Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved.
One day, as I was contemplating my own personal journey, and my role in helping others along theirs, I came to realize that I haven't seen as much change in people as I would have hoped or expected. Perhaps an uptick in the rigors of life in recent years is a factor. Perhaps some see worship services, and preaching in particular, more as entertainment than as an actual call to change. So, I decided to explore a message that reminds the people that, for all its pageantry, beauty, and ritual, religion is designed to prepare us for a goal and eventuality, which so many have forgotten about due to the habitual nature of service attendance. The following musings flowed from this contemplation.
When we think about the long-term process of obtaining a diploma from high school or a degree from college, one thing that often happens to matriculants is the loss of appreciation that the time will come when school will end. For all the many years that students repeat the same, seemingly monotonous tasks of waking up, going to class, doing homework, taking tests (repeat), some get lost in that monotony, become distracted by challenges, lose hope, lack vision, and may falter at the end--or even drop out. For those who finish, the graduation, which commemorates and celebrates this noteworthy achievement is like a blink of an eye compared to the years of preparation, and is very brief even compared to that last semester, with all the rituals such as class rings, outings, prom, etc.
There is a similar dynamic from the parents' perspective when it comes to raising children, i.e. that the years of nurturing, teaching, and care-taking all come to an end one fateful day when the child heads off to college, the military, or just to their own place. This is known as "empty nest syndrome."
In general, whenever we find ourselves embarking upon a journey that will require many months or years of preparation, we often tend to become accustomed to the goal being/seeming so distant, and thus, lose focus on the goal, and thus our preparation. If we lose focus, we render ourselves unready when the end of that journey eventually arrives.
In the case of religion and spiritual matters, this is certainly the case. Those in our society who have become increasingly secular, hedonistic, xenophobic, or bigoted lend credence to the fact that our collective basis in and attention to the purpose and ends of religion and spirituality have greatly diminished. Instead of preparing for the coming (and in-progress) judgment, transition, and ascension of humanity, so many of us are practicing religion simply out of habit, living unconsciously, or perhaps even throwing long-established principles of morality and ethics to the wind for selfish pleasure or gain. But, just like the graduate, the fiancée, the parent, and many others eventually and sometimes suddenly discover, the end does come.
In the scripture from Luke 12:40-28, we find one of the many warnings that Jesus gave to the people over the course of his ministry. For all of the happy-happy joy-joy doctrine that many believe that he brought and taught, he seemed to do a whole lot of warning people! In this scriptural context, and in several others, his warnings dealt with the coming of an age or time of judgment and fulfillment. Jesus' frequent message to the masses was essentially this:
"The purpose of our religion is not to perfect the practice of religion, but to ultimately grow and ascend by embodying the changes invoked in the heart in mind that are brought about by adhering to God's Law in the face of everyday circumstances and challenges."
Thus did he frequently criticize the leaders among the people, those of the various sects, the scribes, the wealthy, the learned, the "elite"... to not presume that their high social standing was an accurate or sufficient gauge of their righteousness or level of spiritual attainment. His constant message to the Israelites was, "Not only must we show the Way to the Gentiles, we must prepare ourselves also!"
If the truth be told, showing the Way must be demonstrated! It is not information to learn and memorize, it is not a procedure or ritual to follow, it is not clothing or regalia to put on. The Way is a process of becoming, a process of growing, a process of ascension. Jesus, in his time, was one steeped in a centuries-old tradition institution of prophetic revelation, teaching, and exhortation. He was not the first, and he was not the last in this tradition. Thus, did Bishop William S. Crowdy say in our time, "[Religion] is something to do all the time."
Unfortunately, because life takes a long time to live, because God has allowed Satan a certain number of centuries to reign, and because certain oligarchs have purposefully made daily living more burdensome than is necessary, so many of us have lost focus, and we have forgotten that there is a purpose and an end to this process. The only reason that there is a Way at all is because it is recognized among those of the Light that this world is full of darkness!
The Way is a clear path out of darkness and into the Light--not only external darkness, but also INTERNAL darkness. As Light enters our being, we literally change, grow, and ascend. But, we have to let the Light in. The activity of letting Light in tends to be an arduous, yet gradual process, so much so until the rigor alone discourages us, and the slow place can lull us back to sleep--unless we actively and consciously engage this process (don't let go except thou bless me).
In the case of Israel, God said that if they didn't do what they were supposed to do, and if they didn't change and grow according to His plan, that He would apply certain pressure to them, which we interpret as punishment and cursing. And so, God allowed imperial powers to rise, and He allowed the Israelites to be oppressed, loaded onto ships, to again serve a stranger in a land that was not theirs. These ones felt the urgency, the pain, the despair, the hopelessness, and cried out to God for mercy and for deliverance.
God was true to the Word of Moses from Deuteronomy chapter 4:
[27] And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.
[28] And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
[29] But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
[30] When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto His voice;
[31] (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He sware unto them.
So, God eased some of the burden from our shoulders, and He sent the Spirit of Elijah the Prophet to quicken us, to show us the Way, and to prepare us to walk in the Way. But, unfortunately, we fell victim to ingratitude and short memories, and the exhortation of Moses in Deuteronomy 8 now calls us into remembrance, lest we get too comfortable in the mediocrity of almost being there and in the impatience of waiting:
[11] Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes, which I command thee this day:
[12] Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
[13] And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
[14] Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
[15] Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; Who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
[16] Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might humble thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
[17] And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
[18] But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers...
And so, we find ourselves hoping to, yet waiting (again) to cross Jordan. We've endured another 400 years of servitude, inequality, and oppression. We've again been shown "the Way", it's been prophesied that "the Time is fulfilled..." and that "God is coming!" We have even built the Temple and have started (re-)building the city. And yet, with all the pain that we've experienced, with all of the servitude we've endured, with all of the centuries of waiting and anticipating, with all of the progress and with all the signs, some of us STILL have not recognized the signs plainly enough to prepare ourselves suitably for the end that is soon to come!
We even see in the world how utter chaos seems to be the order of the day. If there is one thing that we should have learned from the Bible, it is that when there is chaos and a void, God begins to bring forth something new! Thus, He brings an end to the old! The End does come! "Remember ye not the former things. Neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a NEW thing... I will even make a WAY in the wilderness..."
Let us not be like the 10 foolish virgins. Let us not be like the drunken steward who says in his heart, "My lord delayeth his coming." We known not when the End comes, but we know the signs that herald its advent, we know that it comes quickly, and we know that we'd better be ready when it comes--or we will be left out! But, "...the one who will read it and do it will surely reach eternal life without fail..."
We all know the pain of regret we experience when a loved on passes. "Did I do enough? Did I say 'I love you' enough? Why didn't we do thus-and-so when we had the chance?..." Let us not set ourselves up for failure and regret my wasting the opportunity immediately before us now. People thought Noah was crazy for 120 years, until it started raining...
I don't know what skeletons are in your closet. I don't know who you need to bury the hatchet with. I don't know what fears and shortcomings you need to work on. I don't know if your faith is shaky. I don't know if you have any regrets for words left unsaid. I don't know what growth or change you may be resisting. All I know is that I hope that you will prioritize getting yourself ready, because one thing I know is that the end does come, and will come soon.
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