Polarities and Spectra

 The Beatific Vision - from the Hours of Étienne Chevalier, 1452-60

Polarities and Spectra

Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message

February 15, 2017

“[Jesus] said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall

from heaven like a flash of lightning.’” Luke 10:18

 There is a paraphrased quote from Albert Einstein often used in human resource management and motivational circles:  “No problem can be solved by using the same thinking that produced the problem.”   The idea is that in order to truly get a handle on a problem, you have to break out of the box of thinking in which the problem was framed and recognized.   A common thread in contemplative and mystical thought in Christianity and other traditions is the need to break away from dualistic thinking, thinking in polarities of either/or.  Meister Eckhart says it, as do Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, and St. John of the Cross, in one way or another:  to enter the heart and mind of God, who is one in three, we must leave the realm of twos, of binary thought, of us/them, good/evil, black/white, sacred/profane, male/female, and spirit/body.  Coming into unity or a monad, or embracing true diversity or a spectrum (that ideally turns back on into itself) is key to breaking away from the inquietude and trouble of duality. 

Jesus taught this as well.  This is the thinking behind his beatitudes, where opposites are seen as one, in his puzzling dictum that we must lose our life to find it, as well as his famous quote at the return of his disciples from their missions, when he says he sees Satan fall from heaven.  Remember, the word Satan is a Semitic word that means “the opponent” or “the accuser.” The work Jesus has given us who follow him is to bring reconciliation, or joining of what was once seen as opposites. 

When Hebrew scripture talks about opposites, it very often means everything in between as well:  “may he bless you in your coming in and your going out, in your sleeping and your waking, in your life and in your death” means “may he bless you always.”  When it says “God created human beings, male and female” it means God created men, women, and every person who is in between or beyond this dichotomy.  So abandoning dualistic thinking does not just mean thinking in unities, but also in infinite gradations. 

When we talk about our beliefs and doctrines, it is important to remember that often the question is not either/or, but rather both/and.  So it is not grace vs. works, but grace and works.  It is not original sin vs. original blessing, but both blessing and flaw in creation. 

Karl Jung teaches that we must recognize and embrace both our light and shadow selves if we are to be fully integrated and healthy.  Holding the tension of the opposite, not choosing one or the other or denying its reality, is the only way to truly find ourselves and find abundance in our lives.   

This spirituality of monism and plurality rather than duality is an essential part of the comprehensiveness of the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement, which is both catholic and reformed. 

Grace and peace,  Fr. Tony+