Spilt Coffee, Holy Spaces, and Tighty-Whities

Learning to Cast Off Pretense and Approaching God Truthfully

In my previous church, I had two offices. One was in the church building, the other was a corner table at Wyoming Community Coffee. Surprisingly, I preferred meeting people (except when confidentiality was needed) in the latter, because more people showed up as their true selves.

Authenticity and Pretense in the House of the Lord

There is something about being "in the house of the Lord" that often leads to subtle forms of pretense. It's not a malicious or manipulative pretense, but rather the kind that students exhibit when they have a substitute teacher and the principal enters the classroom. Suddenly, everyone quiets down and sits up straight, striving to give best behavior vibes.

The same thing would often happen in my church office.

Once I was meeting with a guy in my church office. Near the end of the meeting he accidentally spilled his coffee on my already coffee colored carpet.

“Aww shit!” he said.

Then, upon realizing where he was, he began profusely apologizing, mumbling something about not disrespecting the Lord’s house.

The thing is, I’d met with this man on several occasions. I knew that cussing was a part of his vocabulary, but it wasn’t until that moment that I realized that he didn’t do so whenever we met at the church.

This incident made me reflect on the nature of this behavior. Some argue that it is merely a sign of respect. But if that's the case, it doesn't quite make sense. It reveals a misunderstanding about God that dates back thousands of years, when people believed that God — or the gods — dwelling place was exclusively in temples. To meet God, one had to go to where God was.

However, the Christian understanding shifted when Jesus died on the cross. The curtain was torn asunder (what a great word!) and the next place we see God dwelling is not in a building, but in people. And signs of this were immediately seen in the community, right outside of the space where God used to dwell! (Acts 3:1-10)

Returning to the Building-Centric Mentality

Over time, though, we have drifted back to the mindset that God's address is in a building, specifically a church building. Sadly, there was more intentionality in this returned mindset than many realize. But that’s a different article for a different day. Consequently, when we think about "meeting God," we often focus on coming to church, and often doing so in our “Sunday best.”

By the way, could you ever imagine God leaning over to an angel and saying, “Whoa! Look at his suit! He’s killin’ it!” So much for Sunday best.

Learning from Blind Bartimaeus

As I prepare for a sermon on Blind Bartimaeus, I am reminded of his profound understanding of God's presence among us long before professional theologians grasped it. When Jesus and the crowd passed by him on the way to Jerusalem, Bartimaeus cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

When Jesus finally heard and called him to come, Bart “throwing off his cloak… sprang up and came to Jesus.” I was reminded of what this “de-cloaking” meant. It meant that he became undignified. The cloak was the covering beggars wore, they also spread it on the ground to catch money tossed their way. That means he came naked; perhaps he had on tighty-whities, but that would’ve been the most.

If you don’t accept that interpretation, consider its metaphorical meaning: Bartimaeus approached God as he was, unburdened by societal expectations or the need to preserve dignity. He came naked, metaphorically shedding his pretenses, before a God who already saw him and called him as he was.

Our Apologies and Pretenses

In many ways, we all have our versions of “apologizing for cussing in church.” We all pretend when we come to God. Recently, a friend pointed out to me that I was doing this very thing — hence this article. He asked me how he could be praying for me, and I responded with the conventional answers that I knew to be correct: peace, strength, faith, etc, instead of being real about what I needed (increased income, a car for my daughter, help with sense of purpose, concrete stuff like that).

God already knows anyway; why not be real? He knows both our flaws and our needs. To pretend that we are better off than we actually are, or to spiritualize our requests does not please him. To come nude — please understand that this is a metaphor, especially if you attend Church of the Saviour UMC in Montgomery, OH — does please him. God can handle profanity, just like he can handle guilt, shame, and all manner of sin. But if we approach God pretending to be what we are not, we limit His ability to work in our lives.

Authentic Faith Rewarded

Blind Bartimaeus saw and approached God correctly. When asked, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” Bartimaeus did not say, “please give me strength to handle these trials…” No, the man who saw and approached Jesus with an authentic faith said, “Lord, that I might receive my sight.”

And he did.

We must cast aside pretense and societal expectations, and approach God honestly. He receives us as we are and desires our genuine relationship with him. Also, it is then that, like Bartimaeus, we can experience his transforming power in our lives as we journey with him on the way that leads to life.