WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Helping The Homeless Is Not As Simple As Some People Believe

On a cold November night in Times Square, several years ago, a New York City police officer encountered an older, barefooted. homeless man  The officer disappeared for a little while, then returned with a new pair of all-weather boots, and knelt to help the man put on the boots.

Soon after, this self-initiated act of kindness was reported by the New York Times and on a number of TV news programs, as well as on Facebook.  But the incident might have gone unnoticed and been forgotten had it not been for a tourist from Arizona.  Her snapshot, taken with her cell phone and posted on Facebook made that police officer an overnight hero, claimed the New York Times.

The police officer had paid $75 of his own money for the boots.  They were all-weather boots and should have fully warmed the feet of the homeless man.

The police officer never got the homeless man's name, and days later the homeless man could not be located.  "He was the most polite man I had ever met," the Times quoted the police officer as saying, adding that the man's face lit up at the sight of the boots.  The police officer said he offered him a cup of coffee, but as soon as the boots were on him. the homeless man went on his way and the police officer went back to his post.  That might have been the end of a wonderfully modern "Good Samaritan" story ---- but, was it?

A week later, the Times did a follow-up story.  Two Times reporters had been sent out to find this homeless man and learn more about him.  They found him on the Upper West Side ---- but with no boots!

Clearly, this was unexpected.  Apparently, the homeless man's situation had not been resolved simply with the gift of a new pair of boots.

The reporters asked about the absent winter boots.  "Those shoes are hidden.  They are worth a lot of money," replied the homeless man, "I could lose my life!  Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what the officer did.  I wish there were more people like that in the world."

Whatever the man's concerns about sporting a new pair of winter boots and thus possibly becoming the object of a street crime, the reporters concluded that walking barefoot in winter was the lesser of two evils in the view of this homeless man.  And they said he did seem accustomed to walking the pavement shoeless.

There are some folks who would believe that this homeless man's fortunes had been sufficiently improved simply by the gift of those new boots.  After providing protection for his cold, blistered feet, that society could simply move on, perhaps happy to pat itself on the back for a job well done.  However, the heartwarming act of kindness ---- a man opening his wallet to buy another man a pair of shoes, was not enough to keep the recipient from going barefoot.

This story, however, is even more complicated.  This homeless man had a NYC apartment but, for some reason, regularly returned to the streets.  Despite veterans benefits, Federal Section 8 assistance and Social Security, he would sit on the cold New York City pavement and, barefoot, walk its streets.

But, can we just say "It's his choice"?

What matters is that this homeless man, like thousands of others on the street, are in a country that is the richest nation in the world.  What matters is that an act of kindness ---- a man opening his wallet to buy another man shoes, was not enough to keep him from going barefoot.  Sometimes we assume the homeless operate with our values and rationality ----- they simply have had some bad breaks.  True, some homeless folks could try harder to solve their own problems.  But, there are always some who live in their own little world ---- do we just write them off?

The story of the policeman and the homeless man quickly faded, and we moved on to the next social-media sensation.  But the story continued for this homeless man, who perhaps should have garnered more lasting attention from the very beginning.

Do you think some social problems are too big for individuals to tackle alone?  Perhaps some problems, such as homelessness do require complex solutions.

The gift of shoes helps.  Cash helps.  But the more effective act of generosity, perhaps the real miracle, would have been if the millions of people who heard this story of the generous police officer trying to help a man in need, would push for better mental health services, more affordable housing, more job training ---- push for enough attention from the various levels of government for those people (like our homeless man) who need it most.  Random acts of kindness do some good, but often they are just not a sufficient solution.

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These thoughts are brought to you by the CPC Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage your spiritual growth this winter.

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WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Living A Secular Life, But Trying To Be A Christian

We need to earn a living.  We may have a family to provide for, or at least we need to provide food and shelter for ourselves.  This is the "secular" world, and it is very competitive.

Furthermore, our culture provides continuous media "education" on the things that will make us happy (even if only briefly).  So, our thoughts often are bent in a certain direction ---- that the purpose of one's life is to satisfy ourselves!

Today, with so much persuasion in the air, it is easy to forget the reason we have persisted for more than two thousand years to celebrate the teachings of Jesus.  What do those lessons really mean for us?  Did the presence of Jesus actually give us something that is important even today?

Many people believe the answer lies in understanding a fundamental problem all of us have. The Bible explains again and again that in general people's hearts are drawn toward selfishness and pride.  The Bible, in it's wisdom, tells us how we should live.  But, it also says, "you can't, and you won't."  Fortunately, it does provide a solution to the problem ---- in Jesus.

In order to be a Christian a person must admit that he or she is a sinner.  "Sin" is an attitude in which we focus on ourselves and thus replace God.  The real God and his law become secondary in our lives.  Probably we are not consistently sinful all the time, but we know that from time to time we place our pride and well-being first, even if others may sacrifice because of us.  Are any of us not sinners some of the time?

Actually, in order to really be a Christian, a person must admit that he or she is a sinner.  It is not really a surprise that Christians sin, that there is an inconsistency between what they say and what they do.

Bible teacher R. C. Sproul writes, "The Christian Church  is one of the few organizations in the world that requires a public acknowledgement of sin as a condition of membership.  In one sense, the church has fewer hypocrites than any other institution because by definition the church looks for sinners and is a haven for them.  If the church claimed to be an organization of perfect people, then her claim would be hypocrisy.  But no such claim is made by the church.  There is no slander in the charge that the church is full of sinners. Such a statement actually gives a compliment to the church for fulfilling her divinely appointed task."

Christianity is often equated with "obeying the rules," thereby making us think we just need to be a morally superior person.  Actually, many religions operate on a simple principle:  "If I live as I ought, I will be accepted by God."

But, Christianity has a completely different operating principle ---

                     I am already accepted by God, as a gift, demonstrated by

                     what Jesus has done for us on the Cross.  Therefore, out 

                     of gratitude, I should try to live as I ought.

Christians are people who understand that they will always fail to live as they should. Therefore, that they need forgiveness in the form of God's freely-given grace.  The prerequisite to becoming a Christian is admitting that one has this problem, and that we need God's help.  So, continual repentance in the sense of our humility before God would seem to be the mark of a Christian.

The difference between a Pharisee of the New Testament and a follower of Jesus Christ, is not that the Pharisee and the Christian are not both trying to obey God, they actually are. However, the Pharisee is doing it only self-righteously, so as to feel superior to other people --- there is no humility there.

Jesus criticized people who do "religious" things just to feel superior to others.  Jesus understood that the chief danger from the kind of religious moralism in which a person or a community feels they have earned God's favor is that it could lead them to feeling that they deserve special deference and respect from all other folks ---- it produces an unfortunate and unwarranted ego trip.

Jesus himself sacrificed his life so that his followers could be reconciled to God, making their pride and self-interest secondary.  Christians follow someone (Jesus) who sacrificed everything (all of his pride and self-interest) to redeem and renew the world.  At the heart of the Christian faith is a man who died a victim of injustice, but who called for the forgiveness of his enemies.  Jesus is the example we sinners are trying to follow.

In giving us Jesus, God showed us a path out of our sinfulness ---- a path that will bring joy to God.

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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.

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WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Why The Reformation Brought Us Closer To The Bible

One history of the Reformation suggests that making the Bible directly accessible to "the people" may be compared in its social and cultural effects to a vast irrigation project which provides water to dry land.  "Men's religious natures were provided with life-giving water," it was said.  People could now read their Bibles for themselves and find directly such truths as the sovereignty of God, salvation by faith, and the proper conduct of the Christian life.

Since the Bible was seen as centrally important in all forms of Protestantism, it was not by chance that the Reformation was accompanied by great activity in the translation of the Bible into the various languages of Europe, so that it might be directly accessible to common folk.   Previously, the Bible had been faithfully translated into Latin, but only the well-educated and church people could read Latin.  The interest in language translation was further enabled by the development of modern printing.  Gutenberg built his first printing press in 1450.

Martin Luther was a leader in articulating what would become Protestant thought during the time of the Reformation.  By 1510, Luther had been ordained a priest, but he was deeply troubled by feeling personally alienated from God.  He sought relief through the rigors of monastic discipline by becoming a monk.  Luther tried  every means of grace in the Roman Catholic system ---- seeking to put himself "right" with God.  He was not successful.  But, as he did further Bible study he began to see that justification ---- being put "right" with God ---- was not a thing to be earned by human effort.  Instead, it was a free gift from God which sinful mankind alone cannot earn or deserve.  This free grace, Luther concluded, can be achieved only by mankind's inner trust or faith in God.  Mankind must be open to receiving this free grace.

Faith, for Luther, was simply an inward act of saying "yes" to God, turning with trust and loyalty to God as the center and source of one's life, dealing directly with God.  This was a new way to look at religion, rendering useless and trivial much of the elaborate medieval Roman Catholic system.  In 1519, Luther debated publicly with Roman Catholic leaders. Luther argued that the Scriptures of the Bible are an authority above the Church.  The following year he was excommunicated.

The natural state of mankind, said Martin Luther, is alienation from God ---- proud self-worship.  By man's own acts he is powerless to save himself.  Luther placed little confidence in the capacity of reason to turn mankind to God.  Because mankind is "fallen," Luther believed. man's reasoning is itself depraved and sinful, and thus leads man away from God.  Faith, not reason, was for Luther the way mankind approaches God. By "faith," Luther meant neither the use of intellect, nor so-called mystical experiences, but being evoked by God's grace and love.

For Luther, the good news of this reconciliation is revealed to us by the Bible.  Luther believed in directly teaching from the Bible as the final authority in all matters of religion ---- not just following the lessons of tradition, the Church, or the Pope.  Luther said that one had only to read the God-inspired pages of the Bible, with an honest and seeking mind, guided by one's inner promptings from the Holy Spirit.

The riches of faith to be had in the Bible, in Luther's view, made philosophical speculation unnecessary.  More importantly, having direct accessibility to the Bible leads straight to the doctrine of the "priesthood of all believers," as Luther put it.  Thus, God's truth in Christ is not the exclusive prerogative of a priest or the Pope.  Rather, each person may and must guide their own life by Scripture and right reason, interpreted according to their best judgment.  Finding this truth, or rather being found by it, the Christian is a "free" man, Luther believed.  A part of the exercise of this free will consists in bearing witness to others.   As Luther saw it,"the priesthood of believers" meant not only that every man or woman was their own priest, but also that they were a priest to every other man or woman.

Following Martin Luther's teachings about the supremacy of the Bible, Scripture reading is always part of our  worship services at Central Presbyterian Church.  While our Senior Pastor may illuminate the Scripture reading for that day, in the last analysis, as Luther said, it is up to each of us to find within ourselves the intended message of the Scripture passage.  This is the direct word of God ---- no intermediaries required!

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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this year at CPC.

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WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Did You Know We Live In Both An Arboretum And A Jungle?

Outside of one's life in the established church, daily conditions may be very different.  Let's explore the differences.  For simplicity, let's say that life in the established church is like living in an "Arboretum"; while life outside the church is like life in the "Jungle."  Both metaphors may be needed to describe our everyday existence.  Let's use this metaphor comparison as a way of looking closely at the lives we live, in and out of church.  (We thank Texas pastor Rev. Bill Easum for suggesting this way of looking closely at the way we live our lives.)

In the Arboretum, everything is neatly laid out in a controlled environment.  There is never any doubt about whether you are on the path that will take you where you want to go.  Established church people usually like things to be neatly explained, with little or no ambiguity.

Many Arboretums are full of "do this" and "don't do that" rules, which we are supposed to follow.  Many established church people love to follow rules.  For many of them, procedure may be more important than effectiveness.  Perhaps some established church people don't think much about heresy in their church, so they seldom guard against it.  They just follow the rules they were given.

The operations of an Arboretum are predictable and slow to change.   One can go to an established church year after year and never see much change, and what change one does see is slow and incremental.  One has lots of time to adjust in the Arboretum, so things like annual meetings and annual budgets, and check-and-balance types of organization make sense.

In the Arboretum, adequate shelter from the rain and sun are provided, so one will have a good experience.  Many established church people really like the buildings, almost to the point of worshiping them.

Some folks feel entitled to the experience of the Arboretum.  After all, they have bought an admission ticket.  Often, because of having made an annual financial pledge, established church people feel entitled to not only the privilege of religion, but even more so to being cared for by their pastor.

Arboretums are so safe, it is OK to wander through them alone, even at night, if one obeys the rules.  Many established church people behave in more of a "rugged individualistic" style, rather than putting value in the use of team work.

Finally, in the Arboretum, one has no problem seeing the horizon.  You can always see where you are going or you can follow the signs.  You don't need a compass or GPS in the Arboretum.  Often established church people fail to see the need for Mission or Vision Statements.

Outside of one's life in the established church, conditions may be very different.  For most of us the alternative could be called life in the "Jungle."  It is to some degree an integral part of our everyday existence.  What does life in the "Jungle" look like?

Nothing is neatly laid out and controlled.  Unlike the Arboretum, the Jungle is a really messy place.  Nothing is where you would expect it to be and you have very little control over the environment. Intuition is now one of the most needed talents of a leader, even surpassing passion.  Messy and uncontrollable environments at first confuse most established church people, and at worst, shut them down when it comes to making strategic decisions.

In the Jungle, predators are everywhere and there simply aren't any rules to follow.  It is almost as if the Jungle dares us to test it's will.  However, established church people are often too naive to believe the reality of the Jungle and the heresies that pop out from every corner.  The Jungle does away with all the rules, except one ---- survival of the fittest. Most established church people are not used to being strategic with their resources.

Nothing is predictable and changes are fast.  The Jungle world changes from day to day. Overnight it's trails can cover up, and markers can disappear, leaving the traveler lost without an experienced guide.  Some established church people find it impossible to move fast enough to stay up with the changes, much less get ahead of them. 

We are not entitled to be in the Jungle.  The Jungle doesn't belong to us and we have to earn our right to exist in the Jungle.  All entitlements are out the window.  Too many established church people are miserable when confronted with the fact that the world no longer owes them a living, and their pastor isn't their spiritual baby sitter.

In the Jungle, when you look up there is no horizon.  The sun seldom shines through the Jungle canopy.  In such an environment one needs a very clear sense of direction.  The Mission Statement is the compass.  But, how many established church people look upon Mission Statements as an exercise in futility, rather than as a key to their future?

As far as the Jungle is concerned, Christianity is a nobody.  Gone are the days when society gave credence and special favor to Christianity.  Now it is just the opposite ----- the Jungle dislikes Christianity because the Jungle doesn't recognize it as legitimate.  Fewer people are coming to church on their own, they argue.

The Jungle has a way of tearing families apart, and helping people become addicted to one thing or another.  Some people say that most people and organizations are basically broken.  Organizations that once worked, no longer yield the same results.  When people do come to church, they have little understanding of Christianity, it is said.  What they are looking for is a safe place to find themselves, or to heal.  Too many established church people still think all one has to do is write a policy, or recite some pre-determined formula, and all is well.

Some might argue that CPC is an Arboretum right in the midst of the Jungle.  If we are wise, perhaps we will think long and hard about the foregoing metaphors.  Let's look harder to accent the positives, while compensating or correcting the negatives, so that the role of the two metaphors in our respective lives is very fruitful.

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These thoughts are offered by the CPC Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some spiritual growth for you in this winter season. 

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