Fearless Faith

The resilient church

 

November 17, 2021



The leaves on the gambel oak are some of the last to go. They stubbornly hang on through rain and freezing weather, even after turning. They are testament to the toughness of the plant in general … drought tolerant, insect resistant, cold hardy and able to recover from mower blight over the years. Gambel oak are seemingly indestructible when compared to other landscaping.

Also known as scrub oak, they are normally found at higher elevations and can be discovered among the rocks and cliffs of the arid west. Of curiosity is the reliable pattern of the leaves they sport that stirs memories of small gingerbread cookies, each one stamped using the same cookie cutter. Relatively small with rounded lobes, their leaves are a class act in the world of flora. During the growing season, the oaks are relatively maintenance free and largely forgotten except for the occasional garden walk through. They seem to thrive on indifference.

Similar adjectives have been used for a growing religious faith: tough, hardy, indestructible. One additional adjective could be “unfailing,” for no matter the varied conditions, gambel oaks survive rather famously. Named after the American naturalist William Gambel (1821–1849), the oaks represent in part what it takes to survive in the American west.

Religion in general could stand to recognize what makes for resilience in church bodies. Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested, “Religion is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble.” Sounds like a great start if we are willing to embrace it. Would we be able to pull it off? It would appear questionable given the state of the nation these days as self-interest takes center stage. If religion utterly fails to thrive, we have none to blame but ourselves.

Putting our intellect to work alongside the passions of religious experience can produce remarkable synergy. We must first get over ourselves, so to speak, by acknowledging our inter-relatedness and by identifying common goals. Emerson minces no words in stating, “The religion that is afraid of science dishonors God and commits suicide.” We have stumbled our way into the morass of human resentment and self-absorption, setting aside common sense and a commitment to others’ best interests.

Religion of itself is not divinely assembled but has been established at the hands of imaginative humankind. That it is divinely inspired is hard to refute, but its basic form and structure reside with us. Are we content to be shaped by cookie cutter religion or will we aspire to something greater than ourselves, our egoistic institutions, and their attending constituencies?

Lessons learned from the gambel oak center on resilience, sustainability and steadfastness. Simply put, we need such examples to keep us on an even keel and to not become self-absorbed in the process. The Cedars of Lebanon are mentioned over seventy times in the Bible, a nod to their strength and enduring qualities. They were highly regarded for their strength and their ability to grow in numerous places. While gambel oak will always be in the shadows of the biblically great cedar trees, they bring their own teachings to the table, something that is always welcome.

 

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