DE PONDERINGS by Kevin Kessler

Idols and Quick Fixes

I’ve recently been mulling over in my mind thoughts about idols and quick fixes, mainly because of what I’ve been reading in a book entitled The Sacred Wilderness of Pastoral Ministry, which focuses on scriptural narratives about John the Baptist. The author of this work is David Rohrer, teaching pastor of the University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA.

Rohrer reveals some interesting insights about the audiences that John the Baptist addressed. Some members of John’s audience Rohrer describes as persons interested in finding redemption through nothing more than ritual forgiveness rather than inward transformation, the latter being evidenced by outward actions congruent with the inner change. “Sin management through religious washings and purification rituals” is the definition Rohrer applies to the actions in which this sector of John’s audience is engaged.

The employed implication is that religious practices were considered to be the quick fix for sins. Candidly speaking, ritualistic religion had become for some the solution to the problem of sin, a substitution for the reality that truly could absolve sin, namely God. Anything standing in for God, we commonly agree, is an idol.

Infrequently, if ever, (here I may be speaking more from my personal understanding) do we associate John the Baptist’s prophetic voice with denouncing idolatry. Most notably, we remember John making the path straight in preparation for the coming Christ, pointing toward the One whose sandals he was not worthy to tie, the One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John’s greatest passion was in revealing the Christ, the one who had all power and authority to remove sin and administer grace. Albeit his passion, John also conveys that obstacles obscuring vision, idols, need to be named and brought to light in order for the ultimate solution to ever have a chance of coming into view.

Thus, the question for me personally, which begs a response, is, what are the idols obscuring our vision today? Will responses to this question seem more judgmental than prophetic? Maybe, but no response approves an inadequate status quo.

Therefore, I’ll attempt a response by posing additional questions, reducing the risk of sounding like an absolutist, while keeping open the door for meaningful conversation. How are contemporary social issues, producing more polarizing questions than unifying solutions, which exact our time and energy, blurring our vision like a translucent window treatment and causing us to miss the fullness of Christ’s redemptive power for our lives and this world? In what ways are we expecting quick fixes to the complexities emerging from diverse understandings of these issues? Should quick fixes be the goal or would we be better served by “...looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith...”? (Heb. 12:2a, NRSV) Is it feasible to believe while focusing on Jesus that an inward transformation is possible? And from internal change, can there emerge outward action, revealing to all who observe us, that we have something more in common that unites us than anything that divides us?

Religious rituals and social issues are not unimportant. However, their effectiveness is diminished if or when they become idols destined for use as redemptive quick fixes. Therefore, during moments when it’s tempting to idolize rituals and issues, then giving ear to prophetic voices calling us to engage in times of renewing focus seems reasonably beneficial.