The Dream of Wholeness
“Wholeness is…understanding the whole story.”
Wholeness is a luxury most people cannot afford (or even desire) in the culture I live in. I report that today’s North American culture finds more satisfaction and essential needs met in staying full, paying the bills, and demanding high levels of entertainment to surround you and yours at all times. The American Dream has become for some the American Greed - we are senselessly driving after a life of satisfaction, to the neglect of wholeness.
Rather than endlessly pursuing our own dream of a large mansion, big buffer-zone lawn, and a tall, white picket fence, why not pursue wholeness. The dream of wholenss is one of understanding the whole story. Living beyond your own borders, you begin to hear, witness and comprehend the stories of many others.
Isn’t it true that even experiencing the same event a group of people will walk away with variations on the story of that experience? Par example, the four Gospels are specific stories on the same experience, and each one is to be celebrated not as the event itself, but as the story that allows us to relive an event through another’s eyes. In story, we forget for awhile our own agendas, and live in the world of another.
Experiencing multiple “worlds” will begin to give you a fuzzy picture of what wholeness looks like. (Why else have 4 Gospels?) A complitation of multiple stories, synthesized and woven together is realized only through a group of people from diverse backgrounds. This is not the “averitas” of Postmodernity; it is not looking for the common ground, but higher ground!
Where is the common truth found and enjoyed in our healing as we discover (not our commonalities) but our differences? Can we truly be “one in Christ”, learning to enjoy our diversity? Does Christ place himself in the way of this dream of wholness? No. He is the common event, and we each have a story to tell from our experience. The cosmic Christ (a la Colossians) peers down and covers all Creation, and all time - and he touches each person, each community.
To truly be whole is to truly understand the whole story. Listening is the key to wholeness. Wholness is the doorway to knowing Christ completely.
Wow…going deep today. Gonna go eat some icecream now…
Last 5 posts by Mark
- God is Wholly - October 2nd, 2008
- The Great Moderation - September 30th, 2008