A ROMANTIC CREED
Sylvester Horne put it this way in his Yale lectures all those years ago: “What is the Gospel? It is contained in a verse of one of the greatest Christian hymns:
‘Were the whole realm of Nature mine; That were a present far too small! Love so amazing, so Divine, Demands my soul (my life my all)!’
That is to say that my soul is a greater and bigger thing than the whole realm of nature. Do you believe it? I agree it is the most romantic of all beliefs. It affirms that the soul of every forced laborer on the Amazon is of more value than all the mines of Johannesburg, all the diamonds of Kimberly, all the millions of all the magnates of America. It affirms that in God’s sight all the suns and stars that people infinite space, are of inferior worth to one human spirit dwelling, it may be, in the degraded body of some victim of drink or lust, some member of the gutter population of a great city who has descended to his doom by means of the multiplied temptations with which our so-called society environs him. It is a romantic creed. But if it is not true, Christianity itself is false.”If you gained the creation, Jesus said, “and lost yourself you made a bad bargain.” Jesus said that! Not a philosopher, not a mathematician or a renowned religious leader—Jesus! The evil magician kept crying in the street, “New lamps for old” and a servant girl in Aladdin’s house exchanged the world for a piece of shiny metal when she threw Aladdin’s lamp down to the evil sorcerer who knew the worth of Aladdin’s lamp.
Jesus knew the worth of a human. Knew what they were destined for and why they were created by God. He knew the sickest of them was worth His living and dying and rising for (see Matthew 9:11-12; Jeremiah 8:22; Revelation 3:17-18). Paul knew that too for he said that “all things” (the entire creation, humans included) were made in and through and for Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-16). “You were made for me,” Jesus would say to the most burdened human on the planet.
But unless they meet Jesus—in person or via the Church’s gospeling about Him—the burdened soul will never know who it is that looks back at him/her from the mirror. They will never know that God lovingly created them to be His companions; nor will they get a glimpse of the glory they were made for. The very wealthy and the very gifted, the marvelously educated, housed, employed and powerful will never know how God views them or how He wishes to further bless and use them (see Numbers 10:29-31 where one of the elect, in the name of God, speaks to one of the non-elect and sought his expertise and help in the service of God).
God seeks to narrow no one, to rob no one; He doesn’t want them to sell themselves to gain the beautiful when they can have Him and all the honorable and joy-bringing things that are part of fullness of life. He longs to open their eyes and their hearts to the recovery and experience of the greater glory, usefulness, adventure and life as a helper and companion of God who is the God of healing, enrichment and life!
(Oh God, we pile up words like high hills in a vain attempt to give you what you deserve—we know before we utter them that they fall short but we can’t not make the attempt. Unless you enable us we know that we will continue to swap the wondrous for the shiny metal and ourselves for the galaxies. We know that we will cheat and rob our beloved little children before you will ever purpose to rob any of us. Bring to us, then, we pray, those who teach us by word and deed, by attitude and behavior about you that we might be delivered from death and dishonor and brought deeper into the romance of life and adventure. And Holy Father, we pray for all those who never do and never will in this life get to hear about you and so they are impoverished. We think noble thoughts of you and believe that you will do what is generous and right by them in a coming day. This prayer in Jesus Christ who has re-visioned you for our salvation and enlightenment.)
That is to say that my soul is a greater and bigger thing than the whole realm of nature. Do you believe it? I agree it is the most romantic of all beliefs. It affirms that the soul of every forced laborer on the Amazon is of more value than all the mines of Johannesburg, all the diamonds of Kimberly, all the millions of all the magnates of America. It affirms that in God’s sight all the suns and stars that people infinite space, are of inferior worth to one human spirit dwelling, it may be, in the degraded body of some victim of drink or lust, some member of the gutter population of a great city who has descended to his doom by means of the multiplied temptations with which our so-called society environs him. It is a romantic creed. But if it is not true, Christianity itself is false.”If you gained the creation, Jesus said, “and lost yourself you made a bad bargain.” Jesus said that! Not a philosopher, not a mathematician or a renowned religious leader—Jesus! The evil magician kept crying in the street, “New lamps for old” and a servant girl in Aladdin’s house exchanged the world for a piece of shiny metal when she threw Aladdin’s lamp down to the evil sorcerer who knew the worth of Aladdin’s lamp.
Jesus knew the worth of a human. Knew what they were destined for and why they were created by God. He knew the sickest of them was worth His living and dying and rising for (see Matthew 9:11-12; Jeremiah 8:22; Revelation 3:17-18). Paul knew that too for he said that “all things” (the entire creation, humans included) were made in and through and for Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-16). “You were made for me,” Jesus would say to the most burdened human on the planet.
But unless they meet Jesus—in person or via the Church’s gospeling about Him—the burdened soul will never know who it is that looks back at him/her from the mirror. They will never know that God lovingly created them to be His companions; nor will they get a glimpse of the glory they were made for. The very wealthy and the very gifted, the marvelously educated, housed, employed and powerful will never know how God views them or how He wishes to further bless and use them (see Numbers 10:29-31 where one of the elect, in the name of God, speaks to one of the non-elect and sought his expertise and help in the service of God).
God seeks to narrow no one, to rob no one; He doesn’t want them to sell themselves to gain the beautiful when they can have Him and all the honorable and joy-bringing things that are part of fullness of life. He longs to open their eyes and their hearts to the recovery and experience of the greater glory, usefulness, adventure and life as a helper and companion of God who is the God of healing, enrichment and life!
(Oh God, we pile up words like high hills in a vain attempt to give you what you deserve—we know before we utter them that they fall short but we can’t not make the attempt. Unless you enable us we know that we will continue to swap the wondrous for the shiny metal and ourselves for the galaxies. We know that we will cheat and rob our beloved little children before you will ever purpose to rob any of us. Bring to us, then, we pray, those who teach us by word and deed, by attitude and behavior about you that we might be delivered from death and dishonor and brought deeper into the romance of life and adventure. And Holy Father, we pray for all those who never do and never will in this life get to hear about you and so they are impoverished. We think noble thoughts of you and believe that you will do what is generous and right by them in a coming day. This prayer in Jesus Christ who has re-visioned you for our salvation and enlightenment.)
