On Oneness
Welcome to my blog, Ground One.
Ground Zero : Function: noun; Date: 1946 ~ 1: the point directly above, below, or at which a nuclear explosion occurs; 2: the center or origin of rapid, intense, or violent activity or change; 3: the very beginning .
Ground One: Function: verb; Date: 2008 ~ 1: to create a new beginning from an ending, starting from the ground up; 2: to use one’s life beliefs and values to break new ground; 3: to ground oneself; i.e., to become one with the earth or universal whole; 4: to journey within to find new solutions to ancient problems; 5: to use one’s unique individual gifts to improve the whole; 6: to find common ground among a diversity of cultures, philosophies, and ideas.
I’ve been having some trouble deciding what to write about this week. Call it blog block. This morning I awoke and realized that the block was there because I have some fear about uncloaking myself spiritually. So deep breath, drum roll.tadatadatada…here goes!
As most of you know, I am a Christian, albeit an unusual one. I’ve begun to call myself an esoteric Christian. I learned long ago, perhaps even as a child, that I take what makes sense and leave the rest, until I can sort it out. I’ve joked at times that I’m not sure I can say I am a “pure” Christian because I so totally see the validity of other religions. I don’t talk about religion much because I don’t want to impose my beliefs on others, because I have very wide-ranging beliefs, and because I don’t want people to see me as a stereotypical anything. I want them to see me as me, in all my many facets and colors.
I believe in God, One God, whatever that Source or Higher Power or Spirit or Energy may be. I’m beginning to believe that whatever “It” is, “It” is “Everything.” All that is or was or will be. And that I am part of “It.”
That said, the sermon was interesting yesterday. My witty, well-liked pastor was talking about a specific verse in Matthew that he had always seen as “unfair.” My ears perked up. As he said in his sermon, we Americans believe in justice for all.
The New Testament book of Matthew tells a parable about a man who hires workers at the beginning of the day, the middle of the day, and the end of the day, but he pays each of them exactly the same wage at the end of the day. The parable likens this scenario to the kingdom of God: “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” My pastor went on to explain why he’d always felt it was unfair to the workers who began toiling in the fields at the beginning of the day, and I agreed with him.
Fair or unfair, I’d always thought this verse meant that we can never know how things will turn out, only God knows. I’d thought this was unfair, being a bit of a doubting Thomasina and a control freak. Another way I’d looked at the verse was as it might be synonymous with “The meek will inherit the earth.” I think all three interpretations, my pastor’s and my own, ring of truth, but perhaps not total truth.
As I’ve aged, I’ve let go of some of the controlling aspects of my character, and let God take the wheel. I figured He/She/It knew better than lil ole me. I’ve let go of my some of my anger at injustice and some of my pouting about injustices done to me. It’s worked to some degree. There have been blessings and miracles beyond measure, as well as synchronistic events that are absolutely inexplicable. However, as long as I’ve thought about my fate as separate from others’ fates, I’ve held onto my notions of fairness versus unfairness, at least to some degree.
Yet, as the verse was read to me again, I saw something I’d never seen before. Perhaps the verse wasn’t just talking about someone getting ahead of someone else in line, or in the wages s/he earned, or the power s/he wielded. The verse was telling me that God sees the first as the last, God sees the last as the first, God sees the middle as the first and the last. Get it? God sees us all as ONE. God sees us all as EVERYTHING. And so we are: ONE. That which is done to me is done to you, that which is done to you is also done to me. As in “love your neighbor as yourself,” because they ARE you.
That made my day, partly because of the inspiration it gave me, and partly because it means I’m on the right track, that my blog is on the right track, that my life is on the right track. As I search, with whomever shares my musings, for Ground One.
Me, too!
Our pastors must both preach from the lectionary, because I also heard a sermon on this parable yesterday. My pastor had another angle on why we tend to look at this particular story as “unfair.” She suggested that perhaps we feel the situation is unfair because we look at it from the perspective of those at the front of the line, rather than those at the end. Remember that ALL the workers were paid what was promised to them, so those who worked all day couldn’t say they were “shortchanged.”
My pastor suggested that perhaps Jesus was reminding us that we all, at some point in our lives, are “at the back of the line.” And the message is that God’s love is so generous that it reaches all of us, and our “place” in the line doesn’t matter in the end. We don’t have to worry about being so far back and away that we’ll never get to the front… or that the coffers will be empty once we finally get there. She also reminded us that Jesus was telling this parable in the context of his disciples’ competitiveness about which of them would have the greatest glory and prominence in the Kingdom of God (the afterlife), so the “first shall be last” message was probably a stern dose of much-needed humility in that moment.
In any case, I loved your interpretation, and I suspect God does, too. *GRIN* Keep writing the blog, even when you have some writer’s block — I love hearing your voice!