Pray for Rain

Two nights ago, Austin finally got a small amount of much-needed rain. Now it is finally actually raining. Rain has been hard to come by this year for pretty much the whole state of Texas this year. When I used to live in Abilene, long droughts were also pretty common. Praying for rain was a very common occurrence there, partially because rain was scarce, but also because a big part of Abilene’s economy is dependent upon agriculture. 

When I lived in San Antonio, one of my roommates was a beekeeper. He would pray for rain because the health of his hives depended on it. Without rain, the flowers would not bloom and the bees would not produce very much honey. This has been a tough year for his honey production.

For the most part, it does not seem like my life changes much when it does not rain. The biggest difference might be that I decide to take the bus instead of riding my bicycle. Although it is likely an illusion, I do not feel much dependence on life-giving water from the sky, because it still comes from my faucet.

In Matthew 9:18-34, Jesus encountered several individuals who understood dependence. One was a man whose daughter had died. Another was a woman who was continually bleeding internally, leaving her a childless outcast from society. Then there was the blind and demon-possessed. For these people, there was no medicaid or free service clinic. They basically had two options, healing from God or continuing in their lives of despair.

I think it is easy in this age of technology to forget about our dependence on God. A farmer hoping for clouds is very aware of being dependent and having very little control. Although our lifestyles are likely to be different, we must realize this truth; every breath that brings oxygen into our bodies is a miracle from God.

Jesus and John Nash

Sometimes I feel like John Nash (the scientist from the film “A Beautiful Mind”) when I am working on my research. No, I do not hallucinate or try to mathematically map out the patterns of pigeons. Like Dr. Nash did in the movie (and probably also in real life), I am looking for that one great original idea. It has to be something that is communicable and understandable by others. It needs to be different, but not so radical that it will be rejected off hand. In my field it must also have the ability to be investigated empirically.

I think one reason why John Nash and I share in this search is that new ideas are highly valued in the world of academia. We speak fondly of individuals (like Nash) whose revolutionary ideas sent entire disciplines of researchers hurdling in completely new directions. Of course it is quite common that in their time, the ideas themselves were rejected.

In Matthew 9:14-17, Jesus was questioned about his new paradigm for what it means to please God. Evidently, some people thought that Jesus’ followers were not fasting enough. Jesus used an analogy about wine storage in order to explain to them that the times, they were a changing. Pleasing God would subsequently be different than it was before. I think few would argue against the fact that the life and teachings of Jesus changed the world more than any great idea or life before or since. His words have continued to encourage the simple and baffle the learned for more than two millennia. 

This is good news to me, because I serve a creative God who is the source of great ideas. He is not afraid to shake things up a little.

Jesus and Jerry Springer

My father spent a large portion of his life working in the television industry. No, he was not a news reporter or a talk show host, that is what everyone asks. He worked more on the technical side of the news, starting out as a camera operator, then becoming the manager of the technicians who worked together to produce live television. 

When people would find out what he did, they often liked to make snide comments about “the media.” They would talk about how the media was responsible for polluting society with it’s wickedness, or discuss the mind-numbing nature of daytime television programs like Jerry Springer. One might infer from what they said that they were thinking “how any good person contribute in any way to such filth?” 

In Matthew 9, Jesus approaches a man whose profession was considered much more sinister than working for the media. He was a tax collector. At the time, tax collectors were seen as sell-outs to their faith, families, and ethnic group. Even though Matthew was Jewish, he was employed by the Roman government, who had forcefully conquered the Jews. Tax collectors were known for skimming off of the top for profit.

Amazingly, Matthew responded positively to Jesus’ call and became the writer of one of the books that has been continually changing the world for the past two millennia. Jesus, on the other hand, suffered ridicule from the religious for even associating with these types of people. My father would respond by telling people that he did not choose what was on television. He would explain that he thought there were also positive sides to the media, such as keeping people informed and connected with the world. 

I think Jesus’ encounter with vocational discrimination can help us discover our own biases. For example, do you think an oil executive could be a good christian who is doing all he/she can to serve God? How about a personal injury lawyer, an NPR Disc Jockey, or an environmental lobbyist? Who would you tell Jesus was a waste of his time?

Jesus and Dr. House

Research usually shows that when people are having difficulty with mental illness, they usually go to their primary care physician first. Often they will go to their doctor with  medical-sounding symptoms, such as pain, fatigue, heart-related symptoms, or insomnia. Hopefully, that is where the doctor’s expertise takes over. It is the doctor’s job to have the knowledge to conglomerate the patient’s symptoms with medical knowledge in order to suggest treatment. Even though it’s just television, I love to watch Dr. House and his team go through this process.

Unfortunately, I have seen many individuals whose doctors obviously did not have quite enough expertise in the area of mental health to make evidence-based recommendations. It seems that doctors just do not always have the time to investigate all of the recommended possibilities and patients rarely report symptoms accurately. As Dr. House says; “Everybody Lies.” Therefore, the doctor may treat the symptoms instead of the disorder. Then the patient and the doctor are surprised when the treatment does not bring relief. 

In Matthew 9, it seems like people start to treat Jesus as solely a miraculous healer. This is the story of the men who broke through the roof of someone’s house to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing. Jesus seems to have thought that was really cool. Then he proceeded to tell the man that his sins were forgiven, a statement that would have lit the fires of heresy amongst some of those listening. Finally, Jesus healed the man’s physical ailments as well. 

Although Jesus did heal people on many occasions, it seems like he is telling them that physical healing was not his only purpose. Many of them probably had yet to understand the universal significance of the mission of Jesus. He had not come to merely treat those fleeting physical deformities of life, but to alter the eternal states of a broken species.

The Cloud and the Storm

When I left the University on Monday, I noticed an ominous-looking cloud in the sky. Although it was beautiful in the evening sky, it looked like it was bulging with all types of precipitation and mayhem. While sitting in a coffee shop yesterday, I learned that I was not the only one who noticed this cloud. These college-aged kids could not stop talking about it. They called it "The cloud that brought Zeus." Whenever there was a lull in the conversation, someone would say “how about that cloud yesterday” and everyone else would say “yeah dude, that was awesome.” 

Personally, it made me remember my younger years when my family lived on a hill so that every spring we could see the bulging thunderhead clouds coming over the horizon.  Usually, seeing a cloud this massive would signify a coming storm. Unfortunately for the dying plants of central Texas, Monday’s cloud did not bring any rain to our area. It did supply us with a brief sense of joy and a bunch of facebook status updates.

In Matthew 8, the author describes how some clouds appeared that did bring about rain and wind. Even though Jesus and the disciples were in a boat, which is generally not where you would want to be during a storm, Jesus went to sleep. It seems that all of the men on the boat thought that their situation was dire, except for Jesus. When the disciples woke him, Jesus rebuked the storm and calmed the sea.

Some people interpret Jesus’ sleeping as a sign of his ability to feel at peace in tough circumstances. Although that is true, may be Jesus also knew that this storm simply was not that bad. He may have known that the boat was strong enough and the sailors were capable. In the end, may be Jesus knew how his life was going to end, but it was not from drowning in a rainstorm. 

May be we need to learn to see a cloud as a cloud. When our situations ominously tower above us, covering our view, we should try to take a step out and consider that things might appear worse than they are.

Healed

I feel that I am extremely blessed to have had an amazing childhood. Having a 2 acre yard meant that we had space to run around and do all kinds of boy things, like building forts and playing ball. We even had a sandbox. We could make a game out of just about anything. We also played with other neighborhood kids. We did not always enjoy showering, so mom would take us to my grandmother’s house for swimming so we would be at least a little clean.

There is a growing amount of medical evidence which suggests that my early exploration was not only good for my happiness as a child, but possibly also my health as an adult. The hygiene hypothesis is a theory which suggests that not coming into contact with bacterias and diseases early in life may impair the growth of one’s immune system, resulting in immune system-related problems such as allergies and asthma. It is similar to getting a flu shot which contains a small amount of the disease to build up one’s immunity to that particular disease. I have even heard of successful medical procedures in which the bacteria from a healthy person is transferred to a sick person, then the disease is eradicated.

In Matthew 8:14 - 17, Jesus heals many people of their diseases. First he heals Peter’s mother-in-law, then others who were brought to him. Matthew then quotes Isaiah 53, in which the prophet foretold that Jesus would be a healer, taking up our diseases and infirmities. It seems that Jesus’ healing was a powerful demonstration of God’s care for the pain suffered in humanity.

What about the rest of us who may have never had a serious infectious disease or have been possessed by a demon? Can we not know the love of God in the same way?

Using the logic of the hygiene hypothesis, one might suggest that there are actually three types of people: (1) those who are sick and yet to be healed, (2) those who are not sick because they have not yet come into contact with the disease, and (3) those who are pre-healed through immunity. 

I think this type of viewpoint might be helpful in the way we think about other people. We are all vulnerable to the brokenness of the world, but for some problems God has placed within us healing before our affliction. For other issues we may be vulnerable and yet to be afflicted. The most powerful set may be those things we have actually encountered directly and experienced healing.

How to Ask

My four year-old niece knows how to ask in a way that is conducive to getting a good answer. She looks at you sincerely, with a cute little face that is hard to resist. I am not sure where children learn this, but it can be very effective. Even when they ask over and over again, it can still be hard to say “no.”

In Matthew 8, Jesus encounters two men who made very effective requests of him. One of them was a man with Leprosy, who said to Jesus: “Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean.” The second man told Jesus about the affliction (his servant was sick), but then also said he was not worthy to have Jesus enter his household. Jesus responded very positively to both of these men, granting their requests. 

It seems to me that the two things these questions had in common were faith and humility. Both men expressed their complete confidence that Jesus could grant their requests. They probably had heard many stories about Jesus’ power to heal the sick. However, neither man expressed much confidence that Jesus would grant their requests. They humbly asked, knowing that Jesus was under no particular obligation to acquiesce to their requests.

Although we may have learned how to ask when we were very young, I think we often forget about it when it comes to God. Instead we often ask God “Why Me?” with this glaring sense of entitlement. People sometimes even ask questions of God, while putting on the line whether or not they will continue to believe. We treat God like a vending machine, always expecting to get what we want when we push the right button. 

God is not a vending machine, or even some nebulous “force” in the universe. God is an  immense, omnipotent, and creative being that has a will, not an algorithm. I hope we can learn to treat God that way!