Restoration Three Step
Galatians 6:1-10
When I lived in Dallas, one of the most enjoyable memories I had was going down to the Round Up Saloon on Sunday nights to learn Country Western dancing. They offered the lessons each week before the bar opened to encourage people to learn new dances. I learned the Texas Two Step, Earthquake line dance, and several others (none of which I could do right now if I had a gun to my head). The main reason why it was so much fun was that there was a large group of folks from church who would gather for these lessons each Sunday night so it was a great community building occasion. We would help each other out with our steps, or learn to lead or follow depending on what our partner liked to do. And there is something about wearing a cowboy hat, boots and wranglers that – I don’t know – just gets your juicing going – at least it does in Texas.
Our scripture calls us to another kind of dance. It has delicate moves that either hinder or help the flow of its rhythm. It is what I call the “restoration three step.” Most people think of this three-step dance when there has been division within a congregation and healing is needed. That is the context that Paul uses it in our text. But I have also found this process to be just as helpful in personal relationships where there has been a falling out between friends or loved ones. The resulting awkward distancing is difficult to bridge in those situations. You have to step carefully if you want to restore that which was broken or lost. It seems to be a dance most people have forgotten, or perhaps never were taught. It’s time to get our toes tapping again.
Step one: Gentleness
That Paul even has to tell the Galatians this is evidence of how easily our human nature leads us to be critical and judgmental when someone fails to live up to expectations – theirs or ours. Our knee-jerk reaction to being hurt is to shut down or retaliate. This kind of reaction only further alienates those involved from each other. It takes a conscious decision to choose to dance the restoration three step. Galatians suggests beginning with a “spirit of gentleness.” Have you ever been on the short end of a judgmental attitude? Did it ever motivate you to reconciliation? Rather than being on the receiving end of judgmental attitude, through gentleness with ourselves and others we instead open a pathway through the pain. Rather than feeling cut off, we discover that in times of great emotion grace is a very welcome friend.
Step two: Caution
Paul cautions those of us who find ourselves in a place to offer the gift of restoration. Two dangers: the first is being pulled down into the brokenness of the one we’re trying to help. The second is feeling superior to someone struggling because eventually every one of us is going to need a guiding hand or a forgiving nudge. It’s not easy living a faithful life – whether you’re trying to be a good friend, a good person or a good Christian. There is always the temptation to say, “This is too hard. Is it worth it?” I love this cartoon [PP5] that Kathy Barclay sent me several months ago. Sometimes the alternatives to following the presence of God can seem pretty attractive so we must remember that none of us is above stumbling and that exploring restoration is worthy of the effort.
Step three: Compassion
You reap what you sow. This applies to those of us who see our calling as restorers as much as it does to those who come to us in need of restoration. If we live grace, we will receive grace. If we live condemnation, we will find our lives weighed down by that condemnation. In a church context it isn’t our job to decide whose sin is worse or which misdeed qualifies for forgiveness. Forgiveness always has to be a possibility. When dealing with a friendship that is broken it may make us feel superior to be right, but it does nothing to help another find their way back into our hearts. In a religious context, we may feel justified in our righteous indignation toward the attitude or behavior of others. Righteous indignation never healed a thing!
Henri Nouwen speaking at a clergy conference at Southern Methodist University once said, “If, in order to defeat the beast, we become the beast, the beast has won.” We are called to something deeper. We are called to enter the dance of restoration – moving from gentleness with caution to compassion.
Peggy Campolo, wife of evangelist Tony Campolo, spoke at our General Conference last week. She noted, “It is always those who have been sinned against and suffer who must offer the gift of forgiveness.”
The restoration three step does not mean that harm we may do to those we love – whether to one’s self, in our personal lives or in church – doesn’t have consequences. There is a danger that the rhythms that brought hearts together can be forever interrupted. Still, if you truly want to find a way to heal wounds of the heart, this is the dance that will resonate grace and the possibility of restoration.
This next week we will be hosting a Town Hall meeting where we have invited the entire community to join us in a discussion about the question, “Would Jesus Discriminate?” We have invited the entire Minnesota legislature and governor, every church and religious leader we could think of, plus those from the other side whom we know disagree with us. I am not concerned that our adversaries will attend. I welcome their presence and I know we will receive everyone who is here with grace and respect. Remember that they have no power over your peace, unless you give it to them. I am more interested in those who will be here that night “overhearing” the conversation – the struggling, the alienated, those who have given up on Christianity. I want us to model grace to them as they search for restoration to God’s presence. I am so proud of who we are and what God is doing in our lives. I want the world to get to know the people of All God’s Children.
So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all. Let us learn the restoration three step and learn to dance it well.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com Haphazard Handoffs, July 2007.
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