Epiphany: A Lived Wisdom

Angela Heldon tells an optimistic tale of hope and healing. While recounting her experiences battling Ulcerative Colitis, Angela shares her reflections and inspiration about the Lord's guidance and purpose in leading her through this challenging journey toward physical health. Originally published in 2008. -Editor

I had an epiphany. All the links seemed to come together all at once as I was on my run this morning. The condition I have, called Ulcerative Colitis (chronic inflammation of the large intestine), deemed incurable by the medical profession, has been with me for over six and a half years. It’s been a long yet wonderful journey which still has many chapters I'm sure, yet now the reasons for this healing process make a lot of sense to me.

I believe the sensations in our body are one way the Lord uses to communicate with us; this has played a huge part in my condition.

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It Will Not Be So Among You

With excitement and urgency, Isaac Synnestvedt asks the reader to consider the Lord's powerful and present rule in this world and in the lives of all individuals. He considers the difference between useful and destructive loves of ruling. Finally, Isaac leads the reader to consider the amazing blessings in store when we “persist in charity against all odds.” -Editor.

In actual fact heavenly blessedness does not consist in wishing to have dominion and to be served by others but in wishing to serve others and to be the least, as the Lord teaches.... (Arcana Coelestia 6393:2)

Can our love and good works be filled with the glory of the Lord? Yes! if we prepare ourselves and receive Him. Can we shine from our hearts and rule nations and peoples in the presence of the mighty God of the universe? Yes! The nations we will rule are the affections of good flowing in continually from heaven that we will form into beautiful vessels receptive of life according to our art and skill. The peoples we will govern are the tools of thought and reflection that we will use with intelligence and increasing knowledge to shape our offerings of service. This humble rule will be ours as we turn away from any desire to exercise external compulsion of our neighbors' words or actions. We shall inherit our thrones as we decline the invitation to control our neighbors.

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Does God Have a Sense of Humor?

Do you have to be boring in order to be good? This week Coleman Glenn wonders if God has a sense of humor... and what God's sense of humor might imply about human joking. Coleman acknowledges some gray area in distinguishing appropriate and inappropriate humor but works towards his own conclusion. -Editor

A person may frequent places of amusement, talk about the affairs of the world, and need not go about like a devotee with a sad and sorrowful countenance and drooping head, but may be joyful and cheerful. (Heaven and Hell 358)

Some persons from habit, and some from contempt, make use in familiar conversation of the things contained in Holy Scripture as an aid or formula for jokes and ridicule, thinking that doing so makes these more pointed. But such things of Scripture when thus thought and spoken add themselves to their corporeal and filthy ideas, and in the other life bring upon them much harm; for they return together with the profane things. (Arcana Coelestia 961)

Does God have a sense of humor? In the New Church we worship a Human God – and it seems hard to imagine someone who is truly human lacking a sense of humor. On the other hand, there is no story in the Word where the Lord tells a joke or laughs at one; there is nothing that explicitly says He does have a sense of humor.

That’s the first question I want to address in this article. The second is related, but not identical: if God does have a sense of humor, does that mean it’s okay to make jokes about Him or about the Word? Maybe you can tell from the tone of the question that I think the answer is “no.” But I’ll get to that in a bit.

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Namaste

Malcolm Smith unpacks the meaning of "Namaste" and asks whether "the divine within me, honoring the divine within you" is a doctrinally sound concept through a New Church lens. -Editor

In India and Nepal the traditional greeting is to say, “Namaste” and bow slightly to the other person with your hands pressed together in front of your chest. In Sanskrit, namaste literally means simply “I bow to you,” but this simple phrase has also been invested with many other meanings. For example, “I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me” and “That which is of God in me greets that which is of God in you.” The authors of the Wikipedia article on namaste argue that it’s just the equivalent of “how do you do you?” and it’s not accurate to say that it means these things.

In recent times the term “namaste” has come to be especially associated with yoga, spirituality and meditation in the United States, Europe and Australia. In this context, it has been redeployed in terms of a multitude of very complicated and florid new meanings which do not tie in with original meaning or etymologically sound analyses of the word.

However, regardless of whether it is accurate to say that namaste means these things, the idea of that which is of God in me honoring that which is of God in another person is out there and I want to examine this idea from the perspective of some New Church teachings.

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Editor's Box | New Church Perspective Update Bulletin

Recently New Church Perspective's editor team got together to discuss the progress so far, suggestions we've received, hurdles we're facing, and how the site might evolve and grow. I'm writing now to give a brief report on the discussion, invite your input, and mention a couple new features we hope to offer soon.

We have now been around for half a year. Hence the meeting, hence this update. Over all, I am very pleased with how NewChurchPerspective.com has operated. I have been impressed with the contributers' willingness to write and the variety of pieces we've received. I am glad to see a steady flow of readers and subscribers.

Our chief question is one of identity and function. We want to be clear about the type of tone and content the site offers so that it is easier for writers and readers alike to participate. We are exploring a variety of options about how we solicit and organize written material. One idea is to offer distinct columns with different purposes.

At the same time, we hope to soon introduce other forms of media, such as podcasts. Apart from the changes we are considering, we still seek to provide an accessible forum for New Church exploration and thought which transcends organizational and denominational limitations.

Short Term Changes:

• We hope to begin hosting podcasts.

• We now introduce each article with a brief synopsis.

• We will provide digest postings which summarize and highlight the previous 10 contributions. (For example, here are the digests of essays 1-10 and 11-20.)

• We hope to provide an easier subscription process through feedburner.

That's the news. I'll end with a list of ways you can help improve this project:

• Contribute an article on the that topic which has been knocking around in your head for the past three months.

• Send us your ideas about how to better set our identity and tone.

• Join our leadership team. We will need a couple more people on staff if we want to pursue new ideas.

• Promote the site. Let people know that NewChurchPerspective.com exists and that they should probably subscribe.

Thank You,
Brian Smith

Editor's Box | Digest: Articles 11 through 20 in 2010

March 12 through May 14. Catch up on any of the articles you've missed! Ranging from guiding children on a hike to establishing the thought work of a New Church ethic of land usage, our authors share thoughts on a wide variety of topics.

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