In our Thursday morning church discussion last week of Nadia Bolz-Weber's book Accidental Saints, several in the discussion indicated that intentionally being Christian was important to them. How could they do that and be an "accidental saint", someone who stumbles into being Christ-like?
As a teacher, I would compare it to my teaching. I intentionally made daily lesson plans with goals, objectives, activities, but occasionally a student would ask a question that to answer it would keep me from achieving those daily goals. I would have to weigh it --- stick to my intentional plan or shut my plan book and teach a whole new lesson---an accidental lesson. This is called a "teachable moment"---giving the lesson that is needed not the one that was planned.
I often had this situation when I was teaching English as Second Language. The students would ask a language question or cultural question not in my plan book. One year I was teaching in a district that was so rigid that they didn't really support the "teachable moment". All material to be copied needed to be submitted a week in advance, had to be approved by the principal---no exceptions. So, if a family of 3 from Taiwan moved into the district, I couldn't have work for them because I had only 10 copies that had been pre-approved 10 days earlier. But, even worse was not being able to teach to the questions that popped up almost daily. I by-passed the red tape by getting copies at Kinko's, paying for them myself (and ultimately finding another district to work in).
Can you imagine a baseball team manager playing a game intentionally without allowing the accidental. They would print up the roster and could not change it. If a player became injured, wasn't playing well, or thrown out of the game, the game would have to be played as"intended." Or a coach who can't change the game plan?
Most of us aren't teachers or baseball managers but practicing Christians. We can have a plan each morning to read the Bible, pray before meals, donate food to Circle of Concern, but if we don't keep our hearts open, we've missed the point. The difficult conversation about race may help you understand your neighbor better. The telephone call interrupting your Bible study may be helping a friend who needs a listening ear. Letting someone ahead of you on Manchester Road on your way to Circle may help a mother running late picking her child up on time. Paying it forward at McDonald's may help the man who just realized he left his wallet at home. All are opportunities to put our Christian principles to work without knowing it ahead of time.. By deviating from our intentional practices, getting out of our comfort zone, we can often become the saints we want to be: accidental saints.
