Rhythm

This past week my geography class has been studying culture. We defined culture as those rites, activities, traditions that are shared by a group of people. I know that the definition could use some work, but it worked for our purposes.

Yesterday, I had an extremely talented 7th grade student of mine do a presentation on his drum set about how different culture specific rhythms have diffused to create many of the rhythms we love in our modern music. It got pretty technical, but the students loved watching Lucas talk about something that he loved, and they were able for a period of time to share in that love for music generally and drumming particularly.

And now I can't sleep. My cold has made breathing and sleeping a chore so I am now typing until my medicine takes effect, but I am concerned about this culture thing. Lucas showed us how a simple rhythm could evolve and grow, become "shiny," until at some point it is almost impossible to pick out the original beat unless you were trained to hear it. He was really patient with us and showed us this carefully, and at the end many of us were able to see it.

But, as is my habit, I began expanding the implications of this to other areas of my life. I already knew that diffusion happens in any arena of life that is a carrier of culture like events and diet and law, but I don't always take it seriously. Academically, I know that diffusion happens in more areas than just music. I know that. In fact, I taught my students that culture as expressed in food choices is diffused as diverse groups come in contact with each other and establish restaurants and markets. Celebrations that migrate with their flesh and blood hosts grow as their hosts take up residence in new cultures. Ideas become mature as new thinkers contemplate and add to work that has been begun by others, but there is one area of my life that I don't want to admit is affected by diffusion...faith.

I want to believe that my faith is pure, straight from the gospel, perfect and true. I don't want to believe that there is any part of my faith that has been subject to any one's ideas except Christ's, but we all know that is not really true, is it?

A few minutes ago I was reading a good friend's facebook post about health care and the church. He asked why is it that Christians not only don't do anything to make sure that the poor receive better health care, but we also make sure that the government doesn't do anything about it either. 5 years ago I would have chided my friend for posting inflammatory hyperbole about the church. I would have argued personal responsibility, keep government small, and government management equals inefficiency. I would have said that I am tired of government reaching into my pocket to take care of those who will not work for themselves, and I would have said that it is not the governments job to protect people from the consequences of their actions, and I would have shown you why God wants us to think like that.

Now, I am different. I remember the story of the loaves and the fishes. When Jesus saw the crowd he had compassion on them, and he asked his disciples to do something about it. When they could only produce a couple loaves of bread and a few fish he did not say, "Okay, I guess we are off the hook." He didn't say, "Send them home to get some food." He did not say, "They will become dependent on me." Jesus did not let the size of the problem, nor the lack of resources to fix the problem prevent him from acting. The people were hungry, so he fed them.

Actually, many people did follow Jesus hoping for handouts. Beggars did want to be healed when they heard that he was close by and Jesus healed many of them. Hunger did not go away just because he fed a few of them and illness and disease did not end because he healed a few of them. In fact, I don't think that the story of the loaves and fishes has anything to do with the hungry people. No, instead I think it has everything to do with the disciples. Jesus wanted them to learn to act, to help, to see needs. To me Jesus was playing a very simple rhythm, a basic beat that he wants us to repeat and grow, and now I want to listen to it carefully. I want to listen to Jesus as he is patient with me. I want pay careful attention to him, so that in the midst of all of this conjecture and politicizing I will be able to pick out his rhythm from all of the "shiny" stuff.