Getting Churched

Chaplain Kate Braestrup and Rabbi Craig Lewis are two people I'd never heard of before this morning, and now I can't seem to shake either of them.  Braestrup was the guest on this morning's radio show "On Being," speaking about her experiences as a chaplain for Maine's state-parks rangers.  Lewis was the guest speaker at my church.

Despite the miles that separate them, the two spoke about surprisingly similar things; namely, miracles, life and small acts of kindness (which both would say are really just different words for the same thing).

What struck me most about Brastrup were her thoughts on life and love.  She said that she struggles with the Christian notion that life is the prize above all prizes, because, well, we all ultimately die, nullifying all of that hard work and taking away the shininess of the prize.  For her, it makes more sense to prize love above all things, because love spawns action and results. 

As a chaplain for the state-parks police, she often accompanies the rangers on search-and-rescue missions, the end results often ending in grief and tears.  By prizing love more so than even life, though, Braestrup sees evidence of miracles all the time--not miracles we pray for and collect, but the ones that just happen when good people--strangers, even--reach out to help those who are lost and in need.

So, when someone whose relative has died in a snowmobiling accident asks her "Where was God in all of this?" Braestrup answers truthfully-- "He was in the people he sent to come to your aid."

All these years, I've been haunted by the words of my college church's priest, when he said "Why is it we do all these good things and follow the word of God?  Because we want eternal life!"  I mean, surely, greed isn't the best reason to do good.  Hearing Braestrup de-emphasize life at all costs and replace it with love?  That was music to my ears, a philosophy I can live with.

As was the wisdom that came from Rabbi Lewis' lips this morning.  Today, of all days, it was powerful to see men representing different faiths sharing the altar before us.  Today of all days, it was powerful to hear Genesis spoken first in Hebrew and then in English, reminding me of the things we have in common, rather than the things that separate us.  Today of all days, it was significant that a Jew stood before a church full of Christians and talked about the importance of giving thanks, and giving it now. 

I came home, walked the dog, breathed fresh air, wrote three thank-you letters and felt my heart lighten and fill up again.  All because I was lucky enough to hear the stories of two strangers.