Author: newkingjim

Whatever spiritual journey we may be on, we need to keep walking. It’s okay to stop and rest for awhile. It’s necessary at times. Stops along the way are often pleasant diversions. Eventually, though, we need to start walking again. Sometimes it’s easy. You can see the road far ahead. The way isn’t steep and the walk is a pleasant one. There’s room for others to join you. Progress can be made with only mild effort and exertion.

But it’s not always like that. Sometimes it’s hard. You can’t see far ahead and you don’t know if the path is still going to be there when you go around the corner. The path may be steep and difficult. There’s no room for anyone to walk beside you, although you know they’re close behind you or just ahead. Progress is slow and almost painful. The temptation to stop and turn around haunts you. Whatever the path you may be on today, keep walking. The final destination awaits. And sometimes the journey itself is the destination.

I’ve been thinking about hope a lot lately. Probably, this is a result of studying the writings of John. The Gospel of John talks about the darkness of this world and the hope that is found in Jesus Christ. Recently, our church held candlelight services on Christmas Eve. It can be a powerful experience to watch one light multiply into hundreds or thousands to fill up a dark room. The basic thought is that Christ is the first light, and Christians are the lights that follow him. Ultimately, Christ and his followers light up the dark world. I’m not sure Christians can ever really light up a dark world, though. I think it more likely we can only point out just how dark it really is without light (as though we really need to point that out). We can tell people that there is light that illuminates the dark. We can direct people to the source of that light. We can tell people that there exists a world where there is no dark and that they can have a place in that world of light. So when those candles start lighting up the dark church sanctuary, what I see is symbolic hope. We can have our darkened souls awakened to the awareness of light, and the hope of that future world where we can live in the light.

I took this picture at St. Peter’s Basilica in 2010. At the time, I found the sunlight streaming in through the windows quite moving. It called to mind certain verses in the gospel of John. “The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.”  “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness,”  “Put your trust in the light…so that you may become sons of the light.” Emily Dickinson wrote a famous poem about light streaming down from the clouds. Unfortunately, all I remember about the poem is a college professor spending half an hour breaking down the structure of that poem and the use of crepuscular rays as meaningful imagery. In case you didn’t know, crepuscular rays just means ‘sunbeams.’ So why not just say sun beams? Sometimes, in examining the details of something, whether it be a poem or the Bible, we can lose the simple and beautiful meaning of what is being said. Today, the picture speaks more to me of hope. We live in a dark world, but God’s light penetrates the dark. God illuminates the dark. Jesus came into the world as the light of the world. There is hope and salvation through him. So when you see those crepuscular rays shining, let them be a reminder of Jesus Christ, the hope of the world.

Continuing my thoughts on Knossos, I move now to the Queen’s bedroom. The queen apparently liked dolphins. Some think the queen worshiped Delphin, the god of dolphins, but I disagree. (yes, I dare to disagree with certain experts). I have my reasons. One reason I disagree is because the god Delphin is portrayed much differently in the available images we have uncovered. As you can see (down below), Delphin does not look much like an actual dolphin. I suppose one could argue he looks like a fat mutated dolphin.

In any case, it’s my opinion that the queen probably just liked dolphins and had her chamber decorated with them. Dolphins were sometimes portrayed as rescuing stranded sailors. Images of people riding to safety on dolphins are well documented. Perhaps this dolphin fresco brought feelings of safety and comfort to the queen. I don’t really know. I’m speculating. This all makes me wonder about dolphins as a symbol of Christianity. The ‘fish’ symbol dates back to the beginnings of the faith. But why a fish and not the dolphin? It was a symbol of  salvation in some religions already. Why not use this beloved creature that already had overtones of ‘saving people’ attached to it? It’s hard to say. Sometimes Christianity adapted older symbols to new purposes. Sometimes not. In any case, the more commonplace word ‘fish’ (Ichthus) was adapted, and it’s letters came to represent certain truths of the Christian faith. Christians use the fish as a symbol of the faith. Dolphins lost their chance at being a part of  Christian symbolism and tradition. But they’re still amazing creatures!

Another interesting part of the Knossos complex on Crete is the throne room. In the picture I have here, the room has been restored (against the wishes of many archaeologists) to give an idea of what it actually looked like some 3000 years ago. It’s hard to make out, but there’s a fresco of a griffin on the wall by the door. These griffins circle the room, which also contains a reproduction of the original throne. It’s unknown if this throne was the seat of the king, the queen, or a goddess (let’s say, an effigy of a goddess). A number of archaeologists argue that the throne was made for a woman because of the curves of the seat, which they say were ‘made for a woman’s buttocks.’ I wasn’t aware archaeologists were experts on women’s buttocks but perhaps they are. Also, I’m not sure they’re even allowed to say such a thing in today’s culture of anti-sexism. But they have. In any case, my thought about the throne room centers on the idea that the throne was considered to be the place where the actual goddess of the Minoans came and held court. The Minoans created lifelike effigies (say, scarecrows) to reinforce that idea (and scare everyone, no doubt). This was a common practice among the people of many cultures, from the carving of small hand-sized idols to the sculpting of massively huge stone carvings. People wanted to see their god and they wanted to believe they could use these images of gods as a means to get the things they wanted (money, love, power). Some cultures Mesopotamia even had ‘god rooms’ where their god statue lived; people were dedicated to feeding, washing, and tending to these nonliving statues. When God spoke in the Old Testament against making and worshiping idols, He was speaking about something that was about as commonplace to the people then as our use of cell phones is now. It wasn’t just a matter of not making or buying idols anymore. It meant an entire new way of thinking about who God was and how God wanted to interact with human beings. I always have to look at my own life and consider what simple, normal everyday culturally normal thing in my life might actually be hindering my relationship with God.

I was fortunate to be able to visit the island of Crete, and even more fortunate to visit Knossos, which is considered to be one of the oldest cities is human history. For people like me who enjoy old, dead ruined things, this is a ‘must see’ location. Not only is it old (like I would need any other reasons), it is also the capital and center of the Minoan culture and the source of the mythological story of King Minos, Theseus, and the Minotaur. In current times, the Minoans are frequently portrayed as a peaceful, gentle, non-militaristic people who ruled over a sort of ‘idealistic paradise.’ If only it were so. But as you walk the site and listen to the guides explain about the culture, you come across a plain looking raised area of brick.

This is a sacrificial altar. This is a place where individuals were restrained and then slaughtered, their blood running freely as an offering to the gods of the Minoans. It’s a difficult subject to consider: human sacrifice. Yet, our human history is filled with cultures who sacrificed human beings (in particular, for their blood) as offerings to gods. In many of these cultures, individuals were generally chosen against their will to be sacrificed or forced to give away their sons and daughters. It’s horrific. Barbaric. But if we look at our Christian religion, we see this idea of blood sacrifice at the center of it. While never easy to accept, if we look at the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood in the context of so many cultures in the past, we can get an idea of how important it was to humanity. Here was a man, claiming to be God, offering his blood (voluntarily) as a sacrifice for the benefit of all men and women. Even more, he was revealing to all people that no more sacrifices of human life and blood need ever be offered to gods again. So we may not see why all this ‘blood stuff’ is in the New Testament, but if we can grasp even a little bit how much the sacrifice of blood was a part of human activity in the past, we can appreciate how much the sacrifice of Jesus must have meant to the people of the world. Both then and now.

There’s always so much talk about the last days, and when Jesus is coming again to establish his kingdom. We Christians can become overly obsessed with the issue. I find it interesting that Jesus addressed this topic in the very last words he spoke to the disciples. The disciples asked him point blank (see Acts 1) “will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” and Jesus said “it is not for you to know.”

To paraphrase, Jesus told the disciples it was none of their business! Not only did he tell them it was none of their business when these future events were going to happen, he told them to go out (after receiving the Holy Spirit) and be witnesses to the whole world. That ‘Great Commission’ thing. And then he left, dramatically ascending into heaven.

The future is none of your business. Get busy with spreading the gospel. Goodbye.

 

I take from that, on a personal level, that I should quit focusing on the future (which is none of my business) and keep busy right now by doing the things that God wants me to do (which is most definitely my business).

 

There are a few other places in the Bible where God tells people certain things are none of their business. Maybe we should pay a little less attention to those things and a lot more attention to the things he tells us are important.

This last year, I’ve been inside two lighthouses and actually climbed to the top of one of them. The journey upward was not an easy one as I’m not a big fan of heights, but I decided to just go for the first window so that I could then tell people (without actually lying) ‘yes, I climbed up a lighthouse.’ It’s strange inside these towers. Sounds are magnified and echo with odd distortions that are other worldly. The stairs are metal and they can move or sway beneath your feet, creaking and grinding with sounds that are reminiscent of the sound effects from Titanic. You are forced into close physical contact with strangers who are coming down as you are going up, and who have not necessarily showered anytime recently. For me it was an altogether unpleasant experience, filled with moments where I was thinking, ‘why am I doing this just so I can lie to people.’ But after reaching the first window, I went for the second window. After just a few steps, I was thinking, ‘I didn’t even have to climb to the first window, I could have just flat out lied.’ Still, I proceeded to the third window and eventually the top. My fear of heights was at full force as I imagined the lighthouse collapsing beneath my feet. I peeked my head out the doorway at the top and took in the view. Magnificent. Others were standing along the railing outside, some actually leaning against the railing. Who are these crazy people? Anyway, I judiciously leaned out the doorway far enough to snap a photo and then quickly began my descent to the ground (and sanity). Much can be said about climbing a lighthouse as a metaphor for the spiritual life. It’s not going to happen by just thinking about it. You can approach it one step at a time, and in phases. You have to constantly choose to keep going. The world around you can distract you and try to dissuade you. You are constantly forced to deal with people in ways you would prefer not to. You have to deal with your own weaknesses. Even the view from the first window is breathtaking. Or you could just pretend and lie about the whole thing. I say start climbing.

Many people have posted a picture similar to this, one of the many Alaskan glaciers. Many have even posted pictures of the glacier calving, that is, small pieces breaking off the main glacier. In order to take such a photo, you have to wait patiently, camera at the ready. You have to stay focused on the glacier, fingers poised for action. If you glance away, or get distracted, or your mind wanders, you miss the shot. Sometimes I think God is like these glaciers. He’s there, but he doesn’t seem to be doing anything. In truth, glaciers are always moving, though it doesn’t seem that way. So too, God. We are frequently looking at other things, thinking of other things. We are distracted. And so we miss God like we miss the calving of the glacier. It takes a little patient, focused, waiting to see or hear from God. The glacier is a reminder of that.

There’s more going on at Glastonbury Abbey than legends about Joseph of Arimathea. Let’s remember that young man known as Arthur, and his round table of knights, and the wizard Merlin (not to mention the evil witch Morgana). King Arthur is one of the most well known figures of history, although he very likely did not exist in the way that his stories have come down to us. Literary scholars continue to study and debate the existence of Arthur, down to the details of the spelling of his name. This is all fascinating stuff. Well, maybe fascinating to the scholars. But in examining the Arthurian legends through microscopic details, we can often miss the whole point of the stories. Arthur was a great king who saved Britain from invasions both terrestrial and supernatural. His stories are meant to inspire readers to remember the past, love their country and to imitate his example of selfless sacrifice. In some ways, this is not unlike the gospels handed down to us by the Apostles. They call us to remember the past, to love the Church, and to imitate the life of Christ. Let me be clear. I’m not equating the gospels to the legends of Arthur. There is a qualitative difference between the two. But in some ways, their purposes coincide. More on this later.