Keep It Simple
by Ruth Shaffer
I am grateful for having been born into a family with little. We had powdered milk and government cheese. Remember the big blocks of government cheese? The cheese that was supposed to taste “just like Velveeta”? The powdered milk that mom tried to convince you tasted “just like regular milk”? I was surrounded by Amish farms, by Mennonites, simple people who led simple lives devoted to family and service to God.
I am a simple person. I do not require much fancy stuff in my life in order to be content, even happy. I don’t require a swimming pool, a boat, a luxury automobile, designer clothing. I do require authentic friends, a cat who desires my company, a son who keeps in touch with his mom, a welcoming church and a relationship with God.
In preparation for this article I preached a simplicity sermon. At the beginning of my sermon I asked the congregants the following questions: “I’d like each of us to think about our favorite biblical saying. Now, count how many words there are in your passage. Raise your hand if there are more than 100 words. Raise your hand if there are less than 100. Less than 50; less than 25.” Not one hand went up when I asked whose passage had more than 100 words. Everyone’s hand was up for less than 100, less than 50 and, surprisingly, less than 25.
At this point I have written more than 100 words. Chances are, none of them are particularly memorable.
Since I am writing this piece, I get to indulge myself and share with you some of my favorite passages. Here they are:
Matthew 6: 28-29, 33: “And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Deuteronomy 10: 12: “So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God.”
Micah 6: 8: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Amos 5: 24: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (This favorite also found its way into Martin Luther Kings’ Letter from the Birmingham Jail.)
Luke 10:27 “He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Exodus 20: 3-17: The 10 commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol…. You shall not bow down to them or worship them. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Honor your father and mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house…or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
The above scripture breaks down the Christian life in very simple terms. Yes, there are hundreds of rules for living in the first Testament, many of which were to assure that the Israelites would avoid food that would kill them. But the instructions above are simple and clear.
I don’t mean to dismiss exegesis, that process I learned in seminary, the one that helps me make sense out of the complicated scripture by putting it into perspective. Especially with difficult or contradictory passages, knowing the context helps us have perspective. In fact, to really understand some scripture, you need to consult with a historian, a linguist, a sociologist and an attorney.
The creation story, for example, is actually the work of at least three writers. We have J, E and P versions combined (Yahweh, Elohim, and Priestly). As an exercise in seminary, we constructed the various strings of the creation story in clay. Green clay represented Yahweh. Yellow represented Elohim. Purple represented Priestly. We then made clay snakes and intertwined the various colors to look at the construction of the Genesis creation story. Pretty complex.
Other ancient civilizations have creation stories. Our Genesis story is similar to the Mesopotamian story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and to Egyptian creation stories. Does it matter if some of our Genesis story parallels (or even copies) another civilization’s?
Another example of scripture that has to be understood in the context of the times comes from the writings of Paul. In 1st Corinthians 7, he tells believers that if they are married, they should stay married. If they are single, they should stay single (unless they are having difficulty with self-control). These instructions only make sense if you consider that Paul thought that Christ would be returning soon.
Nonetheless, when Jesus speaks to the crowds, to all of us, he does so simply. He uses parables in order to make his points. He doesn’t engage in complicated theological arguments (though he could). The instructions for living a God-centered life are clear, simple, and need no interpretation.
When I was in seminary, I had to choose a specialty. Knowing that I was never going to be a theologian, I looked for something more down-to-earth, something simpler. I chose “practical theology”. Practical…useful. I chose to specialize in something that would be useful to me, to the people I served. I wanted to understand how the bible spoke to us today. What do these words tell me to do today? What actions must I take today? How can I help today?
I have a particular bias when I am choosing scripture (and not preaching from the lectionary). I choose simple passages, straightforward messages. I believe that the voice of God in the bible is clearest when the passage is simple. It is when human writers impose their points of view or take into consideration the times that the bible becomes complex, sometimes even contradictory. God’s word requires no interpretation. It applies just as much today as it did those thousands of years ago when it was written down by man.
Human beings’ needs are pretty simple. Actually, human beings don’t require much. We need food, water and a roof over our heads. Pretty simple needs. However, if we don’t combat the climate crisis, we won’t be able to grow the food. We may run out of water. Nestle is buying up all the water it can get. Housing prices make a secure roof over one’s head unattainable for most people.
I believe that there is enough for all. If everyone chose not to live in excess, all could live comfortably. Today there is an unequal distribution of wealth. Would comfortable living for all require a redistribution of this ungodly accumulation of wealth? Probably. Would that be a bad thing? The first testament writers didn’t think so. The jubilee years accomplished just that. Every seven years, property returned to its original owners (not that one can “own” land, but that’s another article), and slaves were freed. What if we returned everything to the rightful owner (Creator) and only took what we needed? We are but tenants, stewards, on this land.
I learned many valuable lessons working with formerly houseless veterans. I learned that some people are grateful to have a door of their own that they can close and lock. This veterans’ residence was located on Commonwealth Avenue. I found this fitting. “Commonwealth,” belonging to all, cooperative, a place where all people have a say and all benefit, taking from the common pot. In a commonwealth or a cooperative all are working toward the same end, and everyone owns a share. Because there are many members, buying power is increased, bringing down the cost per member.
Christianity is like that. It is a cooperative of people working toward the same goal: a beloved community on earth.
Sometimes we get it twisted. Sometimes we make scripture more complex than it needs to be. We can either spend hours, even days, doing exegesis on those difficult, complicated passages of the bible or we can spend those hours looking at simple passages and seeing how they apply to our lives. The 10 Commandments, for example, are pretty straightforward, pretty simple. There is no need for interpretation, no need for reading into them. Let’s take a look at some of them.
No other gods before me……. This addresses greed, popularity, recognition.
No idol……. No church buildings, no denominations, no pastors.
Pretty simple stuff.
Going back to Luke 10:27: Love God and love your neighbor. We must ask ourselves the following questions: “Does this enhance my neighbor’s life or does this benefit me at the expense of others?” If the answer is that this (law, action, decision) does not benefit my neighbor, it is not godly. How do we lead a Jesus- or God-centered life? It’s simple. Love God, love our neighbors, strive for the beloved community, do justice, be kind, be humble and don’t worry.
I offer the following wish for us all. It’s really quite simple:
Dance as though no one is watching. Love as though you’ve never been hurt. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth. John Philip Souza
