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DonateJanuary 18, 2009 |
See also: [Year B Archive] |
I Samuel 3:1-10
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
I Corinthians 6:12-20
John 1:43-51
Today’s scriptures invite us to take an adventure in spiritual awareness. With John Calvin, the lectionary passages assert the intimate relationship between knowledge of God and our own self-awareness. If God is constantly present in our lives, luring us forward with possibilities, synchronous encounters, dreams, and inclinations, then an important aspect of the spiritual journey is cultivating awareness of God in the ordinary as well as extraordinary moments of life. Spiritual guide and psychiatrist Gerald May speaks of this process of awareness of God and ourselves through the dynamic interplay of pausing, noticing, opening, stretching, yielding, and responding. In this interplay, we discover God’s presence and, in that awareness, our moment by moment vocation of self-creation and mission to the world beyond ourselves.
The passages from Psalm 139 describe the wonder of being known by an interactive God. “Search me and know me” leads to the awareness that I am “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Perhaps, a better word than “fearful” in this passage might be “awesome.” Our awareness of God’s ubiquity awakens us to the divine mystery and beauty of our own lives. Our lives, including our bodies, are not “godforsaken,” but “god-inspired” and “god-permeated.” We are “awesome,” as God’s creations, and the spiritual journey involves recognizing the wonder and awesomeness of God’s Life living in and through our own personal adventures. As the Gospel of Thomas affirms, “cleave the wood and I am there.” The Psalmist would elaborate, “touch your hands, listen to your heartbeat, ponder your cells and organs, and I am there.” The God who knows all things also touches and inspires all things.
God’s knowledge of us is “too wonderful.” While process theologians do not affirm divine foreknowledge, the fact of being known in my fullness in the present moment, both in terms of the heights and depths, allows me to know and accept myself. According to process theology, divine knowledge is always defined by love. Omniscience is not about keeping score or punitive damages, but acceptance, confession, and transformation. This is surely at the heart of the passages that are sadly omitted from Psalm 139 in the lectionary reading. (Psalm 139:19-24) The grandeur of Psalm 139 descends into an abyss of hatred, vengeance, and small-mindedness. Assuming that “he” knows God’s will and that God is aligned with “his” cause, the Psalmist petitions God to destroy “his” enemy, “O that you would kill the wicked, O God,” and then confesses his own alienation, “Do I not hate those who hate you, O God?” Such violent language seems radically out of place until we hear once more the Psalmist’s confession of his awareness of God’s presence and omniscience, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
The Psalmist’s violent rhetoric, followed immediately by a “pause” that opens the writer to both God and self-awareness and invites us to practice a spirituality of stature, that embraces our highest emotions and basest fears. We are not all-grandeur and all-wonderful. Accordingly, wholeness of life includes acknowledging our feelings of fear, self-doubt, anxiety, and alienation. When we forget or repress these “shadowy” or “neglected” aspects of ourselves, we may succumb to polarization, demonization, and violence toward those with whom we disagree theologically, politically, or relationally. In remembering the God who knows us fully and loves us completely, we gain perspective that enables us to love our enemy and reconcile with those who have hurt us.
The words of I Samuel 3:1-10 portray a young man’s moment of self and God awareness. In a time in which “the word of God was rare” and “visions were not widespread,” Samuel has a nocturnal revelation. At first, he assumes that Eli, his mentor and high priest, is calling him. After hearing of Samuel’s second encounter with the mysterious voice, Eli wisely bids Samuel simply to listen for God’s voice and respond with an open spirit. “Speak, O God, your servant is listening,” is the voice of openness that leads to creative transformation for ourselves, our congregations, and the world. Within the many voices of life, God is speaking to each of us, calling us to our own particular vocation “for just such a time as this.” This passage calls preacher and congregation alike to listen to God’s presence and open to God’s inspiration, as the prelude to prophetic transformation.
The words from I Corinthians 6 expand our understanding of God-awareness to include our bodies and our ethical behavior. Though Paul asserts that grace abounds and, accordingly, there are no absolute principles applicable to all situations, Paul counsels the Corinthians to see embodiment as holy. “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you.” Our bodies are God-filled and reveal God’s life-giving wisdom. But, the Corinthians – and ourselves – need to remember that holiness applies to everyone’s body and, in the case of the Letter to the Corinthians, the bodies of prostitutes as well as members of the Christian community. Sexual morality is not a matter of indifference or solely a private choice, especially in the process world of dynamic interdependence. Yet, glorifying God through our bodies involves more than whom we sleep with. Do we treat our bodies with respect and care, worthy of their beauty and wonder? Do we treat the bodies of others in a holy way through our economic or public policies? Do we glorify God by living simply and with gratitude so that others may simply eat? Do we see touch and intimacy as sacred and reconciling?
From a larger perspective, this passage is not just about sexuality, nor does it prescribe clear boundaries for sexual expression; rather, it reminds us that embodiment is also holy and an avenue for worshipping God. Our attitude toward our own body and the bodies of others reflects our faith, values, and relationship with God. Self-awareness involves encountering God in the many processes of embodiment, including our own, other humans, and the non-human world. The spirit of God radiates from our embodied temple into the wider world.
The passage from John’s gospel no doubt telescopes a complex and intriguing encounter in which Nathaniel decides to follow Jesus as a result of his recognition that Jesus “knows” him. When Nathaniel expresses his wonder that Jesus recognized him as sitting under the fig tree, Jesus asserts that following the path of Christ will lead to greater wonder and adventures. “You will see heaven opened and the angels ascending and descending upon the son of man.” These words, reminiscent of Jacob’s mystical experience of a ladder of angels, are an invitation to embrace the wonders of life. We are standing, sleeping, praying, and eating on holy ground, but are unaware of it. God is here, but we see only the surface of life. Today’s scriptures call us to “pray with eyes wide open” as we cultivate a kataphatic, God-filled spirituality; but also to pray in silence, listening to what J. Philip Newell describes as the “heartbeat of God.”
These rich passages call us to awareness of the wonders of our own lives, those around us, and the planet. Following Schweitzer, “reverence for life” is the only appropriate response. Such reverence inspires us to acts of kindness, healing, and transformation. Knowing the wonder of God’s being in our lives, we commit ourselves to fostering that same experience of wonder in others by creating environments and structures that allow persons to see more and, accordingly, become and do more for the transformation of this good earth in light of God’s vision of Shalom.
Today’s passages can be woven together with rich Christian education opportunities that highlight spiritual practices joining contemplation and action. Mission is essential in the Epiphany season as we reach out beyond our comfort zones by encountering and embracing the “stranger.” Still, perceptive, egalitarian, and spiritually-edifying mission finds its basis in a contemplative vision that sees God in all things and all things in God. Inner awareness, in relationship to God, inspires us to outer awareness and care for the well-being and spiritual growth of others. (I would commend my own Holy Adventure: Forty One Days of Audacious Living as a practical spiritual resource for those who wish to join contemplation, transformation, and action in their personal and congregational lives, from a progressive and process-relational perspective.)
Bruce Epperly is professor of practical theology and director of Continuing Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary and co-pastor of Disciples United Community Church. He is the author of fifteen books, including the recently-published Holy Adventure: Forty-one Days of Audacious Living (Upper Room), a progressive Christian response to the Purpose Driven Life; The Four Seasons of Ministry: Gathering a Harvest of Righteousness (Alban) and Feed the Fire: Avoiding Clergy Burnout (Pilgrim).
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