explanations
i’ve been spelunking into DBH’s “The Hidden & The Manifest” in recent days. more on the essays within in time, but the way DBH explains complex concepts made me reflect on explanations in general — as one who loves explaining complex concepts myself.
there are explanations that make no sense whatsoever — because the explainer hasn’t actually understood the matter under consideration.
there are explanations that make sense, but only to those who already grasp the concept, and can therefore fill in the gaps. these have some merit, serving as reminders, or perhaps indicating a different angle of engagement; they often serve to demonstrate the explainer’s expertise.
there are explanations that make sense, but go no further. we grasp what we’re being introduced to, but we’re left to integrate our fresh understanding ourselves.
and then there are explanations that open up all of reality and throw light on unexpected connections. DBH does this, consistently.
hunger
For Gregory, desire never leaves us, simply because there cannot be anything that finally satisfies us. We are so constituted that we are always in need of fulfilment, never attaining it in the sense of possessing what we most deeply need. If we are growing in spiritual maturity and discernment, what we desire is always to go on growing and to go on desiring. The mistake is to want to stop wanting – to desire to be satisfied so that I shall not have to desire any more, because I now have what before I lacked. I identify something, some object, which I believe will bring me a sense of greater completion: this will bring the fulfilment I lack, and when I have acquired it or mastered it, I don’t need any longer to orient myself towards it.
this week, i began reading rowan williams’ “passions of the soul”. what a wise, brilliant book…
“For Gregory, desire never leaves us, simply because there cannot be anything that finally satisfies us. We are so constituted that we are always in need of fulfilment, never attaining it in the sense of possessing what we most deeply need. If we are growing in spiritual maturity and discernment, what we desire is always to go on growing and to go on desiring. The mistake is to want to stop wanting – to desire to be satisfied so that I shall not have to desire any more, because I now have what before I lacked. I identify something, some object, which I believe will bring me a sense of greater completion: this will bring the fulfilment I lack, and when I have acquired it or mastered it, I don’t need any longer to orient myself towards it.”
and then i listened to a lovely interview of helena tulva, an estonian composer.
finally i began reading alexander schmemann’s “for the life of the world”.
“Man is a hungry being. But he is hungry for God. Behind all the hunger of our life is God. All desire is finally a desire for Him. To be sure, man is not the only hungry being. All that exists lives by “eating.” The whole creation depends on food. But the unique position of man in the universe is that he alone is to bless God for the food and the life he receives from Him. He alone is to respond to God’s blessing with his blessing
and
The first, the basic definition of man is that he is the priest. He stands in the center of the world and unifies it in his act of blessing God, of both receiving the world from God and offering it to God—and by filling the world with this eucharist, he transforms his life, the one that he receives from the world, into life in God, into communion with Him. The world was created as the “matter,” the material of one all-embracing eucharist, and man was created as the priest of this cosmic sacrament
Men understand all this instinctively if not rationally. Centuries of secularism have failed to transform eating into something strictly utilitarian. Food is still treated with reverence. A meal is still a rite—the last “natural sacrament” of family and friendship, of life that is more than “eating” and “drinking.” To eat is still something more than to maintain bodily functions. People may not understand what that “something more” is, but they nonetheless desire to celebrate it. They are still hungry and thirsty for sacramental life.”
42
“Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.
It was a long time before anyone spoke.
Out of the corner of his eye Phouchg could see the sea of tense expectant faces down in the square outside.
"We're going to get lynched aren't we?" he whispered.
"It was a tough assignment," said Deep Thought mildly.
"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"
i love this bit!
“Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.
It was a long time before anyone spoke.
Out of the corner of his eye Phouchg could see the sea of tense expectant faces down in the square outside.
"We're going to get lynched aren't we?" he whispered.
"It was a tough assignment," said Deep Thought mildly.
"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."
"But it was the Great Question! The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything!" howled Loonquawl.
"Yes," said Deep Thought with the air of one who suffers fools gladly, "but what actually is it?"
A slow stupefied silence crept over the men as they stared at the computer and then at each other.
"Well, you know, it's just Everything ... Everything ..." offered Phouchg weakly.
"Exactly!" said Deep Thought. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means.”
―Douglas Adams,The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
luke 1.1-4
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Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I, too, decided, as one having a grasp of everything from the start, to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may have a firm grasp of the words in which you have been instructed.
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Since many have set their hands to laying out an orderly narrative regarding the events that have been brought to fulfillment among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning, and who became servants of the word, passed it on to us, it seemed a good thing that I also, having exactingly traced out everything from the beginning, should write it out in order for you, most exalted Theophilus, so that you might recognize the reliability of the accounts you have been taught.
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Many people have undertaken to draw up an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled in our midst. It has all been handed down to us by the original eyewitnesses and stewards of the word. So, most excellent Theophilus, since I had traced the course of the whole thing scrupulously from the start, I thought it a good idea to write an orderly account for you, so that you may have secure knowledge about the matters in which you have been instructed.
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Inasmuch as many have put their hand to order a narrative concerning the matters that are fully assured among us,
Just as the eyewitnesses from the beginning and those who became the word’s subordinates gave over to us,
It seemed to me, one who has carefully followed everything from above to write for you, Exceptional God-Lover, a sequentially ordered [narrative]
So you may perceive with security the words into which you have been catechized.
It is clearly important to Luke that his account be taken to be trustworthy. He’s giving us an account of the life of Jesus, and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever encountered before. And so it seems reasonable that he begin with his credentials of trust.
For Luke, it seems sufficient that he’s done his research, and is presenting an orderly account based on the reports of eyewitnesses. Presumably his relationship with Theophilus is such that there’s already an earned trust because of which Theophilus may be confident that Luke is being consciously truthful.
What Luke does not say is that he prayed over it, or that the words he writes are inspired by the Holy Spirit. For a gospel which certainly highlights both prayer and the Holy Spirit, this is a striking omission. This does not mean that he did not pray over it, nor does it imply that his words are not inspired by the Holy Spirit — absence does not imply negation.
So why did he neither mention prayer, nor the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
what is the gospel?
if you asked most evangelical protestant christians the question, “what is the gospel?”, you’d hear something like “god loves the world, so he sent us his son jesus to save us. jesus did this by dying on the cross to atone for our sins. god raised him from the dead three days later to vindicate his victory over sin & death. if we believe these things, and repent from our sins, we will be saved, and therefore be rescued from an eternity in hell, and instead go to heaven when we die”. there’d be a few variations in there, but that would be the average understanding of the gospel.
in this model, salvation happens through believing a set of propositions. there is a certain degree of anxiety most christians have around making sure we have the right set of propositions to believe, so we don’t miss out. and in my experience most people hold a somewhat nervous confidence in these propositions because they’re not sure they actually understand what these propositions mean for real. and then it's even more complex to "share the gospel" because ... well, i think you know.
but when we turn to the gospels themselves, we do not find anything like that.
if you asked most evangelical protestant christians the question, “what is the gospel?”, you’d hear something like “god loves the world, so he sent us his son jesus to save us. jesus did this by dying on the cross to atone for our sins. god raised him from the dead three days later to vindicate his victory over sin & death. if we believe these things, and repent from our sins, we will be saved, and therefore be rescued from an eternity in hell, and instead go to heaven when we die”. there’d be a few variations in there, but that would be the average understanding of the gospel.
in this model, salvation happens through believing a set of propositions. there is a certain degree of anxiety most christians have around making sure we have the right set of propositions to believe, so we don’t miss out. and in my experience most people hold a somewhat nervous confidence in these propositions because they’re not sure they actually understand what these propositions mean for real. and then it's even more complex to "share the gospel" because ... well, i think you know.
but when we turn to the gospels themselves, we do not find anything like that. instead, the gospel (good news) seems to simply be the proclamation & confident assurance that god is saving/reconciling all creation to himself in jesus. the good news, the gospel, is that god is doing it — saving, redeeming, reconciling, transforming — and will one day complete it. here's a bit from paul reflecting that gospel perspective:
Col 1:19-20 For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
and instead of being focused on saving us from the eternal hell that is the consequence of our sins, jesus seems focused on teaching us a way of life that he asserts will save us from the hell we’re busily creating for ourselves & others here on earth through our self-obsessed way of life. in other words, instead of asking us to believe in a set of propositions, jesus is inviting us to trust him, and follow him here & now.
so the way of life comes first — love your enemies; be radically generous; don’t judge; forgive one another; be merciful & compassionate; don’t get distracted by the wealth & pleasures of this life… and we don’t practice these things in order to earn or merit heaven one day; rather, we do this because this is what we were created for — and in so doing, we begin to experience the life of jesus, the kingdom of god, heaven — here & now. we begin to be recreated in the image of jesus, and so are becoming most fully ourselves.
there will be many propositions & theologies to create & discuss & reflect on… but all of that is secondary. this jesus way of life — most beautifully & provocatively summarized in the sermon on the mount — is primary.
it is all too common to define a christian as someone who believes a set of propositions, and participates in the activities of a church, and holds the right positions on various issues — abortion, immigration, capitalism, patriarchy, etc (no matter which side she/he falls). but all of that is somewhat peripheral in the viewpoint of jesus from the gospels. for him, its primarily a matter of practice, of a determined pursuit of a certain way of life — of love of enemy, radical generosity toward the poor, crazy compassion… these practices may move us toward certain positions on these issues listed above, but they will also deeply shape how we conduct ourselves toward those who disagree with us — and that is where our "christianity" is present or absent.
in other words, from the perspective of jesus in the gospels, it would be better to use the word “christian” as an adjective rather than a noun. so i am not christian BECAUSE i believe certain things — rather, i am christian WHEN i am practicing the jesus way in a particular situation.
these are not semantic differences, or nuances — they point to a radically different understanding of the gospel. you get a sense of this in the parable of the good samaritan in luke 10
Luke 10:25-37
An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.”
And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
the common evangelical interpretation of this parable has jesus laying down the impossible weight of the law to the expert in the law. he’s demanding a "humanly impossible" standard of holiness, in order to bring the man to a place of desperation, where he can then actually hear the gospel of grace. this is a comprehensively wrong understanding of the parable. jesus is actually answering the man's question, explaining to the man how he can truly experience “eternal life” — the life of jesus, the life of the kingdom — here & now. love god, love your neighbor. if you pursue this way of life, says jesus, you will begin to experience my life, the life of god, the life you were created for, eternal life… here & now & forever.
but then the man tries to narrow it down — who is my neighbor? who do i not need to have compassion toward? illegal refugees? the radical left? the extreme right?
and then that brilliant parable. the samaritan has never even heard of jesus, and what he understands of israel's faith is corrupt (from the viewpoint of the expert in the law) but he is practicing the jesus way of compassionate self-giving generosity, and is therefore already experiencing the life that this expert in the law is seeking. to practice compassion is not the way to "earn" eternal life — it IS eternal life.
this samaritan who shows mercy & compassion is being christian — as jesus would use that term.
all this has profound implications for our own post-deconstruction faith, our communal life, and most critically, for how we parent our children. it is so much better for our children to learn from infancy that their parents are seeking to follow the jesus way, three steps forward, two steps back… and in transparent humility are being invited to follow jesus as their parents are seeking to do. the sermon on the mount would be a good framework, rather than stories about 6 day creation, and the plagues of egypt, and the genocide of jericho, or the violence of david & goliath.
so… much more on this in future times together — we’ll have to think through how this plays out in the three spaces we discussed last week — within ourselves, in our relationships from family to gaza, toward our creator. but i hope this provokes serious questions.
engaging with those questions will be the best way to understand & internalize the jesus that the gospels describe, in contrast to the jesus of much populist evangelicalism that most of us grew up with.
who is this jesus? what’s he up to?
the crucial bundle of questions around our faith has always been “who is this jesus? what’s he all about? and what has that got to do with the complex realities of my life? of our lives together?” … and the entire christian life is simply an ongoing exploration of these issues.
as always, it is best to go back to the primary sources — the gospels — and try to pay close attention to jesus as they describe him. we're focusing on luke for now.
jesus — yeshua — simply means "yahweh saves". in a very simple sense, as the angel said to joseph, jesus has come to save us — all the world — from our sins.
...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt 1:20-21 NRSVue)
what might this mean? to save us from our sins?
the crucial bundle of questions around our faith has always been “who is this jesus? what’s he all about? and what has that got to do with the complex realities of my life? of our lives together?” … and the entire christian life is simply an ongoing exploration of these issues.
as always, it is best to go back to the primary sources — the gospels — and try to pay close attention to jesus as they describe him. we're focusing on luke for now.
jesus — yeshua — simply means "yahweh saves". in a very simple sense, as the angel said to joseph, jesus has come to save us — all the world — from our sins.
...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt 1:20-21 NRSVue)
what might this mean? to save us from our sins?
...
we're quite familiar with our own broken condition. we're not at home with ourselves — i find myself internally fragmented. there are things about myself i do not like, guilt about things i've done and continue to do, shame that emerges from this guilt, dislike of various aspects of myself... i pretend to be different than i know myself to be, i hide bits of myself even from my own awareness... i am not at home in myself, so to speak — and yet deep within me is a powerful longing to be fully at home in my own skin.
we're not at home with one another — every relationship contains within it a degree of dislocation, pain, misunderstanding, hurt... we look at the world around us and are heartbroken at the enmity, the bitterness, the violence, the injustice... and we feel helpless. in moments of genuine awareness we realize we are complicit in it. and yet there's a deep longing within us for peace, for joy, for love, for safe relationships within which all of us flourish.
we're not sure what to make of god — we're not even sure what we mean by the concept. we haven't had the best experience with those who hold power over us, and that makes us wary of the common ways that god is spoken of.
...
to save is to heal, to reconcile, to redeem, to restore, to make whole again.
whatever else is going on in the gospels — and there is a lot happening! — we clearly see jesus teaching us a way of life that he claims will move us toward transformative healing from within; will move us toward reconciled relationship with one another; will move us toward finding our forever home in the love of god. he asks us to trust him, and follow him, even though what he says seems so impractical, idealistic & even impossible.
"But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive payment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
...
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it quickly collapsed, and great was the ruin of that house.” (Luke 6:27-49 NRSVue)
so the clear starting point in our christian life is to learn to trust jesus, and actually follow what he says. there's much else to discuss & sort out, but without this simple foundation, it will all be pointless.
in saving us from our sins here's what jesus is up to
he is healing us from within, making us whole
he is reconciling us with one another
he is revealing to us what god is actually like, and is reconciling us to god