unexpected memories

Roy Wood of ELO and Wizard fame is a multi-instrumentalist and one of the reasons ELO ended up with 2 cellists. But he left ELO and moved on very early in ELO's success leaving it to Jeff Lynne but leaving his mark.

This last week has been really full even though looking at my daytimer there seems to be a lot of white space. But if I pause and reflect I am drawn back to my lost loves and unreturned love. Last weekend I was talking with some of the students about long distance relationships and the pain and disappointments, the stresses and strains. In this moment I remember Moulann's beautiful but too short ballad Where did Forever Go (listen to it here)

tell me why you left me
because deep inside you know you’re still in love
maybe things would work
if you told me what you were thinking of
and how could you just leave me
crying all alone in my bed
holding on to words that i wish you’d never said
you said that you would always care
you said that you would always be there

where did forever go?
i really need to know
how you make me fall to my knees by bringing back all those memories
when did all the promises end?
will I find the strength to love again?
how could you take my soul and break my heart in two
don’t you know I gave myself to you?

and though you may have cared
you were never there

....
tell me why you left me
why did you leave me?

meaning and being

So what is it to be? … To be God is to anticipate a future self by an inexhaustible interpretive relation to an other that God himself is; to be a creature is to anticipate a future self, by a finite interpretive relation to an other that the creature is not…. Being is interpretive relatedness across time; that is, to be is to rise from the dead. Such is the description of reality that coheres with trinitarian doctrine of God. —Robert W. Jenson, The Triune Identity: God according to the Gospel

This is ontology which is the study of being, what is core to existence. Jenson appears to be a new generation of speculative theologians and this quote, which I came across, is particularly fascinating. But what does it in fact mean? I was amazed to read the comments in the blog where I found it that many couldn't access its meaning. I think it says meaning, identity and being are intrinsically related and extrinsic in relationship. Is this clear as mud? Well rather than rewrite a perfectly good explanation by the blog writer Ben Myers -

As humans, as creatures, those things that we move our spirit upon are the things that become our story. We TAKE meaning from things-- the meaning that those things have is written into our body and soul, the change our life. (How different is my life because of the internet? Very.) We're asking those things to promise a future for us, a better one. Even to say "I just live for the now" is to let your spirit be moved by that idea, and to ask that idea to promise a future good story. When we die, story over.

God the Father, being creator, is different from us: that which his Spirit moves upon is GIVEN meaning. The Father's Spirit is poured out on the Son. When the Son dies, the Father's story-giving Spirit says, "No, the story's not done!" and thus the Resurrection.

If we let out spirit be moved to creaturely things, then we are writing into our story things that will eventually crumble into not-being.

If we make our spirits move only to Christ, then we have as our own story the story of him whose story does not end. We have let our spirits take their meaning from the God who gives all meaning, from the God who will-be. His resurrection story becomes ours. His will-be is our will-be.

To be is to be resurrected, because all other being is simply soon-not-being.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:16-17

More thoughts on temptation

I was thinking this morning during a message on Matthew 4 and the 3 temptations of Jesus about the truth aspects of temptation. I think truth and authenticity go hand in hand, yet there are those I have met that any means is OK for the gospel's sake. In other words doing something or anything for God trumps the legality, the ethical or the moral; people have become things and tasks. But the Gospels speak of God's love, the letters of the New Testament tell us that God is love. I think there is temptation and deception to devalue people when the ends justify the means.

I am astounded by the extravagant offer that is made to Jesus "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Except all this was never his to give yet alone offer. It was a lie or deception - it was a distraction. I suppose there was a short-cut on offer to save time, effort and pain but that would have cheapened everything because ultimately there would have been no real salvation, redemption. For the Gospel is not about, in Walter Wink's words, redemptive violence but redemptive suffering.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Is 53:5