Читать книгу Theopoetics - Phillip Michael Garner - Страница 4

Shaun Galford

Mike Garner’s newest book, Theopoetics: Spiritual Poetry for Contemplative Theology and Daily Living, is truly an inspired work. Those familiar with Mike’s first two books may be surprised his newest is free verse poetry that specifically addresses theological thought. Although Everyday Thoughts contains a number of Mike’s poems, there is a definitive difference in the subject matter and style of poetry in Theopoetics. This not only reflects the aspect of Mike’s personality that gravitates toward newness and possibility, but also a strong faith to take a chance, believing that the Lord would use him to serve others through this medium. We live in a society where people play it safe, not wanting to risk doing something unpredictable for fear that the endeavor could be a waste of time. Sadly, too often our tendency to “play it safe” inhibits us from realizing our full potential. However, Mike’s confidence to venture into unfamiliar territory and enhance his capacity as a teacher by learning the art of poetry for the benefit of others is a model for the rest of us.

Mike is a theological educator through and through, which is why he could not write poetry for the sake of simply writing poetry, but rather he found in it a way to pack in layers of theology and meaning; hence the nuance—Theopoetics. Readers familiar with Scripture will hear echoes of the Biblical prophets on the pages that follow. Each piece is carefully crafted; not a word is wasted. Throughout this collection of poetic writing, Scriptural allusions abound. The poetry in this book is infused with truth telling. As you peel away the layers of meaning you will be challenged to face reality, even the suffering that is part of the human experience. Mike chose a while ago to embrace human frailty and walk in obedience to Christ.

When asked to write this foreword, I was both honored and humbled by the request. I’ve had the opportunity to be a student of Mr. Garner for a over a decade in both non-formal and formal settings, from community Bible studies to graduate courses at the Institute for Global Outreach Developments Int’l, where he was founding director and dean. In addition, our relationship extended beyond the classroom to doing ministry together, both in the U.S. and the Philippines. He and I have walked through the slums of the Philippines, preached in jails, ministered to girls victimized by the horrors of the sex slave industry, fed children living on the street, wrestled with the problem of worker exploitation in developing nations by global corporations, and hiked into the mountains to visit the Aeta an indigenous population of tribal people who are marginalized in the larger society. We’ve had many conversations about life and ministry in these contexts. I’ve long appreciated his willingness to tell me the truth and share the wisdom he’s gleaned through study of the Bible and his experience as a missionary.

I actually first met Mike outside the U.S. when I was 25 years old on a mission trip to Ensenada, Mexico. He was working alongside his son to help lead a sizeable team to serve the poor in that area. In those days I was unaware of the impact he’d have on my life as a teacher and friend. My earliest memory of him was outside the local church where we stayed. As we waited for lunch to be served, Gregg, Mike’s son, was sharing about how much his father enjoyed discussing the Bible. Shortly thereafter we were eating our meal, one of my friends who had been part of that previous conversation turned to Mike and asked a question unrelated to the Bible. Mike gave no response, but just stared intently at the young man who quietly went back to eating his meal. The young man assumed that the lack of response was due to the fact his question had nothing at all to do with the Bible. He thought to himself, “If I’m going to talk to Mr. Garner, I better have a question that relates to the Bible, otherwise I’ll just keep quiet.” Later, the young man learned Mike didn’t respond because he didn’t hear him due to impaired hearing, a problem he lived with for a number of years before getting hearing aids as a gift for his 50th birthday. The hearing issues are likely due to working on helicopters during his years in the Marine Corp and the constant cling and clatter of tools and machinery from years of doing construction and plumbing. It wasn’t that Mike didn’t care about the young man’s question; he just didn’t hear him. While there is a comedic element to that story, his son was right, Mike puts priority on learning, discussing, and applying Scripture to life (ethical conversation).

Although Mike is a professor of Masters level theology courses at the Institute of GOD Int’l, it’s a common scene to find him sitting down outside the class with a group of students in the lounge area of our campus talking Bible and telling stories. Yet, it doesn’t stop there. Mike is known for engaging in theological discussion in a variety of venues, from having weekly conversations with his son over coffee, in the sauna at the local YMCA or through social media. People interested in the Bible tend to gravitate to him. This is not to say Mike doesn’t enjoy times for light, playful bantering. He has what he calls “hevel time,” playing off the Hebrew word, which means vanity. However, those times are far from vanity, but instead an opportunity for relationship building. And what often begins with joking turns into a time of storytelling.

In his poem “Tell Me a Story: When Storytellers Rule the World,” he highlights the power of a story to impact the world. And that all of us, because we are children of God, can approach each day as a new opportunity to participate in the story God is writing through the lives of the faithful. We all can be saints, but it comes on the other side of making the choice to obey. When I read that poem, I get the sense that telling the story of a life lived for God that brings peace in the world is far more potent than any glory related to military conquest. Unfortunately, the latter are the stories that litter most history books. Young people are kept from hearing about truly heroic individuals. Theologians should be storytellers, because a story can change the world.

The exemplary soul models their kerygma; it is embodied in their life of service to the poor and oppressed through the stories they speak. The narrative piece that expounds that poem is written about how in large part the current state of academia has been reduced to vanity (hevel), being more concerned with intellectual technique and the privileged access they have to learning and information.

It didn’t take me long to recognize that theology is the lens whereby Mike interprets the world. It’s quite evident that his perspective is shaped by faith in God and his reading of Scripture. The Bible should inform our perspective, from the practical ways in which we love those around us and in response to the systemic issues with an impact that has reached global proportions, causing pain and suffering to those most vulnerable. We live in an age where there is a growing disparity between rich and poor due to the rampant greed that marks this imperial age, when so many who remain voiceless are dying unnecessarily. In his poem, Prophetic Denunciation: When Prophets Weep, which is undoubtedly influenced by Mike’s years of study and teaching books like Hosea, Amos, and Jeremiah, he writes,

“Laid at the gate of a globalized world are the children of Lazarus

Capitalism displays contempt for life

Empire is indicative of God’s absence

there is no hiding.”

During a historical moment when so many people are deprived the good things God intends for them, the world needs more theologians that will speak and write words of “prophetic denunciation,” awakening us to our need for the presence of God, which will come when we return and begin to care for those laying at our gates.

Anyone reading Mike’s books will get the sense that he believes it’s vanity to divorce theological concepts from the lives we are expected to live in Christ. To quote one of the writers and thinkers that has influenced him, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel says in his important work, The Prophets, “God himself is described as reflecting over the plight of man rather than as contemplating eternal ideas.” Indeed, one of the first things Mike taught me in the classroom was that “Christianity is meant to be lived, not simply learned about.” I’ve carried this pedagogical statement with me over the years, as it has helped ground me in ethical responsibility to my friends, family, and neighbor. The statement itself, as well as the heart behind it, I’ve passed on to students in my history and theology classes. When I teach courses on the History of Christianity, this statement is a key component of the criteria we use to find those characters, the cloud of witnesses, that were faithful and walked worthy of the vocation to which they were called.

Mike lives out what he teaches, reflected in a lifetime spent in ministerial service as pastor, missionary and teacher. Serving the Lord is not something you retire from, but rather a lifetime commitment. In the poem “A Life Built on a Rock: Conviction,” he writes,

“I’m older now

My sail flies a little higher

The wind remains unpredictable

Perhaps it’s time to walk on water

One more time”

The above lines reflect the deep conviction he has of making himself available to the Lord as he ages. Aging makes us face our vulnerability and weakness as human beings. We literally start to decay and death becomes an enemy. In regards to death, I’ve often heard Mike say, “Nobody gets out alive.” Mike is now 61 years old and he has seen and experienced suffering.

As a young person in the Marine Corp arriving in Olongapo City in the 1970s in the waning years of the Vietnam War, Mike witnessed the incredible injustices and abuses of the American Empire’s complicity in the “sex industry,” which has become increasingly globalized. It was there that Mike would meet his first wife, Trinidad, a young woman who was a victim of the U.S. military presence. The disparity of wealth between U.S. forces and the poverty of the local population brought on the tendency for the powerful to injure the powerless to satisfy their errant desires. When I took Jeremiah class with Mr. Garner he taught that the human “propensity for evil” surprised God. Olongapo City was known as ‘sin city’ and the home to unhindered sexual activity unlike anywhere else in the world.

Not only has Mike witnessed the suffering of others, but he too has experienced physical limitations and pain, from the premature hearing loss to complete hip replacement surgery in his fifties. For years, Mike endured the pain associated with two bad hips. He would sit teaching in a classroom multiple hours everyday, rubbing his leg and enduring pain but focused on students growing in their knowledge of the Lord.

When Mike says, “My sail flies a little higher,” I’m provoked to think about the pursuit that most people have in our society to retire someplace warm and sunny. They buy a boat and sail out to sea, attempting to live a dream of eternal youth. However, the imagery in this poem is Biblical, causing us to think about the “Stilling of the Storm” story in the synoptic Gospels. As Jesus and the disciples sail to the other side of the lake the chaotic, unpredictable storm hits. Life is always unpredictable and times of chaos are inevitable. Aging makes us feel even more vulnerable to the unpredictability of life, and the human tendency is self-preservation. Thus, we pursue control and power in our futile efforts to keep death away. Jesus gave us another option, and that’s to get in the boat with him, which is riskier and requires faith. Mike says, “Human beings were not meant to walk on water. Yet, at the invitation of Jesus a few steps are a life changing experience.”

Someone in a boat over the open water feels more vulnerable than the one on land. However, Jesus shows no fear or doubt in the story. He can sleep through the storm, calm it with his words, believing the whole time that no matter what happens, if it’s the will of the father, he’ll reach the other side. Yet, the journey doesn’t stop there, because chaos, manifested in a human being, an archetype, dehumanized from the effects of war meets us on the other side. So it was in the gospel, when Jesus and the disciples disembark from the boat and encounter a demonized man whose identity reflects the horror and presence of the Roman legions upon the populace. The faith Jesus’ displays, he expects from us, his followers. So, when I read this line in Mike’s poetry, I hear a man facing the limits of human mortality, but choosing the option of faith over fear, and putting himself out there once more to get in that boat with Jesus, maybe take a few steps onto the water. We just don’t retire from our service to the Lord. Despite Mike’s physical challenges, he continues to live out his calling. Shortly after this book is published, Mike will be setting sail for the Philippines once again. This time to live out the rest of his life in Asia, write books, and bring his knowledge to the those thirsty for moral readings of scripture.

Mike Garner is above all a theological educator concerned that his students draw closer to the Lord. I remember seeing him in the Institute for G.O.D. Int’l library one day after classes. We were having a brief conversation about all the books and the acquisition of knowledge. I made a comment reflecting my desire to learn all that I could from the books on the shelves, but he responded to me that developing a relationship with the Lord should be prioritized over all the knowledge contained in those books. At the same time, Mike is inspired and motivated by ideas and concepts. If he reads a book and finds one idea or principle that is beneficial and enriching, then the time spent reading he considers valuable. When Mike learns something that is good, he then wants to give it away to others. Historically, there has been an issue with theologians hoarding knowledge. However, a teacher in service to Jesus Christ will share their knowledge of God. In the passage typically referred to as the ‘Great Commission,’ Jesus commands his disciples to ‘teach’ the nations all that he commanded them.

One of the first Bible classes I took at the Institute was Biblical Interpretation. It was a class that Mike taught, and it covered the books of Hosea and Amos. I was very disturbed to learn one of the major issues was how the theologians of the day, the priests, were depriving the people from the knowledge of God. This problem repeats throughout history. During the middle ages this was called “obscurantism,” the withholding of knowledge to keep people in the dark. In that class, I came to realize how the knowledge of God filling my soul and mind was replacing unhealthy ideas.

Theopoetics is Mike Garner’s third published work following Interpretive Adventures: Subversive Readings in a Missional School and Everyday Thoughts: A Collection of Devotional Readings for Thinking Christians. In Interpretive Adventures he puts forward fresh and insightful readings of Scripture in order to help believers live out their faith and particularly those who have a missional calling. Mike’s contributions to Biblical hermeneutics carry the authority that comes from years of experience as a teacher and missionary. Although he would not claim to be a wordsmith, anyone that reads Interpretive Adventures would be impacted by Mike’s pithy theological statements; each convey a depth of theological meaning. For instance, in dealing with the plague narratives in Exodus, he writes, “When God Liberates, Look for Mercy.” He puts forward a prophetic reading that highlights the mercy of God in a passage that many use to argue God is controlling and vengeful. I appreciate the ability to pack such a liberating teaching about God into a concise statement that can be unpacked and discussed.

Mike’s subtitle in Everyday Thoughts, A Collection of Devotional Readings for thinking Christians, reflects his frustration and response to the mass proliferation of Christian devotionals that don’t engage our mind and thus leave us Spiritually dwarfed. The shift to devotional writing reflects Mike’s versatility as a theological educator and writer.

Reflected clearly in the title of the second book, but definitely a major part of his first and recent work, is his concern for Christians to engage God with their mind. The absence of critical thinking in popular Christianity is a major issue. When people cannot think for themselves then they will follow the crowd. Mike taught in Gospels class “crowds are fickle.” One minute they love Jesus and they next they are yelling “crucify him!” In order to act according to God’s word, it’s necessary that it become the source of constant meditations. For years, Mike has challenged me and his other students to think more deeply. The expectation “in Christ” is that our thoughts would mature. The unfortunate reality, however, is that most folks, including, and perhaps especially Christians, don’t know how to think. We don’t just need devotionals to connect us emotionally to God, but also to engage our minds in worship. Mike tried to address this issue with “Everyday Thoughts”.

Not thinking makes us more susceptible to the common ideologies of the day, which leads us to a life of materialistic consumerism, militarism and nationalism. This has detrimental effects not only on us, but our children as well. When Mike entered the Marine Corp as a young man, he had not been taught that military service was incompatible with the Christian faith. Later in life, Mike experienced the revelation that Jesus was nonviolent, and in that case his followers should be too. An ethic of nonviolence should be a core value for the people of God. A way we move towards society where “swords are beat into plowshares” is by teaching our children not to participate in violent activity, including any form of military service. In the poem, “Christian Resistance: World Creators,” he writes,

“God Bless

Our children to resist

not with weapons or fists

but with wisdom and one another

Freedom of speech is impotent without freedom of thought.”

This stanza challenges the idea that blessing is evidenced by wealth and material abundance, which is the notion at the heart of the modern prosperity gospel. Again, Mike is challenging us to think, or perhaps re-think how we understand blessing. He connects it to our children. However, our progeny, the very thing that reflects God’s blessing in our lives have been indoctrinated by the ideologies of our age. In the gospels Jesus says, ‘wisdom is vindicated by its children,’ but we live in an age where kids are taught to war, and the apex of service is to enlist in the military.

This reality is not unique to our age. The state has long fostered a spirit of nationalism to compel parents to give their children over for battle. The prophet Micah projected the vision of a new world where “children learn war no more.” The first act of resistance is for parents to teach their children from a young age that military participation is not consistent with our faith. Jesus will define blessing in Matthew 5 as peacemakers who in effect are children of God. Christian resistance will happen when the next generation is taught how to speak and think with faith in a world seeking to instill in them the values of the dominant culture. Mike shares this concern and believes that by teaching our kids war is not an option and instilling in them the need to be thinking and informed persons, the world can change. They can leave off building towers and fueling the city so they can participate in the wonderful work of building Christ’s kingdom that comes from knowing God and his word.

The final poem of this collection is under the heading ‘Living Truth’ is titled ‘Freedom and Truth’. Truth is an abstract theme that has been pursued by philosophers throughout the ages. When Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?” He is asking a question one could hear from Plato. The irony is that Jesus was the embodiment of truth, standing before his very eyes, yet he could not see. We believe that truth is not some abstract concept, but revealed in a historical person, Jesus of Nazareth. In the poem, Mike writes,

“Truth is a disruptive power in the world

Liberation from perceived normalcy

Freedom from

Freedom to

A dizzying experience”

This makes me think about how we are all faced with whether or not we’ll accept the truth of Jesus, even when it disrupts our comfort and the semblance of control we think is real. Yet, we don’t even know we are slaves, slaves to ideas that keep us chained to the wall, rather than living a life ‘in Christ’, a life of freedom. The version of freedom we have that says do whatever you want is false. The truth is we need Jesus. He is the one that can free us from a mundane, purposeless life, so we can be free to truly live. I think it was intentional on Mike’s part to leave us with this final poem, the fortieth in the collection, which challenges us to choose the living truth, rather than the false truth of freedom promoted by our culture.