Here are the first stanzas of a poem I found online by George Lewis Avery:
Once upon a time ...
there was a primordial ooze
emerging from a bit of frozen earth
where the sun heated the rock
in an age when all things sentient
lingered in the great oblivion of sleep
- an eon passed
and from that ooze
was borne a cognizant thought
what rose to the surface
of that stagnant pond
as a bubble does
and within its dome
was sealed
the recipe for transcendence[1]
there was a primordial ooze
emerging from a bit of frozen earth
where the sun heated the rock
in an age when all things sentient
lingered in the great oblivion of sleep
- an eon passed
and from that ooze
was borne a cognizant thought
what rose to the surface
of that stagnant pond
as a bubble does
and within its dome
was sealed
the recipe for transcendence[1]
Lots of good imagery here for what’s being labeled the “emerging church.” Are you emerging from “a bit of frozen earth?” Are you awakening to feel the sun on your face?
Because this evolving church defies definition, I will not attempt to wall it in. All I know is that I feel I am emerging from the frozen tundra of traditional, Western Christianity with its systemized theologies, evangelism and outreach programs and other synthetic wrappings.
As much as I dislike labels, there’s really no other way to describe this evolution of faith, this coming out of the ooze. It’s an emergence from what seemed to work in ages past to something a bit more relevant for today. The poem quoted above does capture the spirit of this metamorphosis as well as words are really able.
Unless you’re a sprinter, most journeys start slowly. I walk more than I jog and I rarely ever run full out. And so the spiritual journey that I find myself on is more of an ooze, inching along ever so slowly in thick, nutrient-rich globules like the primordial substance of all life.
If you feel that this imagery speaks for your journey, please post a comment. If it raises more questions than it answers, then good. Feel free to post a question, too. I’m all about connecting with others who are also inching along the path toward Life.
[1] From “The Primordial Ooze” at http://www.averyhillarts.com/ooze.html
Because this evolving church defies definition, I will not attempt to wall it in. All I know is that I feel I am emerging from the frozen tundra of traditional, Western Christianity with its systemized theologies, evangelism and outreach programs and other synthetic wrappings.
As much as I dislike labels, there’s really no other way to describe this evolution of faith, this coming out of the ooze. It’s an emergence from what seemed to work in ages past to something a bit more relevant for today. The poem quoted above does capture the spirit of this metamorphosis as well as words are really able.
Unless you’re a sprinter, most journeys start slowly. I walk more than I jog and I rarely ever run full out. And so the spiritual journey that I find myself on is more of an ooze, inching along ever so slowly in thick, nutrient-rich globules like the primordial substance of all life.
If you feel that this imagery speaks for your journey, please post a comment. If it raises more questions than it answers, then good. Feel free to post a question, too. I’m all about connecting with others who are also inching along the path toward Life.
[1] From “The Primordial Ooze” at http://www.averyhillarts.com/ooze.html
No comments:
Post a Comment