Ear to the Ground and Nose to the Wind

Pedigree is a term being tossed around a lot lately, especially in reference to whom it is “appropriate” to hear from regarding matters of leadership and church development in the PC(USA). Pedigree. It’s all about papers: papers that declare you acceptable by a select group of people. You are the right height. You are the right shape. Your coat is shiny. You walk, and trot and run through obstacle courses in appropriate patterns. You know how to perform for an audience. (Dare I say jump through hoops?) Out of necessity, you live a sheltered life. You never make noise. You have the right parents. You are -ahem- without blemish.

The last I heard, Jesus hung out with people vastly different from himself: people who had no education, no breeding, no voice, sometimes no limbs nor sight. People with little position or influence. People from the wrong country or wrong part of town: whores, felons, liars and cheats and all manner of unsavory types. Alley trash composed of the abandoned, forsaken and forgotten.

Veterinarians will tell you, that when it comes to a healthy, long-lived member of the family, to adopt a dog with mixed blood. Troublesome attributes tend to surface in animals bred to retain specific traits. Epilepsy and emotional disorders, for example, are common culprits. On the other hand, foundlings, particularly, are street smart. The strong and quick survive and are protective and contributing members of their pack-especially when their pack includes multiple species. The real world is the only one they know.

Peter was a big, sturdy fisherman: an unlettered, unpapered working breed. Andrew was adept at sniffing out local resources for outfitting his group. Bartholomew was the guile-less one: no hidden agenda. The disciples themselves were not a homogenous group. They had to work together with their differences, and learn to serve.

Jesus’ pack was always on the move and gathered in homes, in the streets, by the lakeshore, on the hillsides, in the fields and vineyards. The disciples came from the streets, the soldiers’ training ground, the waterfront and the marketplace. They were well-acquainted with where “the action is.” The sheltered types kept behind walls of separation, tending to observe the budding church rather than jumping in to engage and take part. Hence, the language for the community remained in the community. Sheltering walls, whether they are ecclesiastic, scholastic or civic, create a position removed from the kingdom of God at large.

Listen to the voices in the street, voices that call from reclaimed warehouse and basement, the forgotten field and storefront: the Holy Spirit is here, renewing, restoring and lifting up the Church of Jesus Christ. Let those who have ears, hear & fear not.