Father Stephen writes in his post
Is the World Literal or Iconic?Much that passes for Christian theology or “thought” belongs to this world-view today. Thus those who concern themselves with “prophetic” events are constantly working to make a connection between the words of Scripture and the “literal” events of today’s news. The coming of Christ is seen by them as an event that will fit within the headlines of the paper – and even fantasize about the difficulties presented to mainstream media when the event of a “literal rapture” occurs, and a significant portion of the population goes missing.
Casting their nets into the waves of speculation, they bring up no fish, only their own reflection, and nodding in approval to one another, they head back to shore, where they will count the fish that they have not caught, only imagined. Fantasy upon fantasy, when the Lord Himself is not
just near us, but
among us, notwithstanding His second and glorious coming, the judgment, and the last day. Even as reality is not
just planned but
all plan, so is the world not just
bits of ikon here and there but
all ikon. Everything points to and glorifies the One in whom we were hidden before the foundation of the world, and in whose embrace we now live through love, now and unto the ages of ages.
Glory to Thee, O God! Glory to Thee!
Casting their nets into the waves of speculation, they bring up no fish, only their own reflection, and nodding in approval to one another, they head back to shore, where they will count the fish that they have not caught, only imagined. Fantasy upon fantasy, when the Lord Himself is not just near us, but among us, notwithstanding His second and glorious coming, the judgment, and the last day. Even as reality is not just planned but all plan, so is the world not just bits of ikon here and there but all ikon. Everything points to and glorifies the One in whom we were hidden before the foundation of the world, and in whose embrace we now live through love, now and unto the ages of ages. Glory to Thee, O God! Glory to Thee!
Your prose poem reminds me of growing up going to revival meetings and camp meetings where a great deal of emotion would be stirred up and afterwards everyone would talk about how the Holy Spirit had "showed up" and wasn't it wondrous?
ReplyDeleteAnd then there was the time I was visiting a friend in Colorado and we were driving with some of his cousins who happened to be Mormon. They had just been to one of their services and the female in the backseat starts talking with the male in the front, something to the effect "didn't you just feel the Holy Spirit there this evening?" in gushing tones and with an odd almost-smirk. It was a very surreal moment for this Southern Indiana Protestant boy (it gave me the heebie jeebies).
Were we all looking at fake fish (or better yet, just our own reflections)? I think it is very likely we were. Anyway, I very much appreciated your add-on to Fr. Stephen's post.