(I know, I haven't finished the tithing post yet. Just give me a couple of weeks, please.) I always thought I didn't believe in Purgatory, being a doctrine the church decided to invent rather than one found in the biblical narrative. However, experience will change one's mind. For the last 2.5 weeks I have been in purgatory, a.k.a. my mandatory rotation in Surgery for my residency. These people don't enjoy life (generally), and sometimes it seems as if they exist merely to make others' lives less enjoyable. But through the sleep deprivation, the unkindness of my peers, their determination to be unhappy and disrespectful and make others around them miserable, I have learned more than ever that I have a choice of who I will be. I can imitate them, which is by far the more natural and facile option under our conditions, or I can aspire to reflect our Father more completely.
This is one of those success stories, in general. I have usually chosen the more human path (even if it leads to seeming 'death' and 'disaster') during this time. It has been trying, but worthwhile. It's hard not to appear different when that happens, and it has made a difference in a few people's lives and/or days. I am done in one week, but I see more completely now that purgatory exists, it is everyday, every choice we make to be like the Fully Human One or not. We are being purified and prepared for the time when The Age to Come is fully upon us, when God's kingdom has fully come on earth as it is in heaven. My success stories are few, so I think it was important to log this one!
5 comments:
Hello Dear Brother,
It feels like a long time. I miss you and I miss depth with you. And I miss this glorious Kingdom talk. Most often, when I speak like that, I get "wierdo" stares. By the way, facile is a nice` word; I'll be keeping that one.
Your musings on purgatory are lovely, and I cannot more fully describe my own grappling with the here and now. Okay, let me qualify that. It is definitely my "pretentious ass syndrome" that joins your sufferings without the suffering. I fight with this purgatory attitude on a regular basis. It is the time that I am surrounded by determin-id-ly unhappy people that often wake me up from my gutterish attitude and see that I too stink of their unhappiness.
So I read Challenge of Jesus--bar the last chapter or two because I left it in a stall in the Frankfurt train station in Germany--and The Great Omission as well. All I can say is if you read NT Wright in one hand and Dallas Willard in the other, you'll find a sort of harmony that seems nonexistent in any single Christian thinker/teacher (the thinker/teacher categories are not exclusive despite the evidence Evangelical Christianity gives us).
If I did not have the NT Wright background that I have, Willard's teachings, applied, would certainly have produced a terrible phenomena in myself: a sort of "individualistic wanderlust"--I guess, for lack of a better term. A wanderlust born from a misinformation (or lack of information) about context. A lack of BIG PICTURE CONTEXT. It is a real problem to advocate personal spiritual growth without the context of a healthy 1st century picture of the Kingdom of God (I'm musing here)because the character of God and his plan for the world give one a perspective through which to view daily happenings--all of which will eventually add up to the "third act of the play" as Wright describes it. And it is within this full--whole Bible understanding--of God's character and plan for the world that I can muse upon and apply Willard's (individual focused) teachings without loosing sight of how this spiritual growth strengthens and empowers my understanding of who Jesus was and is, and therefore, who I am and should be.
Willard employs some modernistic language that will take some effort for you to filter as well; It did for me. He is also clearly an advocate of Platonic dualism in various ways. So there are some things to wade through. But overall, I found the substance of the book to be challenging and empowering--particularly when put into practice. I'd imagine that Heidi would love it--if she hasn't read it already--since she doesn't have much of the baggage that you and I carry (Megan is the same). It's not a light read, but very much worth working through. In fact, I would say it is one of the most empowering books on the actual nitty-gritty here and now purgatory that I have ever read.
So there's my book report on The Great Omission. I'll be praying for you during this surgery rotation.
Love,
JDR
Are you guys back yet? I was wondering if you were out of contact. We really miss you two, too. SOOO happy you commented. Don't have time to comment on your actual comments now, but am very grateful for them. Really miss the Horan's night with you guys.
Likewise.
Dave H and I met up last night in our first Guys Beer Night for the fall. Most of the somethingmore group has dispersed naturally into various neighborhoods of Chicago--or, in some cases, the USA... so there is not so much local family around these days.
But as for the beer night, it was a glorious Kingdom act, and is clearly ordained.
Missing you, praying for you,
JDR
praise God and keep pressing on in kingdom living. love you and miss you.
Wow! Great to see the group together again! Josh, great commentary -- did DW's "Devine Conspiracy" a couple years ago & it is time to do it again. Eric, I went through your "Devotional" this (Sunday) AM -- first time I've done so with the readings, and it was *wonderful*. Josh (if you read this) -- let me know of the next beer night! Missing everyone terribly -- I'll put on my NT Wright CD tonight and think of you all!
Post a Comment