Challenging Times Provoke Self-Examination in The Light of Scripture

I typically think of the circumstances of my life, as preoccupations that distract me from hearing what God might want to say through the Scripture. Yet, as I have practiced lectio divina, I have learned that these preoccupations may be, in fact, the exact conditions to which God wants to speak as I approach him through the Scripture. And therefore, rather than put them aside, I acknowledge them and allow God to speak into my life, addressing the very things that are shaping my current existence. This shift in perspective has become more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If I am honest, the current conditions associated with the pandemic have thrown me into a bit of an existential crisis. And I have come to embrace the chaos as an opportunity for challenge and growth. Therefore, in response, I am attempting to re-examine my life in light of the ancient wisdom of Scripture.

I am not surprised that the current conditions are raising questions about life, death, meaning, purpose, identity, spirituality, and the value of family, friends, and church.

I did not expect, however, the pandemic in conjunction with the spotlight on race, ethnicity, prejudice, and exclusion, to challenge my very notions of Christianity, church, nation, and citizenship.

As a person who agreed to be centered and grounded in Christ, I am seeking to re-establish:

1. Who I am, Michael John Palandro, as a person in Christ, and

2. The priority of my pledged allegiance to Christ and his Kingdom for how I live in these times.

It is an exciting and hard journey! As it certainly is for every thinking person who has a clear center of values and a point of devotion and allegiance that informs what is true and good and how to order one’s life.

I cannot remember a time when I felt more uncertain about what to say, how to say it, and how to act. And so, I have been relatively quiet. Part of the problem is that in my self-examination, I have discovered that I harbor some of the same things for which I judge others. I know that everything about me should promote life, truth, goodness, and beauty as projected in the very person of Christ himself. But I have found myself incapable and, at times, utterly unwilling to say or do what I believe to be the right thing. And though it is disturbing to find myself so conflicted, it also encourages me to see that Scripture is doing its proper work in me. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that “the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit . . . it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” I can say without hesitancy, “Scripture is judging my thoughts and heart!”

In the sixth century, the church father and theologian, Gregory the Great, made an interesting observation about how Scripture reading should work.

Holy Writ is set before the eyes of the mind like a kind of mirror, that we may see our inward face in it; for therein we learn the deformities, therein we learn the beauties that we possess; there we are made sensible what progress we are making, there too how far from proficiency.

The problem as I see it is that somehow the bible is not working for many American Christians, particularly in the realm of government and politics. I say this because from what I hear and see, many of us recognize only beauty in ourselves and only ugliness in others. We talk like we alone are truth-tellers, and the others are liars. That we alone seek the good of the nation, and the other seeks only its destruction. That we alone are pure of heart while the other abounds with conspiracies.

We know this cannot be true! We are told in 1 John 1:8, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” And yet, I can already hear it, “I never said I don’t sin.” Yes, but we won’t publicly identify how we do sin, as a person, a platform, a party, or a nation (or a church). Matthew 7:4 suggests a starting point for us. “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” But I get that we are afraid to be honest because we fear being judged and marginalized by our own communities. “I” am fearful of being judged and marginalized by my communities.

Beginning in 2008, while I pastored the Vineyard Church of Houston, I said over and over that our allegiance to Christ transcends party and nation. And as an alternative community with a transcendent loyalty, integrity suggests that we should be the first to criticize the communities to which we belong. We can be affirming and critical of what we support.

I am pledging anew and would like to invite you, my friends, to consider three things as Christ-followers.

1. Our first allegiance is to Christ, his church, and his cause, and all other associations, alliances, and loyalties are subject to the priority of Christ’s Lordship. That by identity, we are neither Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Green, nor Independents. But that we are an alternative community attempting, with humility and self-judgment, to live and promote Christ’s vision for humankind. That to all else, we exercise not a blind loyalty but a critical loyalty.

2. That with faith, love, and hope, we raise our voices to affirm what is true and good and beautiful wherever we find it and to challenge falsehood, and evil, and ugliness wherever it occurs in the human community, in national politics, and the church.

3. That we each, reach out to a few socially and politically diverse friends in Christ and commit to engaging with one another under the scrutiny of Scripture, theology, and prayer in an experiment to learn where we might define a shared vision and strategy for how to live as God’s people in the nation and the world.

Please, let me know what you think by emailing me at lectio4life@gmail.com. Or with civility and humility, respond in the comments below.