(Just a fair warning, this one might be a little harder to digest than my other rambles. Just keep an open mind and hear what I'm trying to say...)
When I was in college, for one of my courses on Greek, I had to present two translations of Colossians, and a paper on a particular passage. My approach was pretty unorthodox. I had been studying Plato for another course, and the question occurred to me as to how a pagan Greek of the period would have understood the Christian message. My paraphrase translation, and my paper (written as a dialogue in honor of Plato), caused my professor to call me into his office. When he sat me down he told me that he didn't know what to do with my paper. He finally decided to accept it because there was some good work done, but he also told me “don't ever do this again.”
We don't like different perspectives on our faith. It threatens us. It makes us think about our faith in ways that are uncomfortable and that may conflict with beliefs we don't realize are foundational to our limited understanding, but not to the Gospel itself. We don't like having our basic assumptions challenged to find out that they're not so basic after all.
I'm sitting here, as I write, watching the movie “Little Buddha” for the umpteenth time. It's one of my favorites. I've done a lot of thinking about Buddhist teaching and Dharma over the last few years. It's given me other perspectives, much as Plato and Socrates did in college. I've come to appreciate the basic understanding and teaching while being able discern through what is complementary and what is contradictory to the Christian faith.
One interesting point I have thought about for some time is how to present Jesus Christ to the Buddhist. Often we try to present Him to them as though we were presenting Him to someone from a western background, who has already been “churched.” It generally doesn't work, and for good reason. Another approach is the “Chronological Teaching” approach which basically seeks to sit the person down and completely reteach the person basic assumptions of reality and culture. If the person is willing to sit down and listen for a long time, it may work or it may not.
The truth is that presenting Christ as the natural answer for the Buddhist or even the Hindu is not as difficult or as contradictory as it appears, but it does take us answering some hard questions about what we consider essential to our faith, and whether or not we're willing to look at it from another perspective. We need to ask the question, is this really contradictory to the Gospel and what Jesus taught, is it really contradictory to the Creed, or is this something which is just an interpretation which is taught as dogma? This requires a strong grounding in our own faith, and an open mind.
First of all, we need to understand what reincarnation is in the Buddhist, or Hindu (from which cultural worldview Buddhism originates), view. It is the cycle of death and rebirth that perpetuates suffering, and is continued by a persons actions or karma. The goal of Buddhism is to transcend suffering and thus escape the cycle of reincarnation and enter Nirvana. This is enlightenment, and thus salvation for the Buddhist.
From a Buddhist perspective, Jesus Christ walked the eightfold path flawlessly, and many consider Him to be a Buddha or a Boddhisatva (a Buddhist saint). There is even an old, controversial story of a Buddhist document found at the beginning of the twentieth century which tells the story of Jesus' middle years and how He traveled to India and studied the Dharma there (no, I'm not making this up). So, starting from there, He already has the respect of a great many Buddhists.
According to Buddhist teaching, before the Buddha died, he prophesied that another Buddha like himself would be born. He called this Buddha, in Pali, Metteya, and in Sanskrit, Maitreya, which means “lovingkindness”. He also was specific in that this Buddha was to be born 500 years after he died. There is only one historical figure who fits the description of a potential Buddha was born five hundred years after Gautama Siddharta died, and that is Jesus Christ. This is a possible beginning point with the Buddhist as well.
In the Holy Scriptures, “magi” from the east come looking for him after reading the stars. Traditionally these are assumed to be real Magi from either Persia or Babylon. The only flaw with this is that to date, I have still never heard of any Magi ever having done this before or after Him. It isn't something the Magi did. It is however characteristic of another culture to go looking for leaders in recently born children that they have never seen before, Tibetan Buddhists. It would also fall into place that they would seek out what was then the royal house of Israel, following the stars (astrology also being an Eastern practice), and make the mistake of heading to Herod's court, not realizing that he wasn't of the historical royal line of the kings of Israel. Buddhist missionaries had penetrated into the Middle East, Egypt, and Asia Minor by the time Jesus was born. So, it is possible to make this connection that Buddhist monks showed up on Mary and Joseph's doorstep shortly after Jesus was born, and five hundred yeas after the Buddha died looking for Maitreya.
The idea of someone being fully God and fully human is not new to the Eastern mind. In fact, it is far more of a Hindu concept than it is a Jewish one. In the Hindu religion, there are periodic reincarnations of a being called an Avatar, who is an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, the most notable of which is Krishna, the chariot driver in the epic poem, the Bhagavad Gita. The Vishnu reincarnates over and over to teach man the path to Nirvana and how to live.
Finally, what is the goal of Buddhism? To break the cycle of reincarnation. Buddhist teaching generally says that anyone can become a Buddha through the eightfold path and meditation, but that it usually takes many reincarnations of practice. But what happens to the person who dies, and then is resurrected immortal, locked into one person for eternity? Can they reincarnate again? No. Reincarnation requires death in order to be reborn. So, by virtue of His resurrection, the cycle of reincarnation is broken fully and completely. What's more, we who are baptized into Christ Jesus are joined to Him in His death and resurrection. So as He died, we died, and as He was raised again immortal so will we be, never to die again. He is our anchor to immortality. So the cycle of reincarnation is also broken for all those who, by faith, are baptized into Christ Jesus. Because He died, was buried and resurrected rather than reincarnated, the cycle of suffering ends for all those grafted into Him. From a Hindu or Buddhist perspective, Jesus Christ as Avatar put an end to Suffering by a single event, and opened the path to Nirvana to anyone willing to come to Him. He becomes the last and final Avatar because of His compassion for all mankind.
These are just some thoughts about how to approach the Buddhist with the Gospel using, not arguments from our own worldview, but the worldview which he already possesses. It approaches it, not as something foreign to him, but as the natural fulfillment of the Dharma.
This approach requires people being able to handle the challenge to their own faith, and appreciate what another teaching has to say. It requires an open mind. For some, the very idea will likely produce heart attacks, for others they might consider it but then say “don't ever go there again.”
God is bigger than we think. He is more than capable of planting the seeds of the Gospel in unexpected places and in unexpected ways, but we have to be willing to consider them and not be afraid to venture beyond our own worldviews.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
A Short Ramble About Cleaning Toilets
Would you be willing to clean the Lord's toilets for eternity if He told you to? Cleaning toilets is humiliating work, especially if that's all someone thinks you're good for. But what if that's what the Lord decided he wanted you to do for Him? Personally, I can't handle humiliation well. I've never been able to. I can't handle watching other people being humiliated well, and I've never handled my own humiliation well.
But humiliation is what we're called to if we are called to imitate our Lord who stripped down to His underwear to wash the crap off of His disciple's feet because no one else would do it. It's humiliating work. So is cleaning toilets.
Humiliation fights against our self esteem and shows us some of the worst feelings in ourselves like a good 360 degree mirror shows us all the flaws in our body shape that we don't want to notice and try to cover and hide with well cut clothing. The truth is that humiliation can be one of the most potent tools for growth towards realization of our Union with Him, but it is also one of the most painful. It has the capability of encouraging emptying ourselves, but it also has the capability of destroying us to the point of psychosis, and only God knows how far it can safely be taken with each one of us.
I had to clean toilets in Bible School. I had to clean them at several of the places where I worked. I've gotten to the point where it doesn't bother me that much to do it anymore. But it still humiliates me when it seems like that's all people think I'm capable of. It's painful. But so is removing a cancer without anesthetic. And both procedures can be necessary to preserve one's soul
But humiliation is what we're called to if we are called to imitate our Lord who stripped down to His underwear to wash the crap off of His disciple's feet because no one else would do it. It's humiliating work. So is cleaning toilets.
Humiliation fights against our self esteem and shows us some of the worst feelings in ourselves like a good 360 degree mirror shows us all the flaws in our body shape that we don't want to notice and try to cover and hide with well cut clothing. The truth is that humiliation can be one of the most potent tools for growth towards realization of our Union with Him, but it is also one of the most painful. It has the capability of encouraging emptying ourselves, but it also has the capability of destroying us to the point of psychosis, and only God knows how far it can safely be taken with each one of us.
I had to clean toilets in Bible School. I had to clean them at several of the places where I worked. I've gotten to the point where it doesn't bother me that much to do it anymore. But it still humiliates me when it seems like that's all people think I'm capable of. It's painful. But so is removing a cancer without anesthetic. And both procedures can be necessary to preserve one's soul
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Notes About the Expensive Pearl
In my previous ramble I attempted to describe the teaching of Deification. We all know how great a job I do at explaining things... The truth is, when you look at the writings of the Church Fathers, they can be a little jarring because of how they word things, and because of how explicit their wording is.
Deification is the goal of salvation. It is the end result. It doesn't fully happen until after death. But one thing must be clear is that it is a teaching of the Church, has been since the beginning, and still is today. In other denominations Christian theologies it is called “glorification,” and it is also referred to as “divinization.”
The Fathers that I quoted were not some fringe group of radicals, they were the pillars and foundations of the Ancient Church. For example, St. Athanasius was the principle advocate for the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as we know it at the Ecumenical Councils which laid out and defined what we know as the Nicene Creed, the standard of faith of the Church. St. Irenaeus was the Bishop of Lyons and an important theologian and apologist of the second century. St. Augustine of Hippo should need no explanation as the author of “The City of God”, and the “Confessions”, neither should St. John of the Cross as the author of “The Dark Night of the Soul.”
The Holy Scriptures themselves refer to it several times:
John 10:34-36
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”
John 17:20-23
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
Hebrews 3:14
“For we have become partakers of Christ, if truly we hold the beginning of the assurance firm to the end;”
2 Peter 1:3-4
“As His divine power has given to us all things pertaining to life and godliness through the full knowledge of the One calling us through glory and virtue, by which means He has given to us the very great and precious promises, so that through these you might be partakers of the divine nature, escaping from the corruption in the world by lust.”
1 John 3:2-3
“Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it was not yet revealed what we shall be. But we know that if He is revealed, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone having this hope on Him purifies himself even as that One is pure.”
It is the teaching of Holy Scripture that we are united to Christ Jesus through baptism into His death. Deification begins, but does not reach it's fulfillment, here. As we engage in the “cycle of Grace” which I described previously, His Grace, His uncreated energy, becomes more and more active in our lives, transforming us as we partake or share in His nature through Christ. The end result is that we become divinity without becoming The Divine. We take on the nature of Deity while remaining human, until we are in full union with Him while remaining separate beings from him.
You must forgive the Church Fathers for using the admittedly disturbing word “gods” because there is simply no other good word to describe it. This is what it means to be sons of God having received the full Adoption through Christ Jesus, bodies included, in the Resurrection.
St. Paul believed this was worth considering everything else in his life, everything which was considered an advantage to him to be rubbish. He wanted this and was willing to throw away everything else to get it. This is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and it really can't get much higher. The Church Fathers called it as they saw it.
This is to what we, like St. Paul, are called. This is the goal, and it isn't just handed to us on a silver platter as a certain popular teaching professes. St. Paul knew that He hadn't attained to it yet, and wouldn't attain to it in this life, but what does he say?
“Not that I already received or already have been perfected, but I press on, if I also may lay hold, inasmuch as I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not count myself to have laid hold, but one thing I do , forgetting the things behind, and stretching forward to those things before, I press on after the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)
He continued on, shedding everything which could possibly hold him back from reaching it even in this life, and encouraged and taught others to do the same. He held it up in front of them and basically said “Here it is! This is the finish line! Keep your sights set on this and dump everything which could hamper you getting there!” When you're running a race to win, you don't carry a bunch of extra weight with you, and you don't stop in the middle of the race and call it good. We are called to seek full deification in this life, or at least get as close as possible to it. This is the process of sanctification.
I have said this before, Eternal Life begins here and now, not when you stop breathing. Deification is Eternal Life. It is the Kingdom of Heaven and it is worth everything to attain it in the here and now.
We get disturbed by the use of such phrases as “God became man so that men might become gods.” It isn't language that we use today in this world. It sounds heretical, like something from the Latter Day Saints, or something New Age. These are only perversions of what it really means. It really means shedding this corruptible body for an incorruptible. It means shedding this mortality for what is immortal. It means receiving our Adoption as sons of God in full. And it does not come from giving up the race in the middle.
Deification is the goal of salvation. It is the end result. It doesn't fully happen until after death. But one thing must be clear is that it is a teaching of the Church, has been since the beginning, and still is today. In other denominations Christian theologies it is called “glorification,” and it is also referred to as “divinization.”
The Fathers that I quoted were not some fringe group of radicals, they were the pillars and foundations of the Ancient Church. For example, St. Athanasius was the principle advocate for the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as we know it at the Ecumenical Councils which laid out and defined what we know as the Nicene Creed, the standard of faith of the Church. St. Irenaeus was the Bishop of Lyons and an important theologian and apologist of the second century. St. Augustine of Hippo should need no explanation as the author of “The City of God”, and the “Confessions”, neither should St. John of the Cross as the author of “The Dark Night of the Soul.”
The Holy Scriptures themselves refer to it several times:
John 10:34-36
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”
John 17:20-23
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
Hebrews 3:14
“For we have become partakers of Christ, if truly we hold the beginning of the assurance firm to the end;”
2 Peter 1:3-4
“As His divine power has given to us all things pertaining to life and godliness through the full knowledge of the One calling us through glory and virtue, by which means He has given to us the very great and precious promises, so that through these you might be partakers of the divine nature, escaping from the corruption in the world by lust.”
1 John 3:2-3
“Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it was not yet revealed what we shall be. But we know that if He is revealed, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone having this hope on Him purifies himself even as that One is pure.”
It is the teaching of Holy Scripture that we are united to Christ Jesus through baptism into His death. Deification begins, but does not reach it's fulfillment, here. As we engage in the “cycle of Grace” which I described previously, His Grace, His uncreated energy, becomes more and more active in our lives, transforming us as we partake or share in His nature through Christ. The end result is that we become divinity without becoming The Divine. We take on the nature of Deity while remaining human, until we are in full union with Him while remaining separate beings from him.
You must forgive the Church Fathers for using the admittedly disturbing word “gods” because there is simply no other good word to describe it. This is what it means to be sons of God having received the full Adoption through Christ Jesus, bodies included, in the Resurrection.
St. Paul believed this was worth considering everything else in his life, everything which was considered an advantage to him to be rubbish. He wanted this and was willing to throw away everything else to get it. This is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and it really can't get much higher. The Church Fathers called it as they saw it.
This is to what we, like St. Paul, are called. This is the goal, and it isn't just handed to us on a silver platter as a certain popular teaching professes. St. Paul knew that He hadn't attained to it yet, and wouldn't attain to it in this life, but what does he say?
“Not that I already received or already have been perfected, but I press on, if I also may lay hold, inasmuch as I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not count myself to have laid hold, but one thing I do , forgetting the things behind, and stretching forward to those things before, I press on after the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)
He continued on, shedding everything which could possibly hold him back from reaching it even in this life, and encouraged and taught others to do the same. He held it up in front of them and basically said “Here it is! This is the finish line! Keep your sights set on this and dump everything which could hamper you getting there!” When you're running a race to win, you don't carry a bunch of extra weight with you, and you don't stop in the middle of the race and call it good. We are called to seek full deification in this life, or at least get as close as possible to it. This is the process of sanctification.
I have said this before, Eternal Life begins here and now, not when you stop breathing. Deification is Eternal Life. It is the Kingdom of Heaven and it is worth everything to attain it in the here and now.
We get disturbed by the use of such phrases as “God became man so that men might become gods.” It isn't language that we use today in this world. It sounds heretical, like something from the Latter Day Saints, or something New Age. These are only perversions of what it really means. It really means shedding this corruptible body for an incorruptible. It means shedding this mortality for what is immortal. It means receiving our Adoption as sons of God in full. And it does not come from giving up the race in the middle.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
A Ramble About The Expensive Pearl
In one of His parables, Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven was like a very expensive pearl or treasure hidden in a field, which when a person finds it, goes and sells everything he has to buy that field. In other words, gaining the Kingdom of Heaven is worth giving up, letting go of, everything else as though it was worthless in comparison.
So, the question then becomes, what about the Kingdom of Heaven is so worth it? Whether we like to admit it or not, this is a question which we ask ourselves. And I know this is a serious question, a question of doubt, which we ask ourselves by how we act, and the choices we make in what we pursue. What is the expensive treasure that Jesus said would be so worth it? In other words, why should we do what Jesus said? Why bother renouncing everything? Why bother denying yourself? Why not just fake it? Just sit in the pew on Sundays and put on a “good Christian facade?” It's a heck of a lot easier to try and stay out of the line of fire in both directions than the alternatives.
We need to understand what's at stake. We already know about the one direction, backwards. We know what awaits us there, and it is terrifying. But what about forwards? What goal awaits us on the other end of the trials, the poverty, the humiliation, the self-control, the picking up one's cross in humble obedience? What is the final goal of all of this?
God Himself.
The entire goal of salvation is what is called in Greek, “theosis”, and in English “deification.” Put simply, it is a human being taking on the nature of God, sharing His life fully and completely in everything except His Essence or Substance. The Fathers of the Church wrote about it in explicit terms which would make a lot of Christians do a double take, and perhaps even have heart attacks, at the language used (citations are taken from the Wikipedia.org article on “divinization”):
St. Irenaeus of Lyons: “[God] became what we are in order to make us what he is himself.”
St. Clement of Alexandria: “he who obeys the Lord and follows the prophecy given through him … becomes a god while still moving about in the flesh.”
St. Athanasius: “God became man so that men might become gods.”
St. Cyril of Alexandria: “[we] are called 'temples of God' and indeed 'gods,' and so we are.”
St. Gregory of Nazianzus: “become gods for God's sake, since (God) became man for our sake.”
St. Augustine: “God was made man, that man might be made God.” ... “It is clear that he called men gods being deified by his grace and not born of his substance. For he justified, who is just of himself and not from another, and he deifies, who is god of himself and not by participation in another. … If we have been made sons of God, we have been made gods; but this is by grace of adoption and not of the nature of our begetter.” … “Our full adoption as sons will take place in the redemption of our body. We now have the first fruits of the spirit, by which we are indeed made sons of God. In other respects, however, since we are not yet finally saved, we are therefore not yet fully made new, not yet sons of God but children of the world.”
St. John of the Cross: “In thus allowing God to work in it, the soul... is at once illumined and transformed in God, and God communicates to it His supernatural Being, in such wise that it appears to be God Himself, and has all that God Himself has. And this union comes to pass when God grants the soul this supernatural favour, that all the things of God and the soul are one in participant transformation; and the soul seems to be God rather than a soul, and is indeed God by participation; although it is true that its natural being, though thus transformed, is as distinct from the Being of God as it was before.”
Orthodox Bishop Kallistos (Timothy) Ware writes, “By virtue of this distinction between the divine essence and the divine energies, we are able to affirm the possibility of a direct or mystical union between man and God—what the Greek Fathers term the 'theosis' of man, his 'deification'--but at the same time we exclude any pantheistic identification between the two: for man participates in the energies of God, not in the essence. There is union, but not fusion or confusion. Although 'oned' with the divine, man still remains man; he is not swallowed up or annihilated, but between him and God there continues always to exist an 'I—Thou' relationship of person to person.” (“The Orthodox Way”, Kallistos Ware, SVS Press, 1979-1998)
The purpose of the Cross was for us to enter into union with God through our union with Christ in baptism (see Romans 6). This is the beginning of our union with Him, but it is by no means the end or culmination. The process of sanctification is to further that realization of union achieved largely through prayer, Sacraments, and obedience as I have discussed previously. But the culmination of that union is full theosis where we take on the full nature of God without losing the distinction between us.
The Fathers agreed that full deification couldn't be achieved in this life until after the death of the body, but by Grace the goal and purpose of our discipleship is to progress towards full deification in this life. In this, there is no middle ground. Either we progress towards this kind of “ascension”, or we regress into our sin disorder and eternal darkness. There is no “safe” place where we can just remain static for fear of the cross, or fear of hell. Let me say this again just to be clear, you either progress on the path of Jesus Christ towards deification, or you fall backwards. There is no way to stand still.
Because of our union with Jesus Christ, the promise of what we will be is something mind boggling and hard to wrap the head around. It is achieved only through cooperation with the Grace of God, and letting go of those things which are behind and reaching forward to what is in front of us” as St. Paul said, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:7-14, ESV)
So, I ask you, is this worth it? Would the prospect of inherited deity be enough to renounce everything and follow Jesus Christ? In the garden, the serpent promised that Adam and Eve would be like God if they ate the fruit of the tree because they would know good from evil. What they got was a hereditary insanity which we all share that makes us all think we know better than God or anyone else. What God promises us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is nothing short of being made like Him in every way but His Essence or Being.
Theosis is Eternal Life. It is the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the treasure waiting on the other side of the pain and loss. Is that worth it to you?
So, the question then becomes, what about the Kingdom of Heaven is so worth it? Whether we like to admit it or not, this is a question which we ask ourselves. And I know this is a serious question, a question of doubt, which we ask ourselves by how we act, and the choices we make in what we pursue. What is the expensive treasure that Jesus said would be so worth it? In other words, why should we do what Jesus said? Why bother renouncing everything? Why bother denying yourself? Why not just fake it? Just sit in the pew on Sundays and put on a “good Christian facade?” It's a heck of a lot easier to try and stay out of the line of fire in both directions than the alternatives.
We need to understand what's at stake. We already know about the one direction, backwards. We know what awaits us there, and it is terrifying. But what about forwards? What goal awaits us on the other end of the trials, the poverty, the humiliation, the self-control, the picking up one's cross in humble obedience? What is the final goal of all of this?
God Himself.
The entire goal of salvation is what is called in Greek, “theosis”, and in English “deification.” Put simply, it is a human being taking on the nature of God, sharing His life fully and completely in everything except His Essence or Substance. The Fathers of the Church wrote about it in explicit terms which would make a lot of Christians do a double take, and perhaps even have heart attacks, at the language used (citations are taken from the Wikipedia.org article on “divinization”):
St. Irenaeus of Lyons: “[God] became what we are in order to make us what he is himself.”
St. Clement of Alexandria: “he who obeys the Lord and follows the prophecy given through him … becomes a god while still moving about in the flesh.”
St. Athanasius: “God became man so that men might become gods.”
St. Cyril of Alexandria: “[we] are called 'temples of God' and indeed 'gods,' and so we are.”
St. Gregory of Nazianzus: “become gods for God's sake, since (God) became man for our sake.”
St. Augustine: “God was made man, that man might be made God.” ... “It is clear that he called men gods being deified by his grace and not born of his substance. For he justified, who is just of himself and not from another, and he deifies, who is god of himself and not by participation in another. … If we have been made sons of God, we have been made gods; but this is by grace of adoption and not of the nature of our begetter.” … “Our full adoption as sons will take place in the redemption of our body. We now have the first fruits of the spirit, by which we are indeed made sons of God. In other respects, however, since we are not yet finally saved, we are therefore not yet fully made new, not yet sons of God but children of the world.”
St. John of the Cross: “In thus allowing God to work in it, the soul... is at once illumined and transformed in God, and God communicates to it His supernatural Being, in such wise that it appears to be God Himself, and has all that God Himself has. And this union comes to pass when God grants the soul this supernatural favour, that all the things of God and the soul are one in participant transformation; and the soul seems to be God rather than a soul, and is indeed God by participation; although it is true that its natural being, though thus transformed, is as distinct from the Being of God as it was before.”
Orthodox Bishop Kallistos (Timothy) Ware writes, “By virtue of this distinction between the divine essence and the divine energies, we are able to affirm the possibility of a direct or mystical union between man and God—what the Greek Fathers term the 'theosis' of man, his 'deification'--but at the same time we exclude any pantheistic identification between the two: for man participates in the energies of God, not in the essence. There is union, but not fusion or confusion. Although 'oned' with the divine, man still remains man; he is not swallowed up or annihilated, but between him and God there continues always to exist an 'I—Thou' relationship of person to person.” (“The Orthodox Way”, Kallistos Ware, SVS Press, 1979-1998)
The purpose of the Cross was for us to enter into union with God through our union with Christ in baptism (see Romans 6). This is the beginning of our union with Him, but it is by no means the end or culmination. The process of sanctification is to further that realization of union achieved largely through prayer, Sacraments, and obedience as I have discussed previously. But the culmination of that union is full theosis where we take on the full nature of God without losing the distinction between us.
The Fathers agreed that full deification couldn't be achieved in this life until after the death of the body, but by Grace the goal and purpose of our discipleship is to progress towards full deification in this life. In this, there is no middle ground. Either we progress towards this kind of “ascension”, or we regress into our sin disorder and eternal darkness. There is no “safe” place where we can just remain static for fear of the cross, or fear of hell. Let me say this again just to be clear, you either progress on the path of Jesus Christ towards deification, or you fall backwards. There is no way to stand still.
Because of our union with Jesus Christ, the promise of what we will be is something mind boggling and hard to wrap the head around. It is achieved only through cooperation with the Grace of God, and letting go of those things which are behind and reaching forward to what is in front of us” as St. Paul said, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:7-14, ESV)
So, I ask you, is this worth it? Would the prospect of inherited deity be enough to renounce everything and follow Jesus Christ? In the garden, the serpent promised that Adam and Eve would be like God if they ate the fruit of the tree because they would know good from evil. What they got was a hereditary insanity which we all share that makes us all think we know better than God or anyone else. What God promises us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is nothing short of being made like Him in every way but His Essence or Being.
Theosis is Eternal Life. It is the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the treasure waiting on the other side of the pain and loss. Is that worth it to you?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A Ramble About Career Students
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)
There comes a point in time when you just have to put your Bible down; your Bible, your devotionals, your study guides, all of it. There comes a point in time when you have to stop hiding behind the facade of learning about your faith, and start doing what your faith says to do. It is good to memorize scripture in order to keep your mind focused on where it belongs. It isn't good to continuously study on the pretext of learning something “more”.
There are people who attend college with a certain goal, a vocation, in mind. They go, they get their education, and then they go on to be teachers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, engineers, and so on. Then there are people who attend college to learn and because they're afraid of life, and then once they graduate, attend still more college and become career students. They don't enter the outside world because they're fascinated by learning more, but even more because they're afraid of the outside world and doing what it is they've been taught to do.
There are too many professed Christians who do the same thing. “Getting in the Word”, going to church, and going to Bible study groups are all about remaining in the classroom without having to actually employ what it is they learn there. There is a time and a place for the classroom, and the classroom mentality, but we weren't meant to never venture outside of it.
The gathering of the faithful to worship on Sunday mornings (or whatever time and day of the week it may be) is just that; a time to worship and remember the Covenant God made with us through the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It is a time to gather together as the body, worshiping together as the body of Christ. Quite frankly, it isn't necessarily a time for yet more basic classroom instruction, and yet too often this is what it has devolved into to the point where the worship and remembrance has taken a back seat to between 30 and 60 minutes of theological exposition and speculation by the minister (typical service: fifteen minutes of hymns, five minutes of announcements, forty-five minutes of sermon, Holy Communion once a month).
There comes a point in time when you have to step outside of the classroom and use what you have learned instead of hiding in the classroom. What good is a soldier who never ventures into combat? What good is a farmer who never works his fields? What good is a doctor who has never diagnosed a patient?
The Bible itself is a tool. It cannot do the work of discipleship for you. The Bible is, at the end of the day, a printed book which carries a message. The message must be internalized and put into practice or else reading it cover to cover repeatedly, studying it in minute detail, and memorizing it word for word will do you no good.
At the end of the day, if it doesn't lead you back to Jesus, even studying the Bible is for nothing.
There comes a point in time when you just have to put your Bible down; your Bible, your devotionals, your study guides, all of it. There comes a point in time when you have to stop hiding behind the facade of learning about your faith, and start doing what your faith says to do. It is good to memorize scripture in order to keep your mind focused on where it belongs. It isn't good to continuously study on the pretext of learning something “more”.
There are people who attend college with a certain goal, a vocation, in mind. They go, they get their education, and then they go on to be teachers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, engineers, and so on. Then there are people who attend college to learn and because they're afraid of life, and then once they graduate, attend still more college and become career students. They don't enter the outside world because they're fascinated by learning more, but even more because they're afraid of the outside world and doing what it is they've been taught to do.
There are too many professed Christians who do the same thing. “Getting in the Word”, going to church, and going to Bible study groups are all about remaining in the classroom without having to actually employ what it is they learn there. There is a time and a place for the classroom, and the classroom mentality, but we weren't meant to never venture outside of it.
The gathering of the faithful to worship on Sunday mornings (or whatever time and day of the week it may be) is just that; a time to worship and remember the Covenant God made with us through the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It is a time to gather together as the body, worshiping together as the body of Christ. Quite frankly, it isn't necessarily a time for yet more basic classroom instruction, and yet too often this is what it has devolved into to the point where the worship and remembrance has taken a back seat to between 30 and 60 minutes of theological exposition and speculation by the minister (typical service: fifteen minutes of hymns, five minutes of announcements, forty-five minutes of sermon, Holy Communion once a month).
There comes a point in time when you have to step outside of the classroom and use what you have learned instead of hiding in the classroom. What good is a soldier who never ventures into combat? What good is a farmer who never works his fields? What good is a doctor who has never diagnosed a patient?
The Bible itself is a tool. It cannot do the work of discipleship for you. The Bible is, at the end of the day, a printed book which carries a message. The message must be internalized and put into practice or else reading it cover to cover repeatedly, studying it in minute detail, and memorizing it word for word will do you no good.
At the end of the day, if it doesn't lead you back to Jesus, even studying the Bible is for nothing.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A Ramble About the Force
“The Force?”
“The Force is an energy field produced by all living things. It binds us, and penetrates us, and holds the galaxy together.”
…
“You mean it controls your actions?”
“Partially, but it also obeys your commands.”
From the dialogue in “Star Wars: A New Hope” between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker
We have to use a lot of analogies in describing spiritual realities. Some analogies are better than others. Some analogies come closer to the truth than others. And where someone may understand the truth trying to be conveyed by one analogy, the same analogy may be unintelligible to the next person.
Grace is one such concept which is difficult to explain. It is made even more difficult because of the theological confusion which has been introduced by Protestant theology. As a backlash against the Catholic Church, rather than relying on the teaching of the Church prior to the Reformation, a much different, weakened understanding of it based on the literal meaning of the Greek word has rendered it to mean little more than God's favor or good will towards man. (This is largely due to the sincere, but misguided dogma of the Reformation known as “Sola Scriptura” or “Scripture Only”.)
In the teaching of the Church, Grace means far more than this, but explaining it, and how it operates isn't the easiest of things. When explained in the wrong way, it sounds like you're trying to earn or merit it based on your own good works, and thus trying to earn your own salvation, which is impossible.
As simply put as possible, the Fathers of the Church describe Grace as a part of the “uncreated energies of God,” and the “presence of God outside of His persons.” St. Maximos describes these energies as “eternally existent, proceeding from the eternally existing God.” St. Gregory Palamas writes “Thus God possesses both essence and that which is not essence, even if it should not be called an accident, namely, the divine will and energy.” The essence of God is that which is transcendent and unapproachable whereas the energies of God are immanent and approachable.
St. Gregory also says, “Because both the divine essence and the divine energy are everywhere inseparably present, God's energy is accessible to us creatures... Thus St. John Chrysostom says, 'A drop of Grace filled all things with knowledge; through it miracles were wrought and sins forgiven.' Here, while indicating that this drop of grace is uncreated, he hastens to make clear that it is an energy of God but not his essence. Further, in order to show how the divine energy differs from both the divine essence and from the hypostasis of the Spirit, he adds, 'I mean a part of the energy, for the Paraclete is not divided.' Therefore God's grace and energy is accessible to each one of us, since it is divided indivisibly. But since God's essence is in every way indivisible, how could it be accessible to any created being? … Three realities pertain to God: essence, energy, and the triad of divine hypostases. As we have seen, those privileged to be united to God so as to become one spirit with Him … are not united to God with respect to His essence, since all the theologians testify what with respect to His essence God suffers no participation. … Thus those privileged to attain union with God are united to Him with respect to His energy; and the 'spirit', according to which they who cleave to God are one with Him, is and is called the uncreated energy of the Holy Spirit, but not the essence of God...” (Quoted from St. Gregory Palamas, “Topics of Natural and Theological Science”, The Philokalia, vol. IV, trans. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kalistos Ware; Faber and Faber, Ltd, 1995)
The final goal of the Christian life is deification (in Greek, “theosis”, sometimes called “divinization”, in Protestant Evangelical circles called “glorification”), the total union with God, and full participation in His nature outside of His essence. The Fathers say to this effect, “God became man so that man might become god.” St. Irenaeus writes, “Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His transcendent love, became what we are, so that He might bring us to be even what He Himself is.” The illustration used is that of a piece of metal, when it is put into a fire takes on the properties of the fire, the heat and the light, even glowing much like it, while still retaining it's identity as metal. Grace is the energy of God which accomplishes deification.
That's the beginning of the explanation. The next part of it is where we run into all kinds of trouble, accusations, and theological ruts. That's because, while Grace is freely given by God, it doesn't generally come while we are just doing our own thing. Grace in some respects is like electricity in that you must be plugged in for it to flow.
Jesus essentially spelled it out in John 15:4-7. He said, “Remain in me, and I in you … without me you can do nothing … if anyone doesn't remain in me he is cast out as a branch, withers, and is thrown into the fire … if you remain in me and my word remains in you you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.” So, in order for Grace to flow, you have to be plugged into Jesus. If you're unplugged, and stay unplugged through your own choices, not only will Grace not flow, but you get tossed out like a bunch of dead branches. But, if you're plugged in and stay plugged in, remembering what He taught and said, anything is possible for you.
So, how do we stay plugged in? The short answer is obedience to what Jesus taught, prayer (discursive and contemplative), and participation in the Sacraments, especially Baptism and Holy Eucharist. It's not a matter of earning or meriting Grace, but staying plugged in. And as we adhere to these things in humility, self-control, and renunciation (yes, this matters as Jesus taught), Grace, the uncreated energy of God, flows through us allowing us to progress even more in prayer, obedience, and the Sacraments in a self-perpetuating cycle which is only broken as we leave off and go our own way, or in other words, the only way Grace won't flow is if we willingly unplug from Jesus and ignore it.
What are commonly called the “Spiritual Gifts” are also powered by Grace. The closer you draw to Jesus, the longer you remain consistently plugged in, the more evident they become. This is born out even by the Greek word for them, “charismata”, which literally could be translated “grace ability”. Without Grace, they simply won't function, similar to an unplugged lamp. This is why so many “Christians” rely on their own natural abilities and try to pass off things like teaching ability, public speaking, or natural “charisma” as a spiritual gift. They have no experience with the real thing because even after baptism they choose to pursue their own things and remain unplugged from Jesus, often not being taught otherwise by their respective local churches. You can't walk in the Spirit if you're indulging in the flesh (sensual desires, avarice, self-esteem, etc.). The two are opposed to each other and if one is in control, the other can't be (see Gal. 5:16-23), the Buddha said something similar as well, “There is self, and there is truth. Where self is, truth is not. Where truth is, self is not.”).
This leads us back to my quotation from Star Wars at the beginning of this ramble. A good analogy I have found for Grace is “the Force” (yes, it sounds at best creepy, but hear me out). The Force is the source of a Jedi's power and abilities, and without it he is unable to do anything, much like Grace to the Christian. The impossible jumps, the pulling x-wings out of swamps, the holding boulders high above the head by a teeny tiny green Jedi Master, all of these are impossible without the Jedi being plugged into the Force, and in the same way the replication of the life, power, and person of Jesus Christ within the Christian, in other words the process of “deification”, is impossible without being plugged into Him with His Grace flowing through that person as a result of being plugged into Him. Like the Force as well, we must cooperate with Grace. God will not force us to do anything which we will not agree to any more than the Force will force a Jedi to jump twenty feet in the air without his permission. The Grace of God binds us, it penetrates us and holds everything together.
Our salvation is accomplished truly by Grace through Faith. It is the gift of God so that no one can brag that he earned it. Salvation is impossible without the Grace of God, and is energized and effected by it. Holy Scripture is clear about this. But Holy Scripture is equally clear that just saying you have faith is not enough. You must act on that faith, or else it isn't true faith but is mere words, and words alone are meaningless without the actions to back them up. Grace won't flow until faith itself is realized by action.
[For a better explanation of Grace and deification, check out “The Orthodox Way” by Kallistos (Timothy) Ware. He is an Orthodox Bishop who explains these concepts much more eloquently and clearly than I ever could.]
“The Force is an energy field produced by all living things. It binds us, and penetrates us, and holds the galaxy together.”
…
“You mean it controls your actions?”
“Partially, but it also obeys your commands.”
From the dialogue in “Star Wars: A New Hope” between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker
We have to use a lot of analogies in describing spiritual realities. Some analogies are better than others. Some analogies come closer to the truth than others. And where someone may understand the truth trying to be conveyed by one analogy, the same analogy may be unintelligible to the next person.
Grace is one such concept which is difficult to explain. It is made even more difficult because of the theological confusion which has been introduced by Protestant theology. As a backlash against the Catholic Church, rather than relying on the teaching of the Church prior to the Reformation, a much different, weakened understanding of it based on the literal meaning of the Greek word has rendered it to mean little more than God's favor or good will towards man. (This is largely due to the sincere, but misguided dogma of the Reformation known as “Sola Scriptura” or “Scripture Only”.)
In the teaching of the Church, Grace means far more than this, but explaining it, and how it operates isn't the easiest of things. When explained in the wrong way, it sounds like you're trying to earn or merit it based on your own good works, and thus trying to earn your own salvation, which is impossible.
As simply put as possible, the Fathers of the Church describe Grace as a part of the “uncreated energies of God,” and the “presence of God outside of His persons.” St. Maximos describes these energies as “eternally existent, proceeding from the eternally existing God.” St. Gregory Palamas writes “Thus God possesses both essence and that which is not essence, even if it should not be called an accident, namely, the divine will and energy.” The essence of God is that which is transcendent and unapproachable whereas the energies of God are immanent and approachable.
St. Gregory also says, “Because both the divine essence and the divine energy are everywhere inseparably present, God's energy is accessible to us creatures... Thus St. John Chrysostom says, 'A drop of Grace filled all things with knowledge; through it miracles were wrought and sins forgiven.' Here, while indicating that this drop of grace is uncreated, he hastens to make clear that it is an energy of God but not his essence. Further, in order to show how the divine energy differs from both the divine essence and from the hypostasis of the Spirit, he adds, 'I mean a part of the energy, for the Paraclete is not divided.' Therefore God's grace and energy is accessible to each one of us, since it is divided indivisibly. But since God's essence is in every way indivisible, how could it be accessible to any created being? … Three realities pertain to God: essence, energy, and the triad of divine hypostases. As we have seen, those privileged to be united to God so as to become one spirit with Him … are not united to God with respect to His essence, since all the theologians testify what with respect to His essence God suffers no participation. … Thus those privileged to attain union with God are united to Him with respect to His energy; and the 'spirit', according to which they who cleave to God are one with Him, is and is called the uncreated energy of the Holy Spirit, but not the essence of God...” (Quoted from St. Gregory Palamas, “Topics of Natural and Theological Science”, The Philokalia, vol. IV, trans. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kalistos Ware; Faber and Faber, Ltd, 1995)
The final goal of the Christian life is deification (in Greek, “theosis”, sometimes called “divinization”, in Protestant Evangelical circles called “glorification”), the total union with God, and full participation in His nature outside of His essence. The Fathers say to this effect, “God became man so that man might become god.” St. Irenaeus writes, “Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His transcendent love, became what we are, so that He might bring us to be even what He Himself is.” The illustration used is that of a piece of metal, when it is put into a fire takes on the properties of the fire, the heat and the light, even glowing much like it, while still retaining it's identity as metal. Grace is the energy of God which accomplishes deification.
That's the beginning of the explanation. The next part of it is where we run into all kinds of trouble, accusations, and theological ruts. That's because, while Grace is freely given by God, it doesn't generally come while we are just doing our own thing. Grace in some respects is like electricity in that you must be plugged in for it to flow.
Jesus essentially spelled it out in John 15:4-7. He said, “Remain in me, and I in you … without me you can do nothing … if anyone doesn't remain in me he is cast out as a branch, withers, and is thrown into the fire … if you remain in me and my word remains in you you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.” So, in order for Grace to flow, you have to be plugged into Jesus. If you're unplugged, and stay unplugged through your own choices, not only will Grace not flow, but you get tossed out like a bunch of dead branches. But, if you're plugged in and stay plugged in, remembering what He taught and said, anything is possible for you.
So, how do we stay plugged in? The short answer is obedience to what Jesus taught, prayer (discursive and contemplative), and participation in the Sacraments, especially Baptism and Holy Eucharist. It's not a matter of earning or meriting Grace, but staying plugged in. And as we adhere to these things in humility, self-control, and renunciation (yes, this matters as Jesus taught), Grace, the uncreated energy of God, flows through us allowing us to progress even more in prayer, obedience, and the Sacraments in a self-perpetuating cycle which is only broken as we leave off and go our own way, or in other words, the only way Grace won't flow is if we willingly unplug from Jesus and ignore it.
What are commonly called the “Spiritual Gifts” are also powered by Grace. The closer you draw to Jesus, the longer you remain consistently plugged in, the more evident they become. This is born out even by the Greek word for them, “charismata”, which literally could be translated “grace ability”. Without Grace, they simply won't function, similar to an unplugged lamp. This is why so many “Christians” rely on their own natural abilities and try to pass off things like teaching ability, public speaking, or natural “charisma” as a spiritual gift. They have no experience with the real thing because even after baptism they choose to pursue their own things and remain unplugged from Jesus, often not being taught otherwise by their respective local churches. You can't walk in the Spirit if you're indulging in the flesh (sensual desires, avarice, self-esteem, etc.). The two are opposed to each other and if one is in control, the other can't be (see Gal. 5:16-23), the Buddha said something similar as well, “There is self, and there is truth. Where self is, truth is not. Where truth is, self is not.”).
This leads us back to my quotation from Star Wars at the beginning of this ramble. A good analogy I have found for Grace is “the Force” (yes, it sounds at best creepy, but hear me out). The Force is the source of a Jedi's power and abilities, and without it he is unable to do anything, much like Grace to the Christian. The impossible jumps, the pulling x-wings out of swamps, the holding boulders high above the head by a teeny tiny green Jedi Master, all of these are impossible without the Jedi being plugged into the Force, and in the same way the replication of the life, power, and person of Jesus Christ within the Christian, in other words the process of “deification”, is impossible without being plugged into Him with His Grace flowing through that person as a result of being plugged into Him. Like the Force as well, we must cooperate with Grace. God will not force us to do anything which we will not agree to any more than the Force will force a Jedi to jump twenty feet in the air without his permission. The Grace of God binds us, it penetrates us and holds everything together.
Our salvation is accomplished truly by Grace through Faith. It is the gift of God so that no one can brag that he earned it. Salvation is impossible without the Grace of God, and is energized and effected by it. Holy Scripture is clear about this. But Holy Scripture is equally clear that just saying you have faith is not enough. You must act on that faith, or else it isn't true faith but is mere words, and words alone are meaningless without the actions to back them up. Grace won't flow until faith itself is realized by action.
[For a better explanation of Grace and deification, check out “The Orthodox Way” by Kallistos (Timothy) Ware. He is an Orthodox Bishop who explains these concepts much more eloquently and clearly than I ever could.]
Sunday, January 16, 2011
My Daily Prayer
This is a prayer I repeat almost every day. I hope whoever reads this might find it useful:
Almighty Father, I confess and admit that I am poor, blind, weak, naked, and ignorant before you, and that I can do nothing of myself.
I ask that you would fill me with your grace; that you would take full possession of these hands and these feet, this mouth, this heart, and this mind; that this personight be Jesus for people, give Jesus to people, receive Jesus from people, and see Jesus in people today.
I ask that you yourself would overflow within me with you presence and your power, with your love and your compassion, with your wisdow and your humility that others might come to know you through me, and that I might not say or do anything that you don't want me to say or do; and that I might say and do everything that you want me to say and do; that I might not cause harm or damage, and if I should that you would use that damage for good.
I thank you, I love you, I praise you, and I worship you, and I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
.
Almighty Father, I confess and admit that I am poor, blind, weak, naked, and ignorant before you, and that I can do nothing of myself.
I ask that you would fill me with your grace; that you would take full possession of these hands and these feet, this mouth, this heart, and this mind; that this personight be Jesus for people, give Jesus to people, receive Jesus from people, and see Jesus in people today.
I ask that you yourself would overflow within me with you presence and your power, with your love and your compassion, with your wisdow and your humility that others might come to know you through me, and that I might not say or do anything that you don't want me to say or do; and that I might say and do everything that you want me to say and do; that I might not cause harm or damage, and if I should that you would use that damage for good.
I thank you, I love you, I praise you, and I worship you, and I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A Ramble About Failure
Some time ago I watched a movie called “Meet the Robinsons,” and in it there is one scene which stands out in particular. The main character, a boy with a knack for invention, attempts to fix an automatic peanut butter and jelly squirter, designed to dispense just the right amount of peanut butter and jelly onto two slices of bread. He does his best at it, and then tries to operate the machine... which then fails spectacularly in front of a large family which has been kind to him. He feels frustrated and embarassed, and then they turn to him and start extolling the virtues of failure (singing about it unless I’m mistaken) with excited gusto.
We don’t prize failure. I can’t think of any culture (except the fictional Robinsons) that does. Failures are worthless, and to be pushed aside by those who can show that they succeed. Failures make no one proud, especially when it’s repetitive. Sooner or later, they’re told to just give up.
Being a failure doesn’t take much. You just have to make a mistake at the wrong time. Often the only difference between success and failure is chance, stress, or the wrong thought at the wrong time. Failure happens to everyone, but few will choose to admit it, and even fewer will choose to take responsibility for it. It is always the fault of someone or something else.
Most people would consider me a failure, for various reasons. There are some days when I don’t disagree. I make mistakes. Those mistakes have consequences to them. I could argue about whether or not those consequences are fair, but since when has life been fair? I didn’t graduate High School. When I did go to college, my chosen major was one which is nearly impossible to make money at (and is often looked at as underwater basket weaving). I’ve had more (paying) jobs over the last twelve years then I care to think about. My family and I almost always seem to be in emergency situations, and it gets tiresome very quickly. Much of this has been due to choices (good, bad, or somewhere in-between) that I’ve made. Some of it has been due to other people making choices which have affected my family and I. And some of it has just been things out of the blue requiring me to make choices I didn’t expect to have to make and ride out the storm that followed.
Failures though, are first about learning opportunities. You find out what you did wrong, and then you find a solution to the problem. This is an easy enough philosophy to implement when you are talking about experimentation and invention, but it becomes more complicated when you’re talking about choices that are made with things that affect your life, and others as well. Failures can still be learning opportunities, but they are exponentially harder to recover from.
Second, failures aren’t always what they seem to be. A failure generally means that something happened which you didn’t intend. But all too often, this doesn’t mean something bad. Just because you didn’t intend for it, and the resulting consequences, to happen doesn’t make it wrong or a bad thing for you. Often, it means an open door in a direction you didn’t know about to begin with.
When I look back over my life, I see all the failures which I’ve accumulated over the years, and all the different directions which those failures have taken me. Those failures eventually led to me getting married and having a family when it was statistically improbable for me. Those failures also led me into ministry and ordination. Some of those failures allowed my family and I a couple of years of peace and stability, others allowed me to co-pastor a parish. Still others allowed me to receive treatment and to beat a disorder which few if any others in the world have been able to beat. It was more often than not my failures which opened up these doors, not my successes.
As I sit here rambling, and contemplating my latest failure, I do regret it. There are real consequences which have followed and will follow that not only affect my family and I, but also will affect others. There’s nothing I can do now to stop that chain of events from unfolding in whatever way it will. But if my experience at being a failure tells me anything at all, it tells me that, far from only being negative, this failure will also open up things that were otherwise not possible.
We don’t prize failure. I can’t think of any culture (except the fictional Robinsons) that does. Failures are worthless, and to be pushed aside by those who can show that they succeed. Failures make no one proud, especially when it’s repetitive. Sooner or later, they’re told to just give up.
Being a failure doesn’t take much. You just have to make a mistake at the wrong time. Often the only difference between success and failure is chance, stress, or the wrong thought at the wrong time. Failure happens to everyone, but few will choose to admit it, and even fewer will choose to take responsibility for it. It is always the fault of someone or something else.
Most people would consider me a failure, for various reasons. There are some days when I don’t disagree. I make mistakes. Those mistakes have consequences to them. I could argue about whether or not those consequences are fair, but since when has life been fair? I didn’t graduate High School. When I did go to college, my chosen major was one which is nearly impossible to make money at (and is often looked at as underwater basket weaving). I’ve had more (paying) jobs over the last twelve years then I care to think about. My family and I almost always seem to be in emergency situations, and it gets tiresome very quickly. Much of this has been due to choices (good, bad, or somewhere in-between) that I’ve made. Some of it has been due to other people making choices which have affected my family and I. And some of it has just been things out of the blue requiring me to make choices I didn’t expect to have to make and ride out the storm that followed.
Failures though, are first about learning opportunities. You find out what you did wrong, and then you find a solution to the problem. This is an easy enough philosophy to implement when you are talking about experimentation and invention, but it becomes more complicated when you’re talking about choices that are made with things that affect your life, and others as well. Failures can still be learning opportunities, but they are exponentially harder to recover from.
Second, failures aren’t always what they seem to be. A failure generally means that something happened which you didn’t intend. But all too often, this doesn’t mean something bad. Just because you didn’t intend for it, and the resulting consequences, to happen doesn’t make it wrong or a bad thing for you. Often, it means an open door in a direction you didn’t know about to begin with.
When I look back over my life, I see all the failures which I’ve accumulated over the years, and all the different directions which those failures have taken me. Those failures eventually led to me getting married and having a family when it was statistically improbable for me. Those failures also led me into ministry and ordination. Some of those failures allowed my family and I a couple of years of peace and stability, others allowed me to co-pastor a parish. Still others allowed me to receive treatment and to beat a disorder which few if any others in the world have been able to beat. It was more often than not my failures which opened up these doors, not my successes.
As I sit here rambling, and contemplating my latest failure, I do regret it. There are real consequences which have followed and will follow that not only affect my family and I, but also will affect others. There’s nothing I can do now to stop that chain of events from unfolding in whatever way it will. But if my experience at being a failure tells me anything at all, it tells me that, far from only being negative, this failure will also open up things that were otherwise not possible.
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