August 13, 2006
Commentary by Bruce G. Epperly |
See also: [2009] |
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
Psalm 130
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
John 6:35, 41-51
Process theology affirms an intimate partnership between God and the world at both the micro and macro levels. God provides each and every moment of experience with a vision of possibilities and the energy to achieve that vision. Yet, God’s passion for beauty and wholeness is profoundly conditioned by our actions and the world in which we live. The initial aim is always “the best for the impasse,” the highest possibility for each arising moment of experience. But, this divine aim is always contextual. God works within the world as it is and our past choices and experiences to call us toward what we can become. God acts with power, yet, God’s power is always within the causal matrix from which each occasion arises, and never a supernatural or unilateral intervention, unrelated to the world in which we live and our past history. While many Christians, even those from mainstream congregations, find the notion of a contextual and relational God perplexing and novel, process theology affirms that the biblical tradition itself proclaims that God works within, and never apart from, natural, this-worldly events.
Jesus asserts the same thing in John 15. In speaking of God/Christ as the vine and ourselves as the branches, Jesus affirms that when we are connected to the vine, we will bear much fruit. But, when we turn from the vine of Christ by our choices, values, and actions, we will wither spiritually and energetically.
In that same spirit, Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians suggests a lifestyle of faithfulness that opens us to God’s lively and omnipresent energy within our relationships. Followers of Jesus are called to be strong and vital persons who seek healing and wholeness in all their relationships. We are called to be “imitators of God,” who “live in love.” As the Epistle of John proclaims, “God is love.”
Process philosopher Charles Hartshorne spent a lifetime reflecting on a theology of love in which divine love is noted by its reciprocity. God shapes the world creatively precisely because God embraces the world lovingly. In similar vein, Whitehead and Loomer described divine power as relational and multi-lateral, rather than coercive. God is neither a despot, nor a narcissistic or apathetic parent, but our intimate companion, “the fellow sufferer who understands, and also, I believe, the friend who rejoices!
Medical researchers have reflected on the “forgiveness factor,” and have noted that the ability to forgive and let go of past grudges is associated with greater happiness and well-being. As systems thinkers have also noted, we are healthiest when we participate in healthy relatedness that preserves our identity and sense of self, while embracing otherness in its many contrasting and conflicting dimensions.
Relationships of stature and faithfulness open us to divine power and healing energy. They preserve our integrity while recognizing the integrity as well as imperfection of others.
Bitterness, anger, wrangling, malice, alien us from our neighbors and the wellspring of divine energy and inspiration “in whom we live and move and have our being.” On the other hand, Paul’s Christian virtues of kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness, connect us with one another in healthy ways and, accordingly, align our values with God’s values in ways that bring greater energy and insight into our lives.
Jesus proclaims “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” God will welcome and empower all who come to Christ in faith. Faith opens us to experiencing higher levels of reality and greater divine insight and energy. Faith does not create this energy, but awakens to its power willingly and gratefully. Faith does not free us from challenge, conflict, or temptation, but it enables God’s aim at “the best for the impasse” to be positive and transforming rather than merely preventative. Faith enables us to not only “to live, but to live well and to live better.” As we expect great things from ourselves in terms of our ethical and spiritual lives, we begin to experience greater things from God. In Jesus’ imaginative language, mustard seeds become great plants, water becomes wine, and five loaves and two fishes feed a multitude.
When she began her ministry, Mother Teresa admitted to her superiors she had only a few pennies to her name. They discouraged her, noting that she could do nothing with two pennies. Mother Teresa countered the limitations of their realism as she affirmed that “with God and two pennies, I can do anything.” Her life is a testimony to what can happen when your aim is “to do something beautiful for God” by ministering faithfully and lovingly to the dying, feeding the hungry, and welcoming persons with AIDS. We live in an open system in which our openness to God can enable the flow of divine energy to expand from a trickle to a stream and then to a torrent in order to transform the world. But, this will not ultimately occur over the long run, unless we commit ourselves to doing “great things for God” in a loving, inclusive, and welcoming way.
A brief note on the Hebraic scriptures: “Out of the depths, I cry to you, O God, O God, hear my voice.” (Psalm 130:1) David has won the battle and secured the kingdom, but he has lost the most important “war.” His son Absalom, who had turned against him, is killed by David’s loyal, yet blood thirsty soldiers. David is grief-stricken at Absalom’s death because his parental love could not be quenched by his son’s political and military revolt.
While we are called to protect ourselves, our nation, and those we love from harm, we must always remember the human and non-human cost of victory. Someone must always die or suffer for our security. This sacrificial reality calls us as persons and as a nation to pursue the ways of peace even as seek national and international security and stability. Absalom’s death is ultimately attributable to David’s infidelity and lack of integrity. In light of this, we must enter into “difficult conversations” (Katie Day) as we reflect on our nation’s foreign and economic policy in light of God’s aim at Shalom. While even a just and sustainable approach to the world’s resources cannot insure international harmony, it can open the door to new behaviors among our nation’s friends as well as our nation’s enemies. The scripture calls us to ponder a “patriotism of stature,” that affirms our own nation’s well-being while reaching out toward other nations. As imitators of God’s relational and non-coercive power, we must endeavor to transcend “empire” thinking and acting and move toward authentic spiritual and political leadership, congruent with the expansion of creativity, well-being, and freedom on a global scale.
Bruce Epperly is Director of Continuing Education and Professor of Practical Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He is the author of God’s Touch: Faith, Wholeness, and the Healing Miracles of Jesus andThe Power of Affirmative Faith; and co-author of The Call of the Spirit: Process Spirituality in a Relational World. These titles are available from the Process & Fatih bookstore.
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