8th December 2012

From the Gospel of Jesus, the world has learned about human value, dignity and freedom in relation to God. This is a source of confidence and hope that worthwhile and meaningful life is possible for all who embrace trustfully a way of living and serving God and each other in the face of our limitations and weaknesses. Relatively little is said in the Gospels about life beyond this mortal existence. The Gospel concentrates on dealing with the present, finding eternal life in the here and now. Yet the context In which Jesus teaches is always the imminence of the End of all things. 

As St Paul teaches, decades later about the meaning of Christ's resurrection in the face of mortality he insists: "If for this life only Christ has given us hope, we of all people are most to be pitied.." The mystery of resurrection applies in a manner inadequately understood to all human beings he explains. He improvises as he follows his own train of thought.

Paul was re-born into an experience of Christ's resurrection and the indwelling Spirit. An intellectual and scholar, he has to work out what this all means. He has to invent ways of expressing new thoughts to explain God's graciousness to others. e says about other things that he's passing on only what was handed down to him as a convert, but he believes he too has the creative Spirit to think about matters not covered in what he'd learned. He is certain it is proper and honest to speak of both a temporal and an eternal realm, perfusing each other, God and human beings belong together in both. Temporal life ends, yet as he says: "The gift of God is eternal life."

Greek platonic ideas permeated and influence the culture of cosmopolitan first century Judaism. Immortality of the soul, transmigration of souls and re-incarnation, would not have been alien, nor would they have been mainstream to those with ancient Semitic roots. For three centuries before the Second Temple was destroyed, the idea prevailed that immortality was a reward from God for martyrdom or outstanding holiness. Immortality was not therefore an inherent property of the soul which made transmigration and re-incarnation feasible for all, but a conditional gift, earned from God.

The Gospel affirms all life is divine gift, that God is indiscriminately generous with grace, mercy and love. Gifts can be accepted, embraced, used or ignored, refused, neglected, however. Life in this world and in eternity depends on the response humans make to God's creative initiative. We aren't ignorant of the choices from the outset. The longing to 'be forever' lies deep within us. Awareness of the life enhancing, transcending nature of goodness, beauty, truth and justice invites openness to the divine, and to communion with God. But because we are created free, contradiction of higher values is also a reality challenging us to discover who we are, and what life consists of.

3rd December 2012

In the search for meaning in life, belief in God presupposes assent to facts impossible to verify empirically. The content of belief is a working hypothesis relied upon to guide our attitude and relation to God. It's always subject to critical review and amendment. What cannot be shown to be false when experience is tested, we choose to rely on and trust in. This is the core of what believers call faith.

The prophet Isaiah was a prime advocate for trust in God as a foundation for hope that the fortunes of his people would be restored. He confidently used poetic and anthropomorphic imagery speaking of divine activity and relations between creatures and Creator. Yet, he could declare candidly the unknowability of the One he reached out to in trust: "Truly, thou art a God that hidest thyself." He prayed longingly for a manifestation of God: "O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down!"

He was no stranger to visions and exalted experiences: "Woe I am undone for mine eyes have seen the Lord of hosts!" However, more important to him than individual experiences were unfolding events that revealed divine providence in action, changing peoples' plight by ending slavery and suffering. This vindicated the personal faith he placed in God.

Like other prophets he struggled and suffered striving to know God. He turned inwards only to refresh himself to keep turning outwards, looking for God and the divine will made known in his time: "Those who wait upon the Lord renew their strength."

Personal survival beyond death hardly featured in the thinking of Isaiah's day, although the dead had their proper place, where they were confined to the background, outside time in shadowy nothingness, disconnected from the community of the living. Their idea of annihilation was being erased from the community's memory. 

Mediums might conjure up departed spirits (though how scripture doesn't say), but the ensuing interaction is reported to be of advantage neither to the living nor the dead. The dead lived on in stories told by the community descending from them. This made having offspring to inherit one's story as well as one's wealth was vital for every generation.

Isaiah and the prophets waited upon God in hope to restore their peoples' collective fortunes. They appealed to God above all to remember them. In this was the key to giving life meaning - being part of something greater than themselves.

Today's culture emphasises individuality and self-awareness. Our identities may be shaped by belonging to more than one community. Few of the billions who've ever lived can be famous, universally remembered, and not everyone's self awareness is fully developed. Yet, the longing to 'be forever', secure from being lost and forgotten amidst the 'changes and chances of this passing world' haunts us all in different ways.

For the heart of faith, only One who is author of our being can make this so.