Authority and Knowledge

 Mark in his Gospel relates that Christ taught as one having authority rather than as the scribes. This appears to be a rarity at the time as the tone is somewhat of disbelief as later the congregants all wonder about this new teaching (Mk. 1:23; 27). In living the Jewish faith and being close to God, Christ is recognised for his knowledge and questions are raised as to whether this is a new teaching (Mark 1.27).  His authority is undetermined in that it appears not to have any tradition to back it up in the way that rabbi's could cite who they learnt from, i.e. my PhD supervisor was Prof X well known in this field.  In the reality of the day his teaching appears to be very different to the norm.  This is scary for some as they have a difficulty in determining his agenda (Mark 1.24).  Whilst in this particular case it is the result of "supernatural" knowledge it is still upsetting.

The question raised is an interesting one for it relates to how you use the power and authority that knowledge brings: are you going to be a dictator or someone from God?  As we ourselves grow in faith this is a question that we have to ask ourselves - are we going to dictate what others do or are we going to encourage others to emulate God?  In reaching out to obtain knowledge we are also reaching out to obtain power or a recognition of our authority which ultimately relates to power.  In striving for knowledge we are also striving with ourselves as we apply that knowledge.  We can become power hungry and use our knowledge to dictate how others are to behave, both openly and subtly.  We are all familiar with the use of knowledge and power to delude people into thinking one thing while our "secret" behaviour is the opposite.  This gives rise to inappropriate behaviours and bullying for the sake of our own self importance.

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians gets annoyed at those who use their knowledge to act in a manner that appears detrimental to others (1 Cor. 8.1-13).  Not everyone is capable of taking in large amounts of knowledge and assimilating it into everyday lives.  This means that we have to be careful in our use of knowledge, especially when it comes to faith, so that we do not say one thing and appear to do the opposite.  Occasionally we may also use our knowledge to manipulate how others think and so generate division within our own faith groups.  This is the way of dictators and those who wish to have power or control over a situation.

It sometimes takes an effort to change to God's path and not follow tradition

Christ makes it very clear that this is not his way by rebuking the "unclean" spirit.  In the same manner Paul also rebukes those whose behaviour is misleading. How then can we determine what is right behaviour within our faith journey?  How can we determine that our actions are actually sowing the seeds of community and peace rather than discord and anger?  Tradition is not always something that should be blindly followed.  In increasing our knowledge and our faith we determine our actions that reflect Christ.  This may seem at odds with tradition where tradition has gone astray.  Just as Christ often did things that appeared to be contrary to tradition but actually fulfilled what God commanded.  If we are blind to our actions we may well lead people along the wrong path or misguide them by seemingly using knowledge without bringing love and understanding into their lives.  Understand that we are walking with God not that we are walking for our own agendas.  Walk the walk of Christ and not the walk of humanity so that we can change attitudes, worn out dogmas and traditions to create the new life in Christ.

St Agnes as a prototype for our journey

 Celebration of St Agnes as a martyr of the church often only occurs when there is a building named for the saint. In this case the church in Glen Huntly celebrates this day as a reminder of the name and the dedication of the church. But for most St Agnes is perhaps only a footnote in the history of the saints and perhaps the diocese of Melbourne. Yet in a similar fashion to Jonah as well as all of those called by God, the forgotten saints and others, all have something to tell us about how we should be living. Just like Jonah (Jonah 1-2) many of us seem to have a reluctance to take up that call which is from God in our lives. Yet when we take up that call we manage to make a change in the community to which we have been sent as a martyr - witness (Jonah 3).

We rarely discuss this in our communities or even interrogate ourselves about the possibility of being called into a ministry by God. Often times we are given examples of a call from scripture which gives the understanding of either an epiphany or an immediate response from those in question. Take for example the disciples in Mark's gospel who hear the call and immediately leave everything to follow Christ (Mk. 1.16-20). With this as our model of discipleship or at least a call from Christ it is not that surprising that we are negligent with regards our own perceptions of God's call upon our lives and in neglecting our listening for that very thing. It appears to be too easy and it does not really resonate with our own state of being. If it was that simple surely more people would be lining up to fulfil God's purposes. The problem for us is that we are not fully embedded within a world view that regards the spiritual as something relatively commonplace. In fact that side of our lives has been obscured by the mundane and brutally specific requirements the modern mind has had instilled into its operation.

Is our faith outlook a brutal norm or the beauty of holiness?

In some respects it is awfully similar to the way our artistic endeavours have tended in the lived world of house and home. Have you noticed that most modern houses have a brutal exterior which does not really have any "soul" but rather a modern façade of utility. This then is what life as we perceive it around us would have us be. Blank slates of non-entity and so we miss the beauty that is present when the spiritual life calls, through God's call upon our lives. We are resistant to anything other than that which is in front of us and like Jonah we have a tendency to run away as far as possible often into the suburbia of our ordinary lives surrounded by the brutal aspects of modernity that we unconsciously accept. 

The saints are not always the best examples for us to follow considering that many of them ended up brutally murdered for their faith, including St Agnes. It is not so much their ending, though this needs to be understood, but rather their persistence in belief and living out that belief in the face of the world's cruelty. It is this aspect that we need to focus on as we tend not to be persistent with our faith but rather cower in the confines of our lives presenting the brutal face of modernity to outsiders while inwardly stating our true being of beauty. This is not what we are called into for we are called by God into the beauty of holiness to be a shining beacon in the world; a different architecture that glorifies love even if we have to undergo the trials of rejection (although not as severe as in the past).

A call or our bias

 Most of us do not really think very much about God's call upon our lives. In reality most of us ignore any thought that God may call us into a new life that sees us doing God's will. In baptism we are called by God into God's presence and service whether we actually acknowledge that in our lives or not. For many it just means that there is a sense of being present to God either as part of daily / weekly worship or perhaps doing something for the Church. Few of us actually find ourselves being nudged by God into a new perspective of God's call and how we answer, that is the question that is brought up for us today. We have the classic story of Samuel's call which the experienced priest Eli only recognised after three goes (1 Sam. 3.1-10). If someone as experienced as Eli cannot see immediately the influence of God has on a person then how sure can we be with our discernment within a small community?

God knows us from birth, in a manner of speaking, God is manifest within ourselves from birth as we are made in God's image (Ps. 139:14-15). Thus, God is present to us at the beginning of our life and Christian journey. Within each us is the spark of God's Spirit that leads us, if we were but to listen to God's voice. However, we are easily led away from God's presence by the lure of the world around us. We are left to make the decisions of life for ourselves not through coercion but rather through our own endeavours. The decisions that are pivotal in life are ones that forge the way forward in determining what we do or who we are. If, we are bold we listen to God's presence and follow what God's heart wishes for us but, unfortunately, it is usually our will and not God's voice that determines the course of our lives.

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians gives us some idea as to what we can do and the consequences of our decisions. Of course we have to understand the context, both social and spiritual, in which the letter is written otherwise we may have issues around sexuality. However, what Paul is indicating is that we are dedicated to God from the get go, so to speak. In being dedicated to God then we should understand that while we have the ability to determine what we do we are still bound in God's image. Anything that we do, which is contrary to God's call towards Christlikeness, is going to be detrimental in our lives. This does not mean that we have to be like the Puritans but we do have to understand what God's call on us implies and the consequences of our decisions. We often over react to Paul's words and wish to constrict our interpretation of what God calls us into being. It is the spirit of the admonitions that we need to heed not the substance. We need to live in a manner that is in keeping with Christlikeness. If we try to be Christlike whilst abusing our own lives, it does not matter what the form of abuse is, we will never truly achieve that which we are called to become, Christlike.

In what direction are you being called?

That is talking about ourselves but what about the discernment of God's call in others. Too often we are much like Nathaniel (Jn. 1:46), when we look at others, especially when we are in a close knit community. We automatically make assumptions because we have known the reputation or the history of the person concerned. If someone is called into a particular role or ministry there is often a "Can anything good come of this" response. We are automatically governed by our preconceptions and it often takes someone from outside the community to acknowledge the role and calling of people embedded in the community. It often requires us to have a different perspective whilst looking at the person to see what their role ought to be and what their role or calling is in actuality. Our preconceptions often come with how we have been taught or how we have been given information or even sometimes how others have treated us or the call God has had on us in the past. In the worst case, we may say that we actually do not have a call, alternatively it may mean that we are not genuinely following and doing what God has asked of us.

Prayerful understanding of what it is that God calls us to is the requirement. This needs and requires discernment on behalf of each of us as well as the community as a whole. We often need to suspend our own beliefs so that we can determine what it is that God is asking us to be and to become. This may mean painful or difficult transitions but once a path has been discerned it is often the case that our way forward becomes that much clearer. This often applies under the strangest of circumstances and does not stop the hardships but eases the way forward when we truly listen to God's prompting.

New beginnings at the edge of chaos

 The Church celebrates the beginning of our faith journey with baptism. A symbolism that recalls Christ's baptism (Mark 1.9-11) and death to sin over calm waters that are prepared to keep the child from being to disturbed by the event. In other denominations the event is more traumatic with the complete immersion of the person in a pool, somewhat closer to the original immersion baptism of the earlier church. However, the symbolic immersion in the waters of the deep not only representative of death but also of the chaotic structures at the beginning of time (Gen. 1.1-3). This passage is not as easy to understand as our historic roots would suggest. We make an assumption of a God that is imperious and creator imposing that imperious will upon chaos to form order and peace for the good of all who come after. This tumultuous text hides, in English translations, the Hebraic structuring of a complex sentence covering three (English) verses. Verses that recall not an imperious God but one who invites creation from the absence of things that is present in tohu vabohu (emptiness and void) of a turbulent water over which God's Spirit hovers.

Beginnings do not start from no-thing but rather from the edge of chaos and order, a decision point that either moves us away from the turbulent into a stagnant similarity to what has gone before or sends us into a frenzied creativity pulling us along to form newness and change in the face of chaos. Christ following his baptism, not surprisingly, is sent by the Spirit into the desert (tohu) of primal experimentation and creation not an abstract nothingness. The place where God's Spirit hovers refreshing, renewing and creating pathways towards life and abundance. Baptism asks us to give up, surrender the old life in place of the new. A surrendering that allows for a sundering from what has gone before creating a space for newness to appear and develop. The water's symbolism of those things which are beyond our grasp and understanding reach out to us to form newness and life.

Chaos and order at the edges leading to newness of life

It is in this place of possibilities that we hear God call to us, not in authority but rather as an invitation.  God calls to the light through an invitation to be not as a command to exist or be wrangled from out of the chaos and the deep. This is a cooperative creation that brings order out of chaos. In our baptism we are invited into a cooperative ministry that burgeons forth into the life of Christ in the community around us. It is we who are invited to go out to invite. To begin once more and undertake the process of creation. The creation of peace and justice out of the chaos of modernity. It is at the sharp edges of society where we are called to bring God's presence, it is here in the chaos of the everyday that we find the creativity of God's play as we answer the challenge that drives us into the tohu, that place were there is no-thing but every possible thing. The beginning comes at the start of all things and all times let us begin once more to taste the flavour of God's creativity in our lives.