Choosing Life

"I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19)

This is the core of the matter. I just didn't think it would pop up so early in the year.

Henri Nouwen writes that we often choose death instead of life in our many daily encounters, decisions, and trials. Nouwen says choosing life "requires an immense inner discipline. It requires a great attentiveness to the death-forces within us and a great commitment to let the forces of life come to dominate our thoughts and feelings." In our Canterbury theological reflection group, I think we would pause at this point and ask for images. What images or pieces of tradition or experience would you offer in response to this thought?

One image/experience comes immediately to mind, but takes a bit of explanation. When I was growing up, my siblings and I diligently followed the "Adventures in Odyssey" radio show. This radio show is produced by Focus on the Family and is a great medium for learning moral lessons, Bible stories, and just plain fun radio drama. My image is from one episode of the show where a girl is struggling with the phrase "count it all joy" found in James 1:2. She doesn't understand how she can "spin" her struggles at school, arguments with her parents, and trouble with friends into happiness. I think this is the problem. Many times, we assume that choosing life or counting it joy will bring a feeling of happiness. Instead, we are asked to look for a fulfillment that isn’t immediate. In choosing life, we might in fact be denying brief feelings of happiness for the more virtuous and ultimately more joyous path of justice, reconciliation, and forgiveness.
In an ongoing project to read "serious theology" in preparation for seminary, I am reading Karl Barth's "God Here and Now." Barth frames the dilemma of choosing life as the "decision of faith." We make a choice, a transition to faith. In this decision of faith, we decide between life in the Word (Jesus Christ) and death in the world. And when we make the decision of choosing life, we are letting Jesus "be for us what we are not and cannot be for ourselves: our truth, our goodness, our righteousness, our salvation."



I would like to apply the idea of choosing life to my experiences this week in Taiwan. First of all, choosing life is something that begins within. It is also something that is very difficult. Shane Claiborne, one of the founders of the Simple Way community and author of "The Irresistible Revolution" talks in his book about their rule for opening the door to their community: only open the door if you are able to do small things with great love.

After spending most of the first few weeks establishing a routine for daily prayer, finding places to eat, etc. we were approached with a new challenge of “doing small things with great love.” For an introvert and private person, one of my least favorite ways to choose life is by allowing my sacred routines and privacy be disrupted. But as is the case many times, choosing life and following Jesus is not always the easiest or happiest thing. . .

Many of you might know Nick Ford from his time at St. Aidan’s. We actually only met him once before leaving for Taiwan. Nick has lived in China for the past year, teaching English at a university. When we met Nick at St. Aidan’s he was planning to move to Taiwan for the foreseeable future. There were only two major roadblocks, no place to live and no job. So even five weeks ago I could hear God presenting a decision, do I choose life and welcome the stranger or do I choose death (and security, comfort, all good feeling things) and knowingly deny someone in need.

Fortunately, I can report that we chose to invite Nick to stay with us at our apartment for a while until he finds a place to stay and a job. And as small things done with great love, we were greatly rewarded. We spent the past weekend with Nick, exploring more of Taipei, taking great pictures, and learning more about his experiences in China. We were able to invite him to St. John’s Cathedral and even introduce him to the Dean of the cathedral and the Bishop who has passed on his resume to contacts around Taiwan.

I know for many people this reaction to provide hospitality would be second nature. For me, hospitality is something to work at. By working at hospitality, I mean repeatedly praying and searching my heart for ways in which I am called to choose life by welcoming the stranger into my home, my consciousness, and my prayers. And I pray that I may choose life by drawing from the strength of my decision of faith. I rely on Jesus to be the source of my hospitality, kindness, love, and welcoming.

This might be the end of this post, but certainly isn’t the end of this thought. . . if you have experiences or thoughts you would like to share, please comment or email me.
Blessings,
Seth