Building Bridges

In one of our previous blogs, we summarized our Savior’s ministry as breaking down barriers. He is continually working to chip away at those “Berlin walls” which divide man from man, man from God and nation from nation. To take that one step farther; he would also build a bridge over the ruins of those manmade barriers; bridges of understanding which connect classes, cultures and creeds.

When the French started building the Panama canal in 1870, the thought was to dig a gorge deep enough to cut through the isthmus of Panama and connect the two oceans at sea level. Despite their dedication to the task and their outstanding engineering skills, they ran out of time and money and were not able to complete the task.

What enabled America to succeed where France had failed? For one, by 1907 medical science had made dramatic progress in understanding the causes of tropical diseases and how to control them. In addition, engineering technology had also made huge strides.

But there was something else that was equally important: A new concept had emerged. Instead of cutting through at sea level, why not build over the isthmus, a series of locks, which would use water power to lift the great ships, on the Pacific side, 85 feet over the land barrier and then another series of locks that would lower them back to the level of the Caribbean? Instead of cutting through let’s build over. It was this new concept that enabled the Americans to succeed where the French had failed.

Often times we fail because we think we can, with sheer effort and determination, blast our way through mountains of difficulty. With American ingenuity and ambition we can achieve anything we set our hands to do. History has made it clear that had we endeavored to cut a canal deep enough to connect the two oceans we also would have failed. The topography necessitated not a gorge but a bridge; a water bridge to lift the huge ocean liners up and over to provide a path between the seas.

When we maneuver ourselves by faith into the lock of God’s love, a power flows around us, lifting us to the next higher level in our journey through time toward an ocean of eternity. On the cross Jesus reached out in both directions and provided just the bridge we need.

I’ve heard it said: If you can’t get around a problem then climb over it. If you can’t climb over it, dig under it. If you can’t dig under it, then tunnel through and turn it into a gold mine. I like that kind of can do philosophy. But the day comes, trust me, when no amount of trying in our own strength can avail. That’s the time to start trusting in the overarching love of God which provides just the bridge we need. Next time you see a rainbow, remind yourself of that.

Starlight Navigation

A father and son were fishing beyond the breakwater of San Diego Harbor. It had been a long day, so they decided to hoist anchor and head toward the dock. As night fell the father decided to give his son a lesson in navigation. He pointed out the Big Dipper and showed him how to identify the Little Dipper. From these two reference points he showed him how to find Polaris.

Turning the wheel over to his son he gave him these instructions: “Just run along parallel with the North Star on your port side and you will be going east toward the harbor.” Dad went to the stern of the boat to take a little nap. The son became drowsy at the helm. As he dozed, the boat made a slow turn toward starboard in a southerly direction. Awaking with a start, the son didn’t realize that his guiding star was now behind him. He called out to his father: “Dad, wake up and give me another star, we just sailed right on past that other one!”

Those of us who live in the 21st century are tempted to think that we have gone beyond the guiding lights of the ancient past. The 10 commandments sound so old and obsolete; surely we need a more contemporary standard of ethics to chart our course.

I beg to differ. For thousands of years, ancient mariners have used the sun by day and the stars by night to plot their course and keep an accurate chart of their position. There are some things that are the same, yesterday, today, and forever, because they are grounded in the unchangeable and immutable nature of deity.

In my view, these pinpricks of lights from the past are our best reference points to navigate on the sea of life. In the Book of Revelation the Savior is described as “the bright and morning star.” Like Polaris his teaching and example remain fixed in the heavens. We can get our bearings from them and steer a straight course toward our home port.

The Spirit of Brotherhood Survives the Insanity of War

It was Easter Sunrise, 1969, on a beach in Phu Yen province. Rising before the dawn two chaplains and a chaplain’s assistant carried three crosses to a place just beyond the reach of the South China Sea. Looking back, we could see the tracks the crosses made as they were drug through the sand. There we planted them, leaning slightly toward the wind and the waves. Then we sat down on logs and awaited the dawn.

Soon we three were joined by two other chaplains, a Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest. That morning we stood on pallets and conducted an ecumenical service. We watched the rising sun illuminate the faces of a great diversity of ranks and ethnicities. Doctors and nurses came over from the combat support hospital. Troops from the Republic of Korea (that protected our perimeter) were in attendance with their chaplain, as well as Vietnamese troops. All colors and creeds were represented and they were all looking toward the dawning of a new day that could be bright with hope. We joined as one in praying that peace would rise out of the ashes of war and that broken dreams and failed policies could be healed by a love that was stronger than death.

After the service, the hospital mess hall invited us all to an Easter breakfast. After breakfast, some of us boarded a bus and drove into the town of Tuy Hoa to visit a Catholic orphanage. The GIs set to work painting walls and repairing equipment. The children squealed with delight as they were given horsy-back rides. Combat hardened faces seemed to soften. As we were bused back to the military compound, everybody was in good spirits. Our morale was soaring on the wings of a faith that is risen and survives even in the insanity of war.

I came out of that experience with a new respect for the spirit of unity and the bond of brotherhood than binds us together; orient and occident, north and south, east and west. The Spirit of our risen Lord is as relevant on a beach in a Buddhist country as in the Bible belt of the United States. Jesus of Nazareth has become the cosmic Christ of faith, whose love draws a circle to include the circumferences of planet earth. We often draw circles to exclude people who look and act differently.

A piece of doggerel put it this way: He drew a circle to shut me out; rebel, heretic, a thing to flout. But love and me had the wit to win; we drew a circle that took him in.

The quality I miss the most during my years as a military chaplain is the spirit of ecumenicity that enabled us to cooperate across denomination lines, in order to fulfill our mission of bringing God to man and man to God.

Can Arch Enemies Become Friends?

I’ve heard it said that life is a cat and mouse game. It sure seems that way sometimes. Locked into instinctual patterns of behavior, the cat can do nothing but go on the hunt; using stealth to close in for the kill. The mouse can do nothing but use his speed and dexterity to avoid his perennial predator. Must it always be that way? Is there no way that the survival of the fittest could be transcended by a power greater than itself?

I’ve also heard it said that two people fight like cats and dogs. But again, does not nature itself offer examples where this proverbial metaphor can be transcended? The Hebrew Bible describes an idyllic time when the lion will lie down with the lamb. Why couldn’t the dog rescue the cat in a perilous situation?

Jesus of Nazareth taught us to forgive our enemies and pray for those who despitefully use and persecute us. Is that too much to ask of human nature? Are we so trapped in cycles of revenge we must get even at any cost? Perhaps we are so locked into the law of retaliation; “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” that breaking that cycle is an impossible dream which must wait for utopia to come to this world.

In spite of mounting evidence that screams of man’s inhumanity to man, I choose to cling to my ideal that human nature, with divine empowerment, can transcend the predisposition of instinct and point to a better way. In saints and spiritual giants of the past, we catch glimpses of what humankind could be at its best. I want to keep that vision alive in my heart.

A Leap of Faith

You can click on the picture to find the source.

In a cruise through the Panama Canal, one of our first ports of call was Acapulco, Mexico. There we witnessed the daring cliff-divers plunge 130 feet to enter 12 feet of water. The tide had to be just right for them to have sufficient depth. From where they stood, the rocky side of the cliff obscured their view of the ocean below. They must launch out about 12 feet to clear the rocks. That’s a leap of faith. No wonder, they each take time to pray before they attempt it.

Our choice to believe, in some ways, can be likened to a leap of faith. The logical powers of the mind can only take us so far. What happens when we reach the limits of human reason to prove the existence of God? Feelings can only take us so far. What do we do when the harsh realities of life seem to argue against the existence of an all powerful and all caring Creator? All attempts to employ the powers of the intellect to establish an iron clad system of logical principles are found wanting. We can make a powerful argument that may convince someone who wants to believe but we cannot prove that there is a God. Then what do we do?

It seems to me that at some point, we have to take a leap beyond feeling, philosophy and intellect and make a gorgeous gamble, betting everything that beyond the power of logic and the limits of human understanding there is an all knowing and all loving Supreme Being. That can be scary but it is, in my view, a win/win situation.

If I choose to take that leap and there is nothing there but theological speculation, then I have been comforted and empowered by years of believing. If my faith is confirmed, beyond time, by ultimate reality, then better still. Either way, how can I go wrong? If my hopes are a pipe dream, they have still served me well and ministered comfort in times of despair. If they are grounded on eternal reality, then I am twice blest.