Jesus And The Rules Of Evidence

There is a story in the Bible about a time when the religious leaders of Jesus’s day confronted him with questions as to why, contrary to the religious tradition of the time, Jesus’s disciples ate before ceremonially cleaning their hands.  In response, Jesus said, among other things: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.  For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.  All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”  (Mark 7:20-23)  

I have never fully understood this story until I began preparing for a trial recently.  Odd, I know.  But, I was considering whether certain evidence would be admissible at trial or not and had to analyze this evidence under the hearsay rule.  Hearsay is any statement made outside of court, and is generally not admissible at trial, with certain exceptions, because it is inherently unreliable.  For example, if I go to court and seek to testify about what my friend Joe told me as to whether the traffic light I went through was red or green, this testimony would not be permitted.  Joe can testify about what he saw, but I cannot testify about what Joe told me he saw.  Similarly, if, just after I ran a red light, I said to Joe: “The light was green,” I cannot testify about that either.  That is hearsay – an out-of-court statement.  You can see why this is the rule.  After all, if I’m on the stand and could bolster my case by saying: “Well, right after the accident, I told Joe the light was green, and therefore the light must have been green,” I would have a motive to lie. 

There are exceptions to this hearsay rule, though, for certain types of hearsay evidence that has the mark of reliability and can be trusted.  One of these exceptions is the “excited utterance” exception.  Under the excited utterance exception, a statement relating to a startling event or condition, made while the person testifying in court was under the stress of excitement that it caused, is admissible.  Such statements are considered inherently reliable – in other words, when we yell something in the midst of some stressful or startling event, it is likely to be true. Accordingly, such statements would be admissible.  In our example above, let’s say I had been driving with Joe, drove through the light in question, and just before a car side-swiped me, I yelled out: “My light was green!” That statement could be admissible under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule.     

Thoughts of the excited utterance exception led me to remember riding in a van almost three years ago with a group of people from Ndola, Zambia to Lusaka, Zambia.  A now dear friend of mine, Lawrence, was driving us along a two-lane road and we were probably going 65-70 miles an hour.  Frequently, we would come upon cars or trucks carrying large objects, or people, or animals that were going slower, so we would go into the oncoming traffic lane and pass that particular vehicle. This happened on the other side too. Constantly, we were heading straight for another car that was passing.  At one point, a car using our lane to pass cut it too close and was heading right for us.  It didn’t appear that the car would get back to its side of the road in time and it would hit us head-on.  The car got closer and closer and was not getting over to the other lane.  I clenched my body and my heart began to race.  Lawrence yelled out: “Father in heaven, save us!”  The other car swerved back into its lane just in time and we were safe.  

I have not forgotten this experience.  Not because it scared me so much (which it did), but because of what Lawrence yelled out at this time of incredible stress.  His words revealed something remarkable about him that I could not and did not grasp in the moment.  The words he used were not the words that came to my mind first and nearly found their way out, as the car headed toward us.  You know exactly what I mean.  

And now I not only get what Jesus meant, but I get why there is an excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule.  What comes out of us, particularly in such stressful, startling moments, reveals the inherent truth about the condition of our hearts.  Indeed, what comes outside in these moments is a trustworthy reflection of the state of things on the inside.  We don’t have the presence of mind to pretty ourselves up, straighten our shirt collars, and present ourselves for inspection.  What we see of ourselves in such times should remind us of what God sees and seeks to transform – the inside, where the evil and sin live.  Imagine.  

The next time a car is heading straight for me, I want to cry, in the midst of my stress: “Father in heaven, save me!”  And so I pray, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”  (Ps 51:10)  

Presence in the Absence

I have been studying prayer lately, trying to understand why we pray, how to pray, what it means to God, whether it matters.  This is a big topic, of course, and one that a seemingly unlimited number of smart people have written about.  One thing that has happened during my study of prayer is that I've started to pray nearly constantly.  And, what unexpected joy, peace, and freedom it brings me deep in my soul.  Perhaps when I finish my study (to the extent I ever feel like I have), I will share what I have learned.  For now, though, I am bursting with a simple prayer of thanks today because of the feeling the snowfall outside my window prompted.

Now, I must tell you that each winter I hang a sign on my door that says: "Let it Snow . . . somewhere else."  I like looking at snow from my window and sometimes from ski slopes, but overall, I'm not a fan.  My dream is to live on the ocean in a warm climate where it never snows.  So, the feeling the snow triggered this morning came as a surprise.  I felt like a little child.  I caught my breath and smiled and a rush of excitement swelled in my chest.  What explains this?  My daughter's shriek when she looked out the window at 6:30 a.m.?  Thoughts from when I was younger and loved to go sledding, build snowmen and forts?  Drinking hot chocolate, sitting by a fire, and playing board games with my family?  The beauty of it as the snow sticks to the pine tree, or gathers on the roofs, or effortlessly falls to the ground? All of these things contributed to the feeling, but there is something else that is more powerful at work.

The silence, the stillness, the white-ness.  I stepped outside my back door and there is not a sound.  Not one.  And how can something falling from the sky so steadily that it's piling up on concrete, and grass, and tree limbs be so eerily silent?  Not quiet, but silent, without sound, an absence of sound.  It makes me smile with deep-seated wonder.  Then, there is the stillness, which is similar to, but not the same as, the silence.  The flakes are falling to the ground, so there is movement, but in the movement, stillness because of the steadiness of the falling.  This is weird to say I know, but it's true.  There is a stillness in the steadiness of movement.  So, when you combine the silence with the stillness, it's almost too much to bear, probably because of how rarely we experience this partnership.  Now add in the white-ness and the whole experience becomes stunning if you let it.  White = pure, holy, clean, light, opposite of dark.

Today there is an absence that is making me aware of a presence.  Absence of sound, absence of movement, and absence of darkness.  Silence, stillness, white-ness.  And because of this absence, I am keenly aware that God is present, nearby.  I imagine another time when absence so clearly represented presence: the moment Christ gave up his spirit on the cross and breathed his last.  The silence and stillness in that moment had to have been enough to make those present weep.  And we know it prompted one man to say: "Surely this man was the Son of God!"  (Mark: 15:39)  We often think of the tearing of the curtain of the temple from top to bottom as creating a loud, unmistakable crash or roar.  Matthew describes the earth shaking and rocks splitting, tombs breaking open, and bodies being raised from the dead.  But today as I watch the snow fall in utter silence and stillness, I wonder if the tearing of the temple actually had an otherworldly stillness to it.  Stillness even in its terrifying steady movement.

So steady, silent, and still is God's grace and love.  It is different than snow, to be sure, after all, this snow will cease, God's grace and love will not ("For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations" (Psalm 100:5)).  But what an incredible reminder.  One of the contributors to Philip Yancey's book Prayer said: "Each day is a kind of treasure hunt, looking for God's treasures, but it takes an intentional connection with God to awaken me, to make me aware."  God reached down to me today through the snow to reveal a treasure; to tell me He is near and His grace and love fall down on me, steadily, silently, unendingly.  I am reminded anew to "Be still, and know that I am God."  (Psalm 46:10)

Thank you, dear Lord, for the snow.  Amen.        

This is the day the Lord has made.

Today started off in an interesting way. I had no hot water. I stood outside the shower door trying to encourage myself to step in, just for a second. I could do this. It wasn't that bad. Nope, couldn't face it. So, I washed my hair using a drinking glass: filling it half with hot water (the hot water in the sink was working), half with cold water, and then pouring it over my head in the sink. I could not face getting in the cold water. I was able to shave halfway up my shins with cold water and no soap so as not to offend anyone who might get a glimpse of my lower leg or ankles in my long skirt. Then, none of the outlets in my room worked so I couldn't dry my hair. This is not such a big deal given the length of my hair, but you know how it is when you are used to something. We are so privileged and take so much for granted.

It was our team's first day teaching and I have not yet identified the words to describe the true heart of the experience. We arrived at the place we are teaching at about 7:40 a.m. Already there were 150 pastors from the surrounding areas. Most were men, but there were many women too. Most of the women wore traditional African clothing and the men wore suits. We started the day with about a half an hour of spirited worship. The people in Zambia speak Bemba and their songs were in Bemba and English. I could hardly contain myself as I worshipped our great God with these brothers and sisters from the other side of the world. God blessed me simply by allowing me to stand in their presence.

Worship was followed by an introduction and then a devotional about faith and works, called "Faith that Works: Extending Christ's Redemptive Love in the World." Our team member, Judy, led the devotional. The best line from Judy's teaching, in my opinion, was her description that separating works from faith would be like separating heat and light from fire. I have not tried that, but believe it would be an impossible task.

After Judy, Pastor Lawrence, the Executive Director of the Jubilee Centre, with whom we are partnering, taught about the Integral Mission of the church: the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel as a way to transform lives. The most impactful statement Pastor Lawrence made was in the context of Christ's authority. He quoted Abraham Kyuper saying: There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry out: 'Mine!'" Pastor Lawrence went on to ask whether, when we see a child begging on the street, we feel compelled to yell: "God's!" Do you? Do I?

By the time we took our first break, I knew that my life would be changed forever just by being with the body of Christ in the truest sense in which I have experienced it. I could have left then and there feeling the fullness of God for many years to come. There was meeting Josephine, the pastor of a church and mother of four, the oldest of whom is named Wisdom. And, another Josephine, the wife of a pastor and mother of seven. Or Matteo, a pastor to whom I asked what he liked to preach about most. His answer: Tithing (said with a smile). He questioned me on my age, allegedly believing me to be in my early twenties (loved that . . . well, sort of). Or, the man whom, after I told several stories I have experienced that illustrate ministries at Willow Creek combining the demonstration of God's love and the proclamation of the gospel, said "Thank you for your message. You touched my heart." Or the two pastors with whom I took a picture, and they each held one of my hands. The stories go on and on. And this was just one day.

All I can really do after experiencing God's wonderful, diverse creation like I did today is to say thank you. Thank you, Lord, for this day. My heart is full. My hands are open. My soul is at peace. "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

Go To The End Of Your Rope

Ever have one of those days where God just blows your mind? Yeah. Had one of those today.

On Tuesdays I meet with clients at a legal aid ministry. Today, I met with a man who owns some real estate that is financially underwater. And, he's getting dangerously close to being unable to pay the mortgage on this real estate. However, because he is not yet in default, the bank will not even engage in an conversation with him. The bank is, apparently, worried about putting out other fires and wants him to default before talking about how to manage the problem. Sure, makes sense. This man has been working for a long time to build his credit score, and it's at a record high. He knows, though, having lost his job in this latest economic recession that he cannot continue to pay for much longer. This man feels his world caving in. No disaster has yet struck, but the feeling that it will soon, was almost too much for him to bear.

We talked through some options; none of which were particularly satisfying to get or to give. Then, he said to me: "There is always one more place to look, one more person to ask, one more step to take. But, I think you might be my last stop. I'm out of options. I'm out of ideas and people." He was at the end of his rope.

As he said this, the following words came to mind about as clearly as if someone in the room yelled them out loud: "God is throwing him a party." Without hesitating, without thinking, I said to him: "God is throwing you a party right now because you are finally going to turn this over to him. You are finally going to trust him." As the words flowed out of my mouth, I felt the strangeness of them. They were not mine.

The man looked at me blankly for a second, his eyes watered, he smiled and nodded. Nothing to say. He got it.

So many things about this little experience are amazing to me. God's power is something to notice, something that can knock you over. You should have seen how my hands were shaking and how my heart was beating. Overpowered. Overpowered by God so he could reach this man to demonstrate his love.

And how about the fact that God rejoices when we trust him! He throws a party. When we trust him, his unfailing love surrounds us. (Psalm 32:10) Imagine that for a second. Really. Let it just sit with you. Maybe it's only me, but when I think trust, I think vulnerability. When you trust someone else completely, you are vulnerable to hurt. When you trust God, though, you are loved unfailingly, inexhaustibly, endlessly, completely. You are the opposite of vulnerable, you are in the refuge of the creator of all things. I challenge you to think of anything that can provide you more peace. What if God simply allowed the immediate problem to be solved -- the bank refinanced the mortgage at a better rate. Would everything be better? Or would you be worried about that other thing on the horizon? The problem on its way. I've been there. I've moved from one problem to the next, one worry to the next. It's too tiring.

My advice: Go to the end of your rope and let go. It is there you will find God. And he will surround you with unfailing love.