[Propertalk] Proper 28 b - 2

[Robert P Morrison]

part 2:

	 Now you may not accept what Stringfellow wrote. You may not accept
what the commentator said that he thought Stringfellow meant. You may
not even agree that the reviewer of the author of the second book
really understood Stringfellow. But, ultimately, whether or not you
and I agree doesn’t really seem to matter. The point is that the
word “alien” has been brought up in religious thought. And the
word “alien” has been bracketed with large corporations, and with
film star idols, and Hallmark ® cards. 

	 THAT’S why the book title came to my mind – because it’s
forever there, challenging me to think about how I think, and how I
act, and how I interact. 

	 Exactly as the Old Covenant stories challenge me t do; exactly as
the New Covenant stories challenge me to do, I’m compelled now to
loom at absolutely everything, without exception, and ask myself how
that fits in with God’s creation. What does this book, this piece of
music, this letter, this phone call, this visit, this just-completed
Diocesan Convention – how do any and all of these impact my being a
child of God, called to be a disciple of the Son of God? 

	 There’s nothing I’m supposed to do, nothing at all, that isn’t
meant to be a part of the ultimate revelation of God’s reign
throughout the entirety of the universe – aliens and all!  

	 I don’t know about you, but more often than not, I’m impressed
fairly easily. Oh, I have my share of cynicism. Bumps in the road
I’ve travelled so far have advised me to be a bit careful. But a
blazing sunset, a wonderfully unexpected flower, being present when a
particular piece of music is played, watching a movie that makes a
great dramatic point – all of these can move me greatly and I feel
wrapped up in things, and I may imagine that, somehow, I have
“arrived” – whatever that may mean. 

	 I see the disciples in this morning’s Gospel passage reacting in
somewhat the same way. They’ve been at another barnstorming liturgy
in the Temple, surrounded by all sorts of gold ornaments, and
incredible tapestries, and moving singing and, possibly both scripture
reading and a commentary on it that touched their hearts. The
disciples have come out into that clear hot sunshine and been
awe-struck by the enormous blocks of stone of which the Temple and the
Square have been constructed, and they become so enamoured with the
beauty of it all that they may have become like Little Jack Horner.
“Aren’t we humans amazing?” they may have said. “Look at this
temple! It’s incredible!” And hey may even have said, “Isn’t
God great for putting the design in the minds and imaginations of the
builders.”  

	 But even giving credit to the inspiring work of God doesn’t delude
Jesus when He says, “The building is all very well. The sunlight is
glorious. The way the golden dome reflects the sun so that it can be
seen for miles certainly DOES look good. But that’s not the be-all
and end-all of life. 

	 Jesus wasn’t a kill-joy then and He’s not today. BUT, He picks
up on what He said elsewhere that we are to be IN the world, but not
OF it. There’s an ultimate reality which allows us to enjoy the
wonders of art and architecture, and of human achievement, and yet
always calls us to look and to move beyond it to that even greater
glory to which God is leading us. 

	 Jesus is so well aware that we today, as the disciples were two
thousand years ago, can get so hung up on the externals that we
don’t allow ourselves to think of where we’re going, whom we’re
supposed to be bringing with us, and how we’re to get there. And, of
course, it’s so easy to fall into the trap of becoming mesmerised by
human achievements and possessions. 

	 God knows, every single page of papers and magazines, every TV and
radio programme, everything around us is designed to make us want
more, to copy our neighbours, to one-up them if we possibly can.
It’s incredibly difficult to stay focused on what the temple worship
would have been all about that day and not have the size, the colour
and the arrangement of the building’s stones take over all our
thoughts and desires. 

	 Think, if you will, of what remains of that Temple out of which the
disciples walked. Think of the Wailing Wall at which faithful Jews
pray for God’s intercession, just as Hannah did. Think of the
Wailing Wall, the remnant of Herod’s temple, and of the Dome of the
Rock, and of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Think of how passions
boil over all the time in that small area in the centre of Jerusalem.
Think of how focused people of different faiths are toward these
sacred areas – and then think of Jesus’ words. Of course, each of
those sites is precious. But was Jesus not pointing beyond them, to
the ultimate, totally joyful worship in the Divine Presence where all
come together? 

	 Was Jesus not pointing out that we are aliens here, whose ties
should only be tight enough to allow us to minister to others, and not
to keep us here? 

	 And doesn’t this apply to all of life – everything – our
hopes, our dreams, our resources, our ministry? 

	 With at least an internalized smile I come back to that crazy
question. “If aliens exist, how would we know? [1]” WE are the
aliens. Not aliens to God, but aliens to – to whom? to what? Will
others know that that is so? How will they know? 

	NOTES: 

	[1] “If alien life exists on exoplanets, how would we know?”
Astrophysicist Sara Seager believes she has a way to reveal the
biological secrets of a ‘second Earth’ – watch the video above
to see how. 9 November 2015  

	http://click.email.bbc.com/?qs=6c604a33c76fb39897b08bd3815a9d863723f421cbdc0547a3eace565e22dd785764e1434b74a573
[2]  

	2 “_An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land
[3]_” by William Stringfellow. Word Books, Waco, Texas. © 1973. 

	3 _“__An Inconvenient Theology”_ by_ _Nathan Schneider [4]
December 6, 2011 - 9:08am _“An Alien in a Strange Land: Theology in
the Life of William Stringfellow”_ by Anthony Dancer Cascade Books,
$31, 272 pp. An Inconvenient Theology | Commonweal Magazine [5]
https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/inconvenient-theol [6]

Links:
------
[1]
http://click.email.bbc.com/?qs=6c604a33c76fb39897b08bd3815a9d863723f421cbdc0547a3eace565e22dd785764e1434b74a573
[2]
http://click.email.bbc.com/?qs=6c604a33c76fb39897b08bd3815a9d863723f421cbdc0547a3eace565e22dd785764e1434b74a573
[3]
http://www.amazon.com/Ethic-Christians-Other-Aliens-Strange/dp/1592448747
[4] https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/users/nathan-schneider
[5]
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDkQFjAHahUKEwig14mq1IfJAhUU6mMKHeznBuY&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commonwealmagazine.org%2Finconvenient-theology&usg=AFQjCNH2OekKjqNz7YwXLevwtC2o5i8rng
[6] https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/inconvenient-theol

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