Psalm 15 and John 15
H,
It is hard, I know, to see
ourselves as anything less than the drivers of our own destiny. To be helpless
is the human curse. We are afraid of learning to live with handicaps and we
think that this means helplessness. There is a whole section of the world that
tells us differently but we still hold on to this fantasy of perfection on our
own terms. Of course we admit that we are imperfect but we locate this
imperfection somewhere outside ourselves. The things we think we are good at or
have clarified or “worked on” we protect as signs of progress. We cannot go
back there and we will not for fear of regression.
ourselves as anything less than the drivers of our own destiny. To be helpless
is the human curse. We are afraid of learning to live with handicaps and we
think that this means helplessness. There is a whole section of the world that
tells us differently but we still hold on to this fantasy of perfection on our
own terms. Of course we admit that we are imperfect but we locate this
imperfection somewhere outside ourselves. The things we think we are good at or
have clarified or “worked on” we protect as signs of progress. We cannot go
back there and we will not for fear of regression.
It is this sort of thinking
that the light of God seeks to correct. It does not compartmentalize goodness
and does not sell the idea of part holiness. In this light holiness is
wholeness and being good shows all the way through. It is not a series of
random acts or even an organized mob of good against some turns left or right,
here or there. It has to be whole or it is not yet holy. Now, this might seem
like a reason to give up but it should really be the reason we stand in the
light.
that the light of God seeks to correct. It does not compartmentalize goodness
and does not sell the idea of part holiness. In this light holiness is
wholeness and being good shows all the way through. It is not a series of
random acts or even an organized mob of good against some turns left or right,
here or there. It has to be whole or it is not yet holy. Now, this might seem
like a reason to give up but it should really be the reason we stand in the
light.
It is clear that this whole
exercise of discipleship is about our true selves coming out. In one sense it
is our true self of sin, where we can see how we do not match up to the great
fruits of the spirit or the holy word of our Father. It tells us we are still
on the road to recovery from sin as lifestyle or posture of defiance and not
one or two thousand or three million acts over a lifetime. In the second sense,
it tells us, with the Gospel, that this is not the true story and this is not
the end of that tale. We have an opportunity to reconnect with a real version
of meaning in the universe.
exercise of discipleship is about our true selves coming out. In one sense it
is our true self of sin, where we can see how we do not match up to the great
fruits of the spirit or the holy word of our Father. It tells us we are still
on the road to recovery from sin as lifestyle or posture of defiance and not
one or two thousand or three million acts over a lifetime. In the second sense,
it tells us, with the Gospel, that this is not the true story and this is not
the end of that tale. We have an opportunity to reconnect with a real version
of meaning in the universe.
Our twin chapters above tell
that tale well. The first one is a reminder of the standard, high and lofty
and, yes, whole. The other is a reminder of the path to that character. It is
no use to say that we are perfect but it is also no use to say that we will not
be. Both are lies on opposite side of a deceptive sea. They obscure just enough
to leave us deluded or helpless but they do not help us understand Grace.
that tale well. The first one is a reminder of the standard, high and lofty
and, yes, whole. The other is a reminder of the path to that character. It is
no use to say that we are perfect but it is also no use to say that we will not
be. Both are lies on opposite side of a deceptive sea. They obscure just enough
to leave us deluded or helpless but they do not help us understand Grace.
And Grace stands aloft above
all our pretensions and falling and foul ups. It is something separate from our
immense self-will and this idea that humanity is at its best when it is
reaching out to find some sort of conclusion before it reaches in to find home
and peace. Grace tells us of a Bethlehem birth and a Golgotha victory and the
wisdom in-between and after. It tells us that the path has been set and the
world is winding down and all our questions can be answered in living
relationship with the Christ.
all our pretensions and falling and foul ups. It is something separate from our
immense self-will and this idea that humanity is at its best when it is
reaching out to find some sort of conclusion before it reaches in to find home
and peace. Grace tells us of a Bethlehem birth and a Golgotha victory and the
wisdom in-between and after. It tells us that the path has been set and the
world is winding down and all our questions can be answered in living
relationship with the Christ.
It is a wacky and wonderful
road but it happens to the truth. Not some version of it, not a part of it but
the whole of it. And it is only this truth that is whole that can make you
whole. And finally free to go back home.
road but it happens to the truth. Not some version of it, not a part of it but
the whole of it. And it is only this truth that is whole that can make you
whole. And finally free to go back home.