{"id":22389,"date":"2023-05-01T08:29:54","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T12:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=22389"},"modified":"2023-05-01T08:41:20","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T12:41:20","slug":"22389","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=22389","title":{"rendered":"New Beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Riley Clemmons - For The Good (Lyric Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ehAjwXaaNr8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Richard Rohr honors how painful transformation can be and reminds us to be patient with ourselves and the process:&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The word\u202f<em>change<\/em>\u202fnormally refers to new beginnings. But the <strong>mystery of transformation more often\u202f<em>happens not when something new begins<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>but when something old falls apart<\/em>.<\/strong> The pain and chaos of something old falling apart invite the soul to listen at a deeper level, and sometimes force the soul to go to a new place. Most of us would never go to new places in any other way. The <strong>mystics use many words to describe this chaos: fire, dark night, death, emptiness, abandonment, trial, the Evil One. Whatever it is called, it does not feel good, and it does not feel like God.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We will normally do\u202f<em>anything\u202f<\/em>to keep the old thing from falling apart, yet this is when we need patience and guidance, and the<em>\u202ffreedom<\/em>&nbsp;<em>to let go<\/em>\u202finstead of tightening our controls and certitudes. Perhaps Jesus is describing just this phenomenon when he says, \u201cIt is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it\u201d (Matthew 7:14). Not accidentally, he mentions this narrow gate and hard road right after teaching the Golden Rule. He knows how much \u201cletting go\u201d it takes to \u201ctreat others as you would like them to treat you\u201d (Matthew 7:12).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spiritual transformation <strong>always includes a disconcerting reorientation.<\/strong> It can either help people to find new meaning <strong>or it can cause people to close down and slowly turn bitter. The difference\u202fis determined precisely by the quality of our inner life, our practices, and our spirituality<\/strong>. Change happens, but transformation is <strong>always a process of letting go, and living in the confusing, shadowy, transitional space for a while.<\/strong> Eventually, we are spit up on a new and unexpected shore. We can see why Jonah in the belly of the whale is such an important figure for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In moments of insecurity and crisis,\u202f<strong><em>shoulds<\/em>\u202fand\u202f<em>oughts<\/em>\u202fdon\u2019t really help.<\/strong> They just\u202fincrease the shame, guilt, pressure, and likelihood of backsliding into unhealthy patterns. <strong>It\u2019s the deep\u202f<em>yeses<\/em>\u202fthat carry\u202fus\u202fthrough to the other side. <\/strong>It\u2019s those deeper values we strongly\u202fsupport\u2014<em>such as equality and dignity for all<\/em>\u2014that allow us to wait it out. Or it\u2019s someone in whom we absolutely believe and to whom we commit. In plain language,<strong> love wins out over guilt any day.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is sad that we settle for the short-term effectiveness of shaming people and shutting them down, instead of the long-term life benefits of true transformation. But then, we are a culture of productivity and efficiency, not terribly patient or even open to growth. God is clearly much more patient\u2014and, finally, much more effective, patiently supporting our inner transformation through all of life\u2019s transitions. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tracy Chapman - The Times They Are A Changin Lyrics (Bob Dylan)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CQU0TugySoo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">God\u2019s Goodness Is Dynamic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I used to think that things were real, and change was something that happened to them over time. <strong>Now I think that change is real, and things are events that happen over time. Change is the constant and things come and go, appear and disappear.<\/strong><br>\u2014Brian McLaren,&nbsp;<em>Do I Stay Christian?<\/em>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>CAC teacher Brian McLaren locates resistance to change in our misunderstanding of God and encourages us to embrace reality\u2019s dynamism:&nbsp;<\/em><br><br>Richard Rohr often recounts a story from seminary, when a professor ended &#8230; the semester by saying that Christian theology has in many ways been more influenced by the thought of Greek philosophers than by Jesus\u2019 thinking. A case in point is the Greek idea of absolute perfection, the idea that if something is transcendent, it is unchangeable, immovable, absolute, and incapable of transition. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because we want to lift God to the highest level possible, many of us were taught to conceive of God in this Greek category of perfection. After all, what\u2019s the alternative\u2014<em>imperfection?&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>McLaren reflects on his own study of Genesis: &nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I had been preaching through the creation story of Genesis, and I realized that the universe described there <strong>didn\u2019t fit with the categories of Greek philosophy<\/strong>. The universe fashioned by the word and creative character of God was not immovable. It was not absolute and incapable of change.<strong> It was not immutable or static or, in the Greek sense,&nbsp;<em>perfect\u2026. &nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Hebrew poetry of Genesis 1, <strong>God\u2019s creation was, simply put, in process. It started simple and grew more complex. It started in chaos, and order took shape. It started without life, and life \u201csprang forth\u201d and \u201cmultiplie<\/strong>d.\u201d A sentence formed in my head that day &#8230; : <strong>\u201cHebrew good is better than Greek perfect.\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, <strong>Greek&nbsp;<em>perfect&nbsp;<\/em>is static, but Hebrew&nbsp;<em>good<\/em>&nbsp;is dynamic. Greek&nbsp;<em>perfect<\/em>&nbsp;is sterile and changeless, but Hebrew&nbsp;<em>good<\/em>&nbsp;is fertile and fruitful\u2026<\/strong>. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Could this deep-seated understanding help explain why so many Christians today remain chained to the past, unable to imagine that change could be for the better, unable to accept that the present order, while superior to the past for some, is still deeply unjust for many and therefore deserves to be challenged and changed? <strong>Could&nbsp;<em>sin<\/em>&nbsp;be better understood as a refusal to accept needed change, a refusal to grow, a resistance to the arc of transition that bends toward justice? &nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometime soon, I hope you can take a walk outdoors or find a place to sit and observe the created world. Seasons change. Trees grow. Rivers flow. Rocks roll downstream and go from rough and sharp to smooth and round. You can look in the mirror and sense the same reality in your own face: new wrinkles, new wisdom. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps you can<strong> look at this world in transition and dare to echo God in Genesis [1:31]:&nbsp;<em>behold, it is good \u2026 it is very good.&nbsp;<\/em>Perhaps you can see transition as an essential part of that goodness that is better than perfection. &nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-500x289.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22391\" width=\"689\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-500x289.png 500w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-300x173.png 300w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-768x444.png 768w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-1536x887.png 1536w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-2048x1183.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 689px) 100vw, 689px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<strong>When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.<\/strong>\u00a0For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>2\u00a0<\/sup>fixing our eyes on Jesus,\u00a0the pioneer\u00a0and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,\u00a0scorning its shame,\u00a0and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>6\u00a0<\/sup>In all this you greatly rejoice,\u00a0though now for a little while\u00a0you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.\u00a0<sup>7\u00a0<\/sup>These have come so that the proven genuineness\u00a0of your faith\u2014of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire\u2014may result in praise, glory and honor\u00a0when Jesus Christ is revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>10\u00a0<\/sup>In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists,\u00a0should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Richard Rohr honors how painful transformation can be and reminds us to be patient with ourselves and the process:&nbsp; The word\u202fchange\u202fnormally refers to new beginnings. But the mystery of transformation more often\u202fhappens not when something new begins,&nbsp;but when something old falls apart. The pain and chaos of something old falling apart invite the soul to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22389"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22389"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22400,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22389\/revisions\/22400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}