line…the tuning fork to which we should try and align our lives.  And I’ll be the first to admit…it’s not easy.  It takes time…time to acquire and practice the skill of thinking about our world from a perspective of goodness.  And our culture does not encourage this thinking.  But if we work at it…if we try to be people of goodness in how we live with others…gradually, our lives will come into alignment…into tune with the life of Jesus.  A perfect 440.

But know that living a life as followers of Jesus is to paddle against the current.  It is counter-cultural.  It is hard. 

Jesus calls us to speak words of love and hope and grace into a world where these things have become a foreign language.  Jesus calls us to welcome and accept all of God’s people, as he did.  Jesus calls us to take this spiritual fruit of goodness, and to live it fully…and when we are not sure how…we look to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.  

Jesus is our model.  Jesus is our guide.  Jesus is the perfect 440.

Let us pray,

God of grace and love.  You are good.  And we are called to follow you.  It is hard.  We know that we cannot do this on our own.  But God, you sent your Son Jesus, to bring life, and to be an example.  Remind us to look to him…to watch…to learn…and to follow.  Let him be our standard, our model, our perfect 440, for how we welcome and love all of your people; for how we grow and live into the fruit of the spirit that you call goodness.

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.