The Shack: Study 04

Chapter 5: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

P67 Perhaps there is a suprarationality: reason beyond the normal definitions of fact or data-based logic; something that only makes sense if you can see a bigger picture of reality. Maybe that is where faith fits in.

Where does faith fit in these days? Have fact and data based logic overtaken our need for faith?

P68 Besides, acknowledging the note would mean admitting that he had kept secrets from her; secrets he still justified in his own mind. Sometimes honesty can be incredibly messy.

Why does Mack not tell Nan of his plans? How can honesty get messy sometimes?

Bible passage: Genesis 12:10-20 Abraham conceals the identity of Sarah from Pharaoh.

P69 He reasoned that he wouldn’t need much if God had sent the invitation, but just in case, he loaded up a cooler with much more than enough….added a sleeping bag, some matches, and a number of survival items.

What does this tell us about Mack’s faith in the note? Have we experienced anything similar about our confidence in God?

Bible Passage: Matthew 14:15-21 loaves and fishes

P70 Mack to Willie maybe I’m just losing it. I know it sounds crazy, but somehow I feel strangely drawn to find out for sure. I gotta go, Willie, or it’ll drive me nuts forever.

What is compelling Mack to make this journey?

P71 Willie: But God doesn’t do stuff like that. At least I’ve never heard of him sending someone a note. Not that he couldn’t, but, you know what I mean. And why would he want you to return to the shack anyway? I can’t think of a worse place….

Mack: I guess part of me would like to believe that God would care enough about me to send a note.

How does God communicate with us today? Would a note be so out of place?

Daniel 5:5-6 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
NIV

Maybe what happened to Missy is God’s judgment for what I did to my own dad. I just don’t know.

Why does Mack feel this way? Is it a common experience? Why/ why not?

Exodus 21:15 "Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death.
NIV

P72 “I didn’t lie to her, “ Mack objected.
“Well excuse me for splitting hairs,” Willie snapped back. “Okay, you didn’t lie to her because you didn’t tell her the whole truth.”

Is holding back the truth lying?

P73 Willie: God, of course. What do you think he’ll look like, if he even bothers to show up…

Mack: I don’t know. Maybe he’s a really bright light, or a burning bush. I’ve always sort of pictured him as a really big grandpa with a long white flowing beard, sort of like Gandalf in Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings

How do you picture God? Where does that image come from?

Bible Passage: Exodus 24:9-18

P74 …he sailed by Multnomah Falls without looking. He had pushed away any thoughts of the place since Missy’s disappearance, sequestering his emotions securely in the padlocked basement of his own heart.

Why does Mack do this? How does it help him cope with Missy’s murder?

He knew he was driving straight into the center of his pain, the vortex of The Great Sadness that had so diminished his sense of being alive. Flashes of visual memory and stabbing instants of blistering fury now came in waves, attended by the taste of bile and blood in his mouth.

What is happening to Mack’s emotions? Why are they surfacing this way?

P77 Determined he was done with being afraid, he continued down the path, trying to look more confident that he felt. He hoped he hadn’t come all this way for nothing. If God was really meeting him here, he was more than ready to get a few things of his chest, respectfully, of course.

What things would Mack want to talk to God about? Why would he be respectable about it?

The shack itself looked dead and empty, but as he stared it seemed for a moment to transform into an evil face, twisted in some demonic grimace, looking straight back at him and daring him to approach.

What is Mack seeing in the shack? How do we confront evil?

P78 Turning his eyes heavenward, he began screaming anguished questions. “Why? Why did you let this happen? Why did you bring me here? Of all the places to meet you – why here? Wasn’t it enough to kill my baby? Do you have to toy with me too?”

“God, you couldn’t even let us find her and bury her properly. Was that just too much to ask?”

Why is Mack so enraged? Who does he believe God to be? How do our own frustrations and anger shape our communications with God? Why do we expect God to look after us?

Bible Passage: Job 19

“Well, I’m here God, and you? You’re nowhere to be found!! You’ve never been around when I needed you – not when I was a little boy, not when I lost Missy. Not now! Some ‘Papa’ you are!” He spat out the words.

When do people feel really disappointed with God? Why? How can other believers help them through those times?

P79 Oh to stop caring, to stop feeling the pain, to never feel anything again. Suicide? At the moment that option was almost attractive. “It would be so easy,” he thought. “No more tears, no more pain…

Killing himself would be one way to strike back at God, if God even existed.

Why does Mack consider suicide? Is it the answer to his problems? Why does he want to strike back at God in this way? What stops him?

1 Kings 19:3-5 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.

P80 “I’m done, God,” he whispered. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m tired of trying to find you in all of this.”…if God wanted him, God would have to come and find him.

Why did Mack give up trying to find God? Is this defiance, exhaustion, or frustration?

P82 He now faced another dilemma. What should you do when you come to the door of a house…where God might be? Should you knock? Presumably God knew that Mack was there…And how should he address him?...Father…Almighty One…Mr. God?

How should we address God? What will we say when we meet God at last?

…just as he raised his fist to do so, the door flew open, and he was looking directly into the face of a large beaming African-American woman.

How does this image of God affect you? Why does William Young do this?

P83 AfAm woman: I have been really looking forward to seeing you face to face. It is so wonderful to have you here with us.

Suddenly, he was overwhelmed by the scent emanating from her, and it shook him. It was the smell of flowers with overtones of gardenia and jasmine, unmistakably his mother’s perfume that he kept hidden away in his little tin box.

What do we expect God to look like? Had we ever considered what God would smell like?

AfAM woman: …go ahead and let it out. It does a soul good to let the waters run once in a while – the healing waters. (referring to tears)

How do tears heal us? Why don’t men like to cry?

P84 the large black woman gathered his coat and he handed her the gun, which she took from him with two fingers as if it was contaminated.

Is this telling us something about God or the author?

Asian woman: …we all have things we value enough to collect, don’t we?...I collect tears.
He appeared Middle Eastern and was dressed like a laborer, complete with tool belt and gloves.

How do these depictions of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit affect you? Are you delighted, intrigued or offended?

P85 Mack: Are there more of you? Woman: We is all you get, and believe me, we’re more than enough.”

But he knew all this as more an impression of her than from actually seeing her, as she seemed to phase in and out of vision.

Mack suddenly felt lighter than air, almost as if he were no longer touching the ground. She was hugging him without hugging him, or really without even touching him.

How does the Holy Spirit affect us? How would we describe our encounters with the Holy Spirit?

Acts 2:1-4
2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

P86 woman: I am the housekeeper and cook. You may call me Elouisa.

Jesse: I try to keep things fixed up around here…I am a Hebrew to be exact, from the house of Judah.

P87 I am Sarayu…Keeper of the gardens, among other things.

Mack: Was one of these people God?...Since there were three of them, maybe this was a trinity sort of thing. But two women and a man and none of them white? Then again, why had he naturally assumed that God would be white?

Which one of you is God?..... “I am,” said all three in unison.

How do the names relate to their divine owners? What do you think about this?

The Shack: Study 03

Chapter 4: The Great Sadness

P43: Not wanting to appear overanxious or panicky, he found and soberly informed his two new friends that he couldn’t find Missy and asked if they would each check with their families.

Why doesn’t Mack want to panic at this time? What’s stopping him from being over-anxious?

P44: She was nowhere and he jogged back towards Emil’s, unable to pray anything except, Oh God, help me find her…Oh God, please help me find her.”

Have you ever prayed a prayer like this? What were the circumstances? Did the prayer help you?

Psalm 71:12 Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me.

P46: As he walked between the tents and trailer, he was praying and promising. He knew in his heart that promising things to God was rather dumb and irrational, but he couldn’t help it. He was desperate to get Missy back, and surely God knew where she was.

What causes us to make promises to God in the midst of our troubles? What are we trying to get God to do?

Hosea 10:4a They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements;

P49: What he would give for a do-over; a chance to have this day start from the beginning.

What circumstances, events, or experiences make us want to be given a do-over? Why is it hard to let go of our mistakes?

P54: Word had quickly spread, and friends arrived to help him pack up the site and cart everything back to Portland. His boss called, offering any support he could and encouraging Mack to stay as long as he needed. Everyone they knew was praying.

What is the power behind community prayers? Have we ever had any said for us? How did it make us feel?

Acts 4:31-32a After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
All the believers were one in heart and mind.

P55: As Jesse gave Mack a long hug, he whispered that they would see each other again, and that he would be in prayer for all of them.

How sincere is this kind of support? What does it mean to be “in prayer” for other people?

Romans 12:11-13 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Vicki’s world had been shaken by the events, and now she had to be almost pried from Nan as her own grief threatened to sweep her away. Nan held her, stroking her hair and whispering prayers into her ear, until she was settled enough to walk to the waiting car.

What’s the purpose of these whispered prayers? Are they effective? When may we use them?

P57: “Thank you,” was all Mack could say, and he looked down at the floor. Emotions seemed so near the surface, and even the least bit of kindness seemed to poke holes in his reserve.

Some people say that kindness kills. Have you ever experienced anything like this? Do we sometimes find it hard to accept help in the midst of our pain and suffering? Why?

P59: Something in the heart of most human beings simply cannot abide pain inflicted on the innocent, especially children.

Why is this a common feeling throughout so many cultures and people across the world? Why would God place this feeling within us?

Mark 9:42 "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.

P60: By now he had only one prayer left: “Dear God, please, please, please take care of my Missy. I just can’t right now.” Tears traced their way down his cheeks and then spilled off onto his shirt.

Have you ever prayed this kind of prayer? How hard is it to surrender our loved ones into God’s hands?

P63: For Mack, the next few days and weeks became an emotion-numbing blur of interviews with law enforcement and the press, followed by a memorial service for Missy with a small empty coffin and an endless sea of faces, all sad as they paraded by, no one knowing what to say. Sometimes during the weeks that followed, Mack began the slow and painful merging back into everyday life.

How have shock and grief affected our own lives? How hard is/was it for us to get back to ‘normal’ life? Why is it difficult for others around us to say or do the right thing when we are hurt and grieving?

Psalm 88:11-12, 18
Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.

P64: At some point in the process, Mack attempted to emerge from his own pain and grief, at least with his family. They had lost a sister and daughter, but it would be wrong for them to lose a father and husband as well.

What makes Mack take this decision? Why is his stability so important to his family?

Mack and Nan weathered the storm of loss together with reasonable success, and in some ways were closer for it. Nan had made it clear from the start, and repeatedly, that she did not blame Mack in any way for what happened. Understandably, it took Mack much longer to let himself off the hook, even a little bit.

How difficult is it for us to forgive ourselves at times? Why is it easier to forgive other people? How can God help us through times when we feel destitute of forgiveness and hope for ourselves?

P65: The fact that he was unable to bury Missy’s body magnified his failure as her daddy.

Why does this make Mack feel such a failure?

The tragedy also increased the rift in Mack’s own relationship with God, but he ignored this growing sense of separation. Instead, he tried to embrace a stoic, unfeeling faith, and even though Mack found some comfort and peace in that, it didn’t stop the nightmares…

What causes people to abandon God when they are deeply hurt? Why is it easier to shut off our feelings in the midst of loss or pain?

Psalm 42:9-10

I say to God my Rock,” Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?"
My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long,” Where is your God?"

Does God even write notes? And why the shack – the icon of his deepest pain?

Why does Mack question God’s intentions? Why would God lead him towards his deepest pain?

In seminary he had been taught that God had completely stopped any overt communication with moderns, preferring to have them only listen to and follow sacred Scripture, properly interpreted, of course God’s voice had been reduced to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper authorities and intellects.

Has God stopped communicating with us? Does He only speak to us through scripture?

Judges 6:13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

P66: It seemed that direct communication with God was something exclusively for the ancients and uncivilized, while educated Westerners’ access to God was mediated and controlled by the intelligentsia. Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book.

Why is it easy to keep God in a box or a book? What do we fear when we let Him out?

Who sent the damn note? Whether it was God or the killer or some prankster, what did it matter? Whichever way he looked at it, it felt like he was being toyed with. Andy anyway, what good was following God at all? Look where it got him.

Are there times when we feel that God is toying with us? How does our faith testify against that possibility?

He realized he was stuck, and Sunday prayers and hymns weren’t cutting it anymore, if they ever really had. Cloistered spirituality seemed to change nothing in the lives of the people he knew, except maybe Nan.

Why are some people spiritually stuck and cannot get anything out of church worship? Can church worship contribute to those ruts?

He was sick of God and God’s religion, sick of all the little religious social clubs that didn’t seem to make any real difference or affect any real changes.

Mack seems to express something that a lot of people feel about religion. Why have many churches become religious social clubs and what can be done to change that?

Revelation 3:14-16
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

The Shack: Study 02

Chapter 2: The Gathering Dark

P24: Mack does not mention the note to Nan. Why?

P25: The great Sadness had draped itself around Mack’s shoulders like some invisible, but almost tangible heavy quilt.

Has there been a time of sadness in your life that has burdened you? How did/ how do you cope with this?

Mack dreams of being stuck in the mud and unable to scream, as the dark shadow follows Missy. Why did this recurring dream make him feel both guilty and nauseated?

P26: Why do you think they called the cat “Judas?”

P27: Missy wants to hear the story of the Multnomah princess again. What makes this kind of sacrificial story so appealing to us?

P28: After praying and giving herself to the Great Spirit, she fulfilled the prophecy by jumping without hesitation to her death on the rocks below.

How does this Multnomah story compare to that of Jepthah’s daughter?

Judges 11:29-40

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."

Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break."

"My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry."

"You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.

From this comes the Israelite custom that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

What does this story tell us about God? How does He compare to the Great Spirit?

P29: It had all the elements of a true redemption story, not unlike the story of Jesus that she knew so well.

How does Christ’s life and death become a redemption story? Redemption from what?

Mack’s heart was suddenly penetrated by unexpected joy…he was a rich man, he thought to himself, in all the ways that mattered.

In what ways does being rich matter to us?

P30: Of all the places he sensed the presence of God, out here surrounded by nature and under the stars was one of the most tangible.

Why does the starry sky bring us closer to God? How often to we stop to look at the stars at night? Why/why not?

Compare Mack’s feeling to the imagery of Psalm 8.

P31: Missy asks: “So is Jesus dying a legend?” – How would we answer such a question if it came from a friend or an adult?

Missy asks: “Is the Great Spirit another name for God?” – are all the names for God in the world just other names for God? Why/why not?

Missy asks “Then how come God is so mean?” What does she mean by this question? How have we come across the same type of question? What is our answer?

Mack tells Missy: Jesus chose to die because he and his daddy love you and me and everyone in the world. He saved us from our sickness, just like the princess. What is our sickness? How does Mack’s answer compare to John 3:16-18?

John 3:16-19 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”

When did Jesus decide to die for us? What did He hope His death would accomplish?

P32: Missy asks “Will God ever ask me to jump off a cliff?” – What makes her ask this question? Does God ask people to do this for Him? If so, when? If not, why not?


Chapter 3: The Tipping Point

P36: “This is one of those rare and precious moments,” thought Mack, “that catches you by surprise and almost takes your breath away.”

Have you ever experienced similar breath taking moments? When and where?

Psalm 16:5-6 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

P37: Mack explains to Sarah that Nan works as a nurse with cancer patients. As he says, “She helps people think through their relationship with God in the face of their own death.”

Why is this important? Is it just for cancer patients?

Psalm 18:2-6

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

P38: Mack confesses that Nan’s name for God, ‘Papa,’ is something that seems too familiar and uncomfortable for him.

Are there forms of addressing God in church that make us feel the same way?

P39: As he sat mesmerized by the fire and wrapped in its warmth, he prayed, mostly prayers of thanksgiving. He had been given so much. Blessed was probably the right word. He was content, at rest, and full of peace.

Are there times when we have felt the same? What makes us thankful to God in the midst of our blessings?

P40: Emil thinks the canoe accident is his fault because it is his canoe.

How does Mack release him from feeling guilty? Where can we apply this in our own lives?

The Shack: Study 01

Foreword:

P7/8 Although externally religious, his overly strict church-elder father was a closet drinker, especially when the rain didn’t come, or came too early, and most of the times in between.

P8…his daddy was not a fall-asleep-happy kind of alcoholic, but a vicious mean beat-your-wife-and-then-ask-God-for-forgiveness drunk.

What causes overly-strict religious people to become abusive? How is God’s grace perceived when Christians seek forgiveness for everything? Do we abuse God’s kindness and take His patience for granted?

Mack confesses during revival – only to regret as his confessor is a worker with his abusive father…

For almost two days, tied to the big oak at the back of the house, he was beaten with a belt and Bible verses every time his dad woke from a stupor and put down his bottle.

Why is confidentiality so important to the credibility of the Church? What happens when we breach this?

P10 His favorite topics are all about God and Creation and why people believe what they do.

Mack seems to have a love/hate relationship with religion, and maybe even with the God that he suspects is brooding, distant, and aloof.

Why are people attracted to talking about religion more than practicing it? How does God become distant in our lives? What causes some people to have a love/hate relationship with religion?

P11 I suppose that since most of our hurts come through relationships, so will our healing, and I know that grace rarely makes sense for those looking in from the outside.

Why do loving relationships sometimes hurt us? Is it important for healing to come from within a relationship rather than from outside help?

While Mack’s relationship with God is wide, Nan’s is deep.

What do you think this means? How common do you think this is?

P12 You know that place: where there is just you alone – and maybe God, if you believe in him. Of course, God might be there even if you don’t believe in him. That would be just like him. He hasn’t been called the Grand Interferer for nothing.

How does God interfere in our lives? Do we need proof that God exists? Why/why not?

Relevant Scriptures:

Titus 1:6-9; James 5:13-16; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; Romans 12:17-21; Hebrews 11:5-6; Psalm 14:1-7

1: A Confluence of Paths

P19 “What’s wrong with you, Mack? Still smoking too much dope or do you just do that on Sunday mornings to make it through the church service?”

Is sarcasm a problem for Christians? Does it contain a grain of truth? Did Jesus ever use sarcasm to emphasize a point? Why/ why not?

P20 Mack was taking no chances on how she might remember the conversation in a day or two. Wouldn’t be the first time that her sense of humor morphed into a good story that soon became a “fact.” He could see his name being added to the prayer chain.

Why are Christians bad at exaggerating circumstances, difficulties, and problems about other people. What makes us so prone to gossip and hyperbole? How does the world respond to our exaggerations?

P21 Nan: “I just don’t know what to do. I’ve been praying and praying that Papa would help us find a way to reach her, but it feels like he isn’t listening.”

When do we feel like God isn’t listening to our prayers? Are we just not listening to His answers? In what kind of situations have you experienced waiting for God? How was this resolved?

P22 Papa was Nan’s favorite name for God and it expressed her delight in the intimate friendship she had with him.

What do you think about Nan’s name for God? What do you frequently call God? What does that name tell you about your relationship with God?

Mack: “Honey, I’m sure God knows what he’s doing. It will all work out.” The words brought him no comfort but he hoped they might ease the worry he could hear in her voice.

Nan: “I know. I just wish he’d hurry up.”

Are we guilty of using trite holy words to ease others’ anxiety or pain? What causes us to do that? Are we offering help or just easing our own anxiety? What does this type of insincerity reveal about our own insecurity with God?

Relevant Scriptures

Matthew 19:23-24; Matthew 23:23-24; 2 Corinthians 12:19-21; Mark 14:32-36; Galatians 4:4-7; Psalm 6:1-10

Bible Study: The Shack

The first book that our group will be discussing is William P Young's best seller, The Shack. The study will take approximately ten weeks and will offer questions for consdieration, as well as apposite Bible texts.

If you would like the studies emailed to you, please contact me at traqair@aol.com Put "Shack Study" in the subject line.