Dale Cresap's blog

Do you practice meditation? Are you suspicious of the concept? It was a biblical faith practice long before it was new age. Do you prefer an analytical approach that focuses on logical process and a direct path to answers? Some issues do not lend themselves to this. Pondering is a more gentle approach. It involves living with the questions rather than attacking them. It is more like a crock pot than a microwave oven. Even if the answers to your questions were given to you they might be too much for you to bear.

My word tells you to taste and see that I am good. Your senses work at different ranges. You can see the stars at astronomical distances. You can hear sounds over a range of distances depending on the volume, but it takes a large impulse to be heard at over a mile. Smell works at closer range depending on the substance and concentration, and touch requires contact although this may be brief and fleeting. The most intimate sense you have is that of taste, and that is the one I chose to use in this passage to describe the closeness of relationship I want with you. How do I taste to you?

Does your church practice sacraments? Baptism and communion are universally practiced in Christian churches, and other churches have additional ones, but in all cases they are highly defined symbolic rituals administered at specific times in controlled settings. Are you prepared to consider the concept of a sacramental life? Are you willing to look beyond defined and controlled events to see my presence and intervention in the routine conduct of your life at unexpected times?

One of the earliest questions directed at me was, ‘am I my brother’s keeper?’ This was a disingenuous question from someone who had just killed his brother, but the question remains to this day. What is your responsibility to your fellow man, especially to those who do not share your group affiliation of tribe, nation, religious or political identification, education, wealth, or social status? Do you take the first commandment about loving me seriously? What about the second commandment to love your neighbor as yourself?

Do numbers matter to you? Majorities rule, and the more people you have on your side the better. The same thinking pervades churches who keep score by the number of members or number attending. Reaching a larger audience implies that you have more influence. But you see a different approach in the Bible. The good shepherd left the 99 sheep in the fold to find the one lost sheep. There was one woman at the well, one Good Samaritan, one woman caught in adultery, and one prodigal son whose return was celebrated.

Have you lived long enough for your body and your appearance to show some signs of age? You live in a culture obsessed with youth and appearance and performance, so it can be difficult to accept when these things decline, but this is inevitable since it is part of the design. Your body is my temple on earth, but it is not the only dimension of your identity. You have a soul and spirit that are timeless and ageless. Haven’t you noticed this already, that in the essence of your being you don’t feel any different, even as your physical capabilities decline?

Can you think of any overworked words? How about ‘absolutely’ and ‘awesome’? Do you hear these frequently and consider it odd since you live in a culture that has rejected absolutes and awe? These terms have been devalued from their true meanings and enlisted to add emphasis in situations where they don’t really apply. ‘Absolutely’ means more than emphatic agreement. It refers to things that are true in all situations and for all time. In like manner, people who experience awe normally cannot speak or even stand erect. Truth matters, and the words that convey truth matter.

What is your view of hope? Do you take a narrow view for the positive outcome of minor events in the near future based on favorable indicators? This is too narrow. What about things of major consequence that may be far in the future for which you have no current evidence that they will turn out the way you want? This takes hope to another level. Here it can only be based on an all-encompassing world view involving a benevolent supreme being.

How do you introduce yourself? One of the first things that most people relate about themselves is the way they earn their living. This is customary in your culture of commerce. People tend to be proud of their professions in proportion to their income. But this puts the emphasis on what you do rather than on who you are. How would you describe yourself apart from your way of obtaining an income? You have other activities that you enjoy and love to share with others. Are these central to your being or were they acquired or culturally imparted?

Do you know the difference between shame and guilt? Guilt is the fault for specific acts of offense. Shame is an overall sense of unworthiness. Guilt is a matter of having done something wrong. Shame is a general sense of deficiency and defectiveness. Of the two, shame is more difficult and damaging because it attacks your very identity. Have you experienced both? I can help you with guilt by providing forgiveness. I can help you with shame too, if you can accept the same sanctity of life that you are prepared to offer others.