Brian’s Reflection: Friday, August 1, 2008
Faith, like a jackal, feeds among the tombs, and even from
these dead doubts she gathers her most vital hope.
- Herman Melville, author (“Moby Dick”), born on this
day, 1819, in Manhattan
Well, what’s a guy to do?? “Brainy History” says that Melville was born on Aug 1. Another website about biography says he was born on Aug 19th. As usual, I invoke writer’s privilege! And wouldn’t that be a great title for a book - Feeding Among the Tombs!
It is easy to say, We are going to die. What does anything matter. Dick Cheney and others of his ilk are reported to have said it, sure of the “rapture” and therefore not caring about Life Now.
In a sense, Christianity is a religion/faith of the tombs. It unflinchingly immerses itself in death, the death of Jesus. It’s principle symbol combines the powerful symbols of Death and Life - the Cross: a crucified Jesus hanging on an almost eternal symbol of Life. The Cross symbolizes the intersection of Heaven and Earth where Life explodes into Being.
It is without question, in my mind, that Christianity gathers her most vital Hope from the Cross - from feeding among the tombs. There it confronts the utter reality of mortality - and from that contemplation Christianity and Christians understand that God is all about Life. The Resurrection of Jesus is the blazing fiery conflagration around which Christians gather. Christian liturgy is an astonishing drama where the Cross stands at the core, utterly surrounded and hemmed in and contained by the shouts of Thanksgiving and by the vision of Eternal Life and by the Defeat and Banishment of Fear. Christianity finds soul mates in other Faiths too.
Death is a phantom. A boogeyman dangled in front of us to crush our instinct for Living. Embrace Death, call Death Brother/Sister. Live by Hope. Hope is but another word for the unquenchable reality of Life and Love.
Brian+
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Thursday, July 31, 2008
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
- J. K. Rowling, creator of “Harry Potter”, born
on this day, 1965
Depends on what you mean by “dreams”. Dreams can be those thoughts where Life will be the fulfillment of all our fantasies. Dreams can be the mysterious strange images of the mind, sorting out Mystery for us in our sleeping hours. But “dreams” can also be our hopes, our longings, our desires for our own Life and the life of all Creation, based upon our experience and upon the vision that has taken shape in our heart and mind and spirit.
I think that Rowling is right. No dream will come true if we “forget to live”. Living freely, unashamedly, gratefully, gently, compassionately - this is the soil in which dreams can grow and flourish and flower. Some pretty silly “religious” people have condemned Harry Potter because of “magic”, which they see to be anti-God. Oh, that arid mind! Learning to accept and understand and use his magic powers, learning how to live into the fullness of his being, is how Harry learned to face down evil and bring all manner of goodness into Life. “Magic” is a metaphor for finding one’s truest Self and gifts and not forgetting to live. Jiminy Cricket knew it; remember his song? When you wish upon a star …. your dreams come true. And one of our Presiding Bishops knew it too when he said, The glory of God is a person fully alive.
Dreaming and Living go hand in hand. If we are dead, our dreams are dead. When we find the courage to live, honestly, boldly, “dream” is just another word for the presence of God.
Brian+
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
- J. K. Rowling, creator of “Harry Potter”, born
on this day, 1965
Depends on what you mean by “dreams”. Dreams can be those thoughts where Life will be the fulfillment of all our fantasies. Dreams can be the mysterious strange images of the mind, sorting out Mystery for us in our sleeping hours. But “dreams” can also be our hopes, our longings, our desires for our own Life and the life of all Creation, based upon our experience and upon the vision that has taken shape in our heart and mind and spirit.
I think that Rowling is right. No dream will come true if we “forget to live”. Living freely, unashamedly, gratefully, gently, compassionately - this is the soil in which dreams can grow and flourish and flower. Some pretty silly “religious” people have condemned Harry Potter because of “magic”, which they see to be anti-God. Oh, that arid mind! Learning to accept and understand and use his magic powers, learning how to live into the fullness of his being, is how Harry learned to face down evil and bring all manner of goodness into Life. “Magic” is a metaphor for finding one’s truest Self and gifts and not forgetting to live. Jiminy Cricket knew it; remember his song? When you wish upon a star …. your dreams come true. And one of our Presiding Bishops knew it too when he said, The glory of God is a person fully alive.
Dreaming and Living go hand in hand. If we are dead, our dreams are dead. When we find the courage to live, honestly, boldly, “dream” is just another word for the presence of God.
Brian+
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, July n30, 2008
The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote
your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every
minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most
important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.
- Henry Moore, sculptor, born on this day, 1898
I slightly disagree with Moore. There is something that comes before the “task”. There has to be first an “everything” that you bring to your Life. And that “everything” is Yourself.
It’s indeed impossible to Be Yourself on your own. Oh, don’t get me wrong. Ultimately, no one can usurp the “task” (task?) of becoming who you are. Each of us bears responsibility for at least determining to make this Journey to Selfhood. But the Journey requires, demands, many companions. Teachers, lovers, mentors, friends, soul mates, “God”. We all have to learn the Goal. We may have an inkling deep within, but it takes others to guide us into the Mystery of being Human.
The more you know who you are, the more you have committed yourself to the Discovery, the more passion you can bring to your “task”. What is your task? Mine is to help usher in “the Domain of Goodness”, which is what Harry Cook+ calls what we used to call “The Kingdom of God”.
I’ll be honest. When I hear what Robert Mugabe has done to those he governs (by vicious, perhaps senile, dictatorship), the desire that someone will kill him rises into my gorge. But then I move on, and I hope that somehow Divine Compassion will find a way to change his heart. Or, that others of the African community will “assist” his removal.
Moore is correct, I think. We have to have something that is at the centre of our heart, a “task” that defines the meaning of our Life.
May you know yours. May you know You.
Brian+
The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote
your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every
minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most
important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.
- Henry Moore, sculptor, born on this day, 1898
I slightly disagree with Moore. There is something that comes before the “task”. There has to be first an “everything” that you bring to your Life. And that “everything” is Yourself.
It’s indeed impossible to Be Yourself on your own. Oh, don’t get me wrong. Ultimately, no one can usurp the “task” (task?) of becoming who you are. Each of us bears responsibility for at least determining to make this Journey to Selfhood. But the Journey requires, demands, many companions. Teachers, lovers, mentors, friends, soul mates, “God”. We all have to learn the Goal. We may have an inkling deep within, but it takes others to guide us into the Mystery of being Human.
The more you know who you are, the more you have committed yourself to the Discovery, the more passion you can bring to your “task”. What is your task? Mine is to help usher in “the Domain of Goodness”, which is what Harry Cook+ calls what we used to call “The Kingdom of God”.
I’ll be honest. When I hear what Robert Mugabe has done to those he governs (by vicious, perhaps senile, dictatorship), the desire that someone will kill him rises into my gorge. But then I move on, and I hope that somehow Divine Compassion will find a way to change his heart. Or, that others of the African community will “assist” his removal.
Moore is correct, I think. We have to have something that is at the centre of our heart, a “task” that defines the meaning of our Life.
May you know yours. May you know You.
Brian+
Monday, July 28, 2008
When I have a terrible need of - shall I say the word - religion.
Then I go out and paint the stars.
-Vincent Van Gogh, who died on this day, 1890, age 37
You know, I have the classic love-hate relationship with the Church. I absolutely love the vision of the Church - the fellowship of graced believers, the upholder of Justice and Truth and Peace, the practitioner of Unconditional Love, the lover of humility and honesty and simplicity. And I absolutely “hate” it for its hypocrisy and weakness and venality and greed and power-madness and downright evil and wickedness at times in its history. Sigh.
I try to remember that the “Church” is a symbol. A symbol of the love of God and the beauty of the Creation. And sometimes I see the poignancy of the Church trying to represent the Love of God, compromised by us fickle, maddening, weak, grasping human beings. And I try to remember that God, in spite of our reality, unconditionally loves us.
St. Paul was right. God is magnificently seen in the beauty of Creation. The Psalms are right. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the Firmament declares God’s handiwork. When I really get fed up with the Church, and with myself, I go and gaze at the stars, at the wonder of the Creation. Oh the nights when I would lie on the grass at my grandmother’s cottage as a child; on the banks of the Hudson River in the summer darkness; on the beach in Nicaragua; on the little tower of the Villa Merlo Bianco in Florence; at midnight in my hot tub in Millerton NY. My soul would be soothed, and my mind would become a little calmer.
The Universe, the blazing, playful stars - they do put things back in perspective. When religion, Life, exasperation, discouragement press on us, then lie under the stars and let them paint their calm wonder on the heart.
The stars are a balm in Gilead. Tomorrow comes easier.
Brian+
Then I go out and paint the stars.
-Vincent Van Gogh, who died on this day, 1890, age 37
You know, I have the classic love-hate relationship with the Church. I absolutely love the vision of the Church - the fellowship of graced believers, the upholder of Justice and Truth and Peace, the practitioner of Unconditional Love, the lover of humility and honesty and simplicity. And I absolutely “hate” it for its hypocrisy and weakness and venality and greed and power-madness and downright evil and wickedness at times in its history. Sigh.
I try to remember that the “Church” is a symbol. A symbol of the love of God and the beauty of the Creation. And sometimes I see the poignancy of the Church trying to represent the Love of God, compromised by us fickle, maddening, weak, grasping human beings. And I try to remember that God, in spite of our reality, unconditionally loves us.
St. Paul was right. God is magnificently seen in the beauty of Creation. The Psalms are right. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the Firmament declares God’s handiwork. When I really get fed up with the Church, and with myself, I go and gaze at the stars, at the wonder of the Creation. Oh the nights when I would lie on the grass at my grandmother’s cottage as a child; on the banks of the Hudson River in the summer darkness; on the beach in Nicaragua; on the little tower of the Villa Merlo Bianco in Florence; at midnight in my hot tub in Millerton NY. My soul would be soothed, and my mind would become a little calmer.
The Universe, the blazing, playful stars - they do put things back in perspective. When religion, Life, exasperation, discouragement press on us, then lie under the stars and let them paint their calm wonder on the heart.
The stars are a balm in Gilead. Tomorrow comes easier.
Brian+
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Monday, July 28, 2008
All outward forms of religion are almost useless,
and are the causes of endless strife. Believe there
is a great power silently working all things for good,
behave yourself and never mind the rest.
- Beatrix Potter, author, born on this day, 1866
(her house, Hill Top)
Now! Who would have thought that the lady from Sawrey, Cumbria, in the lovely Lake District (where Dennis and I were in July and bought fabulous real gingerbread in Grasmere, also the home of the poet Wordsworth), the author of the charming Peter Rabbit and Nutkin the Squirrel stories, would have come up with such a sharp comment on Religion!
God bless her! (She did have a reputation for being “grumpy” among the local children). Such things need to be said. Because they are - true! You have to stay on top of Religion all the time. It is a troublesome and dangerous beast. Though I am willing to admit that, in my old age, I am becoming a little more tolerant of the often utter hypocrisy of Religion. That is, understanding, but endless vigilantly critical. Religion is too important not to be!
Because Religion is so important, it is easily prey to perversion and misuse. In modern times, “religion” and “faith” have become almost antithetical. Our preacher today, in my interpretation, said as much, when she pointed out that it is easy for the Life of Grace to be swamped by the Life of Rules and Regulations - and to many people, “church” is about Rules and Regulations, not Grace.
Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest. This is a good basic place to start. And hold “institutional religion” to, fiercely!
Brian+
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Saturday, July 26, 2008
As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence
is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.
I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the
second half of life - that is to say, over 35 - there has not been
one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a
religious outlook on life.
- Carl Jung, born on this day, 1875
At the Easter Vigil Liturgy of the Christian Church each year, a great candle is lit with a “new fire”. It is called the Paschal Candle, the “Passover” Candle. After being lit, it is lifted up, and the deacon sings, The Light of Christ! The people respond, Thanks be to God! The Paschal Candle then becomes the central liturgical symbol for the whole Easter season, to be removed only at Pentecost, when the invisible Spirit becomes the symbol of inner Divine Light leading through Life.
Though my friend Harry Cook+ and I disagree about this, the word “religion” comes from the Latin root “to be re-tied to” [as in a ligament]. I “know” that to be human is to know the connection between our human being-ness and the Source of Life, which we often call “God”. That connection, which I believe to be a “given”, is easily “lost”. I agree with Jung, that Life becomes “a problem” when we become untethered, and that we must be retied if we are going not to be sick of soul.
God must be Light. God must be that which leads us out from “the darkness of mere being”. God cannot be Dark. Alas, God has often been portrayed or promulgated as Dark – and then God is only a projection of the dark shadow of the potential Evil of the human heart.
If God isn’t Light, then “God” is worth diddly. The Christ is the divine light within each of us. It makes each of us a light-filled Being. Today let’s, as the hymn says, Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Brian+
As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence
is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.
I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the
second half of life - that is to say, over 35 - there has not been
one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a
religious outlook on life.
- Carl Jung, born on this day, 1875
At the Easter Vigil Liturgy of the Christian Church each year, a great candle is lit with a “new fire”. It is called the Paschal Candle, the “Passover” Candle. After being lit, it is lifted up, and the deacon sings, The Light of Christ! The people respond, Thanks be to God! The Paschal Candle then becomes the central liturgical symbol for the whole Easter season, to be removed only at Pentecost, when the invisible Spirit becomes the symbol of inner Divine Light leading through Life.
Though my friend Harry Cook+ and I disagree about this, the word “religion” comes from the Latin root “to be re-tied to” [as in a ligament]. I “know” that to be human is to know the connection between our human being-ness and the Source of Life, which we often call “God”. That connection, which I believe to be a “given”, is easily “lost”. I agree with Jung, that Life becomes “a problem” when we become untethered, and that we must be retied if we are going not to be sick of soul.
God must be Light. God must be that which leads us out from “the darkness of mere being”. God cannot be Dark. Alas, God has often been portrayed or promulgated as Dark – and then God is only a projection of the dark shadow of the potential Evil of the human heart.
If God isn’t Light, then “God” is worth diddly. The Christ is the divine light within each of us. It makes each of us a light-filled Being. Today let’s, as the hymn says, Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Brian+
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Friday, July 25, 2008
- an atomic bomb is detonated by the Americans at
Bikini Atoll, in the Pacific, on this day, 1946
So much potential, so much power. Either for good or for evil. God is like that. So much potential, for Good or for Evil. “God” has in fact been used to promote much Evil in the World over the millennia - and God is appalled! I say this with the firm and utter conviction of a prophet.
I have come to think that the “sin against the Holy Spirit” which cannot be forgiven, spoken of in the Christian Scriptures, is the appropriation of God for anti-God purposes. And so it stands that all of us are guilty, if not individually, then corporately, culturally, nationally. “God is on our side”. “God Bless America”, invoked by those in power, and a prayer to which I absolutely cannot ascent, unless it is that God will show us our blasphemy.
God built into the nature of Creation the power of the atom, to be used for the good of humankind. God also gave the Creation a beating heart of Love. If we misuse, there is no saving us – and our destruction is our responsibility.
“God is known chiefly in showing justice and mercy”. OK gang; let’s get with the program!
Brian+
- an atomic bomb is detonated by the Americans atBikini Atoll, in the Pacific, on this day, 1946
So much potential, so much power. Either for good or for evil. God is like that. So much potential, for Good or for Evil. “God” has in fact been used to promote much Evil in the World over the millennia - and God is appalled! I say this with the firm and utter conviction of a prophet.
I have come to think that the “sin against the Holy Spirit” which cannot be forgiven, spoken of in the Christian Scriptures, is the appropriation of God for anti-God purposes. And so it stands that all of us are guilty, if not individually, then corporately, culturally, nationally. “God is on our side”. “God Bless America”, invoked by those in power, and a prayer to which I absolutely cannot ascent, unless it is that God will show us our blasphemy.
God built into the nature of Creation the power of the atom, to be used for the good of humankind. God also gave the Creation a beating heart of Love. If we misuse, there is no saving us – and our destruction is our responsibility.
“God is known chiefly in showing justice and mercy”. OK gang; let’s get with the program!
Brian+
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