Month: November 2009

“Jesus had some choices. He was not born into the worst possible condition. He would have had far fewer options had he been born a woman, or even worse, a woman with a crippling disease. The issue was not how far down on the pyramid he was born but the direction of his gaze.” – T. Richard Snyder

As a week of giving Thanks for all that we have, and all that we are collides with the birth of a new advent season…many of us have already begun speaking of baby Jesus. This past Sunday night my wife and I took our oldest daughter on a drive through a live nativity. The nativity took us from prophecies of Jesus, to his birth, through his life, crucifixion, and even the empty tomb. The narration spoke of Christ’s humble beginnings.

We often emphasize that, and then act as if that was the path Jesus was on. A humble one. Of course he was humble, he was a human from Nazareth, etc.

But Snyder reminds us of an important not-so-secret: Jesus CHOSE to associate/love/relate/”gaze” toward the lower rungs of the socio-political-economic ladder. Why is that important to remember?

In today’s world, we “gaze” toward the higher rungs. We want success, fame, health, fortune, power, prestige, etc. Snyder points out that the power of those in the “middle class” (he admits it’s a very fluid/flexible definition for a group, but nevertheless) is essentially the “power to consume”. That even if/when someone may achieve large success, as the case with many professional sports players, they do not make it to the “top of the pyramid. They can merely buy more toys.”

Philippians 2:7 uses the word “κενόω” (ken-ah-oh) to talk about Jesus “emptying” Himself. What if this year’s Thanksgiving was also attached to our anticipation of Jesus Christ, and all that He brings/announces/transforms? Let me put it more practically:

What if this year, as we spend time listing off each thing we’re thankful for, we also use that as a list of things we want to consciously “release” our possession of towards God? As we thank God for each thing/being we have, we receive a burden for those without it?

May we “gaze” with God’s love, and move toward where that Love is moving…

One of the aspects that couldn’t be captured well in this film, but I would have liked to see, is the film-makers’ return to his normal life. A life of traffic, cell phones, fast food, internet, and half-naked women in every advertisement. After spending 6 months sharing life in such simple, quiet, and holy ways.

In the Celtic tradition, there is a belief in “thin places”. Actual physical locations where the pursuit of God has occurred so often, or in such grand ways, that the veil between “Heaven” and earth are worn thin. If there is any such place, it seems the monastery from this documentary would be one. Life, ritual, and liturgy happening in very much the same way for almost a thousand years. To spend 6 months in this place, participating in this liturgical way of living….wow.

But then to return, not to a life and arena that one would consider “unholy”…..but rather, a creation that God is already involved in creating anew. Holiness breaking out all over the place. But still, very different from past 6 months in space and time.

Anyone who watches the film has a similar, albeit smaller, experience. Heck, anyone who attends worship services with a church family should probably have regular similar experiences. Many have had those moments….those experiences that make us want to stay doing whatever it is we’re doing because of how we are participating in God’s activity.

But we…we are not called to be monks. We are not called to sit and stare at video of a simpler life and drool over such freedom. We are not called to exist within the context and walls of a worshiping congregation. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) to live amidst a creation being renewed as people who have spent time in the presence of God. Who spend time in the presence of God. There is a similar “brotherhood” among us, as seen throughout the men of the Grand Chartreuse. When one joined their “family”, the new member would walk to each individual in the circle and they would embrace as kin.

Then the senior members would accompany them to their cell, and sing/pronounce blessings over this new one, and welcome them to a new way of living.

God is. We experience the presence of God. We experience the abandon that comes as both freedom and sacrifice. We are infinitely compelled by a Love that defines love. And we live from these, in and towards His Kingdom….”on Earth as it is in Heaven”…

I guess…all of that to say….it was a pretty good movie. 🙂

Setting the concepts of “eros” aside will do the following thoughts well:

One of the lines repeated over and over again throughout “Into Great Silence“, is the line “Lord, you seduced me, and I was seduced.” from Jeremiah 20. Here are a few other translations:

NRSV: “O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed.”

NLT: “O LORD, you persuaded me, and I allowed myself to be persuaded.”

Douay-Rheims: “Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I am deceived.”

The NIV also chooses the word “deceived.”

The Complete Jewish Bible: “You fooled me, ADONAI; I have been your dupe.”

The Message: “You pushed me into this, GOD, and I let you do it.”

It’s an interesting concept, and one that fits well with the “Weakness of God” wrestling I’ve done in recent months. God’s power is very much a “infinitely compelling”type. To think of why someone might live simply, or follow the thousand-year-old liturgies these monks live out. Or why someone today may choose to live counter-culturally and towards the way Christ has revealed His Kingdom to be.

It’s not because God has a giant finger on a cosmic “send you to hades” button. It’s because when we experience God….when we are faced with His presence, or new knowledge or revelation of His Spirit….or possibly even His words become flesh…powerful seduction may be a very appropriate way of describing how we are led to being transformed by His Spirit.

May we find ourselves seduced by the infinitely compelling presence and Hope of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit that is always active, and in whose presence we cannot help but be transformed from…..and to…..