{"id":781,"date":"2014-03-10T08:51:58","date_gmt":"2014-03-10T12:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wordynerdy\/?p=781"},"modified":"2014-03-10T08:51:58","modified_gmt":"2014-03-10T12:51:58","slug":"leaping-into-the-abyss-of-absurdity-also-known-as-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wordynerdy\/2014\/03\/leaping-into-the-abyss-of-absurdity-also-known-as-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaping into the Abyss of Absurdity (also known as Faith)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Kai leaping off the rocks at Waimea Beach\u2013same place I love to watch 40 foot waves during the winter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

During freshman \u201cIntro to Philosophy\u201d I learned that Kierkegaard described faith as a leap into the abyss of absurdity. \u00a0Yes! \u00a0That\u2019s what it feels like, I thought to myself. \u00a0Ever since choosing to follow Jesus at age 3 because I heard believing in him meant I\u2019d never have to die and that sounded like a good deal to me, I had struggled between \u00a0deeply hoping God actually existed and science with its rational worldview.<\/p>\n

I experienced many \u201catheistic\u201d moments where an invisible yet omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent God made no sense.\u00a0 But then I\u2019d look at a Honolulu sky ablaze with stars, or 40 foot waves on Oahu\u2019s North shore, and feel dwarfed by Beauty in a way that can only be described as worship.<\/p>\n

Trusting in God, and more specifically Jesus, has always felt like a leap to me.\u00a0 No matter all the great arguments pointing to the existence and presence of God (of which there are many), there\u2019s always that leap aspect of faith\u2014always that step into thin air which might turn out to be just that\u2014thin air.<\/p>\n

And yet I continue to press on because I\u2019ve never found anything else that brings such good news.\u00a0 Good news that not only are we not alone, that our lives, our days, our suffering and even deaths can be imbued with meaning and purpose, but that the problem all world religions recognize\u2014an unbridgeable chasm between humans and the divine\u2014doesn\u2019t have to be solved by good behavior, good theology, good sacrifices.\u00a0 The good news that the Creator of the universe not only cares but loves us to the point of solving that problem through sacrificing God\u2019s self through Jesus.<\/p>\n

When my uncle, a 10 year old Chinese son of a diplomat, was plopped into an Australian boarding school, he and his brothers were brought before the Episcopal chaplain to be taught the gospel.\u00a0 In contrast to what my grandfather taught\u2014that the most important thing in the world was to amass power and play politics\u2014he heard about an upside down Kingdom where the weak became strong, the poor became rich, power is shown through forgiveness and turning the other cheek, and the greatest act of the King lay in giving up his life for those he loved.\u00a0 My uncle thought it was the best news he\u2019d ever heard.<\/p>\n

Me too, and so I lean into experiencing a living God.\u00a0 Call me crazy, but I choose to believe it all\u2014that miracles still happen, that God still speaks, that chains of oppression will break, the blind will see, the poor will rejoice and that someday the lion will lay down with the lamb. \u00a0If you\u2019re going to leap into the abyss\u2013might as well leap into all of it.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve just entered the season of Lent\u201440 days of preparation for Holy week and Easter.\u00a0 My church, a hip seeker-sensitive congregation that hopes to woo secular America to Jesus, holds a Leap of Faith every year during the Lenten period.\u00a0 We ask ourselves:<\/p>\n

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  1. What do I want Jesus to do for me? \u00a0Then what do I really<\/em> want Jesus to do for me? (Amazing how the answer to this 2nd<\/sup> question may be different from the first)<\/li>\n
  2. What do I want Jesus to do for my 6?\u00a0 (6 people I\u2019d like God to bless)<\/li>\n
  3. What do I want Jesus to do for my city\/church?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Although the traditionalist in me grumbles that we can\u2019t call this season by its historical name, I love that we\u2019ve re-contextualized this time as a faith experiment.\u00a0 Whether we believe God exists or not, we daily ask God to show up and then wait and see.\u00a0 After all, that\u2019s the whole point of Jesus\u2014God showing up.<\/p>\n

    What do I want Jesus to do for me?\u00a0 I want Jesus to erase my growing ministry deficit\u2014which will be quite miraculous because I\u2019m also hoping to go on sabbatical April 1st<\/sup> and fundraising and sabbatical are 2 words that don\u2019t go together.\u00a0 I also have something I REALLY want Jesus to do for me, but that\u2019s going to stay secret for now.<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re someone who might like to give this faith experiment a try, here\u2019s a video explaining it:<\/p>\n