Fearless Faith

Brilliance is often defined in terms of intellect: prowess, genius, ability, skill. We attribute it to scientists like Einstein, Edison or Tesla, and a host of others whose imaginations are not bound by limitations of the mind. Brilliance stands apart from most standard, often obligatory, patterns of thought.

A different view of brilliance engages the senses by implicating wonders that surround and move us. Innovations in literature, music, theater and the visual arts tug at us with a gentle insistence unique to each person. Few among us have not been deeply moved on occasion by a stirring passage or eloquent statement regarding humankind, something deep and lasting.

Brilliance is also a defining element in photography. It represents a vivid component, something bright and very often contrasty from that which surround. It provides the “pop” in photos or in unexpected surprise moments that make us look good.

Brilliance can also be discovered in the fall garden. While many plants look like they are nearly done for the season, others seem to thrive, refusing to cede their own degrees of brilliance to anything or anybody. But what provides the ‘pop’ for them? It is found in the somber muted colors of supporting stems and undergrowth. Much like Jesus, the late flowering plants do not intentionally strive for brilliance … it simply comes naturally to them in the settings which they inhabit.

Some of the deepest pleasures of ministry are moments when bits of brilliance break free, whether they are intended or not. These points come from working in concert with one another, bringing a broader range of understanding to friends, members, staff, and neighbors. They often manifest themselves as “aha!” moments that surprise most everyone. In the resulting excitement, people begin building beyond themselves, creating new vision and new hope.

Jesus was adept at inspiring people to do just that, to become greater than they alone could imagine, not in a power trip sort of way, but in a hopeful energizing way. His ability to inspire was without guile or selfishness. He seldom sought out the people generally regarded as intellectuals or scholars, the movers and shakers off his time. Many have surmised, that were we asked to find Jesus, we would begin by looking in the seedy part of town associated with reprobates and those of ill repute. As it is, we find enough of that attitude in politics and daily life.

Brilliance resides in us all in different measures and degrees. Why should that concern us so? It could be that we no longer can use the excuse that we are generally better than the person standing next to us, someone whose mere presence might suggest a different understanding. All the while, they are entertaining the same notions regarding us. Zero sum game.

Be brilliant by your own standards. Embrace the best of what others have to offer. Let your light shine, and always be gentle and kind along the lines of Dinah Maria Craik who said, “A friend is one to whom one may pour out the contents of one’s heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that gentle hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.” Brilliant.