Surprise
Praise the Lord from the earth, sea monsters and all deeps; fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word; Psalm 148:7-8 NASB
Sea Monsters – “Even piety will not sustain the tedium of unlimited repetition. To preserve one’s commitment with the intensity of its first ardor requires more than obedience. Surprise, spiritual adventure, the search for new appreciation—all these are necessary ingredients for religious renewal.”[1]
Heschel is right. Ritual can lead to boredom. Good behavior alone is not enough reward. Life demands adventure. We must be attuned to surprise; to relish its arrival. When sea monsters praise YHVH, we must be ready to marvel at the creation.
This raises a very important question for us. What are we doing to prevent spiritual boredom? What actions are we taking that generate the potential for wonder and surprise? What adventures are we planning?
Boredom is a serious malady of modern man. Perhaps it has always been so, but in an age when little effort needs to be expended in order to meet survival needs, boredom is a constant threat. Thus, modern man invents distraction. Everything from digital relationship substitutes to the temples of sports worship are really symptoms of the struggle to overcome boredom. Without surprise, life deteriorates.
Of course, there’s the other side of the coin. We want control. Surprise is the epitome of “out of control” experience. In order to maintain our grip on life-as-we-want-it, we often sacrifice the unexpected. Unfortunately, our efforts to rein in potential disruption mean that we create routine, and routine is just a death spiral of indeterminate length.
Today I am on my way to Siena. I am looking forward to something unexpected. I am hopeful of beauty and trauma. I am trusting that YHVH will discover me curious.
What are you doing for spiritual adventure today? Where are your sea monsters hiding?
Topical Index: surprise, sea monsters, routine, Psalm 148:7-8
[1] Abraham Heschel, A Passion for Truth, p. 93.
Right on the mark very timely for me. I usually turn it down this Avenue. Someone advised to me that there is no Revolution without that of . Yeshua…. He is everywhere!!!!!
Nature reflects the true image of its Maker. Nature never does the same thing twice. That means that everything in it is praising its Maker in a different way.
Yeshua told us to make no man our master. If we do, they will naturally try to remake us in their image; a copy. I think people want others to tell them what to think and do so that others can take responsibility, but if we have no masters we also have no one to follow which also means no one to blame or praise when things go wrong or right. This throws us back onto Him. In modern society, we have many masters; fashion and the Jones’s, doctrines and creeds, popular idols and gurus and ministers, not to mention that inexorable clock, but most of all, ourselves. All of these masters remake us in their image; copies all. All of these masters, then, occlude our true identity, which is that unique image of our Creator.
Boredom, like any other pain, exists to show us where we are choosing death already. Nature shows us what original but harmonious looks like. Repetition and copying create shadows that do not reflect the original and unique light from above and that therefore will always insist on that essential competition that underlies most of the delusions of the flesh. Nothing in nature competes. “Survival of the fittest” we have known for a good while now is a misnomer in nature; it is ourselves anthropomorphized onto nature.
I have thought often that the impulse to compete is a result of breaking the tenth commandment, for when we covet, we want the original light that is supposed to illumine another in some way. Repentance for covetousness and that highly unnatural competition that we are taught in the flesh returns us to having to face the walk of faith on our own two feet with nothing or no one between us and that still, small Voice which will be telling each and every one of us something different. Guaranteed.
Yesterday, I had a pleasant surprise jump out at me.
It was hidden in a section of God’s Word I thought I had understood.
Today, well I wouldn’t be surprised by anything. If rocks can sing out in praise,
I suppose sea monsters, too, have their part in creation’s majestic symphony of praise.
Will wonders ever cease?
“What are you doing for spiritual adventure today?”
Well, here’s what I’ve been doing. It’s a bit of a story, but I will remember this is a blog post and not the lecture hall.
His name is, well let’s call him Johnny. I met Johnny 3 and ½ years ago; he was not yet 2 years old. Johnny had been removed from his birth mother due to her substance abuse, neglect of Johnny, and unsafe living conditions. The occasion of our meeting was matching a family with Johnny, and to facilitate their adoption of him. If there ever was a ritual filled with tedium, it is the muck and mire of America’s foster care system. That family got bored. Things did not move quick enough or smooth enough to suit them, so they threw in the towel and said, “We quit.” It is called a “disruption,” for the promise of permanency that is no promise at all.
We moved Johnny to another family. This family came with a mommy, a daddy, and two sisters. It was fun. It was safe. It was filled with love. Johnny stayed one year. The state decided that birth mom had recovered. She had satisfied the court that she was fit and proper. The new family had built a relationship with her and supported Johnny’s reunion with his birth mother. She had been to their home and they had been to her apartment. They shared meals together, play dates, and had even brought her to their church. Johnny was returned to the mother that birthed him and now promised to care for him, nurture him, and keep him safe.
Within just a few months of reunification, mom dropped out of rehab. She and Johnny fell off the state’s radar and disappeared. No word. No trace. For the last 9 months none of us knew of Johnny’s condition or his mother’s. Nothing, until yesterday.
Johnny and his mom were found. Sadly, she is not well, as she has returned to old ways and for now, seemingly, swallowed by her sea monsters. Johnny, on the other hand, has survived. That is not to suggest that adversity has not afflicted him, but he is alive and once again is safe.
Guess what? The last placement family, the one with a mommy, a daddy, and two sisters, well they have been waiting. They’ve been praying. They’ve been on websites, sending emails, and making phone calls; for months. Like the father in the parable, they have been watching, and last night the involuntary prodigal, Johnny, returned home. Last night he ate a healthy meal, was bathed and dressed in clean clothes, slept in a warm bed under a safe roof, and awoke this morning to laughter, hugs, and kisses.
Bored? Not me. Adventure? Oh, you bet!
Today, I am on my way to visit other families and other children. As Skip said, “I am looking forward to something unexpected. I am hopeful of beauty and trauma. I am trusting that YHVH will discover me curious.”
Laurita wrote “Nature reflects the true image of its Maker. Nature never does the same thing twice. That means that everything in it is praising its Maker in a different way.”
I love this. God paints a different sunset every evening (I’m told that He does it in the mornings as well :-)) And the verses Skip quoted above are just the tip of the iceberg! Heschel wrote “Wonder is the mind confronting the universe.” I am in awe of the beauty and magnificence of God’s creation. If I may inject a personal note, as an applied mathematician I am privileged, in an infinitesimal way, to participate in “Thinking God’s thoughts after Him” (as Johannes Kepler wrote). I’m currently investigating the mathematics behind the shape of mountain shadows (which are invariably triangular when the sun is low on the horizon, regardless of the shape of the mountain!), the shape of glitter paths (those areas of twinkles or glints seen when the sun shines over a body of water, especially at sunset), and the behavior of mirages – the mathematical structure of optics as seen in the created order! While this may seem to be a pointless task to some, I suggest that curiosity is the basis of all scientific (and other) research, and ultimately I am participating in an act of worship, and sharing with others in my professional community how glorious He is. I know very few people who are not awed by the beauty of nature, but sometimes it takes a little digging below the surface to bring that to their attention!
BORING ROUTINE? ROUTINE’S NOT THE PROBLEM, IN AND OF ITSELF. ESPECIALLY NOT IF IT’S IN THE PURSUIT OF LOVING OBEDIENCE TO HIM, IN RUACH AND EMET (SPIRIT AND TRUTH). THAT SHOULD BE JOYFUL WORSHIP. AND IT’S CERTAINLY NOT WORLDLY, SENSUAL, OR CARNAL ENTERTAINMENT THAT’S THE SOLUTION.
For sure, there is a “form of religion but denying the power thereof” with which we should have nothing to do. But it’s not the form of religion (routine obedience) that’s the problem. It’s denying the power thereof. And seeing and understanding His invisible attributes, like His eternal power and divine nature, can be life-giving and evoke praise in us if we are open, looking, receptive and responsive.
“His invisible attributes—His eternal power and His divine nature—have been clearly seen ever since the creation of the world, being understood through the things that have been made. So people are without excuse—for even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. Instead, their thinking became futile, and their senseless hearts were made dark.” [Rom1:20-21]
I don’t think generally “routine (in and of itself, at least) is just a death spiral of indeterminate length” any more than a life of serendipitous spontaneity is the way to abundant life. It’s the Ruach HaKodesh that gives life through His word as we walk in His ways and as we receive “every spiritual blessing in heavenly places”, even “every good and perfect gift that comes down from the Father of lights” (i.e. His works of creation, including people and the things they do [with the exclusion of things like idols made by the hands of man and offered up to other elohim, maybe even beautiful religious buildings – should we really take delight in those things despite the visual, sensual pleasure they can stimulate or the “awesomeness” of the works of man? “Not one of these stones will be left standing upon another.”]).
Personally, I think, if someone has a problem with boredom and they can’t be fascinated and experience sufficient pleasure in relationship with Elohim, it’s like someone once said, “It’s not because HE’S boring. It’s because YOU’RE boring!”
“You make known to me the path of life. Abundance of joys are in Your presence, eternal pleasures at Your right hand.” [Psa 16:11]