A word about: Water will scarce slake our thirst, but the Word as Water--ah!!! Shall I ever thirst more?
H2O is a unique substance indeed. Were it not for the fact that frozen water floats on its own liquid form, a rare thing in nature where solid forms sink to the bottom, we would not be here--there would be no icecaps at all and so forth. Not to mention the water that is 60% of me and you.
(Don't take a "water pill" unless you absolutely must. And definitely not for cosmetic reasons or because your shoes are tight!!!)
As far as I know we don't know exactly why ice floats (Dennis?) but I do know that like most elements, it has 3 Phases. All of them have their uses, but certainly liquid water get the most workout on the surface or biosphere. The Bible, even in the earliest book of Job, correctly describes the hydrologic cycle. Water vapor may have played a greater role in the younger earth than it does now, and is mentioned, as is ice and snow, but not very often. Although it does mention iced drinks!
The Holy Spirit in Acts is compared repeatedly to water; but contrary to expectations, not to its gaseous form. It not only flows down from heaven as a gift, but also from person to person, continually "recycled" if you wish. It also goes around the world, girdles it in fact, so that we are "the water planet." We are told we receive a reward if we so much as offer a cup of cool water to one of His children.
Briefly, my thesis is one that has been used before, and that is that people come in 3 forms also--frozen;overheated; and the form that continually "takes the lowest place."
The "frozen chosen," as has been used by many to refer to Calvinists and conservative religionists everywhere, still can be melted into a more useful form but only by the vast and limitless and undefinable Liquid of the Spirit.
On the other hand, we have noticed a lot of overheated rhetoric flowing like a mighty humid cloud formation and in other less visible forms as well. This could well define the liberal aspect of humanity, which tends to have a lot of castles in the air which also tend to collapse back into water once the Spirit dominates and turns down the natural energy sources, often through difficult and disappointing experiences on the ground level or in the deepest levels, e.g.,"De Profundis". Oscar Wilde expressed this extremely well. It has been my personal experience as well. Many of my; now, almost all of my great plans have come down to earth with a crash -- but our Liquid Captain of our souls has become for me, "rivers in which to swim." -- Book of Ezekiel.
The preferred phase for humanity is the middle form, the one that reaches lowest depths, the one that may be polluted but is never destroyed and eventually through the hydrologic cycle is made pure as possible for continued use. This analogy, like all analogies, is certainly not perfect and can only be drawn so far, as with all illustrations. I do not have time right now to do this but I would welcome your comments and please expand on this if you are moved to do so.
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Hi, Bill - I only have time for a short response - but here are two mini-thoughts:
ReplyDelete"Frozen chosen" - I have never thought of that in terms of water. Have always heard it in reference to people who do not do more than occupy a pew (do not participate in the liturgy and do not serve in the Church) - as in "Pew Potatoes, God's Frozen Chosen" (kind of like frozen Tater Tots, I guess!)
Which water should we be? If, as Jesus indicated to the Woman at the Well, he gives the "living water" which when we receive it we never thirst again, I should think that flowing water is perhaps a more apt metaphor for a Christian. That is perhaps the reason most modern baptismal fonts are constructed to flow, not just sit there. Flowing water is on the move, it has power to move small rocks and debris (obstacles to justice and the Kingdom?), it erodes (old ways of thinkin and being), and it has the power to cleanse (to renew)the earth.
So much for the random reactions for now!
"Random"? I doubt it! Much preparation is evident in your response, for which I thank you. We are often not aware of our eventual readiness to embrace "the occasional inconvenient truth," which is the flow which no man can control.
ReplyDeleteIn certain diseases it is necessary to use flowing water to cleanse oneself and sterilization techniques are not enough. (Clostridium difficle, which is indeed like unto its name, and spreads by spores,can't be destroyed in the body but must be "washed away" elsewhere. I think sin has spores of evil as well- a common theme in modern science fiction!)I am in total agreement re:your comments and eager to hear more. I think we do agree about the importance of baptism, something Camus sensed yet seems to be obscure to "modern" people, whether self-designated Christians or not.
Well, shucks, and thanks for receiving this in the spirit given. I always consider myself a pastoral minister and not really a theologian, which is why I will sometimes apologize for my infrequent attempts to theologize. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnother non-random thought or two about biblical roots of flowing water imagery:
Amos 5:24 "But let justice flow like a river and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."
The opening of Psalm 1: "Happy those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, Nor go the way of sinners, nor sit in company with scoffers. Rather, the law of the LORD is their joy; God's law they study day and night. They are like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers.
So, apparently even if we only have the tips of our toes (roots) in the stream of God's righteousness, we prosper... by osmosis? :-)
Why Ice Floats on Water
ReplyDeleteIce floats because it is less dense than water. Normally solids are more dense but ice is an exception. If you think about it when ice freezes it expands. In other words the same weight of frozen water has a greater volume than than water in a liquid state making it less dense.
So, by analogy, people who are "frozen" in place take up more space, perhaps? My experience of church is that sometimes the truly negative people demand more attention.
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