Come Home
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places [homes]. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3. NRSV)
“There are two realities to which you must cling. First, God has promised that you will receive the love you have been searching for. And second, God is faithful to that promise.
So, stop wandering around. Instead, come home and trust that God will bring you what you need. Your whole life you have been running about, seeking the love you desire. Now it is time to end that search. Trust that God will give you that all-fulfilling love and will give it in a human way. Before you die, God will offer you the deepest satisfaction you can desire. Just stop running and start trusting and receiving.
Home is where you are truly safe. It is where you can receive what you truly desire. You need human hands to hold you there, so you don’t run away again. But when you come home, you will find the love that will bring rest to your heart.” (From The Inner Voice of Love, Henri J.M. Nouwen, First Image Books, Doubleday 1998)
It is a very long time since last I posted a blog. There are several reasons for that, not least of which being that I have not known of what I could possibly write. This is not the platform upon which to present all the gubbins of my personal life, though aspects often do emerge here in the interests of honesty and transparency. And so it shall be, if it is profitable to do so. For now, it seems that I might look at some recent challenges and the current trend for “deconstruction”. I am not going to rehearse all the arguments here: for these I would refer you to Dr Bradley Jersak’s definitive book on this, Out of The Embers – Faith After The Great Deconstruction (Whitaker House, 2022) as well as Brian Zahnd: When Everything is On Fire (Inter Varsity Press, USA, 2021), Leaving Jesus; Finding Jesus – Jason Clark (2022, ISBN-13 : 979-8361824892) or Do I Stay Christian? – Brian McLaren (Hodder and Stoughton, 2022) among others.
Out of all that is being said and written on this trending topic, it has been clear to me for some time that what is really being challenged is our system of belief and our experience of faith. Once all the intellectual and rational reasoning has been done, it is clear to and for those who are sincere, that the question is not, really, about “God”, or the reality or significance of Jesus of Nazareth, but rather, on what ground we are standing; on what – or Whom – is our life dependent, where we are living from and how we are being sustained.
Religious systems, structures, institutions, rules, rites and rituals are all much of a muchness. Where people have been having real problems is when any or all those (or the apparent absence of any or all of them) become abusive, toxic, manipulative “commandments of men,” that have no basis in the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, or any grounding in the faith of Jesus, the Anointed One. All these anti-Christ religious structures deserve to undergo de-construction. Yet, as Franciscan friar, Richard Rohr points out, genuine transformation comes through: Order>Disorder>Re-order or, Construction>Deconstruction>Reconstruction.
What we should be left with, however, is a reaffirmed relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And our conscious dwelling place being one of “abiding in Me as I abide in you”. The historic experience of those who walk by the faith of Jesus the Christ is one of discovering that everything must fail and be shaken in order that what remains is truly grounded on the Rock, which is Christ.
This is a period of life that I have been going through and am still experiencing. I have no supportive community of genuine faith - no kenotic koinonia - a broken marriage, no friends and, since illness has forced me to stop work, no colleagues to labour with, in my community. Nevertheless, I am held! I am loved by God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Mother?) – and sustained by Jesus’ faith. If that is “all” I have, then I am rich indeed! And there are hands that hold me, so I do not run away, as Nouwen says. He who has promised is faithful: And, here’s the thing:
Though the cherry trees don’t blossom
and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
And the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
And the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praises to God.
I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my
Saviour God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,
I take my heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
I feel like I’m king of the mountain!
(From Habakkuk 3:17-19 The Message)
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