June
4, 2001
Messengers
He
who rules his spirit has won a greater victory than the taking of a city.
Proverbs
16:32
He
who knows others is learned; he who knows himself is wise
He
who conquers others has power of muscles; he who conquers himself is strong.
Tao
Te Ching 33
In 1997 one of my favorite theologians, Marcus Borg,
published a book titled Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings.
A sequel of sorts by Martin Aronson, Jesus and Lao Tzu: The Parallel
Sayings followed in 2000. The
opening quotes are an example of how these books are written and illustrate the
authors’ intent to find similarities from diverse sources.
On one page there is an excerpt from the New Testament and on the
opposite page is a parallel excerpt from one of the sacred books of Buddha or
the Tao Te Ching written by Lao Tzu.
This past Sunday, my 15-year-old son was confirmed
into our church. For those not
familiar with this practice by many Christian churches, it is their acceptance
of the faith they have been introduced to by their parents. It is a right of passage of sorts from a spiritual
perspective. In our church the
ceremony comes at the end of a school year long study of our faith, our church,
and of other religions.
It is customary to give the confirmand a gift that
hopefully will serve as a special reminder of this day. Our son may have
preferred a new DVD, a computer game or possibly money to spend on who knows
what, but his gift was a message in the form of these two books.
I have found that through the years I have gone back
to resources I’ve gathered on spirituality and reread them many times.
What makes these works timeless is the way they speak to soul differently
based on my current circumstances. It
is almost like peeling the layers of leaves of an artichoke: each layer exposes
another layer and then another. It
may look the same on the surface, but as you look more closely over time the
artichoke is getting smaller and you are getting closer to the heart.
My hope is that my son’s journey into manhood is
balanced between finding a field to study, finding love, finding a career, and
finding himself. Our faith may be
based on the religion that we grew up with, one that we have chosen that speaks
to us, or possibly no formal religion at all.
But one thing that is common to us all is that we look for messengers who
have left us a glimpse of God that we cannot see or hear on our own.
It is my prayer that both my children find their own
way to a fulfilling life that includes continued soulful study.
Letting them find their way means my wife and I must let go and trust
that they will seek answers and comfort in the messengers who came before.
Sure we have certain preferences on where that journey takes them, but we
also recognize that diversity is a part of the spiritual experience.
So what is the immediate impact these gifts have had
on my son you ask? Well, as I am
working on this message and using his books as reference, he is on-line playing
one of his computer games. But I
have faith that over the years to come, the messengers will have their shot more
than once to awaken and even reawake his beautiful soul.
With respect, acceptance, and love,