It depends what IT is.
Our Moses always says, “It will be over soon enough.” I think what he means is that no matter how hard life is, the difficulties can be endured and our problems, like everything else will pass. Of course the great Yogi said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” I think his meaning is echoed by something John Lennon once said, “As long as there is life, there is hope.” (Ironically, this was said in his last interview.)
So, are Moses and Yogi talking about the same “It”? Is “It” just a matter of perspective, as in the proverbial eight ounce glass containing four ounces of water? Can both be contradictory and true? Or is the contradiction just a mirage?
If “It” is life, scripture tells us that there is no temptation given to mortals that cannot be endured. There is always the sense that with faith there is a way to make it through seemingly impossible times. Of course in making it through these impossible times we are changed. Maybe we learn to see the world differently. Maybe we are less proud of our abilities or selfish in our ambitions. Maybe we learn to find strength from within rather than from conformity to externals. Maybe we learn the divine gift of empathy, a feeling for the lives of others. Without faith, we become merely bruised and damaged, cynical and angry. Yes, scripture and Moses teach us that these present troubles do not compare with the glory that has been prepared for us. By faith this glory is apprehended and appropriated in this life. And “It” is not just our life, but the circumstances and forces and people that give shape to this life.
And now for the teachings of the Yogi. Here, “It” is a life that is not only unpredictable and frequently hostile, but is also full of surprising potential. It is a life of reversals, like the Kingdom of God, where the “stone the builders rejected, becomes the chief cornerstone.” And the tiniest seed becomes the greatest tree and the servant of all becomes Lord. It is a world where death is conquered and victory stolen from the jaws of hell. Yogi’s world is a world where the camel finds a way through the eye of a needle, the way a slow dribbling grounder from Mookie Wilson weaved its way under Bill Buckner’s glove to win game 6 of the ’86 World Series. In this world, against all odds, against all predictions of doom, life and victory are always in pontentia. The world is not only pregnant with meaning it is pregnant with victory!
Yes, the glass is both half empty and full at the same time. Or perhaps it is filled with two different things, one you can see and one you can breath. The pain and trials of this world become the negative space that create the opportunity for transformation.
This year as summer passes, we once again begin in earnest the business of co-creating a voluntary, experimental, community based on the life and teachings of an itinerant teacher from an obscure corner of history. From his life, filled with rejection and persecution we participate in a church based on faith hope and love. This fact alone testifies to the power of the resurrection.
We begin this work by calling a feast, i.e. The Eucharist and inviting everyone to attend. After the first invitations (yours!), we are to go out into the streets and invite the least, the last and the lost. It is not in our nature to be exclusive.
So, it will be over soon enough and at the same time it is never over until the eschaton (which is constantly breaking into history). In the meantime, come celebrate the amazing presence of the Incarnate Love of God here at All Saints.
