Monday Meditation - April 26, 2010

Submitted by Rector on Mon, 04/26/2010 - 05:27

So the Jewish people gathered around him and said to him: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly?” John 10:24-25
 
Keep it simple! Give me the facts—plainly! Plain-talking leaders—that what we want. Just fix the budget, the healthcare system, the environment. There must be an easy code to be cracked---Let’s get to it!
In Sunday’s sermon, I spoke about Jesus’ words from the Gospel of John. In Sunday’s Gospel, we found Jesus back in his life of ministry—walking in the temple, being a rabbi, a teacher. His people—the Jewish people—surround him and say: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 
Plain talk in the realm of faith. Easy to say, hard to do.
It’s a problem talking plainly about a topic that is inherently complex. A topic that is beyond our understanding. We’d like to think that the Bible is a code that can be cracked---if we just study hard enough or get our faith “right.” 
Yet, look at the stories in the Bible. God calls us with burning bushes and rushing wind. The sick are miraculously healed. Folks are raised from the dead. 
Last week I was at the first session of a two-year program of continuing education called the Clergy Leadership Project. The program is run by Trinity Wall Street and is an intense five days talking about leadership in the church. Our main speaker was Hugh O’Doherty who currently teaches at Harvard and is a man known for his groundbreaking work on conflict around the world—particularly in Northern Ireland. For our time with Hugh, we spoke and experienced what he called Adaptive Challenge.
Essentially there are two kinds of challenges in life—technical challenge and adaptive challenge. A technical challenge is the plain and simple problem and solution. You see the problem; you fix it in a few steps. Check it off the list. Done!
Adaptive challenge is a bit different. Adaptive challenge is less obvious or simple. Adaptive challenge does not lend itself to a quick fix. Adaptive Challenge is what Jesus was all about. Adaptive Challenge is Kingdom work.
Think of a time in your own life when you made a BIG change---stopping smoking, losing weight, ending an addiction, rebuilding a relationship—and look at Hugh’s description of the properties of adaptive challenge:
 
  • The challenge consists of a gap between aspirations and reality requiring responses outside the current repertoire.
  • Narrowing the gap requires difficult learning.
  • The learning involves distinguishing what’s expendable from what’s precious and essential, which involves LOSS.
  • The losses often involve learning to refashion old loyalties and develop new competencies.
  • Adaptive work is value-laden.
  • The people with the problem are the problem and the solution. Problem solving responsibility shifts to the stakeholders.
  • Adaptive work requires a longer time frame than technical work.
  • Adaptive work is experimental and requires risk-taking.
  • Adaptive challenges generate disequilibrium and avoidance.
 
In your life of faith, what is the adaptive challenge facing you this Eastertide? For Memorial Church, think of all the adaptive challenges we have faced over our 150 years—integration, a new Prayer Book, the challenge of a changing urban environment. What’s next for the Memorial community?
 
Teacher, if you are the Messiah, tell us plainly!
What Jesus says is: You are my sheep. I am the good shepherd. You know my voice. I call you by name. Come, follow me. 

Follow me—the adaptive challenge of faith—so easy to say, a lifetime to learn.