Takeaways from the getaway: on Sehnsucht

This time it was the mattress in the corner of the room.

It had been a great Tuesday at the student getaway. Good conversations, and a sense that people had been helped by the seminar I was presenting. Even better was the 10 minutes when I walked into the kitchen to calm my nerves just before the start of the main evening session, which I was due to lead for the first time. There I found a friend, feeling a little downhearted that the day hadn’t quite gone the way he hoped. A few words of encouragement, then heads bowed low and hands clasped. More words – petitions delivered upward this time. Nice warm fuzzy feelings. Then off I went to lead the session and enjoyed it very much. Even shockingly managed to deliver a half-intended gag with perfect comic timing. And bags of fun after Bible time.

Before you know it, it was time to call it a night. I meandered into my room, looked at my mattress, and then all of a sudden, I felt inexplicably...sad.

But why? The day had turned out better than I expected. And perhaps sadness is not quite the best word for it. Because it wasn’t as if all those mountain peaks of jubilation, those feelings of bliss, had altogether evaporated. Perhaps, bittersweetness is the better term. A little like a cocktail of spirits and bitters. Great day, sure but midnight beckons. Another day. It was fun while it lasted. All good things must come to an end. Etcetera.

And I knew what it was. That nagging feeling that we’re not quite there yet, that yearning for “more”, whatever that was. Sehnsucht. Christian scholar David Naugle, in Reordered Love, Reordered Lives, has the lowdown:

The German term Sehnsucht describes this obstinate aspiration for something that satisfies even though we seem perpetually estranged from it. Amidst the storms and stresses of daily life, this "inconsolable longing" gets triggered unexpectedly and stabs us in mind and heart with a “pang” in most unexpected ways and times. Whether it’s elicited by a blue sky, a beautiful face, the melancholy of a requiem, the lure of romance, the crashing waves of the sea, the scintillations of sex, the profundity of a film, an illuminating line of poetry, a beautiful song, or an unobstructed view of the Milky Way, we occasionally experience a mysterious and tremendous feeling that attracts and baffles us simultaneously. We need “it” and want “it”, whatever “it” is. We are convinced it is what we have been searching for all our lives. (p.28)

But was it such a bad thing? Well, surely yes? Why would I want my feelings of joy to be contaminated by all these unwanted dregs of melancholy? Unless I’m a masochist. Or is this how it’s going to be all the time? Never 100% happy. Suddenly that Buddhist doctrine of getting rid of all desire doesn’t sound so strange after all.

But when I think about it, I begin to see, that far from a curse, Sehnsucht can be a gift from God. What if I never experience it? I'm saying I’m happy with current lot, with the world as it is. It’s the shrug of resignation. But I’m not happy with the world as it is. I shouldn’t be. Life, relationships, work went well that day. But not always. It certainly didn’t go as well later on in the week. I’m not in Eden anymore. Things go awry. I go awry.

Sehnsucht is that sudden jolt that I’m in a foreign land. I bear traces of Eden, and the world bears traces of Eden. But the garden doesn’t exist anymore. I’m homeless. I hear the echo of a tune I’ve never heard, news from a country I’ve never visited, as C.S Lewis memorably puts it, in Sehnsucht. For, as Lewis also suggested, the Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are far too easily pleased. God is looking to whet our appetite, ring the alarm to prevent complacency. And it reminds me too, that the loveliness of what I'm seeing is but a window into what it will be like, all the time, when God comes to take his children home.

Bittersweetness. But I shouldn’t just look at the first two syllables, but the last 2 as well. Sadness and longing, but satisfaction and contentment as well. The cross and the subsequent gift of the Holy Spirit makes that possible. I don’t just gain a new status, but a new life when God made me, us, his disciples. No longer a wanderer, but a pilgrim. And so a new mission. Surely that dispels any talk of being too heavenly minded to be of no earthly good. On the contrary.

That wasn’t the first time I experienced Sehnsucht, and it won’t be my last. When I looked at the mattress that night, it symbolised the end of one day which happened to be good, with no guarantee that the next would be similar. Jesus’ words take on a new poignancy then: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Rest now? Maybe, maybe not. But a Sabbath-rest spent in the presence of God in the new creation; definitely.



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'Charismatic' links

Just a quick couple of links.

Interview with Simon Chan on Asian Pentecostalism. Simon Chan teaches systematic theology at Trinity Theological College Singapore and is himself a Pentecostal.

Maurice McCracken has some nice things to say about charismatics, and where they differ with non-"caros".

Resurrection Messiah myth

Haven't followed this closely at all. In fact, I don't remember seeing it reported much in the media here. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, here's the story. Anyway, am not really perturbed by it, since we get something like this every once in a while, but just thought I'll mention it along with some observations from Darrell Bock, well-known Jesus scholar. Another resource I'll recommend is Jesus: Lord or Legend?, from the pens of Greg Boyd and Paul Eddy, as it is pretty strong on the relationship between Jesus and the myths of the day.

Also, rather randomly, have recently thought more about why resurrection matters - that it doesn't just vindicate Jesus as Lord, but also acts as a seal (guarantee) of the resurrection of his people on the final day, and as a sign pointing towards the kingdom restored. I noticed too that there is actually more stress on the resurrection in the proclaimation of the gospel in the NT than I thought. Haven't really thought that through though.

Review: 666 and all that

As a young Christian, I often struggled with reading the Bible. (It’s still a struggle, although I’ll like to think I’ve made progress!). One of the books that caught my imagination however was the book of Revelation. I mean wow! Dragons! Beasts! Angels! Who needs the X-Files? The Internet only served to stoke the fire, as I pored over reports of how the latest actions of Libya fulfilled verse 14 of chapter 17 and prophecies darkly warning of the rise of the Illuminati corresponding with an apostate church with ever-widening eyes that would rival any anime heroine. And of course, it was fun guessing who the AntiChrist was: the Pope, Bill Clinton, Maitreya. It was inevitable that I would eventually suffer prophecy burnout. Plus, I grew up. It became easier to recognise that many prophecies were simply conspiracy theories all dolled up in Christianese.

As a slightly older Christian, I got excited once more as I discovered the Bible storyline of creation, fall, redemption and consummation. No longer obsessed with cracking the Bible code, I was sobered by the reality of coming judgement and the justice of God. I understood a little more of the already/not yet nature of God’s kingdom. I saw how living in light of eternity shaped the present. In many ways it was simply a result of learning to read the Bible better. Being pretty much an organic process, I sometimes found myself unable to capture all these newfound insights and put them all together. I think this is true of many Christians too: people find it hard to discern if the latest prophecy from some Christian celebrity is bunk, or are too easily caught up in a wave of triumphalism or alarmism because they have a misshapen view of the future.

Which is where 666 and All That has proved to be a great help. This book is the latest from the pens of John Dickson and Greg Clarke, both associated with The Centre for Public Christianity. I had been very impressed with some of the other books of Dickson, a musician and evangelist who holds a PhD in Ancient History, as he is very good in writing simply but not simplistically. This also holds true here – I never felt for a moment that this book was flimsy despite its breezy style. Such inklings are confirmed when we refer to the endnotes, the majority of which are devoted to showing their exegetical homework of the various verses discussed in the main text rather than citations of other books.

The authors first lay the groundwork with some autobiographical jottings, Dickson having gone through the same apocalyptic zeal as I have. They note that hope has often been the poor cousin of the Christian triad of love-faith-hope and then show the central place hope should play in the Christian’s life. Two chapters are spent discussing how to read prophetic and apocalyptic literature, using concrete examples such as the rapture. The rest of the book is then devoted to various topics on the future, such as death, hell, the second coming, the fate of those who have never heard the gospel, and heaven/the new creation.

In many ways, this book is very similar to a much higher profile book, Tom Wright’s Surprised By Hope, which I managed to read halfway in a Waterstones. Indeed, the authors even borrow one of Wright’s phrases, "life after life-after-death" for the title of one of their chapters. (For those interested, Wright’s book has been reviewed to death online – just google it). Where I think Dickson & Clarke’s book distinguishes itself from Wright’s is in its conception of its audience. Wright is a very lucid writer and his book appears to be a valuable contribution, but I think his primary appeal is to those of a more intellectual bent. I really enjoyed his anecdote about Wittgenstein and Popper, but I can also see many of my less bookish friends reading that and either feeling intimidated or put off. In any case, those who are most likely to read Wright are also less likely to be those who would fall prey to Rapturemania in the first place.

On the other hand, with Dickson and Clarke’s book, I feel more confident about putting it into the hands of an earnest but confused Christian, who has imbibed unhelpful teaching on the apocalypse et al. from the likes of Rick Joyner and his ilk. As a guide to eschatology (to use the technical term), a correction to popular misconceptions, and a reflection on how the future should shape our lives, this book is probably easier to navigate than Wright’s without losing any of Wright’s perceived strengths, eg. exposing Platonic myths or reminding us of the cosmic implications of the gospel. Yet even those further on in their Christian walk would benefit from this book as well as their discussion of various biblical passages is often insightful. To give one example, in addressing the question of "anonymous Christians", they give a creative reading of the story of Cornelius in Acts which was new to me and certainly compelling on first reading! This will also surely serve as a reference point for me whenever I feel myself needing to gather my thoughts on eschatological issues.

Sadly, this book, published by a small Australian press, would probably not be easy to obtain if you’re not in Aussieland. It is available from The Good Book Co. and St Andrew's Bookshop in the UK. If you’re looking for a primer on what the Bible says about the future, there are few better places to start.


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What's your eschatology?

I couldn't resist taking this quiz, especially since i know that my own convictions about the last days/things/new world coming are really vague and not set in stone. If anything, this quiz proved that I'm as confused as ever!

You scored as Amillenialist, Amillenialism believes that the 1000 year reign is not literal but figurative, and that Christ began to reign at his ascension. People take some prophetic scripture far too literally in your view. Amillenialist 75% Moltmannian Eschatology 50% Premillenialist 40% Postmillenialist 40% Preterist 30% Left Behind 20% Dispensationalist 15% What's your eschatology? created with QuizFarm.com

The phrasing of the questions isn't always the greatest (different people might have different definitions for "literal", "figurative" or "reign", for example), and I truly didn't know what my opinion was on some of the things queried. I've always thought I'll either end up amillenial or historic premillenial, and was actually expecting myself to score higher on the premillenial side than I did.

Here's a useful chart comparing the four main eschatological positions.

I don't know much about Moltmann apart from the fact that he's a well-known non-evangelical 20th century theologian. As far as I know, his eschatology is one in which Christians should work to bring the kingdom, or future, into being in this world, in which hope plays a central part. Something like that anyway. Preterism is a minority position that has recently been gaining more currency, which holds that many (or all?) the prophecies concerning the Last Days were actually fulfilled in the 1st century, eg. destruction of Jerusalem in AD.70. R.C Sproul and N.T Wright are preterists.

Left Behind? Too late, we already have! :-p

Vern Poythress' The Returning King, available for free online, is a useful introduction to the book of Revelation.