7 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.” (Mat 10:7-8 NAS)
It is easy to forget yesterday. The times of old. The struggle to survive without electricity, McDonalds, and Walmart. And at times when we do remember the past there is an arrogance that comes with the present moment. But a quick look around evokes the reality: often life is still nothing more than survival. And for some of us even that is a task much too daunting. But what if we could find something more?
I have been attempting to read through the New Testament and latch unto recurring themes, ideas, and in so doing get a better handle on try to see the whole picture all at once. But I had to pause upon reading Mat 10:7-8.
Talk about a job description. No mention of forklift certifications, the Microsoft Office Suite, education credentials, or being able to stand or sit. (Isn’t it strange how much modern jobs seem to be focused on whether we have to stand or sit?) I look in vain at the wanted ads in the local paper, Indeed or even on LinkedIn. None, admittedly that I could find, mention raising the dead or casting out demons. Modern jobs have gotten kind of lame it would seem.
And take a look at the benefits package. Note especially verse 15 where Christ tells the disciples that a house that does not receive them is going to be treated worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. In case you forgot these are the towns that were destroyed with fire in the Old Testament (Genesis 19 also see Judges 19 and ensuing chapters for an interesting comparative literature study). When was the last time you had a boss tell you he had your back to the extent that he would completely annihilate those who did not receive you? Try bringing that up at your next raise negotiation. Talk about an effective sales tactic right? Of course, if you continue reading, see verse 28 (fear the one who can destroy both body and soul) for example, this might be a double-edged sword but the example of the sparrow which follows makes such an assumptive understanding of vs. 28 hard to complete. Whatever the case, it is clear one is not talking about simple retirement packages or compensation schemes; rather, the job the disciples were given is one that has benefits which are hard to comprehend and maybe some of the benefits they might want to talk to their local union rep about.
But putting all that to the side, I want to pause for a moment and think about the job. They are to preach and show that the Kingdom of God is at hand. And this is not a self-help slogan or a seminar on how to get rich quick (In a way I kind of feel sorry for rich as it seems as though everybody is trying to get this person :). They are not booking hotel conference rooms; instead, they are fighting a war for the Kingdom of God. And like the modern jobs which have gotten lame so too has the expression of Christianity.
Christianity is oft presented as this far off, in another world, at another time, fairy tale answer to life’s problems. Not as life itself. And that is what is missing. Christianity is not about how to survive in the next but how to find heaven in the current life. The disciples’ prayer is not help us leave here quickly so we may be in heaven but rather let things be done on earth as they are in heaven (Mat 6:9-13). The thought here is simple: heaven on earth. The Kingdom is coming, God is dwelling within us, heaven on earth.
I have mentioned this before, I think, but one poet who inspires me is the Swedish poet Majken Johansson. Her life story reads sorrow after sorrow after sorrow but her poetry beams with hope, joy and something of an otherness. Her poem Talk About (Omtal) ends with the line, as translated by Johannes Goransson “I lived in Heaven.”[i] The poem starts noting the difficulty of communicating when a person does not know the language and then progresses to her life being “the etymological root of: redeemed” (Johansson, ln. 17) the basis from which to understand and communicate, build a language, in a now meaningful manner God’s new creation: her. The “talk about, talk about, talk about” (Ln. 18) of Johansson is not some boring article full of words searching for meaning but a life as God’s word sounding forth. And the sound of God’s voice might not just awaken a memory of Adam, Eve, and Eden but also of the hope of new creation in Christ.
And as the beauty of a sunset retrieves echoes of Eden, the speech pouring forth day unto day (Psalm 19 & Johansson) of God’s new creation might serve as a reminder of the love of God, his Kingdom being near and that Christianity is about more than avoiding Hell, How can our lives also say as Johansson did: “I have lived in Heaven.”? How does the message of the Kingdom of God being near go from being a fancy saying to God dwelling within us and in our midst? There is more I want to say about this but let me start with two simple thoughts: 1) The embrace of faith, B) The hope of God’s love.
Every since reading John Donne’s poem “A Hymn To God, My God, In My Sickness” I have found his illustration of faith as an embrace most compelling. And with faith, learning from Christ’s lesson concerning the mustard seed, the question is not about the strength of my embrace but about who my faith is in. Who I think God is defines my faith. Who am I holding unto? And to this question I must needs renew my mind daily so I might see him more clearly. Not so I can perfect my embrace, but so I can know in whose hands my life is in.
I have in my possession a growing collection of words slowly working on the subject of how life’s greatest achievement is love, but I have not had time to complete these words and as I am delving into the matter of choice and unconditionality in love I want to try to say these things well so that they might be understood. But there is also something simple about love and that is that God loves us. Phrases such as the one whom God loves, the ones for whom Christ died, pepper the New Testament. And the emotion of God’s love is overwhelming when one reads the Biblical text. From his passionate rebukes of Isreal in the Old Testament to the emotion of Christ as he wept at the death of Lazurus to Christ recommending the disciples go and rest (Mk 6:30-32). And it is important to note that God still loves us just as much today.
And that is what makes me significant, that is what makes me important, and that is why I have confidence because I know that God loves me. And even though I struggle with this notion as I often find myself unlovable and at times I am relieved when I am rejected by other people, those moments when I remember that God’s love is what defines me, my embrace becomes in something sure and I find my life valuable not because I have went on an adventure, sailed across the ocean, counted to ten, cooked an edible meal, or saved a penguin from an afternoon of bad jokes and analogies, but I am significant because he loves. Therefore, what “talks about, talks about, talks about” with me is his love and in that notion I find a small awakening as to what it might mean to “have lived in heaven.”
Let me end these thoughts here…
I wish I could with the swipe of few well placed words form an idea that would erase the evils of our modern world that stick us into lives in which we struggle to find something more than survival. Where we live in a world in which massive companies hire people essentially to watch other people work who are then watched by other people[ii] And what’s their great accomplishment? They figured out how to ship something made by someone else all they way across the world so it could be bought by someone else and then shipped all the way back across the world. The moments of a human life stolen for a few shiny trinkets. The treasure, the joy, the wonder, the love of God and his new creative work held within each human life lost so a few bucks could be made. Can we pull people back from the overwhelming brink of disaster found in the modern life? I hope so. But it will take more than finding another way to pay the bills, or a new diet and exercise regime, but a complete reorientation as to what it means to be human. I have much to learn as I often presumptuously think I can do something for God forgetting that he is God and does not need anything done for him. Or those moments when I focus on myself and how unlovable I am and forget quite simply that he loves me and that is what makes me significant.
I hope these words have made some sense maybe even encouraged you to check your life’s job description and if you have any advice or feedback I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks.
[i] Found at https://www.e-magin.se/paper/sv5d7vx2/paper/1#/paper/sv5d7vx2/14
[ii] I hope to flush out this idea more in another article about learning to dream but the modern corporate structure resigns us to losing out on the contributions and talents of the individual.
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