Food for the Journey

FOOD FOR THE JOURNEY Week of August 24th, 2009

Folks,

Any Trekies out there? Star Trek fans… here’s a trivia question: Do you remember the “Prime Directive”? This was the thing above all else that the space travelers needed to abide by.

Here it is from Wikipedia: “In the fictional universe of Star Trek, the Prime Directive, Starfleet’s General Order #1, is the most prominent guiding principle of the United Federation of Planets. The Prime Directive dictates that there can be no interference with the internal development of pre-warp civilizations, consistent with the historical real world concept of Westphalian sovereignty. It has special implications, however, for civilizations that have not yet developed the technology for interstellar spaceflight ("pre-warp"), since no primitive culture can be given or exposed to any information regarding advanced technology or the existence of extraplanetary civilizations, lest this exposure alter the natural development of the civilization.”

Do you think we have theological Prime Directives? Do we each carry in us, in our lives, some foundational belief that affects our view of life? Some most basic tenant of faith that informs our relationships?

People of faith seem to have something that leads them… that motivates them in their lives… some basic/foundational belief that informs their judgments and actions. What’s your Prime Directive of God?

I just received a letter from one of our synod pastors calling a meeting to see what should be done. He’s referencing the latest news out of the Evangelical Lutheran Church In America (ELCA), our National church body. Last week the ELCA, in its national bi-yearly gathering, passed, among other things, a resolution that would allow homosexual people in committed relationships to be ordained as pastors in Christ’s church. For this pastor, and others, I assume the possibility of leaving the ELCA is on the table. According to his letter, the key issue is “not homosexuality, but our understanding of God’s word”. For him, THIS is his Prime Directive. He believes the passing of this resolution is just another of many decisions made by the ELCA indicating this church is drifting away from “God’s Word”. And does it lead to a line in the sand? For this pastor and for others in the ELCA, the idea of ordaining homosexuals in committed relationships is stepping over the line. This pastor is motivated by being faithful to God’s word… and ordaining homosexuals in committed relationships is an extreme expression of going against God’s Word.

What does this bring up in you? What’s your “God’s Word”?

About three years ago I was listening to an NPR story from a female reporter in Iraq doing a story on some US civilian trainers there. During the story one of the American men she was interviewing was talking about the Iraqi custom of men holding hands – he talked about the difficulty of getting them to stop doing that. The female reporter asked why he would want to do that, and he responded by saying that it just wasn’t right for men to hold hands, that it was just wrong.

Based on her response, you could tell she had a very different perspective. She responded with something about that being their culture and that he (the man being interviewed) should recognize that he is in another culture – a foreign culture – and the people in this culture have their own customs and practices that are different… and should be respected as such!

Then later in the story she referenced women not having the freedoms women have here in the States, and that it was our responsibility to try and help women have more rights and privileges, as men do in Iraq. And I thought – how interesting… she criticized the American man for wanting to try and change the custom of men holding hands, but she could not accept the custom of women not being equal. Now I’m not judging the custom as right or wrong, just commenting on her judgment of which customs to respect and leave alone and which customs change because they are “wrong”. She had a line… she could only accept cultural customs so far.

I once wrote a sermon based on the idea that we all may have a line we are unwilling to cross. For some the line is pretty close and for others the line is pretty far away. Where is your line? What is the foundational principle of your faith? What is “God’s Word” for you?

Let’s say its love… Sounds like an admirable divine Prime Directive. Jesus calls us to love. Okay… What does it look like? Does it mean to give money to anyone that asks you? Or do you have a criteria for generosity? Whom are you called to love?

We’re seeing this line come up for many people, and this topic of Homosexuality is the lightning rod for it. There are sides being drawn… unfortunately! Can we have a difference of opinion and STILL remain in the same family? Can we have a line, and STILL dwell together in God’s house? Can we share a prime directive that includes us all?

Things to think about…

Peace,

Pr. C-