OldSoul.blog

(… Cave that is)

‘Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and your personal Saviour?’ Mal Geizendanner asked me that question about 60 years ago as he baptised me at the Church of Christ in North Balwyn. I answered ‘Yes’ to the question (has anyone ever said ‘no’ in that context?), and thus began a challenging but satisfying quest to understand what I really mean when I say that I ‘believe in’ Jesus (and God). These days I suspect we may well be asking the wrong question. Instead of asking ‘Do you believe in God?’ we might better ask, ‘Do you believe that God believes in you?’

Songwriter Nick Cave addressed this issue in a recent edition of his Red Hand Files. After listening to Cave’s new song Wild God [listen HERE], Madonna from Picnic Bay, Qld. asked ‘What are all wild Gods searching for?’ Cave replied: The wild god of my song is searching for what we are all searching for – not something to believe in, but rather someone to believe in us. [Red Hand File # 279]

Cave’s reply stirred my soul! It sounded to me like gospel. It resonated with my faith journey at both the personal and institutional levels. 

Well do I know how destructive behaviours can emerge from the insecurities and self-doubts that lurk in my psyche (yes, even as a 70-year-old). But thankfully, I also know the profound significance of the people who throughout my journey, have graciously and generously ‘believed in me’, empowering me to overcome those doubts and insecurities. I acknowledge that it is their belief in me that has so often been my salvation!

Cave’s observation also challenges me to consider whether the Church may have misinterpreted and misrepresented the story and teaching of Jesus. Could it be that the wonder of Jesus’ ministry is not in his call for people to believe in God, but in his willingness to believe in people. Certainly the gospel stories seem to focus less on Jesus inviting people to believe in him and much more on the difference Jesus made in the lives of people when he believed in them!  Jesus gained impact not by calling people to believe in him, but by him believing in people – in the disciples (to whom he entrusted his teaching), in the people he interacted with (that they would appropriately re-orient their lives), in those who questioned him (that they would be open to conversation), in those who opposed him (that they would treat him fairly), and, ultimately, in God (that God would not forsake him). And those with whom he engaged responded to him because, as Cave has suggested, like all ‘wild gods’ they were searching for someone to believe in them!

What if, instead of giving priority to the evangelistic task of calling people to believe in Jesus, the Church could follow the lead of Jesus and give priority to the missional task of proclaiming its belief in people, its faith that people are inherently good, and that, to borrow a line from Diana Krall, the kindness we count upon is hidden in everyone. [Diana Krall, Narrow Daylight. Listen HERE]

I recognise the challenge presented to this ‘theology’ by the presence of ‘evil’ – how can we ‘believe in’ those who would do us or others harm? How might we curtail the abuse of this grace by those who are inherently narcissistic or selfish? I’m no psychologist, but I wonder whether these destructive behaviours may at least partly be an outworking of an unfulfilled longing for someone to believe in them?  Perhaps we are living with the consequences of our aberrant theology? Maybe we are dealing with the effect of Christian preaching through countless generations that told people they are sinful, worthless and fallen, rather than that they are loved, worthy and believed in? 

Am I overly optimistic and idealistic? Could such generosity of spirit be open to abuse by those with less-then-honourable intentions? Will such naivety and grace get us ‘crucified’. Possibly. But isn’t it also possible that the gift of believing in someone could be life-giving, even life-changing for them. And isn’t it possible that, bit by bit, person by person, that sort of generosity and grace might just transform the world?

A final word from Nick Cave:

… the truth is that we are social animals who depend greatly on respect and commendation from others. This is what binds us together, it is what dignifies us – a true and common regard. Small acts of ordinary kindness or courtesy, or the simple gestures of appreciation toward each other, speak into our increasingly individualised world saying, “I believe in you.” … Whether a wild god, the son of God or a mere mortal – we are all locked in a mutual dependency, supporting and seeing and lifting and believing in one another. The song ‘Wild God’ ultimately says, “Things truly matter. We are of enormous value. We believe.” Perhaps all my songs say that. [Red Hand File #279]

David Brooker