Communion – Not Accomplishment
I feel driven to do things to validate my existence, as if my accomplishments will establish my identity and self worth. As a result I find myself subject to the many voices in our culture that compete for space in my head and a place in my heart. I feel this drive so deeply at times that I become almost paralyzed, and then I ironically rebel by not doing hardly anything worthwhile. It’ as if the posture of my soul is one big middle finger flipped to the world and the powers that be, content to watch it all pass by. Awhile ago, however, it struck me that all that I am required to do is commune with God. What I saw was that in his presence I could be free from all the forces that bear down upon me, and find a sense of self that could not be touched by anything in this world. In this place, all that I might do would be the natural overflow of a graced existence. In this place, I would simply, most essentially, and most gloriously be a child of God.
Wrote the following comment on October 5th, 2007 at 4:53 pm #
This is a romantic pop song from 40 years ago that’s been running through my head. Imprecise application here, but still…
Easier Said Than Done
The Essex
My friends all tell me
Go to him, run to him,
Say sweet lovely things to him,
And tell him – he’s the one.
Deep in my heart I know it,
But it’s so hard to show it
‘Cause it’s easier – easier said than done.
My buddies tell me
Fly to him, sigh to him,
Tell him I would die for him,
And tell him – he’s the one.
Although he gives me a feeling
That sets my heart a-reeling,
Yet it’s easier – easier said than done.
Well, I know that I love him so.
I’m afraid that he’ll never know
Because I (I-I) I get so timid and shy
Each time that I look him in the eye.
They all tell me
Sing to him, swing with him,
And just do anything for him,
And tell him – he’s the one.
I got a love so true
But I’m sad and blue
‘Cause it’s easier – easier said than done.
Well, I know that I love him so.
I’m afraid that he’ll never know
Because I (I-I) I get so timid and shy
Each time that I look him in the eye.
They all tell me
Sing to him, swing with him,
And just do anything for him,
And tell him – he’s the one.
I got a love so true
But I’m sad and blue
‘Cause it’s easier – easier said than done.
Easier-er-er-er – said than done.
Wrote the following comment on October 6th, 2007 at 2:32 am #
Roger, as far as imprecise application is concerned, I think I can make a connection between your pop song and my post.
As I was reading through the song I thought that the lyrics had a strong devotional quality and that they were not too disimilar from some Xian worship songs that I have heard before. Zeroing in on the refrain, “cause it’s easier – easier said than done.” I hear echoes in this of struggles that I have read in various devotional writings. Also, this idea is akin to the Apostle Paul’s confession in Romans 7, “the good that I want to do I don’t do, but the wrong that I don’t want to do is what I do”. All of this is similar to the idea that I expressed in my post about being subject to the voices of culture, of being driven to do things, and of rebelling and not doing anything worthwhile.
Wrote the following comment on October 6th, 2007 at 3:39 pm #
You’re too tall and not podgy enough to be a monk, and too real to be a pastor so you can’t give up your day job yet mate.
Wrote the following comment on October 6th, 2007 at 7:04 pm #
Simon, Thanks for the compliment, but I don’t think that communion with God and being present in the world is necessarily a dichotomy (either this, or that). And I certainly don’t think that if I was to develop a stronger communion with God that my authenticity would be undermined. In fact, I am banking that such a communion would only prompt me to become more real, and closer to the glorious creation God had in mind when he first imagined me in Christ before the foundation of the world. The fact is, I have a lot of hang-ups and a lot of shit in my soul that inhibits and or prevents me from being as real and, more importantly, loving as God desires me to be. On some level, Simon, I am sure you know this.
Wrote the following comment on October 7th, 2007 at 8:45 pm #
tony-
think you are right that connecting to God would compel us toward others as well. I believe this reflects God’s nature – in relationship, always reaching out. Love, it seems, MUST go outward. So, communing with God would always result in love for others (hence the 2 greatest commadments according to Jesus).