You have no business here.
N0 monsters under the bed!
You can't fit under there.
No monsters hiding in the closet!
It's too small in there.
No monsters outside of the windows!
You can't hold on out there.
No vampires, no werewolves, no things that bite.
You have no business here.
Nothing will touch you, or hurt you, all this night.
You have no business here."
-------- Stephen King's Cujo
The "monster words" are what Vic (the father) chants at bedtime so Tad (his very young son) will stop worrying about the monsters he believes are in his closet. It's a loving thing for a father to do.
If he believes the evil is not real.
When Vic needs to go on a business trip, he writes the incantation down on a piece of paper so Donna (the mother) can read it to Tad while Vic is gone. Eventually, Tad begins carrying the folded piece of paper in his pocket. He touches it whenever he feels afraid. Doing that gives him a little relief.
Of course, being a Stephen King novel, Cujo delivers a lot for Tad to fear. And I don't think I'm giving anything away when I tell you that the "monster words" are not wholly successful as the talisman against evil Tad wants them to be.
The same is true for us.
In Jacqueline Bussie's book, Outlaw Christian: Finding Authentic Faith by Breaking the Rules, she plows right into our tendency to use our own "monster words" to shield us from the harsh realities of our lives. Sure, there are times of joy and wonderment. But there are also times when things are so bad we wish we could "explain away evil and suffering with a theo-magical slight of hand."
When faced with betrayal, suffering, fear, terror, and death (ours or anyone else's), we armor ourselves with the "marshmallow armor" of religious platitudes, pious clichés, scriptures taken out of context, misquoted and/or misapplied theology: our monster words. We draw temporary (and truly unsatisfactory) relief from just having them near; being able to speak them into any terrible event.
When asked for whom her book was written, Bussie said, "If you are a person who has ever loved someone, lost them, and then heard the hidden question why blacksmith your heart so hard it felt like your ears bled, this book was written with you at heart."
If you are struggling with such hard things, then you may find some (true) relief in knowing that others are, too. Whether we can admit it or not, we all struggle with realigning our old ways of thinking with the dynamic new ways we are called to by Jesus.
Witness the "circumcised believers" in this week's Lectionary selection from Acts. They cannot seem to move past the requirements of the Law. After Peter returns from preaching to and baptizing Cornelius and his household (none of whom were Jewish), these "circumcised believers" interrogate Peter, saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?!"
You can read the story, yourself, and you should. The point is well made by Peter, and it's one we need to roll forward into our own faith-walk: when God points us in another direction, we can faithfully move in that direction. We are not enslaved to the old ways just because they are the comfort zone. In fact, if there's an ultimate point to the Book of Acts, it is that God is doing something new, something true and authentic, something that does not hide from the bad parts of life.
In real life, we are rarely removed from the hard bits. We must go through them. We don't need "monster words" on which to rely. We have the Holy Spirit and the promise that, regardless of how bad it gets, God is in it with us.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fifth Sunday of Easter (April 24, 2016)
First reading
Acts 11:1-18
Psalm
Psalm 148
Second reading
Revelation 21:1-6
Gospel
John 13:31-35
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Join us Friday mornings? We still meet at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant. Lectionary Breakfast starts at 8:00 and is an hour when a lot of truth is spoken.
Enjoy the week!
Steve
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