You have to change to stay the same
I loved the recent "resurrection story" – that John Henry Newman's coffin was exhumed, only for the discovery to be made that not a shred of his remains remain. Actually, no big deal, given that human remains only last around seventy to eighty years, unless they're subject to some form of preservation.
Preservation is something Newman himself had things to say about – at least, when it came to the preservation of ideas in theology and ecclesiology. It's common idea, both among ecclesiological conservatives and Emerging/emergents that we need to "get back to the church of the New Testament". Despite the fact that this is a practical impossibilityk, there are better reasons for rejecting it, as stated by Newman himself, in his Essay on Development (1845), in which he writes of great belief or idea,
"Its beginnings are no measure of its capabilities, nor of its scope. At first no one knows what it is, or what it is worth. It remains perhaps for a time quiescent; it tries, as it were, its limbs, and proves the ground under it, and feels its way. From time to time it makes essays which fail, and are in consequence abandoned. It seems in suspense which way to go; it wavers, and at length strikes out in one definite direction. In time it enters upon strange territory; points of controversy alter their bearing; parties rise and around it; dangers and hopes appear in new relations; and old principles reappear under new forms. It changes with them in order to remain the same."
It was Newman's words that I borrowed for my 1997 essay, You have to change to stay the same. (There's nothing new under the sun.)
The preservation, or the scientific analysis, of remains of former saints for the purposes of ecclesiastical politics seems to me a monumental waste of effort. But it does perhaps create an interesting metaphor to compare the preservation of human remains, so that they look like pickles, with the ossification of Church practices and structures. Maybe we should ensure that for the Church, too, there are no lead-lined coffins, and that everything is allowed to shift gear every 80 years or so.
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Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
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I feel like we all need to reach through the fibre-optic cables and give each other a hug or something.
yeah, exactly, Tim. (( ))
i couldn’t believe it when i saw the news about tom – total shock. all the more for me today as my husband found out that he has a heart condition and mortality is on my mind.
but some of the first people that it crossed my mind to contact for support were friends i’ve met via blogland – community found here surely is still community? i’m feeling that more and more in this fragile world.
but yes, there is still laughing and smiling and being. not to be sniffed at lightly
Oh, Jody… thoughts and prayers for you and your best beloved. I hope there will be good and effective treatment. X
My father, who died this year aged 83, was a master of making the most of the present which I suspect came from nearly dying at the age of 14 when he had polio. My tribute to him at the thanksgiving service for his life ended with these words by A P Herbert:
“When we laugh, richly and gloriously, without restraint and bitterness, we forget ourselves and the world and we are as angels looking down on life, laughing at it but loving it.”
Go on; laugh, enjoy life and celebrate those who have, in the words of the Salvation Army, been promoted to Glory.
thanks maggi
i think that once the tests are done etc, the treatment will be good and effective.
i would also appreciate your prayers because i am going to my BAP on monday – we have decided together that we think it is right for me to still go. obviously this will be an extra stress, but we pray that God will carry me and us.
thanks x
Maggi,
I am so sorry to hear of Tom’s passing. I only knew him through his blog, but in his honesty there, all that you and others have described him to be surely “came through the screen”. Much sympathy to you in the loss of your friend- offering prayers and sending a hug from California.
Dana