In the Christian world, one of the big debates as of the last one hundred years is concerning which way we are falling. Conservatives claim that from the get-go, we human beings have been falling away from God, or the Holy, or the Sacred. They point to Augustine and his worldview that stated that when Adam and Eve ate of the first apple, thereby disobeying God, then we all, as descendants of Adam and Eve, have inherited their pattern…that of falling away from God. Thus, starting with Augustine, and leading up to today, many Christians have seen themselves as victims of “original sin.” In other words, we are, from our birth, a bit bent towards sinning.
(Just a side note here…when I was in the Dakotas, we had a visiting UM bishop from Nebraska…his name escapes me now…who shared this belief by sharing a story of his twin sons. And how, and the age of 9 months, one of his sons, stole his brother’s binky right out of his brother’s mouth and made him cry. The bishop was convinced that upon hearing his brother’s crying, the twin was smiling! Thereby proving that from the get-go we are bent on sinning.)
Progressive Christians, of which I am one, go a bit further back in the creation story than Augustine. They move from the third chapter of Genesis to the first chapter of Genesis to the “first” creation story (did you know there are two?). In this story God is hovering over the deep and with the very power of God’s voice brings forth life and order. God says, “let there be light!” and there is light. God says, “Let there be a greater light to rule the day and a lesser light to rule the night” and it is so. We now have a sun and moon and stars! Progressive Christians point out that after each day of creation, God looks out over what God has created and says: “This is good!” And then on the sixth day, when God creates human beings, God goes just a bit further and states that this is not only good, but “very good”! They point to this story to state that in the beginning we were very good and because of that we need to celebrate this by claiming what they call “original blessing.”
Progressive Christians like David Felton (Sonya Garret’s sister is married to David) point to Jesus’ liturgy of blessing in Matthew 5 as well. “Jesus,” they say, “pronounces affirmative blessing in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 by saying ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who grieve, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the peacemakers—which means there must be conflict and strife. And blessed are those who are persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Blessing, then, lives alongside suffering and trouble. Blessing affirms that God does not abandon us.
Therefore, we are not “fallen” creatures falling away from God, but “emerging” creatures falling toward God. Here’s what Felton shares in “Living the Questions” “Fare from being ‘fallen’ creatures trying to return to a mythical Eden, human beings are ‘emerging’ as a species from more primal and baser instincts to become more responsible and mature beings.”
What does it matter? Well, I think it matters greatly! For some reason I believe who we are at our core has a way of propelling us towards that core. So, if we are in essence “sinful” in nature, we will, in the end, find ourselves living out that reality. In other words, falling away from God. But if we are indeed “good” in our core nature, we will, in the end, find ourselves emerging from this rubble with a new awareness and capacity to overcome.
I’m an enthusiastic fan of the PBS show “Endeavor.” Cyndy and I just watched Episode 3 of the latest season. Endeavor, the star of the show, is having a tough time of it. He’s depressed. Lost the “why” of it all. He’s a detective who used to care about who he served. Now he just cares about getting the job done. He’s lost his compass and direction. He spends most of his time drowning his feelings in drink. But at the end of this episode his boss, Inspector Thursday, convinces him to go in to get help with his drinking. And he says at the end, “In the end, the sun will come up my friend. Sometimes you have to wait for it, but in the end it rises.”
He doesn’t see Endeavor as fallen, like we all do in the end. Rather, he sees Endeavor as a great gift to this world, who has stumbled a bit, but who will find his way to that blessing again. To me, how Inspector Thursday sees Endeavor, makes an enormous difference in how he will recover.
And that is way I’m a huge Original Blessing guy! And I hope you are too! It’s not always easy to think that way. What is happening in the world right now certainly challenges it. But I just won’t let go of that blessing. It’s what gives me hope!
Your friend and pastor, emerging with you all, Brook
PS: If you ever want to read more about this, Matthew Fox has drafted a delightful book on it called “Original Blessing.” It was so good he almost got excommunicated from the Catholic church!