A Ramble About the Basics

Today, I decided to put on some old Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes. I haven't watched them for some time because we used to watch them all the time and it got to the point we knew each episode by heart and could recite the dialogue verbatim.

In the series, there are two characters which stood out today, Prince Zuko and his uncle Iroh. Prince Zuko is practicing his martial arts training and is, in a spoiled and impatient way, demanding that his uncle teach him the advanced set of movements. His uncle wisely tells Zuko that he's too impatient and that he needs to practice more on the basics. No matter how much Zuko pushes, Iroh does everything he can to politely avoid advancing him before he's mastered the basic forms.

In the following episode from that one, Zuko finds himself in a serious martial arts duel called an “agni kai” with a master of his martial discipline over a master of personal honor. His uncle can only stand by and watch because it is a matter of personal honor, but he does advise Zuko to remember the basic forms of his discipline because they would save his life. The contest commences as the prince and his opponent square off and try to best each other. At first Zuko in unsure and his oppenent takes advantage of it nearly dropping him and dealing him a crippling blow. Then Zuko's basic training takes over and overcomes his fear and he drives back and defeats the man who insulted his honor.

Iroh was right to emphasize that Zuko master the basics first before teaching him anything more. As Christians within the Church we would do well to remember Iroh's wisdom. All too often, we barely skim over the basic teachings of Christ and try to go straight to more “advanced” teachings. The problem is that if we don't master the basics, then we don't have the foundation we need to progress properly.

Recently, as my family and I have moved from Idaho to Arizona I've had to relearn this lesson. I began to panic, and to worry about money, and to stress out. I spent less time in prayer, meditation, and spiritual reading and more time in just trying to bury my head in the internet, videos, etc. so that I wouldn't have to think about it. The only thing this accomplished was to make me more stressed out and panicked. I had forgotten to remember the basics.

The basics of Christian practice are love, compassion, and empathy for God and all others regardless of how they make you feel, letting go of your self and everything you're attached to, and remembering that God loves you and placing your trust in Him for your needs. We practice these through prayer and meditation and being conscious of them at all times. This is what Jesus Christ taught, and like Iroh's instruction to his nephew, we shouldn't be trying to go on to more advanced things until we have these mastered. It is for lack of mastery of these things that we get hammered, beaten down, and thrown about by the attacks of our spiritual enemies.

What good does it do us if we try and “master” the spiritual gifts when we don't even understand the depth of His love for us and through us? What difference does it make if we have the whole Bible memorized, and yet remain a slave to our possessions or passions?

Focusing on mastery of the basics is the only thing which can truly keep us safe in the constant battle against ourselves and our spiritual enemies.

A Ramble About Lessons Learned And Mistakes Made

I made a mistake tonight. It was one I did know better, but succumbed to the temptation anyway. I let a family member know that I didn't have the money for rent at the end of the month without them asking about it first.

We recently moved from the ranch property we were living on in Northern Idaho down to Bullhead City, Arizona, about an hour south of Las Vegas. Our principle reason for doing so was because my dad recently came to live with my sister there, and they both wanted us to come down. The preparation for the trip and the trip down ate through everything we had for getting down here, so we arrived with very little in the way of funds. I immediately began looking for work and filling out job applications. I recently had a phone interview which went pretty well. But it's only a week until the next month's rent is due, and the job for which I applied will still be a while at the least in seeing a paycheck.

The truth is that I've had my stomach tied in knots since we got here because of the money issue and the ability to make rent and pay bills. My mind is constantly bombarded with it no matter how many applications I fill out. And so tonight when I called her, only really intending on letting her know how the interview went, I let slip my problem as I saw it.

Here's the thing. I know better. Over the past two years I've seen God take us to the brink to where we had only enough food left for one meal, and then provide for us in amazing ways. He's challenged our faith in ways that have been both terrifying and awe inspiring. I've written here in my Rambles about the lessons He's taught us through these things, and I've learned to wait on Him and be patient even when it seems like there's no possibility that anything could come from anywhere, because I know He loves us and has promised to provide for us. So yes, I do know better. And I know that God is faithful to provide for us the things we need each day.

But this incident also reminds me that just because I've learned that lesson, it doesn't mean that I'm incapable of making the same mistake again. In the process of moving and trying to adapt to our new surroundings, I know I haven't taken the time to pray and meditate as I need to. I've allowed fear and panic to set in and slowly begin to invade my mind, and I've allowed myself to become attached to the new circumstances enough to where I've become afraid to lose them. Further, as St. Paul writes, because I learned these lessons before, I thought I stood pretty well, and so I was blindsided when my fall came.

Every action has consequences which follow it, and I am praying that my mistake, my lack of faith tonight won't have severe consequences for myself and my family or for my relationship with that family member whom I've only really begun to get to know.

I know that peace and security only comes when I let go of all these things and just trust Him. I have learned this before. But these kinds of mistakes are what happens when I cease to be watchful and allow fear and doubt to creep in. It was a good, if painful reminder.

A Short Ramble About Papal Succession

Recently, Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, made his decision public and official that he is resigning his papal office. There is very little precedent for this except that of Gregory VII, some 600 years ago. Generally, when a Cardinal is elected Bishop of Rome, he remains in that office until his death. His Holiness chose to resign because of his age and increasing infirmity, and he didn't want that to interfere with all that the papal office requires.

What I find fascinating and bewildering is all the “experts” speculating about what kind of “change” the election of a new Bishop of Rome could or should bring to the Roman Catholic Church. There are some who are hoping for more recognition of homosexuality, the ordination of women, or other changes both major and minor.

What bewilders me, is that these experts don't seem to understand a very fundamental fact of the nature of the Church and its clergy. The clergy of the Church don't have the power to change the Church, they are only charged with its maintenance. They aren't charged with making it more progressive and adaptive. They're charged with protecting the sacred trust which was handed to them. They have a responsibility to guard the teachings and practices of the Church which have passed from generation to generation since the first century. To modify those teachings and practices is to say that Jesus Christ and His Apostles didn't know what they were doing, or didn't possess the fullness of the Gospel. In a way, the Roman Catholic Church has already gone much farther from that original deposit of faith than it should have with its decrees of papal infallibility and clerical celibacy, things which the ancient Church wouldn't have recognized or taught.

The primary role of a Bishop, any Bishop including the Bishop of Rome, is that of a pastor. His role is not as a politician, a monarch, or a CEO. His role is to guide and shepherd the congregation God has charged him with, while also maintaining his own relationship with God. Any new papal candidate needs to have this understanding above all others, and from what I understand, most do.

As the resignation of Benedict XVI and the election of a successor play out, what should be looked for is not some radical new change, but the consistency and continuity, as much as is possible within the Roman Church, of an unchanged ancient faith which was entrusted to them.