The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

Out of the flow of disheartening news these days come moments of insight, wonder, and amazement. Such moments don’t usually occur with great fanfare. They simply find us when it is time and impress upon us the world of miracles that we inherited.

It all started with a neighbor dropping off 14 dozen ears of sweet corn. Normally, such gifts stir a variety of emotions, if nothing else thankfulness for friendships beyond ourselves. But with the gift comes the burden of putting up corn before it spoils. As it turned out, few conflicts could be found to muster a defense, so we dug in to take care of the concern. After we worked around a few bad ears, 17 pints are now in the freezer. And something new we learned while shucking ears? Earworms, slow and lethargic as they are, occasionally bite. Who knew?

What impressed us more were the number of perfect ears that we contemplated regarding their perfect formation. The husks were tightly in place, the corn nicely filled out and protected. Silks were moist and easy to remove. Of course we consulted further to confirm that each silk represents one seed or kernel and that there are always even numbers of rows on an ear. We haven’t entirely verified the row thing yet, but it has now become an obsession to see if there are odd numbered rows on a given ear. We have mastered the art of eating and counting at the same time.

Why is it that we generally set aside our curiosity when it comes to such things? Do we simply tire of gee whiz moments? Worse, simply outgrown them? That’s a real shame when it comes to religion. We would rather adopt the same old language and theological principles than entertain any new possibilities, in part because that takes work. Instead of sitting back and taking others at their word (including how they interpret scripture), doesn’t it make sense that there is still room for revelation of the Word in new and challenging ways? If there is not room for that, then that is a game changer when it comes to the reputation of the church in general. We should be at the vanguard of religious insight, but we find ourselves instead propping up old theories, using dated teaching materials and methods, and relying on maintaining the status quo indefinitely.

The only problem with waiting for something to happen is that we don’t participate in shaping it in appropriate ways. It is frustrating to hear the declaration, “Churches aren’t growing because they are …” The most common fill-in-the-blank answers are “too conservative” and “too liberal.” Each have their moments worthy of consideration, but it seems that we would rather be event planners than innovators in bringing a more sensible and durable faith to bear.

What will the religious landscape look like 10 years from now? How about five years, or even now with the virus concerns still front and center? Be prepared for drastic and lasting change in how we do the business of the church. It’s time we begin anew by oohing and ahhing over the gifts the church can offer. Let’s get past the husks and silks so that we can begin feeding the church an energizing diet of eagerness and wonder.