I have a lot of fond memories of working at the pipe organ shop. It started out as a summer job during college and evolved into some longer stints. I started just sitting at an organ console holding down one key at a time while the tuner tuned the pipes. By the way, in a single organ their can be several thousand pipes, one at a time, sitting on a wooden bench. I learned to tune. You get to stand on ladders or sit or stand on a narrow wooden board in a dimly lit, dirty little room or near the ceiling of the church. I learned woodworking and electronics and wind systems. I learned how to drive a large loaded box truck, unfortunately the first lesson landed me on the Loop in Chicago. I learned to spray stain, paint and lacquer, to woodwork, to program and run a CNC, to build structures that held thousands of pounds, to assemble and disassemble and get it to all fit on a truck. I also learned a whole new level of humor, practical jokes, puns and sarcasm. The relationships were key to that work environment for me and we developed sayings, new employee initiation jokes, or funny responses that were ingrained in our shop life for decades. One that I remember from the first co-worker I worked with there and came to use sounded like a kindly offer, that is, until you thought about it. When a co-worker was facing a daunting task, or an unpleasant one or one that might require some heavy teamwork, you would say, “Wow that’s going to be tough. If there’s anything I can say to help, let me know.” Of course we would help one another out, but you know, they say with jokes, they are effective because they always strike some chord of truth. That’s where the problem lies. It is very easy to fall into the trap of offering advice, well wishes, hang in theres, and thoughts and prayers and seeing that as our lot, so to speak. I’ve said something, noticed your problem or felt badly for you so “I’ve done my part” can so easily become our assessment. Let’s think about that for a little while. Was that Jesus’ MO? Is that what we see Jesus doing as he made his way through ministry and life? For those who are caught up in suffering or problems, Why are they or we there and why is it happening to them or us? I remember my first year as a Christian Education major. Dr. Joe Glass told us about two Greek words in reference to teaching and passing on the Christian faith and journey. The words were Parakaleo and Paralambano. Joe was famous and infamous on the Lenoir-Rhyne campus. First he was compassionate, wise, super smart, exciting, deeply into what he was teaching and never left you feeling like you were going to doze off. The down side was that he talked really fast, so kinda two-classes-in-one, and he would write stuff on the board. I’m happy with the word choice of “stuff” because to say that it was illegible or unintelligible would be the understatement of the century. When it was all said and done, even he could not decipher the board. And that was all a part of his celebrated campus lore. But I remember one day he sat down up close with us with no distractions on the board and talked to us about these two words as a paradigm for teaching, preaching and the Christian journey. They both start with the prefix para which is really crucial. Para indicates being “with or alongside of”. The rough and un-nuanced definitions would be Parakaleo- called to one’s side and paralambano- to take or receive from. That moment with Joe came back to me as my pastor friends and I were discussing the lessons for the week and how the translations from the Greek didn’t convey some very important nuances. The words “repent or perish” got the ball rolling for Victor, our group’s language go-to person. In the Gospel, Jesus is defying the conventional wisdom and the translation, as it stands, muddies the water. The people are troubled as to why evil and terrible things happen to certain people. The conventional wisdom of their faith has told them that bad things happened to you because you sinned. Jesus is explaining that bad things just happen and that their understanding is severely hamstringing their lives. In verse five the word metanote means to change one’s mind or way of thinking. Victor explained that the verse was more accurately saying, “If you don’t change your way of thinking about this you are going to live miserable lives.” We were then discussing Jesus telling people to “follow him”. There’s another short-changed translation. Jesus wasn’t just talking about walking behind him wherever he went. A better translation would be “Shadow me”, do what I do, imitate me we will be side by side. So then the parable he tells gives the alternative way of thinking and pathway of Christian action. A little horticultural info that I didn’t know is that, in that region, fig trees thrive on being ignored. Also very important, they can yield fruit three times a year, so this landowner has missed nine crops from this unproductive tree, and here is a gardener asking for an additional year or three more cycles. This is fairly bizarre crop management but one based on going far past the extra mile. Lavishing resources and time on a tree that’s just supposed to do its thing and bear fruit regardless of attention. Giving chance after chance. This method abounds in grace, Crazy Grace, overflowing grace. This was the way of life Jesus was proposing. But wait, there’s more. “Follow me”, he said. Do as I do. That’s what triggered the memory of that classroom, our small group and an intimate teaching moment. Parakaleo is far more than a “Hey, come here.” It’s deeply connecting and participatory. In the journey or in your struggles or in your learning you weren’t alone but with. Joe said it’s walking with, helping, aiding, comforting, exhorting, encouraging, propelling. The word for the Holy Spirit, Paraclete comes from this word. That was the way Jesus walked and taught. Hands on, involved, always alongside of. One pastor gave this example, I see this exemplified every time my church has a roller skating party, and the parents put their little ones on skates for the first time. Mom and Dad skate with their child, holding on to his or her hands, sometimes with the child’s feet on the ground and sometimes in the air. But all the time the parents are alongside encouraging is a wonderful gift, and we are to place it at Christ’s feet and be willing to be worn out in its use. Paralambano is taking or receiving. We are constantly interchanging and exchanging teacher-student, comforter-comforted. Joe was seeking to shape effective, faithful Christian teachers, preachers, leaders and followers. The greatest honor I can pay him is that he lived this method. He wasn’t just talking, he lived it. He was faithfully shadowing. Jesus wasn’t just telling a story. He was and is walking with, alongside, holding hands, supporting, encouraging, extending crazy overflowing, abounding grace. Shadow me. With those words our call to paralambano and parakaleo, to always be receiving and always be with, side by side, propelled to share what we have received in word and action. Through ELCA World Hunger we have but one way we can walk with those here and abroad. Last week we heard how the folks in Kentucky walked alongside one another and shared the gift of chickens, eggs, knowledge and love. Listen now to the voices of those in Malawi and hear the gratitude and see how they share it with others and consider making ELCA World Hunger one way that you walk with others and with Christ.
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