Editorial: Unspotted by the World

*published in Creation Spirituality, Spring 1995*

I belong to a very unusual church that, while being theologically liberal, uses, of all things, the 1549 Book of Common Prayer liturgy. I admit to loving the Jacobean language; it creates a feeling of sacred space, and serves to usher one into the Mystery. Unfortunately, those early Anglican liturgists responsible for the Prayer Book were possessed of some rather destructive theologies, which most of us are aware of from our own experience in the church, whatever denomination we are from. There are several lines that, as a layperson, I would be glad to just skip, but as clergy I must, as it were, bite the bullet and spit them out.

One of the lines that really sticks in my craw comes at the point in the service when we ask those who have birthdays or anniversaries to come forward for a blessing. As part of this "blessing" we ask God to keep them "unspotted from the world."

At first this really got my dander up. It reminded me of the traditional Western way of viewing Nature as something malevolent, something that must be beaten back and subdued; of centuries of cowering humans living in fear of the big bad "world" that might at any time devour them. Since we have seen the disparaging results of such a way of viewing the world-in environmental destruction, and an aggressive industrialism-saying such a line in a post-modern age sits poorly with me.

Finally, I pulled out my Greek New Testament and lexicons in an effort to "re-mythologize" the line for myself, to gain a greater understanding of what Jesus might have meant when he spoke-most forcefully in the Gospel of John-of having "overcome the world."

What I found was most enlightening, indeed. The Greek word usually translated "world" is kosmos, and refers not to the natural world, the Earth, but to the political world, the hierarchy, the "order," or in its most appropriately pejorative English equivalent, the "system."

It was not the "natural order" with which Jesus had his beef, but with the religio-political order, the pecking order, the tyranny and ruthlessness of those who wield power. Thus, when Jesus says, "What does a person gain by winning the whole world at the cost of one's soul?" we are able to understand. It is not the Earth that is in opposition with our true nature, that which is good, humble, and innocent; but rather the "system," which is set up as a power over others in the hands of a few.

The greatest tragedy is that the "system" is not limited to secular politics, but, as many of us who have worked for years in the church know so well, the "system" is also alive and active in our spiritual arenas. Many of us have broken away from churches or organizations that have abused us in the past, and have embraced new churches or organizations which we hoped would bring us nurturing and acceptance, only to feel betrayed when the same politicking and power-dealing rears its head again. As Sam Keen writes, "the spiritual revolution has a problem of new tyrannies. Haven't we seen enough corpses and failed gurus around in the last twenty years to remind us to be careful? Don't we have reincarnated Buddhist holy men knowingly passing AIDS to people they sleep with? Don't we have the worst kind of tyranny in almost every organization that becomes more and more 'spiritual?' There is a principle at work here: The more we want to rise into the light, the more the shadow, the more the evil comes and gets us from behind."

It has happened time and time again. In the name of the greater good, the humble and the true have been thrown over for the flashy and famous. When will we learn that the end never justifies the means, that when trust is betrayed, no grand design is justification enough, for truly, "What does a person gain by winning the whole world at the cost of one's soul?"

This Sunday, when the children come forward for their blessings, I will still have some hesitation for fear of being misunderstood, but nonetheless I will ask God to keep them "unspotted from the world" with a whole heart.

In this issue, you will find plenty of folks eager to "buck the system." Mayumi Oda and Claire Greensfelder take on whole governments in their quest to rid the world of nuclear dangers; Patricia Reilly questions the patriarchal conception of God and demands a "God that looks like her;" and young people from Sheffield, England, throw off rote ritualism and daringly reinvent the Eucharist.

As a final note, I regret to inform you that this issue of Creation Spirituality will be my last. The last five years with you has been the most rewarding experience of my life, and I will always treasure it, but I must now trust the universe that something "humble and true" awaits me.
Creation Spirituality is a potent force in my life, and in the lives of all who practice it. It's truths are timeless, and universal, and with its wisdom we can, as our Jewish brothers and sisters aspire to do, "remake the world"-or the "system."*