Prior to the Pandemic, we were lucky enough to be able to do some ocean cruising, to see some of the world and expand our understanding of other peoples and cultures. We had been making a point of choosing excursions that got us out of the port and away from all the touristy money-sucks. We preferred to support local families, business owners, and, most especially, farmers. On one cruise, we spent an entire day working at a coffee collective high up in the mountains of the Dominican Republic.
On our first day in Hawaii, our tour was of a small, locally owned, coffee farm, well up in the hills west of Hilo. Because of its size, we were a lot closer to some of the processes than we had been in the Dominican Republic. This was exactly what we wanted to experience.
Some people just know how to tell a story. And our guy was certainly one of those. He was unhurried, comfortable to be with, and he was open to any of our questions. His knowledge of the coffee process was unmistakable. It probably helped that his family owned the farm. Now, no two coffee operations work exactly the same. These folk, for example, used the wet method of coffee bean processing versus the dry method used in the Dominican Republic.
And that’s the step we were learning about when our guide said those magic words.
We were standing next to open vats of coffee beans floating in water. He explained that their commitment to natural processing included allowing the beans to soak for a few days in ... Hawaiian rainwater.
He paused.
As a group, we said, “Ahhhhhh.” How special. How unique. I imagine we were all thinking something like: “Wait until I get home and serve my friends this coffee. I can’t wait to tell them what makes it so special.”
It was a dramatic moment.
And then he said, “Or, as we like to call it here in Hawaii: rainwater.”
Perspective. It’s important. For us —at least for a moment, there— Hawaiian rainwater was magical. However, it’s a rare day some rain doesn’t fall in Hawaii. From his perspective, Hawaiian rainwater was, literally, an everyday occurrence.
How we think about the coming week's passages is all bound up in our perspective. If we perceive the Ten Commandments as dictatorial, we will likely respond negatively to them. Alternately, if we perceive them as an invitation to a better life, to wisdom, and to a good relationship with God and one another ... well, that’s a pathway toward spiritual maturity.
If our perspective on Jesus cleansing the Temple is that he just “lost it” and began beating everyone and everything with a whip ... we’re likely to come to a self-defeating conclusion. On the other hand, if we perceive these people to be thieves who had inserted themselves between the people and God, then we could find ourselves on a path toward wisdom.
We need the wisdom discussed in 1st Corinthians. Otherwise, our perspective has no compass. It has no idea what to do with the received stimuli, and it is just as likely to fight or flee when neither is the best action. No matter how perceptive one might be, without the reflective qualities of wisdom, without that spiritually informed rubric for decision-making, we simply respond to the stimuli: slap for slap, eye for eye, life for life.
God gives wisdom. All we need do is ask. God gives us ears to hear, and will bless us with vision, when we seek it. Perspective. It’s important.
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PHOTO: Steve Orr (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Ka’u Coffee vs Kona Coffee:
Article about Hilo Coffee Mill:
Hilo Coffee Mill website:
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Friday’s coming! Join us for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. It’s a pleasant hour of Bible, discussion, prayer, and laughter. Bring your breakfast! We Zoom at 8:00.
Contact me for the Zoom link.
NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera if you don’t wish to be seen and to mute the microphone if you don’t wish to speak.
Blessings,
Steve
SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK
Find them here: Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
John 2:13-22
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