Young Spirituality
I love old things, especially old typewriters because they seem to have a certain “soul” that my Mac’s keyboard does not hold. I type a lot of my poetry on my typewriter from the early 1960s. This poem, young spirituality, is one of those.
This poem came to me in an instant while driving in Asheville North Carolina. I noticed a group of people holding signs and screaming with a megaphone on the evils of abortion and “liberalism.” Half a mile down the street was another group, this time marching in front of a government building under signs that spoke of the evils of government and the need for democratic socialism. Imagine this, both groups used bible verses on their signs to make their point.
That’s when it hit me; fundamentalism is the same disease no matter what side of the American congressional aisle we choose to fall.
One of my favorite quotes by Carl Jung is, “What we repress in the self comes out in the world as an event.” I think that’s true of religious fundamentalism. So often the soul simply fights and resists itself and takes it out on the world around it.
This is clear to me in all brands of religious fundamentalism. Christians (and many other religions too) have projected their personal issues on bible verses and use those verses to prop up their own fundamentalism.
To me the truth is simple, my grand idea is this: God loves us, we’re supposed to love ourselves and others. Those are the simple rules.
Those who have a constant need to resist something are often resisting themselves under the guise of spirituality.
Speak up, take a stand, help the downtrodden and those in need of dignity, but leave the results to God while you work out your own salvation too.
The Will of God: Jesus, Demons, and Family Drama
by The Rev. Rian Adams
“But how do I know the will of God?” The woman was extremely distraught. She had to choose between two equally appealing options and genuinely didn’t know what to do. The church where she grew up drilled a certain theology into her that served as a handicap. That theology goes something like this: If you mess up and miss the will of God, it can ruin your life.
She meant well, the church who taught her to live in fear probably meant well too. Her heart was certainly in the right place, and she simply wanted to please God. But I think the problem, and thus the agent of her suffering, was a misunderstanding of what “God’s will” means.
This Gospel passage from Mark touches on the subject and ties it to a theology and psychology of freedom. Initially this passage appears to be two sections. First we have a section on Jesus and resistance to his ministry of freeing the demon possessed. Second we have a section on Jesus’ mother and brothers and some family drama.
Although they first appear unconnected, I think they are purposefully connected by the Gospel writer. A main theme is freedom and the will of God. As you read it, you will see it.
The Lectionary Gospel, Mark 3:20-35. Proper 5, Year B.
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables:“How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
Demons and how to understand them
The story begins with opposition to Jesus casting out demons. Obviously debates have raged from the earliest days of the church on how we should understand demons. I think the most important thing is to recognize that demons were forces that controlled people. I think this applies psychospiritually.
Jesus made conscious the things that were controlling others. This is what brought about such criticism from religious leaders. They claimed that he was shining the light on the wrong day.
Apparently there is a wrong time to heal human suffering…
That seems to be an absurd idea but we shouldn’t be too quick to judge. The church has been guilty of this crime too. We have created wounds in the name of rules and righteousness when compassion and love would have healed them.
However, I like to think about demons in a spiritual light. Here Carl Jung proves helpful. He says, “…the psychic conditions which breed demons are as actively at work as ever. The demons have not really disappeared but have merely taken on another form: they have become unconscious psychic forces.”
In Jung’s thinking the demonic is an inside force of negativity and criticism (of self and others). This criticism often takes control of us and consumes us with anger and questions of “what if…”
No matter how we choose to understand demons, Jesus sets people free from them. In my thought Christ makes the unconscious conscious. And that will usually meet religious resistance.
Dementors flee in the Harry Potter books when the light shines from a wand. The same goes for us. When we shine the light and make seen the unconscious in ourselves, our “demons” are then exposed. We are able to overcome them when we make them known.
Family Drama
The second part of the story is about family drama. Who’s not familiar with that? Well, at least it seems like some mother son drama at first.
The story says that Jesus, like so many of us, ran into some family issues when he began shining the light onto the unconscious. It shows that the Holy Family wasn’t perfect either.
This seems to coincide with the above section because both show how people misunderstand the ministry of Jesus. First it’s religious leaders, second, it’s those closest to Jesus – his family.
If James Hillman is correct, the human psyche is “polytheistic.” For Hillman this means that the psyche consists of many different parts. Religion often suppresses certain parts of the psyche (or the soul) in the name of righteousness or goodness. I’ve witnessed this first hand with religious rules and socially accepted standards of behavior.
The family system where we grow up can also suppress pieces of the psyche. I once knew a woman whose father physically beat her and she had a hard time standing up to men. Another story we know all too well of the man who can’t function in life because his mother waited on him hand and foot. Thus, he’s rendered useless in a relationship because women, in his psyche, exist for service and not much more. The list can go on and on… Family has a way of imprinting its values early in life. When we resist the values and standards (especially spiritually) it can cause conflict.
The point is that families often instill handicaps to parts of the self. It’s important to remember that Jesus is not being rude to his mother. On the contrary, he is confronting a family system.
I think resistance in multiple areas of the self is expected when we evolve spiritually. As the German psychiatrist Fritz Kunkel says, “Creation continues. It’s not finished yet because we are still evolving.”
The Will of God
The crux of the lectionary Gospel comes down to the final verse. Jesus said “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister.”
The message seems clear… those who accept the naming and subsequent healing of unconsciousness are those in the family of God. Said another way, Jesus denounces the tribal family and replaces it with a family of the Spirit.
Jesus fundamentally redefined sabbath and tied it to a spirituality of loving people enough to heal them regardless of religious circumstances. That is the will of God… those in need freedom from whatever binds them. The will of God is not about asking God what grocery store will give us the best deal on steak this week. The will of God is Good News… mercy, love, hope, and compassion. And that Good News isn’t bound by a certain day of the week, or a particular Christian denomination.
My poem Flight is attached below, I hope it can be helpful. Also, if you’d like to read more of my poetry, click here.
Peace,
Rian+
Healing Snakes: Christ and Healing from Bitterness
By The Rev. Rian Adams
The title says it all! Through the Christ and his love there is healing from bitterness. Today’s lesson is a prime example of how that can happen.
When the image of a snake comes to mind it usually carries a negative connotation. I had many lessons as a child about the dangers of snakes. But Jesus, like so many things in the Gospel of John, flips the reader’s preconceived notions to the other side of the coin. Snakes can also be a symbol of healing. As a matter of fact, Jesus likens himself to a snake!
The lectionary reading for this Sunday contains one of the most famous passages, John 3:16. However, in this post I want to focus your attention elsewhere. As you read, listen to how Jesus likens himself to a snake.
The Lectionary Gospel, John 3:1-17. The First Sunday After Pentecost.
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
A fight of consciousness
The story of Moses and the snake is in Numbers 21:4-9. It’s a familiar story if you grew up around church. To summarize it, the people of Israel were wandering in a desert after their escape from Egyptian slavery. Israel is in the desert with no food, no water, and no hope. So, they do what people do… they turn on their leader. They blame Moses for getting them in the situation. I suppose when things get rough it’s always easy to blame the pastor.
It’s ironic that when people are on the precipice of growth, the unconscious will often rebel and demand they revert back to old ways of thinking. Jung said in Psychology and Alchemy, that “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls.”
Case in point, Numbers says that the Israelites lusted after their slavery in Egypt. Oh the irony… some would rather be slaves and eat than have their freedom and go hungry.
Often growth means we will become uncomfortable. Perhaps to grow also means that we will come face to face with our greatest anxieties.
Healed by a snake
The deity of Israel becomes angry because of the attitudes of his people. Therefore he sends poisonous snakes among them to bite them. The story says some even die of the snake venom. They repent and then ask Moses to talk to God for them.
I think Israel failed to appreciate the spiritual journey and that opened the door to bitter poison in their veins. .
Moses forges a serpent out of bronze and places it on a pole. A miracle occurs and all who gaze upon the snake receive healing from the poison.
In other words, once you are willing to look at the true cause of bitterness in your veins, then healing can occur.
When we are willing to observe our pain, then we are able to find healing from bitterness. It’s often terrifying to accept one’s self. However, Israel had to observe the instrument of their own poison before God healed them.
The snake and myth
In the minds of many Christians the snake is a dubious creature because of the role it plays in the Garden of Eden. It’s often associated with evil. However, in the Eden story the snake even talks. I think this highlights the snake’s wisdom, but also it shows us the snake’s shadow side of patient deception.
Other cultures do not view the snake in such a negative light. For instance, the ancient Sumerians held a different view. the snake sheds its old skin only to emerge in a new one. In this way, the Epic of Gilgamesh presents the serpent as the one possessing the gift of immortality — always shedding its smaller self to grow into a new definition.
In Greek mythology the snake is found in the god Asklepius who often takes the form of a snake. Various cultures present the serpent as a symbol of growth, immortality, and healing. The snake can teach us wisdom. We shouldn’t over emphasize the snake as a one dimensional picture of evil.
Jesus even admonishes his listeners to be “as wise as serpents.” (Matthew 10:16).
Jesus and healing from bitterness
Enter Jesus! He speaks with a Pharisee named Nicodemus about spirituality. Their exchange has sarcasm… Jesus says, “How are you a teacher in Israel and do not understand the Spirit blows wherever it would like?”
To paraphrase, “Nicodemus, your sect has created a box for God, and through that box you have limited God to doctrines and behaviors. That won’t work because God will show up in other ways, in other cultures, by other means. If you’re not careful, you’ll miss it.”
Jesus goes on to say that following the Spirit would mean observing the healing power of the Christ crucified.
Like the snake, the Christ brings healing when we observe his sacrifice. The symbolism is clear, when we recognize that our propensity for persecution is based in our resistance of wisdom,
then we are able to find healing for the soul.
I think Jesus likens himself to a snake to teach an important lesson. That lesson is that when we observe the way of love and mercy through sacrifice of the self (ego), we can receive healing from the poison of bitterness, anger, and hatred.
God loves us. God desires to heal us of the areas of anger and bitterness. The challenge is often our willingness to observe the truth of it first. My poem Destiny touches on the subject. If you can find it here.
Follow the way of the one who heals the soul and gives it life… there you find healing from bitterness.
Peace,
Rian+