Fearless Faith

A wild-tending world view is described by nativist author Randy Woodley as “one that maintains a careful watch on the whole community of creation, assuring everything stays in balance for generations to come.” (Becoming Rooted, 2022) We could use a little bit of that world view now about now, in home, at home, even far from home. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to open our doors to the possibility of possibility, to breathe mirthful breezes of hope and encouragement to merge onto broad avenues of living that are not only life-giving but life-sustaining?

It's not like the notion hasn’t been broached before. We’re great about talking new ideas, but awful at picking them up and running with them, unless of course they become wildly successful and quickly adopted as our own. Ideas are easy fodder of political battles these days. They need not make sense to accomplish their goals, even though they remain thinly veiled as necessities or even lifesavers as well. How thin? Abraham Lincoln offered, “[thin as homeopathic soup] made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had been starved to death.” (Familiar Quotations, 11d, 1944)

A new definition of American exceptionalism is needed, one that is shaped by something much larger than the economic and political marketplace of ideas and products, and who wields the most power in order to capture the flag. It is an exceptionalism that is broad enough to include Woodley’s wild-tending worldview where balance is continually sought. The work behind such balance is frequently unrecognized and unrewarded, yet it is essential to a thriving world culture … our world culture. It is a philosophy and lifestyle that, once charted, cannot be abandoned. If we are true to our Christian heritage, among other faiths, then we know that creation care is ultimately a divine mandate that must be exercised.

The first century ethos represented by Jesus is broad and encompassing. It is one that is exceptional without invoking the selfishness and anger of winner-takes-all attitudes. Jesus’ teachings are represented by the relationships at the center of his work and as the central focal point of most of the parables that he shared. How miraculous were his signs and works? That’s a question and an invitation for all of us to ponder. How ironic that church organizations, of all institutions, cannot see The Light at the center of each person without haggling over whether they are deserving or not. Are we speaking of the same Jesus? Wow. Simply wow.

So here we are, attempting to rediscover the balance referenced by Woodley and become wild-tenders of the faith. Where does faith need coaxing along? What is its diagnosis when things go awry? How do we avoid cures that are worse than the diseases we face? We all know wild-tenders in our communities who are vital and necessary to the functioning of the whole. Are we listening to them, encouraging them for their good works? Do we say thank-you often enough and apologize when we ought? Are we able to claim Christianity without feeling the need to be in the limelight or to have our visages emblazoned on highway billboards?

“Look closer. Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.” (Job 12:7-8 ) We are wild-tenders all.