Day 73
Herring
It has been suggested that Porpoise on the surface can detect a school of herring 330 feet (100m) below.[i] I can’t hear most stuff that occurs a hundred feet from me. My wife hollers at me because I have a tendency to tune out the sounds around me (including the sound of her voice on occasion). She says I am equipped with the sixth sense of herring; the ability to ignore the sounds of life that occur in my midst, while fully engaged with something that nobody else can hear.
We decided to invite an international exchange student into our family for the year. Our foster son Ramon is fifteen. We discussed this opportunity with him and he was all for it. Ramon had only one request; the student we chose would have to enjoy soccer like he does.
As we went through the process of evaluating the available exchange students for the upcoming school year, one student continued to stand out. He was born in Russia. His parents were raised in Afghanistan and attended a university in Moscow. They returned to Afghanistan after college. The family decided to flee Afghanistan when the Taliban first came to power. They relocated to Frankfurt, Germany where they live today. Mom is a medical doctor and dad is in the computer business. The prospective student performed well academically in Germany. He loves soccer and is one year older than Ramon. (They could go to the same high school here together). There was only one problem; his name is Muhammad and he’s a Muslim.
Muhammad was easy to spot as he strolled from the plane to the terminal. He was tall, slender, black hair, with a bronzed complexion. His dress was clearly young, urban western-European (distinctly not central Oregon). As he got closer to the terminal, he raised his eyes from the ground and I could see it, fear. He was forty yards from my wife and I (standing inside at baggage claim), strolling toward the terminal when my herring clicked on. I seemed to be able to hear his thoughts, “MY god! What have I got myself into? This place doesn’t look anything like Frankfurt! Did I get on the wrong plane? Where did all these white people come from? I wonder if there are people of diverse ethnicity in this town? Look! Is that an actual human being with one of those cowboy hats on? I thought they only wore those in the movies. I hope the host family I’m supposed to stay with for the school year is cool. What if they’re not?”
After exchanging our initial greetings we grabbed Muhammad’s luggage and drove directly to the high school soccer field where Ramon was practicing with his friends. Practice had just ended and the JV and varsity teams were assembled near the bleachers. Ramon spotted Muhammad and ran up to him with a big smile saying “Muhammad, I’m Ramon. Welcome to Oregon! Come on and meet the guys.” Muhammad followed Ramon into the sea of players, coaches and parents. During the next ten minutes, Jacki and I witnessed an amazing sight. Everybody assembled in the area made a point to introduce themselves to Muhammad and enthusiastically welcome him to town. Relief, surprise, delight and a smile had replaced the trepidation Muhammad arrived with at the airport.
During the next several weeks, we got to know one another. This occurred by simply living life together. Muhammad became comfortable initiating conversations with me during the evenings after dinner. We shared stories about our lives. Muhammad told me stories about his preparation to come to the U.S. He was instructed very clearly not to discuss his faith with others in the U.S. We discussed 9/11 and the way our respective faiths have been hijacked by extremists. Muhammad told me that my wife and I did not behave anything like the U.S. Christians portrayed by the media. We enjoyed some great belly-laughs as we explored the misconceptions together. He shared stories with us about his Muslim friends in Germany who wanted to enjoy an international exchange year in the U.S. The students and their parents decided not to choose this opportunity because they didn’t believe the U.S. was a safe place for a Muslim. I told him it was very important to us for Muhammad to be himself in our home, our city and our country. He was relieved and delighted.
A few weeks later, my wife told me that Muhammad wanted to go to church with us. I asked whether she had invited him, had discussed this with him or had encouraged him in any way. She had not. Muhammad looks forward to going to church every week with us…on his own. During church, he sings, prays, and listens. We never encouraged it, don’t initiate discussions of it and aren’t the type of folks who intentionally evangelize others. We allow Him to speak through our lives.
As we were driving home from church one day, Muhammad asked, “Bill, what is desperate?” (It’s a word in a song we had sung in church). I explained that desperate is something that someone deeply desires and must have. Muhammad had been listening. He was demonstrating a very important lesson for me, as characterized in the following; “Before anything else, a person of faith is a person who listens. We listen to the voices of people we trust, the teachings of those we admire, and the collective wisdom of revered traditions. But primarily, we listen within. “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). When we are still, and quiet, and trusting, we discover what we seek to be faithful to “speaks” in us.” [ii] Muhammad was herring.
If you’re one of those who have been wounded by the religion business, you’re not alone. If the thought of organized religion makes you nauseous, you’re not unique. If you’re tired of being the target of organized attempts to evangelize others, Muhammad is with you. Perhaps we should be still, and allow our herring to absorb the meaning in the following: “Our critics do us a great service by pointing out our deficiencies. We should take their advice and get out of the religion business. Jesus understood the religion business and He had nothing good to say about it.” [iii]
The Porpoise know those herring are there without seeing them. Just because you can’t see Him, has nothing to do with the reality of His presence. Contemplate the following as an invitation to rediscover your gift of herring God: “If it can answer when you call, then it can speak without your asking. If you can go to it, it can come to you.” [iv]
NOTES
[i] Read, Andrew Porpoises Voyageur Press, Inc. Vancouver, B.C. Canada © 1999 by Andrew Read, p. 36.
[ii] Stella, Tom The God Instinct – Heeding Your Heart’s Unrest, SORIN BOOKS Notre Dame, Indiana Copyright © 2001 by Thomas A. Stella pp. 54-55.
[iii] Henderson, Jim a.k.a. “LOST” – Discovering Ways To Connect With The People Jesus Misses Most,” Waterbrook Press Colorado Springs, CO. Copyright © 2005 by James K. Henderson, pp. 81-82.
[iv] Lewis, C.S. The Timeless Writings of C.S. Lewis, Family Christian Press & Wm B. Erdman’s Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mi. Inspirational Press Edition, A Division of BBS Publishing Corp. © 2004 p.110
