Nature Abhors a Vacuum?

“Nature abhors a vacuum” is an ancient proverb (quoted as early as 1532) but often attributed to Aristotle and directly linked to philosopher Baruch Spinoza in his work Ethics (1677). Though it may be a proverb of sorts it is actually an idiom used to express the idea that empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural as they go against the laws of nature and physics. Actually…they don’t…they can’t... I have SO many questions about this…if only I were smart enough to be a physicist!

I have heard this idiom applied to nearly every possible human condition…from using it as an excuse to not perform the task of vacuuming rugs or carpets, to rationalizing a minimalist lifestyle because humanity inherently “never has enough”—hence we continue to fill the vacuum!! I was actually hoping to make a spiritual application but I am uncertain as to whether it might have any application that doesn’t seem completely nonsensical.

Today I posted a recent quote from Ed Stetzer on Facebook: “a church not using social media today is like a preacher in the pulpit without a microphone and without an audience” (the quote is telling in itself because MANY of the older generations would have grown up in churches where preachers would not have used microphones…clearly it is an analogy intended for younger audiences).  I questioned after the quote whether the Church might be moving from a Gutenberg type paradigm towards a Google paradigm…has the Church finally embraced a new paradigm? My post elicited quite a few responses about paradigm shifting and the inherent difference between “high tech” and “high touch” outreach and discipleship (which was not my intent in the original post).

I was hoping to probe a little deeper.  If the idiom “nature abhors a vacuum” is even partially true why is the paradigm that is emerging after postmodernism taking SO long to actualize?  I have studied with great interest the shift between the Modern and the Postmodern where philosophical ideas eroded away the bedrock of modernity until it actually gave way to Postmodernity.  This move, in itself, caused a firestorm of controversy and was seen as a mistrusted step for the moderns who are quite at home in the Gutenberg world, but it seemed to actualize MUCH quicker.  Once, as Easum puts it, we discovered we were in the “wormhole” the process materialized fairly quickly (perhaps a mere 50 years?)

But now we are caught in the wormhole of what is coming next and the entropy that has ensued.  It appears nature doesn’t abhor a vacuum or things would be changing much more rapidly than they are!! I understand, in part, that for the first time since Gutenberg our world is in a state of information overload… "Googlemania” (contra Neil Postman’s 1992 work, Technopoly, where he argues that technical calculation is a higher function, and therefore superior to, human judgment.  Because of this thesis Postman argues that the affairs of citizens are best guided, and conducted by, experts.  Clearly, his thesis has been proven wrong by the plethora of information we now have from those who are not experts at all…need proof…I direct you to ANY community college student’s research papers…how many bibliographic entries are from Wikipedia? [What? It’s on the internet…it must be true and trustworthy!]) However, there must be ways to manage what we have become in the Google world (actually I would be hard pressed to accomplish anything these days without the "luxury" that technology affords me...from dropbox on my home, office, and missionary friend in Haiti's computers, to Skype, not to mention cell phones, etc...and I have barely embraced technology when compared to some).

So what has all this to do with Church or spirituality? The Church has been historically slow (a HUGE understatement) to accept paradigm shifts.  The Church actually just caught up to Modernism in the 1970’s and 80’s while the rest of the world was already shifting to Postmodernism (in ideas if not in actuality). So, true to form, the Church is once again behind the culture (just once it would be refreshing if the Church were proactive instead of reactive…but I don’t think that has happened since Acts chapter 2), and is showing a stubborn refusal to accept (though many claim they have in the name of being “relevant” to the culture…a term they apparently cannot define…one does not make the Holy Spirit “relevant”…by nature of Its’ ontological presence it is “relevant”—ALWAYS) the huge shift that the world is undergoing.

 

I have spent my entire career (if that is even an appropriate term as I hardly see it as a career as much as it has been a continuous and ongoing struggle…like Jacob wrestling with God on Bill Murray’s version of Groundhog Day!!) trying to understand how this has occurred, is occurring, and will, eventually complete the process. I, unfortunately, am a part of the “bridge” (some prefer “gap”) generation who were actually born into Modernity but was educated and lived in a postmodern world.  This means that I sociologically have a split personality!  I am the proverbial Colossus of Rhodes with one foot in the future and one foot in the past (or in his case straddling the harbor!). When I first came to understand this I thought it would serve me well in the Church...but it has not. I am too old for the "new" and to "new" for the old.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I am tired of being “the bridge” (at this point I think I’d rather be the troll that lives under the bridge!!) I am tired of constantly having to reinvent the wheel every week. I once complained to a mentor that the location of my ministry didn’t seem to fit with my experience and education and he quipped, “perhaps you were sent there to bring them into the 21^st century”…well here we are, firmly established in the 21^st century and I haven’t accomplished anything but obesity, high blood pressure, and enough stress to kill a “small” (read normal sized) person!!  Is that the sucking sounds of a vacuum I hear in the distance…surely it cannot be since “nature abhors a vacuum”…or not. I believe, help me in my unbelief.

A Google World?

It is obvious that I have neglected being a "blogger" for other responsibilities...but to be honest I have FAR less time on my hands now than I did when I began this avenue for exploring how I was feeling about having that much time on my hands!!

Not much has changed really. I am continuing as the "interim" minister at Southern Heights C.C. (which is going well...but obviously NOT like a full-time located ministry)...not to mention that they cannot afford to pay me or give me benefits life a full-time staff person.  Be that as it may, God continues to care for my family's needs and I hope that I am being faithful and obedient to His calling.

When I am not working on one of the four teaching opportunities at Somerset, or thinking about worship for Sunday morning, I am teaching an online Introduction to the Bible class in Tabarre, Haiti via Skype technology.  Whatever time is not consumed by the interim ministry is taken up by preparing for class time (5 hours per week of teaching). This is not a paid position but it is time consuming and my prayer is that we are creating the beginning of something that will reach FAR beyond whatever influence I am having on these five students. The idea is that eventually there will be a physical building with full-time professors, students, and administration in place to train indigenous peoples for ministry in the country of Haiti (which is no easy task because of the cultural unrest and the syncretist forms of spirituality that exist there)...but for now we are doing the best we can with what God has entrusted us with.

I have to confess that I am a little uneasy with the way things are in my life right now.  It seems as if I am working twice as hard for half the material benefit (but again, God has been SO gracious to meet my family's needs in a variety of ways). I have read recently that a shift is coming in the way that churches and church people view things like Bible College, Seminary, staff, and missions, so perhaps I am also a part of this shift and I am struggling to adapt to what many are calling the "Google World" (especially since I am by both biology and nature a Gutenberg person...to date I have refused to adopt any of "the cloud" technology for a variety of reasons).

I am NOT a country music fan but I do remember a few lyrics from an old country song that seem to sum up how I feel about this shift (which obviously shows that others have felt the same way about other cultural shifts that they were facing), I think that the name of the song is "Old Hippie" and about all I can remember is the line, "he's an old hippie and he don't know what to do; should he cling to the old or grab on to the new" except "the new", in this case, is a complete paradigm shift for the first time in the history of the US as to how we view everything from church, to politics, technology, etc...perhaps my current feelings are best summed up by Will Farrell in his role as Ricky Bobby when he was about to be in the middle a BIG NASCAR wreck... "hold on baby Jesus...this is gonna get bumpy!"

"I believe, help me in my unbelief."

"I Hope that Something Better Comes Along"

I always thought that biblical hope had its foundation in eschatology...and I believe that it STILL does but somewhere, somehow that eschatological hope must be "lived" for it to be of any real spiritual value to us as we sojourn in this world.

The concept of hope as found and presented in the bible is far deeper than the hope that the world has.  It is a belief based on the certitude of promise, or more poignantly, in the One who promised.  I have "hoped" for many things that never came to pass in my life.  Other times, the outcome far exceeded any expectation that I might have had...but the key was NOT in the hoping for myself (subjective desire) but in an objective promise of unconditional love and protection.

Here is the key...I NEVER said that objective hope means that all of my desires will be fulfilled, rather that objective hope means that I believe that the object of my faith (and hope), namely God the Father as revealed in His Son Jesus Christ, seeks only what is best for me at any given time...it doesn't have to be my desire or whatever is "fair" but WHAT I NEED (too often their is REAL confusion between want and need!!--the late great singer/songwriter Rich Mullins nailed it when he penned the lyric, "I'd rather fight You for something I don't really want, then to take what You give that I need" from the song "Hold Me Jesus"). Jesus entreats us to "seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness..." and that other things will be added to us as well (Matt 6:33).  Clearly, the emphasis is on the "seeking" and not the "adding"--and it is ONLY when we are seeking His Kingdom and righteousness that we will be able look past ourselves to see what God is doing (Paul employs the same emphasis in Romans 12:1-3 by suggesting that we will only be able to discern God's will for us when we are totally giving ourselves to ongoing transformation by making ourselves "living sacrifices" holy and pleasing to God).

All of that SOUNDS great...but what might it look like, well...LIVED OUT?  Ah Hah...the power of the picture!!  If you have seen the, now aging, Lord of the Rings movies you will be familiar with the character of Gollum who is a type of "anti-hero" before the series is over. Gollum begins life as "riverfolk" or a "halfling" who is quite a lot like the main characters who are "hobbits.,"  As a halfling he is called Smeogal, and the story of the transformation of Smeagol to Gollum is a fascinating study (it is seen primarily in the opening moments of the Return of the King movie). In a nutshell Smeagol is transformed into the creature Gollum because of the insidious effect of the ring of power which he obtains by killing a halfling friend.  His desire to possess the ring of power causes him to slowly forget who and what he was and he becomes the hideous creature Gollum who is completely absorbed by the power of the ring and the desire to possess it. Gollum, in an attempt to gain the ring back, offers to guide Frodo and Sam to Mordor so that the ring can be destroyed...in a poignant, and telling, moment in  The Two Towers movie, Sam berates Golum for his behavior, in turn Frodo belittle Sam for his ill treatment of Gollum...Sam retorts that there is "no good" left in the creature...that he has been so consumed by the ring that he is now only evil.  Frodo explains to Sam that he has to have "hope" for Gollum, no matter how bad the creature appears to be, when Sam asked why Frodo bluntly acknowledges, "I have to believe that he can come back." (an admission of the effect that the ring is taking on Frodo himself)...for Frodo to continue on in his quest he HAS to believe that no matter what else happens...the best is yet to come.


I believe, that this scene perfectly depicts biblical hope.  When it appears that all else has failed and when things just are not looking as if they are EVER going to turn out for the good...we must continue in our hope that, as Sam says, "there is some good left in this world, and it is worth fighting for."


As long as faith and love exist...hope will have a home, and will can know that regardless of our present circumstance...the best is yet to come.  I believe, help my unbelief!

Another "New" Year??

Sunday begins a new year.  This year I feel fortunate to have survived the "holiday season" with everything in tact.  I detest the commercialism that has become our celebration but I am too tired and old to keep on tilting at windmills so I just continue on in my curmudgeonly ways and curse quietly under my breath trying hard not to make everyone around me as miserable as I tend to feel during this time of the year.

However, it is my custom to take a few minutes to "take stock" during this time of year (probably NOT the best frame if mind for my musing...but somehow it works for me).  This week while pondering I have also been working on a series of sermons for the church that will deal biblically and theologically with things that are "new."

There are two primary words in the bible for "new": neos and kainos.  Both terms are sometimes used synonymously and interchangeably so I expected the contrast between what is "new" and what is "old"--for instance Jesus' teaching about the new and old wine and wineskins...after all the bible is not rocket science!

However, what I came to understand theologically about how these terms are used shed some light on some issues in my life and I thought that someone might find them helpful as well...sorry I won't be posting all the information from all four sermons but if you have interest--this should get you started.

First off...here is a partial list of things that are either new (in contrast with the old) or are made new in the New Testament:

Using the term "neos":
Dough (1 Cor 5:7)
Wine (Matt 9:17 and parallels)
"New" Man (Col 3:9)
Covenant (Heb 12:24)

Using the term "kainos":
Commandment (Jn 13:34; 1 Jn 2:7-8)
Creation (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15)
Existence [life in the Spirit] (Rm 6:4; 7:6)
Man (Eph 2:15; 4:24, cf 2 Cor 4:16, Col 3:10)
Heaven and Earth (2 Pt 3:13, Rev 21:1)
Name (Rev 2:17; 3:12)
Jerusalem (Rev 3:12; 21:2)
Song (Rev 5:9; 14:3)

It is a pretty impressive (albeit partial) list!! But here is what I came to understand...these things are not "copies" of the old things--God, through Christ is not "renewing" these things...He is either comparing and contrasting these things with the "old" ones (especially in the case of "neos" with dough and wine). Or He is making literally NEW things.

If I understand the language correctly (and I have not taken the time to go over every verse in the original language yet--so I may have come to a wrong conclusion) but I think a better way to state these terms is like this--"neos" is primarily used of things that are "fresh" compared to things that are old and stale. "Kainos," on the other hand, has a qualitative dimension to it that might be rendered as "better" (that is NOT to say that everything that is deemed "new" is better than the "old" things)--if the New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old Testament then we should see the "new" things as fresh and better things that God has set upon the foundation of the old things.  It is not a "new" thing that comes from the old...but it is something completely fresh that surpasses what has already been.

When we apply this line of thought to the lists above the promises of God take on a WHOLE new dimension.  Eventually "everything" will be made new for "the old order has passed away" (Rev 21:5) but in the meantime look what God is already accomplishing in the life of those who love and live for Him!!!

There is no doubt that Sunday at 12 midnight we will begin a "New" (fresh as far as the calendar is concerned) Year...but is it also possible that God is working in our lives to make things "new" (qualitatively better)?  The problem is that we associate the term "better" with things always going our way and us getting what we want...but that is NOT what God has promised!!

In the lyrics of The Counting Crows "it's been a long December and there's reason to believe that maybe this year will be better than the last..." it will because we will be one step closer to God making everything new because He is alive and at work.  I believe...help my unbelief.

BTW...Happy "New" year!

Marginal Jesus

I continue to be amazed by grace.  Not that I have any real grasp of it, I  only understand that I have received it—but not WHY I have received it, but I continue in my feeble attempt to understand it and recognize it when I see it in my life and the life of others.

The world we live in is “graceless.”  Not in the sense that there is no grace…but in the sense that we are NOT graceful people (although we love to pretend that we are!).  The past month has been a living testimony to that. It appears to be that if we REALLY understood grace we would understand Thanksgiving as a unique holiday.  Instead, our consumer culture has one shift dismantling the Halloween candy and decorations and the next shift putting up Christmas trees and snow globes filled with Santa and his reindeer. “Thanksgiving?” the clerk asks in response to my query.  “I believe we have some ‘fall’ decorations over in the corner.” Fall?  Really…? we have merged Labor Day, Halloween, Fall Break, and Thanksgiving into “Fall?”  I guess I didn’t get the memo!!  Only a graceless culture would lose sight of all that we truly have to be thankful for…perhaps only the grocery stores celebrate because it is, after all, “turkey day.”

Perhaps that is PRECISELY the point.  We have become graceless because we have been SO blessed by grace.  In other words…we have been given so much that we now have come to expect it.  Please allow me to ask you a personal question…have you been “good” enough to receive gifts this Christmas?  No really!!! Has your behavior throughout the year ACTUALLY been so exemplary that you deserve a gift?  Every kid is going to give an unqualified “yes” to this question but I would suppose that we as adults actually believe that we have not been that bad…and whether we actually get gifts or not we believe that we are entitled to get them…well…because we do (after all, as Scrooge tells Marley… “you are no better or worse” than anyone else)!

I often struggle with people.  I don’t want to go further down this road…I’m just stating the facts. AND, conversely, I am certain that there are people who struggle with me (and I am COMPLETELY okay with that!). When I read the gospels and I see how Jesus has some of the same issues.  Though He is clearly different than me in that He loves everyone equally it also seems evident that He was frustrated at some points.  In fact, it seems as though He reserved His harshest critiques for His disciples and the “religious leaders” of His day (perhaps He thought that they should have known better?) But He always seems to err on the side of grace (NOT the side I usually err on!).  I am fascinated by the sociology displayed in the gospels—whether actually by Jesus or inferred by the authors of His biography.

It appears, even from a cursory reading, that Jesus spends most of his time with three groups of people: the disciples He chose, the “spiritual leaders” of His day—which usually led to a conflict, and the disenfranchised and marginalized people of His culture (it is also unique to note that Jesus accepts some of both in His group of disciples!) which usually led to grace.

Since Christmas season is soon upon us, allow me to illustrate from the Christmas narratives. From our hindsight it is easy to see what is going on in Matthew and Luke.  Matthew a Jew, who is concerned about the Kingdom, shows how there is to be a Kingdom reversal with the birth of Jesus.  The earthly powers that be enter into the story with much fear and resort to all kinds of violence to thwart the attempted subversion.  Luke, a Gentile doctor, who is always concerned about the poor in his gospel, focuses on the earthly impact that this baby will have on our world. While both are concerned about the theological implications of the birth (Matthew identifies Jesus as Emmanuel meaning “God with Us” and that He is to be “the Christ” (the anointed one of God), and Luke whose account tells us that the baby will be called, “Yeshua” (Jesus) which means “God Saves,” and reminds the shepherds that today a “Savior” is born) they diverge on other details.  No kings or wise men in Luke…only lowly shepherds (the “hom-r-air-its”—the people of the land) who go to the manger because “there was no room in the inn” (where “rich” and “middle class people stay?). Could Luke be telling us something?  It is after all, Luke alone who has Jesus proclaiming the year of Jubilee (cf Luke 4) in the synagogue in Nazareth.  Who benefits the MOST from the year of Jubilee?  The poor and marginalized!

Luke goes to great lengths in his gospel to place Jesus “eating and drinking with sinners.”  In fact, in the original language the phrase “reclining at the table” is used of Jesus more frequently in Luke than any other Gospel!  According to Donald Heinz in his work, Christmas: Festival of Incarnation, people who were shepherds in Jesus day were considered to be COMPLETELY marginalized and ostracized by their world:

In the first century shepherds got no respect…the original shepherds were unlikely candidates for epiphany. Unshaven and drinking hard, shepherds starred among the thieving and cheating professions; they could not hold office or be admitted as witnesses in court. Just because of who they were, they were important to Luke, who always makes heroes of the lowly, the marginalized, the foreigner, and women.

Imagine someone who could not testify in a courtroom chosen to testify to the world about the most important event in human history!!  They became important for the first time ever!!  They were struck by grace in a graceless world where the “haves” did not care about the “have-nots!” Isn’t there a bit of irony in the fact the John would later give Jesus the title “THE Great Shepherd?”  Whatever else Jesus did for humanity he brought the divine and human together where Spirit touched matter and that would be “Good news for ALL people.”

Perhaps the marginalized people of the world find so much hope in Jesus because they cannot find hope (grace?) in any other place?  They are thankful for the small things because they have nothing?  They live in, and extend grace, because they understand how truly blessed that they are, and have no expectation that they deserve anything.  This is indeed the case with Christians in Haiti who struggle to survive, much less thrive.  When we were there a few years ago they were so gracious to receive instruction (from Scripture, for the dulcimer or guitar) that it was reflected in the way that they lived, worked, and most poignantly, in the way that they worshipped.

Is it any wonder that in our “graceless” culture Jesus, who loved the marginal, has been pushed to the margins?  Where ever Jesus was, grace was also present…perhaps that is why we are “graceless” in our Western world today? This Christmas seems no different than the last two thousand and something Christmases…there is still no room for Jesus!  And yet wherever people are oppressed and marginalized…grace shows up…because Jesus is there.

I just wonder if grace abounds in the marginal because Jesus feels appreciated there?

What the Church Should Learn from the News this Week

1. Penn State—the only thing that matters is integrity.

I am not a Penn State fan. But I HAVE to respect the dedication of someone like Joe Paterno who has dedicated his life to the Penn State football program and has succeeded in ways that some coaches will only ever dream of. That being said…ONE IS TOO MANY.  If the fiasco at PSU has taught the world anything it should be this simple truth…not matter what else happens, in the end, integrity is all that matters—when you lose that you have lost everything.

2. Veteran’s Day:

In the midst of the battle “little” things don’t matter.

I spent a part of the day watching the war movie marathons that have been on the “classic” movie channels all week...those movies that were made in the postmodern era stress the “politically correct” aspects of war—that things like race, creed, socio/economic background, and belief systems don’t matter in the midst of war—I’d like to think that those things are true but I am not naïve enough to believe it—in fact wars are fought over ideologies and believe systems. The late Robert Webber’s last work was called “Who Gets to Narrate the World”—based on the notion that ideologies often create conflict because at their core they form “truth claims” that are sometimes contradictory to each other.

In the end, though, we have fought long enough for things that don’t matter—the battle has damaged lives and dented faith…if our struggle is “not against flesh and blood”—we should know better by now.  What REALLY matters?  It is probably not what we think---Jesus didn’t die for “things” but for people…we are really all that mattered to God…do we share the same views?

Remember to be thankful before it’s too late.

What has often been called ‘America’s greatest generation” is now aging and dying off—they are all but forgotten because the world has simply passed them by.  According to Time magazine those young men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are “The Next Greatest Generation” because of the impact that they will have on America as a result of their training, and service.  This should serve as a reminder that though we live in an ever changing  world where nothing seems to be permanent we MUST live the “attitude of gratitude” every day we survive. Is it any wonder that more people choose their church home based on worship and technology than doctrine or belief systems?

Veteran’s Day had fallen out of favor a bit until 9/11 and the subsequent war on terrorism brought out appreciation to those who serve to the forefront once again.  If all the images we are bombarded with remind us of anything it is that we must speak up while we have a chance—appreciation must be our new way of life---if not for the sacrifice of others we would be unprotected.  The same is true in the spiritual realm…if not for the sacrifice of Christ we would be left unprotected so worship must be a reciprocal language when we awake each day anew…if His mercies are new each day should our worship be less?

3. Roman Catholicism—the “new” mass that reflects old theology

An article this week stated that Catholicism is on the verge of a new translation for the Mass. (you can read the entire article HERE).  The new “mass” is intended to finish what was started at Vatican II.  The Second Vatican council  developed a mass primarily for English speaking nations that kept the intent of the Latin but used language that was more idiomatic and more easily understood by those who knew little or no Latin but wanted to remain active in the pursuit of their faith.

The new mass is apparently striving to reflect the Latin meaning without using the Latin language.  For instance the new phraseology of the Nicene Creed reflects a greater depth of understanding by stating that Jesus (the Son) is “consubstantial with the Father.”  Which is really what the Council of Nicaea was all about in 325 anyway—the relationship between the Father and Son.  Where once the priest announced that the Son was “of One being {essence} with the Father” they are now understood as “consubstantial” which reflects a deeper ontology than previous terminology—clearly the Father and Son are now to be seen as “homo-ousia” (of the same essence) in the STRICTEST sense of our understanding of this Hellenistic philosophical concept.

This move by the Vatican only shows the depth of the worship and culture wars that are still being played out between the Church and the world.  But this is no introduction of contemporary worship choruses…this is a call for depth amidst a world that is tired of a Christianity that is ankle deep without integrity.  The Vatican is not calling for a return to modernism, as reflected in Vatican II, but a clarion call to embrace a postmodern culture with ancient truth that, by design, was ANYTHING but emotional “fluff.”  As my theology professor would say, “these boys are only interested in playing hardball!”

The Church needs to take these things to heart---they are telling us more about the world that we are living in than any “ghettoized” Christian magazine, book, or seminar.  We are called to live IN THE WORLD (but not of it)---light is really only noticeable if it shines in the darkness…what is the point of using a flashlight in the brightness of day?  We are called to be salt and light (and we do not have a choice) but just where (and how) are we doing that?  As Francis Assisi once quipped, “preach always…use words when necessary.”