Spirituality is....Asking

(c) 1993, 20th Century Fox, The Simpsons. 

In the Simpsons episode "Homer and Apu" the Simpson family travels to India so Apu can ask for his job back from the guru of gurus - the head of the Kwik-E-Mart. When they arrive - he is sitting crossed legged on top of the Himalayas - like the stereotypical wise man.  He only allows petitioners to ask him three questions.


Head Of Kwik-E-Mart: You may ask me three questions.

Homer: Are you really the head of the Kwik-E-Mart?
Head Of Kwik-E-Mart: Yes--
Homer: Really?
Head Of Kwik-E-Mart: Yes--
Homer: You?
Head Of Kwik-E-Mart: Yes. I hope this has been enlightening to you. Thank you, come again.

Poor Apu never gets to ask his question! That's a shame, because the act of asking is one of the best pathways we can find in spirituality. 

We often see or hear of spiritual people  much in the same way The Simpsons represents them. Whether or not they are sitting on a mountain top - we tend to think of spiritual people as peaceful, all-knowing, wisdom providing beings who have all the answers.  They wait for us to come to them and they tell us those things we need to know. They bring light and enlightenment to us with their very presence. We walk away from our encounters saying, "someday I'd like to be like that!"  And when we do - we miss the point.

Spirituality isn't about knowing all the answers, being ever-calm, or being isolated from the rest of the world. In some ways, that model is about as far from spirituality as you get.  Spirituality is about asking the questions, longing for answers and learning from each other along the way.  Spiritual people don't isolate themselves permanently on the mountaintop of  "above-it-all"  floating over the problems of life.  Spiritual people are in the world engaging other people in acts of healing, words of hope and prayers of connection.  Spiritual people are the ones down in the mud helping others or seeking help themselves.

Always knowing the "right thing to say" isn't spirituality. Sitting beside someone, holding their hand in silence because you don't know what to say but you desire to comfort them is the breath of God in you. Spirituality isn't always a pretty, fluid prayer timed like a dance that rolls off the tongue. Sometimes its a jagged heaving cry that simply says, "God, I don't know what to do anymore. Help me."

Being spiritual doesn't make someone untouchable, elevated or holy.  Being spiritual makes someone real. There's an old preacher's joke that I think of when I come across one of those stereotypical views of the spirit.

A farmer stopped by a little country church and approached the desk of the church secretary. Standing before her with a farmer's tan and dirty overalls he asked for the pastor.
     "Let me speak to the head hog of the herd!" He thundered joyously.
     "Sir!" gasped the startled secretary. "We do not refer to our Pastor, The Most Reverend Alan Clayton, like that! It's disrespectful and undignified. Please remember, Sir, this is Holy Ground."
     "Well, I'm terribly sorry," the farmer continued. "I reckon I don't belong here then. I was just excited because I got a great price on my crop and I stopped by to donate 5 thousand dollars to thank the Lord.  I'll be leavin' now."
The secretary bounded over the desk, jumped in from the farmer and replied, "Hold on! I'll get the big pig right now!"

There's nothing wrong with respect, or dignity. But I think it would serve us to remember that spirituality is about pursuit and connection - not pomp and circumstance. 

Asking has many of the elements of spirituality.  Please note: I am purposely using the word "asking" and not the word "seeking" - to get us out of the habit of "church speak" and into the world we live in. 

• Asking involves honesty. In order to ask, you must admit you don't know. 
• Asking involves opening. Whether asking God, or a person - you must open yourself to receive an answer.
• Asking involves connection. It is a reaching, joining thing to ask a question. 
• Asking involves hope. We don't ask something unless we believe or hope we will get an answer.

Who did Jesus commend for being of great faith and spirit?

• A centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant
• The Syropheonician woman, who asked and argued, for Jesus to heal her daughter
• A woman who goes to a corrupt judge and asks for justice over and over and over
• A thief who asks to be remembered (perhaps forgiven) when Jesus comes into his kingdom.

 So, in your journey of spirit and hope don't simply weigh your faith in the balance of how many answers you know. Encourage your soul with the questions you are willing to ask.

The School of Faith

Read: John 6:22-32

What are the three greatest inventions on the world? That might take a long time for most people to list – considering the scientific advancement from the pulley-lever system, to the wheel, to the internet. But my three are easily available in my head. In my thinking the three best inventions in the world are:

1. The Ziplock Bag – you can do anything with a ziplock bag!
2. Eyeglasses – they are like clothes for your face!
3. The Class Syllabus

Almost anyone who has been through a college course will tell you one of the greatest innovations in higher education is a class syllabus. This beautiful list given at the beginning of the semester detailing what will be discussed each day, when assignments will be due and exactly what is expected of the student is a blessing. It’s comforting to have all of your duties and challenges laid out in a nice organized way.

The crowds who followed Jesus - like college students they were seekers and learners - wanted an organized approach to what Jesus had to offer. He feed them until they were full (also like college students, they went to his lecture with no lunch money in their pockets and had to be fed with free loaves and fish) and they wanted to follow him and his program to the letter. This crowd shows us some things we should know.

When You Notice Jesus is Missing – Look for Him!

The ever observant crowd notices one of those weird things about Jesus – he seems to get around pretty quick for someone who doesn’t have many modes of transportation. The bible says they noticed he didn’t get in the one ship that had left, but he showed up on the other side of the lake! (They did not witness the water walking, and probably could not imagine that explanation – even if Occomb’s Razor reminds us the simplest solution is usually the correct one). So what do they do?

A. Retrace his last steps to see if they can predict his future behavior?
B. Decide that just because they can’t see him doesn’t mean he has left, and act like he is still there?
C. Just sit down and wait for him to come back?

NO! They get in their boats and start looking for him! They know he is missing, and they know they need to be in his presence. So they seek him earnestly and immediately. Sometimes we look around our jobs, life, relationships or family and discover Jesus is missing. When our work feels empty and we aren’t sure why we are doing it, it’s usually because we have forgotten to involve Christ in our calling (through our passion, through our commitment, through our faith that God in us is making a difference even when we aren’t seeing immediate results). Sometimes our marriages or deep friendships start to feel routine or rote. It’s usually because we forgot to include Christ’s love, listening, spontaneity and passion for unexpected loving gestures in our lives. If you notice Jesus is missing. Don’t hang around and shake your head. Go look for him!

Ask Questions

When they find Jesus (and the eggheads in the group start trying to compute how he got there without a boat) the first thing they do is ask how long he’d been there. Later they will ask him about the work of God and what it is they can do to do it. They aren’t shy, or pretending to be so holy that they know all the answers. They ask the questions –easy and hard – and so should we.

We have a tendency to silence our questions of God. We don’t talk about them openly, and we certainly don’t ask the wise people God has placed around us. Many times we don’t even ask Jesus himself. But asking the questions we have – technical and spiritual ones – helps us grow and develops our faith. As a youth minister, I was involved in a van rollover with 2 sponsors and 12 kids in the car. We were headed to a conference in Denver when a back tire of a van I was driving blew, rolling us into the intersection. No one was killed, but there were broken legs, a girl with a broken collar bone, cuts and bruises on all the kids, glass in my head and a soft tissue injury for the other adult sponsor. We ended up in a trauma center in Pueblo – some less hurt kids being flown home immediately, others being taken back after their hospital stay. I was one of the last to get released and back. When we were finally all together again we had a “decompression” meeting where we talked about the wreck. We started with a prayer and then I said, “Who has something to say?” Immediately a boy spoke up and said what they had all been thinking since the moment the van flipped and the screaming started. “We prayed for a safe trip. Why did we wreck? Did God even hear us?” Before I could give them my answer a number of kids said “I’m so glad you asked that! I thought I was the only one who felt like that!” His courage opened doors of healing for many young people that day.

Ask the question. It doesn’t mean you’re dumb, faithless or lost. It means you care enough to want to understand.

Believe in the One who was sent

When the crowd asked Jesus what works God was expecting of them, they were asking for a syllabus. But the Christian life is not so easily organized and the course outline only contains one sentence. "Believe in the One he has sent," Jesus said. Oddly enough, something that simple will take a lifetime of fulfillment.

Our rabbi’s answer illustrates the word "belief" is an action verb. The crowd asked for a work - a job - and the word Jesus gives them is "believe". On the surface it may seem like an easy task. It’s not hard to believe in Jesus. Evidence of his life, death, and resurrection are everywhere. But the part you have to work for is the evidence in your heart of his relationship with you.
When your adolescent daughter lets her math grades plummet just to show you she isn’t happy with her curfew, you have to believe the fact Jesus is alive makes a difference. You have to remember what Jesus taught about grace as you deal with your disappointment and frustration. You have to put aside your desire to hurt back and live his instructions to treat one another with love. It will be an effort. When someone treats you badly, at work or home, you have to believe the facts Jesus died for you and rose again and you are an heir to the kingdom of Heaven makes a difference. You have to act as a member of the chosen, of the priesthood of believers. You can’t just wallow in hurt feelings or frustrated anxiety. Do what Jesus says. Forgive and empower. Believe in him.

It isn’t enough to believe Jesus exists. Your belief must change your life, your church and your world. If we as a body worked on our belief in the One God has sent our world would change. When you are out in the world, can people tell you are a Christian by your acceptance and faith? How does Jesus change the way you live? Frequently ask yourself these questions: How does a person who does not believe in Jesus respond to this situation? How do I respond to this situation? Are the responses different? If not, work to see the changes of Christ more fully in your life.

The seekers from the feeding of the 5,000 come a long way in these short verses. They find the Messiah by seeking him. They ask the questions that will lead them to greater faith and they get the syllabus for the Christian life. That’s the same class we are taking. What’s this semester or season in your life going to require? Believe in the One God has sent.