Spirituality is .... Clarity

Star Wars III
REVENGE OF THE SITH: ™ & © 2005 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Anakin Skywalker: If you're not with me, then you're my enemy.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

Philosophers and seminarians spend a lot of time talking about the concept of "truth" and wondering if it is absolute or relative. Cases can be made for both a truth that does not change and for a truth that exists in time, situation, and motivation. What role does spirituality play in these discussions? Spirituality is lamp that shines the light so these things can be examined more closely. Spirituality brings clarity.

I developed a sense of spiritual clarity by accident as a young person.  Through the course of my life - three very different sets of people had a hand in my raising.  My parents were agnostic, work-focused, logical people with a rigid sense of rules and discipline.  In the world of my parents - everything had its place in the scheme of right and wrong and it did not change.  My Mamaw (Grandma - for you non-southerners) kept me all summer - every summer. A widow by the time I was born, she and her sons were subsistence farmers in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee. She was practical and didn't have time to worry about things outside of her land. If it wasn't about the crops, the garden, or the status of the tin roof on her house - then it didn't matter.  My Uncle Ernie and Aunt Shirley also were a big part of my development. Uncle Ernie was a Vietnam Vet who came back unable to function within the structure of conventional society and had found his peace and family in a MC (Motorcycle Club). In short, he is a biker. Not the "weekend warrior" type -  the outlaw, Harley Davidson, leather jacket every day "live this life" kind of biker. His form of truth is a "code" he and all the members of the MC live by.

Growing up with three very different influences gave me a host of opinions and options for every situation. For example - if a girl named Suzy hit me at school - the conversations would have gone like this:

Me:  Suzy hit me.
Mom & Dad:  What did you do to deserve that?

 Me:  Suzy hit me.
Mamaw:  Well, imagine that.  There's beans over there for you to snap....

Me:  Suzy hit me.
Uncle Ernie:  Hit her back.

In time I came to realize that all three responses have a place in daily life. There is a time for self-reflection - to ponder if you are indeed at fault in a conflict. There is a time to simply let things go and figure out what's really important.  There is a time to fight back - or at least stand up for yourself and the things you believe. How do you know which is the right response? Clarity.

Clarity is what the bible is calling us to develop when it reminds us that "for everything there is a season."  Jesus invites us to learn about clarity in Matthew 20 when he tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard. In that story a landowner makes a deal for workers to work all day for a denarius. Later he picks some more up at mid-day for the same wage, and then adds some for an hour for the same denarius.  The full day workers grumble (and most of us would too!).  "It's not fair!" The cry goes out.  Jesus seems to be reminding us that God is not "fair" - God is generous beyond fairness.  (And then to make sure we get the point, Jesus begins to talk about his death on the cross for us - celebrating the unfairness inside God's generous grace).

Some people need more work than money and they end up being chosen in the morning. Others have the capacity for some work (or maybe they just aren't morning people and missed the first call to labor) and get picked up at lunch.  Others can only work an hour but need the support the finance gives.  The spirituality of clarity helps us not look at the cost-benefit analysis - but the unique transaction the landowner makes with the individuals to bring them into the community of workers.

Spirituality is that part of us that triumphs over our "One Ring to Rule Them All" mentality, and our desire to have one way, one lesson, one truth out of each scripture and instead let the God who breathed it - keep breathing new life into it, and into us.

Clarity takes energy. It involves listening, learning, risking and hardest of all - changing.  Seems like just when you want the answer to be "fight!" the answer will be "let it go" and at other times when you are sure the answer is to drop the situation and focus elsewhere you will discover, instead, that you need to examine yourself and your actions.

We sometimes think of spirituality as a foggy meadow where God's gifts and desires lie hidden for us in the mist.  But, the ability to see clearly and walk with God confidently is truly a manifestation of the holy spirit. Clarity is the essence of light in the darkness.


So in the words of an age-old hymn....

Let us pray that grace may everywhere abound,
“Send the light! Send the light!”
And a Christlike spirit everywhere be found,
Send the light! Send the light!
Send the light, the blessed Gospel light;
Let it shine from shore to shore!
Send the light, the blessed Gospel light;
Let is shine forevermore.