My Sunday Thought for November 8, 2015: Will You Answer the Call?

As I step up to this new fork on my path, I can't help but reflect on the opportunity which brought me my ordination, my worldwide read blog, the Congregation for Religious Tolerance, and now this latest offer to excel.  I have gone from being damned to hell for all eternity by holier than thou Christians, for my views on religion, to being offered a chaplaincy position at a local medical center.  I have written of the initial opportunity in one of my earliest posts, and am reminded of it each time I look at the Bible I purchased.

One needs to arm one's self with the same "weapon" being used against him, if they are to understand their opponent.  I went to my local bookseller to find an attractive tome, a Bible befitting my bookcase, which I could use as reference material in my "battle" for religious tolerance.  Gaudy, plain, huge, too small, the shelves were full of so many choices that did not fit the bill.  I went to find a Qur'an which I also wanted in my library.  

There, squeezed in between two larger books on Islam, was a simple, yet beautiful, Bible.  I gently plucked it from the shelf; it felt perfect.  Upon opening the cover a pink sheet of notepaper fell to the floor.  On it was written, "Dear Friend, God spoke to my heart today and told me to purchase this book for you.  It is not by chance that YOU picked it up.  Here is the receipt.  It is yours.  I pray that the Word pours out from its pages like living water into your heart.  Enjoy."

For someone who loves to shoot his mouth off at the drop of a hat, I stared at this note and found myself without comment.  The emotional hammer which fell upon me that fateful afternoon has still not found words for me to describe.  I know I wiped my eyes when I finally snapped out of it.  The pink note and the receipt are taped inside the cover as a reminder to me of that verse by William Cowper in 1773:

"God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm."

When you are called, do you answer?  Or, do you simply turn away?  Can you even admit to some cognizance of knowing if and when you might have been called to task?  Is your life so screwed up, so complicated and full of crap, that even God's call would go unheeded?  If so, then you live fully vested in the world of today where God doesn't exist, Christians are being persecuted, the world once again turns their back on the Chosen People, and even the peace of Islam burns in the fires of heresy.  Maybe the atheists have it right after all... and then, you find a Bible; a gift from a stranger.  Perhaps it's a message from God, or perhaps both.  Neither?  Each of us will have to wrestle with our own faith, and our spirituality, as to which answer we feel is correct.  And the wrestling match we have with ourselves is at the heart of this post.

When you are called, will you answer?  When this innocent are at risk, do you act?  Do you give to those in true need?  Do you assist the elderly with their, groceries, or hold the door for them?  And how do you define life before abortion?  This last one is ludicrous; having to define life for a developing being hooked up to its mother's life support.  If you remove it from life support, does it die?  If the fact that it bleeds and dies is not evidence of life, I would say it must be defined as alive providing it has brain activity.  I suppose, for these moral arguments, you can either step up or simply be a lemming and agree to the political party line.  I have a distinct feeling the political argument won't float God's boat, so good luck with that.

We are all called to task.  Some are called from this life because they are needed in the next, while others are called to tasks required here.  Some are saved, when so many others die, and they wonder why?  They look for the reason behind the miracle so they can try to understand the message and answer the call, not realizing that the simple act of recognizing the miracle is an act of becoming aware of something greater than them.  The miracle is that you were saved; the message may take a while to get through all of the interference.

I am a sinner that has cheated death twice.  I recognized my good fortune, and the hand of a greater power, both times.  I have been searching my path and waiting for the message to catch up for forty years. Did it arrive and I wasn’t home? Did God's UPS chuck it over the back fence of my mind where the dogs of war were allowed to run amok?  Or, was it only necessary that I survive for some larger plan? Did I, unknowingly, fulfill my task?  If I die tomorrow, I can only assume it will mean I must have accomplished an unknown task and am needed elsewhere.  If life continues, perhaps my task is yet to come.

Like any good video game, I will keep gathering the tools as they come my way, building up good points and a spiritual arsenal, in preparation for answering this call, and the one after that, and so on.

As a spiritual person, and a person of faith, it is what we do, right?

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."