The Odyssey: When Hospitality to Strangers Is Forsaken

 The Odyssey: When Hospitality to Strangers is Forsaken

Guest Writer: Larry Burton

Have you seen Christopher Nolan’s new movie based on The Odyssey? We are going, but we haven’t seen it yet. However, I’ve read a batch of more philosophical articles about the film and am captivated by a theme that runs through several of them, namely what happens when virtue—especially hospitality to the stranger—is forsaken.

Much is made of the ancient virtue of hospitality and civility toward the stranger. This was attributed to Zeus—though Nolan doesn’t make much of the gods—and served as a way of managing intergroup relationships.

David French, a columnist for the NY Times—and a Christian—raised the issue yesterday: What happens when there are no moral norms or virtues? Peter Werner, in the Atlantic, references Nietzsche on this, then continues, “But Nietzsche was at least honest about the cost of the revolution he heralded. With God dead, he warned, the morality built on God might collapse as well, and into the gap meaninglessness, fanaticism, and substitute faiths could rush in. Nietzsche declared, with some sorrow, the death of God. Many of his heirs gleefully practice their cruelty in God’s name.”

We have a few Atheist friends—mostly scientific—who, despite the lack of God, nevertheless hold to certain virtues, like honesty and trust. I guess what bothers me most is not atheists but people who claim to be Christian yet whose primary “virtue” is might makes right. As one who taught Aristotle, Kant, and the utilitarians, I recognize there are secular options, and though there are issues with each of these major approaches, each still has a grounding in human dignity and respect.

If you see the movie, I hope you’ll find some friends with whom you can chew on its moral message…if you think there is one.

Hoping you are not under the heat dome.

Love, blessings, and peace,

Larry Burton

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Faith

Faith

“Faith means receiving God. It means being overwhelmed by God. Faith helps us find trust again and again, even when, from a human point of view, the foundations of truth have been destroyed. It gives us eyes to see what cannot be seen and hands to grasp what cannot be touched, even though it is always and everywhere present.”—Eberhard Arnold in Why We Live in Community (Plough, 2014). 

Faith is believing in something we cannot see or understand. The mind takes us to a certain level of belief, but faith is what enables us to take the leap from there. My favorite quote about faith, attributed to many people, is: “The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty.” If we are so sure about something, we have crossed back over that line, away from the place where faith abides. 

This gives all of us doubters great comfort. In fact, we know our doubts lead us into deeper faith—across the line, down new pathways, and sometimes even onto major highways. We may take a wrong turn, run a red light, hit someone, or become completely lost.

The Supper at Emmaus. Caravaggio

Then that stranger who met us on the road to Emmaus shows up. He may remind us of a Scripture passage that was meaningful to us in the past. He may ask us whether we remember how we have been continually cared for by the God of our understanding and by God’s stand-ins, our community and our friends. He constantly feeds us precisely what we need to continue the journey, and before he disappears, he leaves a GPS on the dinner table. 

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

How to Practice What We Preach

 How to Practice What We Preach

Sunrise Steve Wright

“If mainstream Christianity has steadily lost force and credibility, I wonder how much of that might be attributed to our preaching one gospel and living another. We preach the Good Samaritan and lock our church doors. We preach the lilies of the field and allocate large portions of our monthly paychecks to pension and insurance plans.”—Cynthia Bourgeault in Mystical Hope (Cowley, 2001). 

This is the old adage of ‘practicing what we preach.’ We talk one way but act another. My experience is that much of what we do is unconscious. We consider ourselves good and caring individuals. A particular belief is part of our core values, yet our society often speaks against it or fails to value it. This gives us excuses or wiggle room, so we don’t have to follow through.

My experience is that fear and a scarcity/zero-sum mentality most often keep us from becoming the person God created us to be. As a result, we cannot act on what we know at our core is true. We fear we will not have enough money. We worry someone will break in and steal what we already have. We fear our health will fail. We experience anxiety about being left alone, abandoned, or harmed. We fear that speaking out for what we believe will cause us to lose friends or even our jobs.

Being grateful and expressing thanksgiving for what we have is one of the best ways to move beyond a fear-based life. This practice offers us a daily reminder of how much God cares for us, loves us, and is always beside us.

When I am most fearful, I rise early in the morning to watch the sunrise, acknowledging the fear within me and making a gratitude list of how I have been cared for and loved. Out of deep darkness comes overwhelming light. God gives us fresh hope and a fresh start each day. Resurrection emerges from the darkness when we have the courage to look fear in the eye and recognize the blessings and gifts we have been given. 

Living in gratitude rather than fear can help us practice what we preach.

Joanna https://www.joannaseibert.com/