Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Freedom is Constrained: Brief Thoughts on the Freedom Problem by Eric H. Janzen

In some ways human history can be summed up in the search for freedom.  Not only to be free, but more profoundly, what it means to be free.  The path goes something like this: if we can figure out how to be free we will as a result be happy, satisfied, and fulfilled.  The search for freedom, as you can imagine, has followed many different routes each attempting to define those elusive elements needed to ensure true human freedom.  Ancient and modern philosophers, most religions and spiritual systems, science, technology, and social systems have all sought the answer.  After thousands of years and diverse propositions the world has come no closer to a real answer, for every human effort invariably fails to provide the freedom that the human heart is seeking. 

'We are free,' many have claimed, 'yet we are miserable', they conclude.  'We are free,' they say, 'yet we are corrupt' they realize.  Oppressive systems have attempted to impose control on societies valuing order over personal freedom, leaving populations far from happiness.  Democratic or 'free' societies have placed freedom so high upon a pedestal that restraint of any kind is revolted at, yet they are amongst the most depressed populations in the world.  To do as I want when I please is the order of the philosophical day, but it has not led to happiness.  One might conclude that 'freedom' is a kind of will'o'the'wisp, an illusion always just out of reach and that true happiness is also an illusion fooling us all as we grasp at empty air pursuing it through a dark forest.

Lament -- by Eric H. Janzen

 

This shredded flag hangs low

like the burdened shoulders

of a visionary watching the

vision of his passion fade

'what is necessary is not necessarily

good' says the wind as it

moves the flag aside, passing

with the memory of resistance,

the recollection of the desire

to make something distinguished

and like George Grant

witnessing the dream so slowly

extinguished, a northern fire

smouldering like so much smoke and ashes

rising now falling free to mark

the mourning few and leave

the shredded flag to hang askew

over a hill pondering the loss of

the true north and its strength

given over for weakness.

 

 

Peccatum Originus - poem by E. H. Janzen

Peccatum Originus 

Circling this tree we wondered

what mystery lay behind

the fruit of our question

We put distance between us

and the boughs heavy with temptation

branches reaching out like hands and talons

to gather us in like

fish fighting the shame baited barbed hooks

so brutally adorned with lures of light

that draws us without an chance to escape

And coming round again

we are surprised, feigning innocence

in the face of the partaking, the peeling,

of the cursed answer.

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom (conclusion and appendixes) by Eric H. Janzen

Conclusion

As I neared the end of writing this book I had coffee with a close friend of mine.  He told me a story about a young man that he had become friends with.  This young man left the Church because his experience of it had been of a surface faith.  He saw people calling themselves Christians, but living their lives as they pleased and caring little for those around them.  Sadly, this led to not only his rejection of Church, but Jesus as well.  He continues to be a spiritual man seeking God and attempting to live a spiritual life, but due to his experience of Church he wants nothing to do with Christians and thus nothing to do with Jesus.  How many of us know people like this?  Too many have encountered Christians not living out the culture of the kingdom and have as a result not encountered Christ.  This story is why I care about the things I have written.  That my friend’s friend was at the gate and walked away because of those within breaks my heart.  It should break your heart as well. 

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom (pt. 7) by Eric H. Janzen

Chapter Seven

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom

The community of Christ is a prophetic community.  The prophetic message of the community is Jesus.  The prophetic message of the community is the Gospel of his kingdom.  The community of Christ is to be the prophetic voice in the desert of the world declaring the truth and hope of the Gospel, declaring the culture of the kingdom and revealing that culture to the world.  This is our prophetic role.  The prophetic is to be a sign of something.  In the previous chapter I spoke of this sign as being a mirror reflecting God’s glory (who he is and what he is like) to the world and being an arrow pointing to Jesus.  This is one way of describing the Church’s identity, its means of being relevant in today’s world.  Our kingdom culture is thus a prophetic culture.  When the community of Christ lives a style of life that is marked by the cultural values of the kingdom it embodies the prophetic message of that culture and the Gospel.  By demonstrating the cultural values of the kingdom in the way that we live we prophetically declare the reality of the kingdom to the world.  In holding true to loving God with all your being and loving your neighbor as yourself we find the pinnacle of prophetic action.  This shows us that love is the foundation of true prophecy and not judgment as some believe.  In Revelation 19:10 we read that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  It is the message of Jesus to humanity, his testimony, that is the Church’s prophetic message.  The Gospel is the message of Jesus and the Church must hold to that message as its core, its prophetic declaration even if it is a difficult one.

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom (pt. 6) by Eric H. Janzen

Chapter Six

Identity Storm

I have suggested that the Church is in the midst of an ongoing identity crisis.  It is a crisis that has arisen out of our disconnection with the culture and paradigm of the kingdom.  We must face some significant questions as we consider our identity crisis, but I believe that a biblical faith and a relationship with Jesus offers some compelling answers to these questions.  I offer what insight I have in the three sections that follow taken from my journal.

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom (pt. 5) by Eric H. Janzen

Chapter Five

A Call to Citizenship

At the outset of this book I said that the basic question the Church needs to answer today is what it means to be in the world but not of the world.  In understanding that the community of Christ has a distinct culture in the kingdom of heaven I believe we have found an answer.

Jesus calls us out of darkness and into his light.  He rescues us from the bondage of sin and our imprisonment in the kingdom of darkness.  Consider that we were all once citizens in this dark kingdom, but now that citizenship has been negated.  When we choose to follow Jesus we shed our old home and walk freely out of that spiritual darkness to our new home in the kingdom of heaven.  We are now a part of the community of Christ, citizens of his realm.  When we choose this narrow path we are answering a call to leave one culture for another, opting for the spiritual culture of Christ’s kingdom and accepting the divine paradigm of God.

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom (pt. 4) by Eric H. Janzen

Chapter Four

Transcending Culture

 I have attempted to show that kingdom culture is a spiritual culture revealed by God.  This culture comes out of his character, which is unchanging.  The spiritual culture of the kingdom is unchanging as well.  How the people of God are to live is a constant that does not change from era to era.  This characteristic of kingdom culture is markedly different from world culture, which is always in flux, changing and evolving.  This is important to understand for the community of Christ by the way it lives life fulfills its prophetic role in the world to reveal who God is.  Christians ought to be those who understand what God is truly like in character.  They ought to be those who not only know about God, but who know him relationally.  All the theology in the world does us no good if we do not know him.  At the heart of kingdom culture is this spiritual reality: we can be reconciled to God through Jesus and truly know him.  The Christian style of life revolves around this reality.  God has made it possible for us to have a genuine and real relationship with him.  

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom (pt. 3) by Eric H. Janzen

Chapter Three

Divided Loyalties

The Church has been facing a crisis for some time now, a crisis surrounding the question of relevance.  Its critics claim that the Church and the Gospel have ceased being relevant and meaningful.  Many have sought to answer this crisis by searching for ways to connect with the culture outside the Church, a challenge to say the least.  Some programs and plans may have limited success in drawing some into the Church, but the question regarding the crisis needs some kind of answer: why has the Church and the Gospel lost its relevance in a world so desperately in need of both Christ’s community and message?  Part of the answer, though it is surely a complicated one, lies in understanding that Christians are called to a way of life.  Their style of living is to be culturally distinct from the world they find themselves in.  It is this way of life that makes the Church the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  The Church needs to recall its spiritual culture and live according to it in order to be relevant, which will give the treasure of the gospel which they hold real meaning in today’s world.

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom (pt. 2) by Eric H. Janzen

Chapter 2

A Spiritual Culture?

Christians face an added complexity in considering culture and paradigms.  This complexity is summed up nicely in the well known axiom “In the world but not of the world.”  What does that mean exactly?  This question is what will  concern us from here on and we begin with the idea that Christians are called out from the world, called out of their cultures and paradigms.  They are to live according to a spiritual culture based on and in God who calls them out of the world and into his kingdom.

Identity Storm by Eric H Janzen

Part One What's the Point? The Eye of the Storm…

I shudder as I begin writing this and nearly get up from the keyboard and run away. A crisis of identity has recently turned my inward life upside down, and the blame can be squarely put on the shoulders of my beloved pastor Brad Jersak and a well meaning prophetic teacher named Graham Cooke. Now neither of them could have known it, but it was almost like they had conspired against me, which really means that God was up to something. The result of this conspiracy has been some serious reflection on some pretty large questions, which has led to some conclusions. Though I will share them, I respectfully declare that I am on a journey of discovery and offer these thoughts in the hopes it will help others on their journey.

Is it possible that the war is over? -- by Eric Janzen

When I saw the figure he was jumping the line
and hopping over trenches,
rolling up razor wire,
and, of all things, laughing.

When I Walk into the Room: Confessions of a Burden-Bearer -- by Eric H Janzen

 As I approached the door I scanned the amount of vehicles parked outside the house, which told me there were a lot of people inside. I rang the door bell could hear laughter and voices in conversation, all the sounds you would expect to hear from an ongoing party. The door opened and as I was invited in I inwardly sighed, “Here we go.” I walked into the room, looked for a seat in a corner, sat down, and began attempting not to feel. This never works, and by the time I left the party I was feeling a vast range of emotions that I knew would eventually wash into one of feeling weary and tired. “I hate parties,” I told myself.

 The above is a true scenario replayed many times in my life. It describes many of my experiences being in groups of large people. It was not until I was in my mid-twenties that I would discover language for this problem. I had no understanding of why I was affected in this way when in groups of people. I coped as best I could, which to be honest was not well. The problem, it turned out, was that I was a burden-bearer and a keen discerner, but did not know it.

Be One and Love -- by Eric H. Janzen

What follows came as I reflected on the idea that Christians are a sign in the world pointing to Jesus Christ and the kingdom of heaven.  In his book “The Presence of the Kingdom” Jaques Ellul presents this idea and states that it is the Christian's primary role in life to be this sign.  I found this to be a compelling and powerful idea.

We are to be this sign on the road for humanity as they wander spiritual paths seeking truth and meaning.  A common belief is that all ways lead to God.  However, Christ's followers are the signs along the One Way pointing to the One Truth and Life, Jesus.  This message is vital for at least two reasons.  First, it simply is not true that all ways lead to God.  This is the reality of the spiritual landscape.  It does us no good to pretend that it is otherwise and it may not be a popular move to state it so plainly, but there it is none the less.  Those seeking God along the wrong road deserve to know that they are going the wrong way and it falls to Christ's community to sound the alarm.  Other roads may lead to genuine spiritual powers, but they are not the One God, and thus they are pretenders to a throne that is not theirs to sit upon.

Beloved... prophetic message via Eric Janzen

    Beloved, there is a table set for you and an invitation to come to that table.  A seat has been prepared for you and upon it is written your name.  What I have for you is abundant life; the Life of my Son; the Life of my Spirit.   

    I want you, beloved, to stop giving your loyalty away so easily.  I have been calling you, asking for your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul and spirit. 

What's Coming? by Eric Janzen (for Fresh Wind 2008)

As I listened to the Lord about what to expect in the coming year, this is what I heard the Lord saying last night and this morning.

Last night he asked me if I could hear the wind.  It was quiet and peaceful outside and I could hear it, so I said, “Yes, I can hear it.” He replied:

“This year you will hear the wind of my Spirit.  This past year was a year of anticipation, building hope in my promises, hope to see the activity of my Kingdom becoming more evident. The coming year is about the Good News and seeing this anticipation not only increase, but begin to be met.  It is important to remember that the Gospel is what is paramount. The presence of my Kingdom goes hand in hand with the Gospel.  Too often the Good News is used as a bludgeon to wound (be saved or else… be saved or go to hell… be saved or be rejected… etc). What does the Kingdom look like to people then?  The Gospel opens the wedding table to the poor, the shamed, the outcast, the wealthy, the broken, and even those who are whole. 

Thinking on Community by Eric Janzen

There is a Hebrew word that most Christians are aware of: Shalom.  It is generally understood to mean “peace”, but this word contains a deeper and broader meaning.  Shalom more accurately means an absolutely unbroken and whole, as well as peaceful, state of existence and reality.  In such a state there is no separation or enmity between anyone and anything in existence.  All relationships are whole and unbroken, perfectly interconnected.  In such an idyllic state the relationships between God and humans, humans and humans, humans and nature, and nature and God are whole and unbroken.  Where and when did such a state of reality exist?  It was the blueprint with which God created the earth and everything in it. If Shalom is the foundation for community that we are trying to discover then we must first consider the source of Shalom and in doing so we shall see that it is of immense value, for it is a very part of the nature of God.

Glory-hunters and Glory-seekers by Eric H. Janzen

The glory of God is wondrous, beautiful, and, let's be honest, exciting. When God gives us a glimpse of his glory we are undone and overwhelmed, and invariably it makes us thirsty to see his glory more. What is more, God loves to reveal himself and display his glory to us. So, we in the West are often faced with the question: Why do we not experience more of God's manifestation? Why do we hear about powerful miracles happening in other parts of the world and not more here at home?

Follow Me...Now What Does that Mean? Part 1 by Eric H. Janzen

A simple, yet haunting, question has been on mind for several years now. As I have sought to mature in my faith, my spirituality, and my commitment to being a follower of Jesus Christ, I have come face to face with His words “Follow me.” I recall on an early morning three years ago hearing Jesus whisper to me. I was brushing my teeth, minding my own business when he said these words: “Eric, follow me.” Since then, I have spent a fair amount of time attempting to answer that call, as well as pondering what it means and what it looks like. Because I like to write, the following made it to paper (and a whole lot more actually).

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Follow Me...Now What Does that Mean? Part 2 by Eric H. Janzen

In part one we looked at what Jesus called the two greatest commandments. Now let us consider the call to follow from another angle. For, if we love God we will obey him. The question we must ask then is what does he want of us?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

1. Jesus called his disciples with the words “follow me”. What does it mean to follow him, to follow his Way? In contemplating this question further I have chosen the above verse from Micah 6:8. In this verse we find three requirements the Lord asks of those who would follow his ways. In considering these three elements is there something that binds them together, that is common to each? I suspect that yet once more the thread that weaves them together is the importance of relationship.