November 15, 2005
Doxy
Our Bible-based tradition claims that we are created in the image of God which is, I take it, that we are imagined into being by God. By this, we mean what (maybe “who” is better) it is to be human. And by that, we mean that we are “free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God” (BCP p 845). Or, of course, free not to choose any of the above. History shows that whichever way we might go on that from time to time is pretty near always a crap-shoot.
Our record about handling that calling and all its multiple changes and choices — choices, choices, choices, together with God — produced the Bible, our tradition trying to understand it, and whatever is going on at the moment, like, church, the tabernacle for Jesus upon Transfiguration Mountain.
A lot of us kept on building the tabernacles and occasionally enjoying the view. Sometimes when we can we’re looking over Jesus’ shoulders while he’s back down in the foot hills wrestling with the daemons who often have a better idea than we of who he is — and consequently of what it means to be human and, of course, probably wishing they could be, too.
After all, it’s comfy up here where there’s not so much pollution and the globe is not so warm. And besides, being human is not all it’s cracked up to be what with all the different angles and spins and races and the Seven Deadlies storming about distracting our attention. This doxy business is hard work, yours and theirs and, of course ours, the ortho ones.