Relationship

Couple of observations

I have faltered in not posting about advent. The candle/theme for yesterday was/is joy. In this over anxious society, we need to meditate on joy. Our pastor has been preaching on it with the basis that joy is an attribute of God. We do not think of that, but how could we not. How much does God rejoice? And Hebrews 12:2: "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross...."

To turn from joy is to turn from God. 

#2: We talk about relationship a lot, but we really do not dig deep into its meaning. Relationship equals knowledge.  "Adam knew his wife," meant total physical and psychological union. We want to have relationship with others without knowing them, without listening, without understanding them.  We have interpreted relatinship as warm and fuzzy feelings, as comfort with the other.  This is a symptom of our Freudian, post-Romantic age--emotions come first rather than as a result of something else. 

Know people. Take the time to know them. We scratch surfaces to see if the next layer is gold or tin, make a judgment, and move on, not acknowledging that life can put layers on us, over the real core.  And then we might find something we recognize as real. Or something that repels us but is within ourselves as well.  

Pride is what I speak of. Pride's allure is that it masquerades as so many other things that look kind of nice on the surface and even deceive us as to what's really going on.

I say this because I am reading Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop. It's not a happy book, and I am wrestling with it, but it dug into me today: I have not lamented because of pride--"I don't feel those things," I say in pride; "I don't question God," I claim pridefully; I don't need lament and repentance and that dark place.  I am not articulating this well but the meaning to me is deep. Pride masquerades. 

Relationship is knowing and being known.