Scars of Life

Have you ever wondered what heaven will be like? Most Christians have. I remember as a kid fooling around with concepts of white light everywhere, getting my wings (all dogs go to heaven?), walking streets of gold and feasting on the jellybelly forest. Poor kid.

In all seriousness, the details about the afterlife, heaven, paradise or whatever you'd like to call it, have been the subject of discussion, debate and (sadly) division throughout the history of the church. When reflecting on the specifics of the resurrection, many look at verses such as 1 Cor. 15:23 and 1 Pet. 4:13 for a general encouragement about our sharing in God's glory upon our resurrection. But what does that mean? To what degree are we "raised" like Jesus was raised? Specifically, will we also bear the scars of our lives? or even worse, will we bear the scars of our deaths? It seems clear in the gospel accounts that Jesus did. Just ask Thomas.

Salvation as Deification

Deification is kind of a big word that, even as a "churched" Christian, you may not have heard of if you grew up in America like me. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition (arguably the oldest version of Christianity still functioning), it is a very much alive concept of salvation and it is one that I personally ascribe to.

You see, in this tradition, salvation is not merely a legal transaction to correct the faults of humanity (or one pair of humans, if you're into that whole hereditary guilt thing); instead, it is intrinsically concerned with two issues that are the result of the fall of humanity:

1.  The distortion of the Image of God in creation

and

2. The illness known as sin

Well that isn't totally disagreeable to our western ears. Let us press in by contrasting with the focus of our western, Augustinian understanding of salvation and the fall in which salvation is meant to:

1. Satisfy God's wrath towards sin

and 

2.  Cleans us from the filth known as sin

Now we're starting to see some differences. I should also mention here that I am generalizing a bit for the sake of the scope of this blog. On both sides of the issue, the beliefs and development of the above, abbreviated conclusions are thorough, extensive and not nearly as simple as I'm presenting them here. 

So what's the big deal? Different Christians disagree on some minute points, that's par for the course in Christianity. Well, I would like to point out why I generally lean towards the East for this answer. In the first place, I think that it is more consistent with Scripture to understand divine salvation as a cure and restoration rather than as a payment and shower. We are sick with sin and it has caused us to have a distorted spiritual countenance; we are spiritual lepers who no longer look like the intended, good creature that God breathed life into. We did not choose this illness but we do self-inoculate on a regular basis. We keep ourselves sick and thus keep our image flawed. Sin is not merely some dirt that we are born with nor the breaking of some unsatisfiable list of laws; thus, salvation isn't payment to God (or Satan?) nor is it a bath (though we baptize, it's not to wash our spirits like some think). No. 

Salvation is the miraculous healing of our illness, the correcting of our spirit into the likeness of God and the opportunity to quit self-inoculating our souls with more sin.

Now, to be sure, some take these ideas to varying degrees and get some odd beliefs, but our salvation - our participation in the glory of God upon our resurrection - is intrinsically and irrefutably (from a Scriptural basis) a deification of the human creature, that is a joining in divinity. This, however, does not place humanity higher than the rest of creation, but instead places humanity as the way in which God will restore his divine image to all of creation. Christ's assumption of humanity placed the rest of the human race as the intermediary for creation to become all that it was intended to be.

Back to the scars

I may have taken a while to get back to the odd question of our resurrected bodies, but I felt it necessary for you to understand where I'm coming from in order for you to understand what I mean when I say 

It doesn't really matter

I had a feeling that answer would not come across well, so I didn't want to lead with that, but under a deification-centered theology of salvation, it doesn't matter what our bodies are like. Instead, we are to be concerned with the restoration of creation and our own intended form as well as true freedom from the illness of sin. 

Perhaps Jesus bore his scars specifically for the purpose of convincing Thomas of the reality of the resurrection (after all, they are only mentioned once in the gospel accounts where we might expect there to be a greater emphasis placed on them before political officials or crowds). Perhaps Jesus scars were metaphorical and have gotten placed as a literary device to emphasize his true humanity. Perhaps we truly will bear the scars of our lives and deaths. At any rate, apophatic that I am, I contend that it is something we cannot know with any certainty on this side of the resurrection (not that we should necessarily seek certainty). Furthermore, it is not the point; whether you agree with my (and the Eastern Orthodox) views on salvation or not, I believe we can agree that if it were truly important, Jesus would have said something. True to form, however, Jesus continues to point us to the immediate world around us and promise us just enough to have hope for our reunion, restoration and cure.

grace and peace,

C.M.

For a couple of different views, check out Scarytino's blog and The "Almost" Heretic, they should have some good thoughts. ;)

Let There Be

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you." Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God...I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life."
          - John 3, NLT

This conversation is one of a few places in Scripture that give us the concept of salvation being a rebirth of sorts - a recreation. What Jesus is telling Nicodemus here is that our spirits must be made new again if we are to see God's Kingdom here on earth. The theme of God making his people new again, though, is a thread throughout the Christian cannon. In fact, salvation is best understood, I believe, in terms of the grander scheme of creation. Specifically, we are created "ex nihilo" or "out of nothing" and so to this "nothingness" we have the propensity to return without the sustenance or sustaining power of God. So you and I, right now, are being held together by God's will that we do so. This is why, at death, we would face eternal separation from God; that is, our ultimate return to our base "nothing" state. Incredibly, our Creator longs for us to be with him and so salvation is essentially accepting his will to keep us with him forever and totally forsake our "nothingness".

It's important to remember, however, that we are in process. You and I are not able to achieve this higher state on our own. This is one of the reasons for Christ's coming, that you and I can become what we were intended to become: God's perfect creation. So, when we find ourselves in darkness and reverting to nothing, remember the words that called us from that nothing.

This idea was rattling in my head the other day when I was listening to this song. It is a song about creation and it's opening line says "darkness hovering, grasping everything it seems...". It then goes on to describe primordial earth: void and chaotic. Through a series of calls from afar, the song masterfully builds to the revelation of God's command "let there be light".

Application:
 
In our lives, we periodically find ourselves in dark times. Life can tend to feel - spiritually, emotionally and sometimes physically - like that chaotic mess that was before creation. With Christ as our base for faith and his love as our motivator for new life, day in and day out, we can sing "let there be light" and see his love illuminate our lives once more.

This is a short blog and there could be much more said about the connection between the Genesis poem of creation and our daily martyrdom to our chaotic and dark falleness. Still, I hope that in these few lines, you remember to think of your mornings as a new birth - every morning - and when life gets a little "primordial", I hope that you remember to sing "let there be light".

peace,
C.M.

A Note on Palm Sunday

Today is "the Lord's Day" or Palm Sunday or the day of the Triumphal
Entry into Jerusalem. Each of these names indicates a certain understanding of the events of Jesus' coming to Jerusalem to be crucified. I don't want to spend a lot of time on this today because I think that reading the Bible and meditating on it yourself would do much better than anything I could say; the Spirit of God tends to be a better teacher than me ;-) I digress, there is one thing I'd like to tell you and it is my mindset going into leading worship today.

We are with Jesus

At Advent, we remember that God is with us and during Lent remember that we need that. Here on Palm Sunday we remember that we are with Jesus in this journey to martyrdom and on Easter we celebrate the beginning of a reconciling process between creation and Creator. In this spirit I encourage you to spend time today - at your church gathering or on your own - thinking about how the Christian life is to parallel Jesus' life. We're truly born at our baptism, this sets out the beginning of the Christian journey. We live and grow, learn and teach and when we come to points in our life (as there are many) in which we have to choose to be of Jesus' Kingdom or that of darkness, we die to ourselves; this is why the command to take up our cross is a daily-fulfilled command.

So, today, we walk toward the cross with Jesus, bearing in mind that this shameful and low event is not the end of our journey. Martyrdom - our daily bread - is the beginning of our life in Christ. Just as Jesus death was the beginning of the Church, so too are our daily "little deaths" the beginning of being re-created again and again.

Pray for your brother's and sisters throughout the world today as we all remember our relationship to Jesus and each other this week.

peace,
C.M.

The Lost Art of Play

"I, God, am your playmate! I will lead the child in you in wonderful ways for I have chosen you. Beloved child, come swiftly to me for I am truly in you. Remember this: The smallest soul of all is still the daughter of the Father, the sister of the Son, the friend of the Holy Spirit and the true bride of the Holy Trinity."
                                           - Mechtild of Magdeburg

You've probably never heard of Mechtild so let me get introductions out of the way. This German laywoman and mystic was a member of the Beguine movement and lived from 1210 - 1282. She kept a life-long journal which later was published and called Flowing Light of the Godhead. As part of the Beguine movement, she (along with her fellow Beguines) was threatened and attacked by the Pope who condemned the women's movement seventeen times. Nevertheless there are traces of that tradition that survive today in Sweden, other parts of Europe and some in America.

What I want to talk about today is the lost art of play. I know you're probably thinking "how is play an art and where has it gone?"...or maybe you weren't thinking that and you were just nodding in agreement. Either way, Mechtild's above quote is beautiful in it's voice; she speaks from God's perspective and reminds us that there is a child in each of us. Most people remember Jesus telling his followers to come believe and become like children; few, however, link this idea to more than just salvation.

What if Mechtild is right and becoming like a child means tapping into that part of you that was once innocent, trusting, believing, hoping and playing. I have a 6 year old and a 2 year old and I am constantly amazed at their little lives. It's worth it to watch how they interact; the edges of their world are full of wonder and possibility. They dream and plan and execute the most outrageous stories; they believe in a world where they are not forced into categories that they don't choose themselves. It's beautiful really.

Rewind to innocence. 

We often talk about how salvation is a metaphysical reset to innocence in our soul, but we forget that our soul is a complex thing and when it is made new, it cannot be simply a transaction of categorical standing. Instead it is making it okay to to trust again, making it okay to believe again or even make believe again. As adults we become jaded with disappointment and loss; children naturally have little reference for ideas like funerals, backstabbing or being taken advantage of (sadly, I feel more and more are learning earlier and earlier). So when we read about Jesus wanting us to be like children, we should understand that it makes it okay to be soft again, to sleep soundly and, yes, to play.

So why play, specifically?

In playing, our hearts are open for anything possible and, what's better, anything impossible. If you ever watch children dancing to music, you know that the reservations of adulthood have not burdened them yet. Mechtild is telling us that God wants to be our playmate; he wants to remind us to dream and believe and build and explore. Playing is how we reawaken those parts of us that were once dead and practice the freedom we've been given by our rebirth.

So now what?

 Now go play! It seems silly and flippant, but truly in moving our bodies in play and dreaming with friends and simply encountering the world with light and open hearts, we are doing exactly what Jesus says to do. Our bodies are a part of our person and to think that our baptism into the Kingdom and family of God is some abstract metaphysical transaction only is a deprivation of the true extent to which we can be changed. Honestly, CrossFit has become a way that I have regained that play-aspect in my life. Perhaps that's not your outlet; maybe its bike riding, dancing, or yard work. Whatever it is, believe that it's worth it to find space and outlet to play; let your inner-child play with God. As Mechtild says, he is your playmate, brother and father. Realize that all of your play is actually a practice in relationship and, as such, is holy.

So go move!

Peace,

C.M.

p.s. For all you link-junkies out there, my "apologies" at all the Rend Collective songs...I was listening to them while writing this and I think they have a unique way of capturing the same freshness of soul that I was writing about, so if you intend on meditating on this idea, listen to some of their stuff while doing it. You just may be inspired :) Also, check out this cool place.

 

St. Patrick

Happy St. Patrick day!

Here is a link to a great and brief source on the historical St. Patrick.


It is incredible to remember that it was out of his love for God that he felt compelled to go back and seek salvation for his previous captors. Having watched the movie "12 years a slave" yesterday, it is hard to imagine a slave longing for charity for his captor. What a shining example of the power of God's love in a man's life.

Peace,
C.M.