The Impermanence of All
I was outside tonight at 1:30 AM and just sitting on a bench in front of Old St. George. Usually my jaunts into the ebony nightfall of Clifton are habitually static; meaning that I stay in one place and just soak up what the night has to offer in terms of temperature and beauty. However, on this particular eve, I really felt that God was leading me to get up and walk a relatively short distance across the street so that He could show me something. So I did, because long ago I grew tired of not listening to what He had to say and command. And the best part is that I was not disappointed by what I found.
From across the street you get a pretty nice picture of what The George looks like as a whole. It's very picturesque, very beautiful, very awe-inspiring. But from its impressive facade, overlooking the long stretch of Calhoun street, I really got to receive a better sense of what impermanence truly is. Very simply put, impermanence is this world, this "reality" that we are living in for a short while. You don't get a sense of that as a Christian until you consider that that means EVERYTHING that we behold on this earth, EVERYTHING that we think we should hold dear (barring God, His service, and our place in eternity) is transitionary and ephemeral. That means our families. That means our friends. That means the house we live in, the bodies that we try to sustain, the works that we create. Every single, solitary bit of it will not stand up to the wear and tear of the eternal. All will pass away and be as if none of it ever existed. All we are left with in the end is the God of the Universe and His Kingdom.
One thing that we sometimes fail to see as impermanent, however, is the earthly Church. Think about it: one day, it will cease to be needed, because the faithful will be in the presence of the Almighty. Does that mean that the Church as we experience it now has no bearing? No, of course not. What it DOES mean is that one day the houses that we have built for Him will be pushed aside and all will be welcomed into the houses that He has prepared for US.
This came to mind as I noticed the cracked and missing shingles on the roofs of the towers; the broken-in windows on the facade of The George; the clocks that have long ago stopped moving their hands forward in time. That church was built on the assumption that there would always be a congregation for it. There would always be a "church body" at 42 Calhoun St., in the heart of Corryville. More than a hundred years ago, that was the reality on which The George was founded. However, now it stands as a community center; its potential being realized through the spiritual discussion that gets brought up within its many rooms. I like the reaction I get from some people when I tell them that the building was de-sanctified as a Catholic church in the nineties - that reaction is usually one of despair, sorrow, or pity. It's a prime example of people assuming eternity on something that is not.
A building is a building, a shrine is a shrine, a book is a book, an artifact is an artifact. Are some of these more God-serving than others? Absolutely. Is the Bible, for instance, much more than a book? It's words are, yes, but it's binding is not. We were never told to worship the building in which we conduct worship. We were never told to praise the pages on which the word of God was written. We were never told to venerate the wood on which Christ was hung. In fact, we were told specifically NOT to do that (graven images, anyone?). But the words that Paul spoke in Romans were true: we, somewhere along the line, began to worship the created rather than the CREATOR. If all in this world is ephemeral and impermanent (as it is), then we are called to worship our Father God who alone always has been and always will be. He needed no one and nothing to create Him, and He in turn created all of us. And while everything else that he created for us, and we have "created" for ourselves, may wither away, He allows us to join Him in eternity. Now, personally, I think that that is pretty darn praiseworthy.
Man, that took a lot out of me for so late at night. Hopefully that helped someone.
Gabriel out.
So sayeth The Brad...
From across the street you get a pretty nice picture of what The George looks like as a whole. It's very picturesque, very beautiful, very awe-inspiring. But from its impressive facade, overlooking the long stretch of Calhoun street, I really got to receive a better sense of what impermanence truly is. Very simply put, impermanence is this world, this "reality" that we are living in for a short while. You don't get a sense of that as a Christian until you consider that that means EVERYTHING that we behold on this earth, EVERYTHING that we think we should hold dear (barring God, His service, and our place in eternity) is transitionary and ephemeral. That means our families. That means our friends. That means the house we live in, the bodies that we try to sustain, the works that we create. Every single, solitary bit of it will not stand up to the wear and tear of the eternal. All will pass away and be as if none of it ever existed. All we are left with in the end is the God of the Universe and His Kingdom.
One thing that we sometimes fail to see as impermanent, however, is the earthly Church. Think about it: one day, it will cease to be needed, because the faithful will be in the presence of the Almighty. Does that mean that the Church as we experience it now has no bearing? No, of course not. What it DOES mean is that one day the houses that we have built for Him will be pushed aside and all will be welcomed into the houses that He has prepared for US.
This came to mind as I noticed the cracked and missing shingles on the roofs of the towers; the broken-in windows on the facade of The George; the clocks that have long ago stopped moving their hands forward in time. That church was built on the assumption that there would always be a congregation for it. There would always be a "church body" at 42 Calhoun St., in the heart of Corryville. More than a hundred years ago, that was the reality on which The George was founded. However, now it stands as a community center; its potential being realized through the spiritual discussion that gets brought up within its many rooms. I like the reaction I get from some people when I tell them that the building was de-sanctified as a Catholic church in the nineties - that reaction is usually one of despair, sorrow, or pity. It's a prime example of people assuming eternity on something that is not.
A building is a building, a shrine is a shrine, a book is a book, an artifact is an artifact. Are some of these more God-serving than others? Absolutely. Is the Bible, for instance, much more than a book? It's words are, yes, but it's binding is not. We were never told to worship the building in which we conduct worship. We were never told to praise the pages on which the word of God was written. We were never told to venerate the wood on which Christ was hung. In fact, we were told specifically NOT to do that (graven images, anyone?). But the words that Paul spoke in Romans were true: we, somewhere along the line, began to worship the created rather than the CREATOR. If all in this world is ephemeral and impermanent (as it is), then we are called to worship our Father God who alone always has been and always will be. He needed no one and nothing to create Him, and He in turn created all of us. And while everything else that he created for us, and we have "created" for ourselves, may wither away, He allows us to join Him in eternity. Now, personally, I think that that is pretty darn praiseworthy.
Man, that took a lot out of me for so late at night. Hopefully that helped someone.
Gabriel out.
So sayeth The Brad...
2 Comments:
amen. many times i, personally, find myself doing exactly that. praising the created, not the creator. i find myself forgetting exactly what i'm even created for. i think it's especially easy at my church. it seems the older that people get, the more they praise the church building. in my old-time, traditional, country church that i attend, the elderly women of the congregation seem to have forgotten what's truly important. perhaps i should print this out, make about 50 copies, and lay them on the front desk at church. hopefully if it opened my eyes and outlook, it will have as great if not a greater impact on them. kudos to you my friend, you are an awe-inspiring, vessel of Christ.
--trista
that was incredibly beautiful and ringing with truth. you have a wonderful way with words.
--Beth
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