The crossing was a good one; pretty smooth as ocean voyages go (for a hilarious description of a not smooth crossing of the Pacific, see Mark Twain’s Letters from Hawaii). We enjoyed our five days at sea, and that experience was its own separate pleasure. But, lets not pretend: the purpose of the cruise was to reach, and explore, Hawaii.
Our first day on the big island started out so well: our first tour stop was the Hilo Coffee Mill, a combination coffee plantation, cafe, and gift shop. Getting to tour their coffee growing, curing, and roasting operation —followed by drinking some of that fresh and delicious local brew— portended well for the remainder of the day.
There were other interesting sights to see and places to visit ... and we took them all in. However, my goal for that day was to experience Mount Kilauea, the long smoldering volcano that originally formed the island.
It seemed to take forever for us to get to this point in the tour. But ... eventually ... we arrived. We queued up with everyone else, waiting (as patiently as possible) for our turn to peer into the heart of the volcano. There was no one setting time limits; so each person, couple, or group, took as long as they wished. For me, it seemed like forever! Still, even a watched pot will, finally, boil. And our time did finally come.
As we stepped forward to take our place at the front of the line, I was keyed up. Before that day, I had never actually seen a volcano, even at a distance. And while I had viewed this one, just minutes earlier as we drove toward it, what I saw was just a big hill. Now was the moment of truth. Now I would stare down into the heart of the Earth. Now I would see, with my own eyes, the stuff that came before.
What I saw below: a roughly circular patch of dirt crisscrossed by lines of ants marching one behind the other.
After all of the emotional build up, I was profoundly disappointed. Had I traveled half the Pacific Ocean just to watch a line of ants march across a dusty spot? I looked to one side and caught the expressions of the folks just turning to leave the lookout point. Clearly, they were in awe. I turned to the other side where I saw a similar expression on my wife’s face.
What was I missing here? I looked back at the view, seeking to understand.
And then, as sometimes happens to me, everything before my eyes rearranged itself. Suddenly, I was not looking at ants crossing a patch of dirt. Suddenly, those ants became humans, people so far away from me that they appeared as small as ants. And that dusty spot became an enormous volcanic caldera, plugged up with cooled magma.
Humans were walking across the space where, in years past, lava had flowed. They were, in fact, walking on lava (cooled to the point that it would hold the weight of humans and, not insignificantly, not burn them to a cinder). That sent a shiver up my spine.
Perspective. It changes everything.
Before I fully perceived what I was experiencing, my understanding was wrong. Oh, it felt right. In fact, I was certain of what I was seeing: ants on a patch of dirt. But the facts were different than my perception of them. It was only after I saw what was actually before me that I had a full understanding.
And that’s the situation alluded to in this week’s selection from the gospel of John. The perception of ... well, almost everyone ... was wrong. It was wrong about sin, wrong about righteousness, and wrong about judgement. People felt that the sin in their life could not be overcome, that the standard of God’s righteousness was just too high fo a human to achieve ... felt that God had judged them, found them wanting, and had abandoned them to a hell on Earth.
And maybe you’ve felt it, too ... felt as hopeless as ants crawling across a rumbling, threatening volcano?
But maybe that’s too personal. Let’s take a step back and just say that these conditions still exist for some. They can’t understand the new relationship we have with sin because they do not believe that Jesus is really who He claimed to be. They can’t understand the truth about how someone achieves righteousness because they do not accept that Jesus is now with God, acting on our behalf. And they do not understand judgment because they do not acknowledge that “the ruler of this world” has already been condemned.
Jesus taught his disciples that when He sent the “Spirit of Truth” to them, they would be able to understand the truth about these things. It can be difficult to grasp these lessons. Jesus said that, without the Advocate (the Spirit), some of what we need to know would be too much to bear. We need to be gently guided into understanding these contra-intuitive things.
We are not ants on a volcano, as some might want us to believe. We are not distant, little beings to God. We are loved by God and by His son. Our journey has been provided for. We need only allow the Spirit to equip us properly.
Perspective. It changes everything.
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PHOTO (and info about Mount Kīlauea Volcano. Please support Wikipedia.): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kīlauea
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Day of Pentecost (May 20, 2018
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//
Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Romans 8:22-27 or Acts 2:1-21
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
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Pentecost marks the celebration of the moment when God began to share His Spirit with all of us who believe. Join us Friday morning as we allow the Advocate to guide us and instruct us. Meet us at 8:00 at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant (in the function room, around the back). It’s an hour like no other.
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