Holy Cross Lutheran Church “Sharing the Ointment for Jesus’ Feet, Giving God our Very Best” Cf. John 12:3 Our mission statement: Celebrating God’s love by worshipping God, caring for each other, and serving in community. Vol. 25 No. 3 March 2019 Early Spring marks the beginning of another ecstatic Lenten season. “Ecstatic,” you ask? “We thought it was supposed to be penitential!” Guess what. Penitential is ecstatic. Penitential sets you outside your- self. Self-control, self-discipline, self-examination, and self-denial are all penitential practices which by their very definition set one outside oneself. In that position we become both the actor and the observer of the action. In Lent we are called to lift ourselves ecstatically up out of the quagmire of subjectivity so as to revel in the joys of objectivity. Indeed it is an amazing thing that we attempt to do during these forty days of Lent. We try to become discorporate enough to be self-observers, to stand far enough outside the prison of ourselves to maybe even perhaps see the universe with the eyes of Christ. Maybe to see the eyes of Christ in the people with whom we interact; strangers and enemies, friends and family. The traditional self-mortification of Lent was an attempt to, by increments, get accustomed to the process of standing outside oneself, up to and including the ultimate discorporation experience which we observe on Good Friday, Jesus’ death on the cross. Giving up something is not just giv- ing it up to lose weight or gain health or a convenient resolution to keep your corporate body and soul together for longer. It was just the opposite: Something to prepare your body for the grave and subsequent resurrection. BERGY’S BABBLE: “DISCORPORATION” … /// ...
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Holy Cross Lutheran Church
“Sharing the
Ointment for Jesus’
Feet, Giving God
our Very Best” Cf. John 12:3
Our mission statement:
Celebrating God’s love
by worshipping God,
caring for each other,
and serving in community.
Vol. 25
No. 3
March 2019
Early Spring marks the beginning of another ecstatic Lenten season.
“Ecstatic,” you ask? “We thought it was supposed to be penitential!”
Guess what. Penitential is ecstatic. Penitential sets you outside your-
self. Self-control, self-discipline, self-examination, and self-denial are all
penitential practices which by their very definition set one outside oneself.
In that position we become both the actor and the observer of the action. In
Lent we are called to lift ourselves ecstatically up out of the quagmire of
subjectivity so as to revel in the joys of objectivity.
Indeed it is an amazing thing that we attempt to do during these forty
days of Lent. We try to become discorporate enough to be self-observers, to
stand far enough outside the prison of ourselves to maybe even perhaps see
the universe with the eyes of Christ. Maybe to see the eyes of Christ in the
people with whom we interact; strangers and enemies, friends and family.
The traditional self-mortification of Lent was an attempt to, by
increments, get accustomed to the process of standing outside oneself, up to
and including the ultimate discorporation experience which we observe on
Good Friday, Jesus’ death on the cross. Giving up something is not just giv-
ing it up to lose weight or gain health or a convenient resolution to keep
your corporate body and soul together for longer. It was just the opposite:
Something to prepare your body for the grave and subsequent resurrection.
BERGY’S BABBLE: “DISCORPORATION”
… /// ...
2
Lenten observances were originally time set aside for self-
experimentation. Take away this thing that I think I depend upon, and then
watch myself closely to see how I react. Force a withdrawal experience up-
on myself and then watch my body and mind in its reaction to the new and
challenging stressor.
One can learn a great deal that way, perhaps more than you really
wanted to learn. Maybe in an extreme moment of this self-induced stress
you acted meanly and badly toward someone you loved and cherished, and
then you caught yourself in the act, and in that blinding, ecstatic, embarrass-
ingly naked moment before God, that new insight incorporated a repentance
in you that changed your life forever. Or perhaps your philosophy of life
changed from merely trying to live forever, to accepting an eventual gradua-
tion to the post-biological resurrection body.
A case in point of the latter example is the twilight years and death
of Dr. Timothy Leary. It warmed my heart to see his behavior in the Lent of
his life. I had read his material and studied his controversial research for
years. Then in 1980, I had the privilege of a good conversation with him in
the Student Union of U of H. I was taking two psychology courses and he
was there for a speaking engagement.
At the time, he was planning on living forever or at least to 150
years of age. He was promoting exo-psychology, or post-planetary living.
Off-world consciousness, so to speak, complete with Starship Space Migra-
tion. I thought, “Well, that would be great if you can pull it off and I’m
watching and taking notes.” After all, doesn’t everyone have that kind of
secret hope somewhere inside of them that everything will go on forever just
as it is?
A decade later replete with the usual physical dissolution and the
wear and tear of normal aging, I caught up with Tim’s work and his evolv-
ing theories. He was planning on cryogenic suspension so as to keep at least
a few critical parts of himself not-alive, but not-dead. … /// ...
… /// … Bergy’s Babble: “Discorporation”
3
… /// … Bergy’s Babble: “Discorporation”
He would then be poised to benefit immortally from whatever cures medical
science might come up with to cure whatever he might possibly die from
later on. Freeze today, thaw tomorrow in the hope of actually seeing tomor-
row.
Tragically in 1995, Tim got prostate cancer. At the time he was
working on ideas about how to project his mind into the internet at the mo-
ment of death and so live on in cyber-space. Then exhaustion and self-
reflection set in and the truly freeing insight for Tim became, “Time to grad-
uate and move on.” He cancelled his cryogenic plans, reconciled where and
with whom he could and went in peace. As one familiar with ecstatic, out-
side-of-self experiences he had finally concluded: “Why would anyone want
to live forever? That would be like having to take 3rd grade over and over
again.
So Lent is alarm-clock time. Lent is a call to penitential ecstasy.
The time is opportune for self-observance. Time is ripe for conscientious
and open-minded reading of God’s word. The time is ripe for correspond-
ence with God. The time is ripe for joining the sisters and brothers in the
faith in worship and praise and thankful ecstasy. The time is ripe for being
aware of that pesky person who God has put in our path to ponder about and
love. The time is ripe to know that the love of God vertically cannot hap-
pen without the love of God horizontally to family, neighbor and enemy.
Lent is truly the time to stand outside oneself, put oneself in brackets for a
moment, freeze time, and make a few loving adjustments which will make
the entire universe a better place in which to live and thrive.
Lent is a growing time. The crop is mature, authentic human life,
forgiven and forgiving humanity. Christ died so that our sins can be forgiv-
en and we can press on unparalyzed toward authentic, loving, serving of
humanity.
… /// ...
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In 1968, The Mothers of Invention released an album, “We’re Only
In It For The Money,” that was a satire on the Beatles album, “Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band.” In the words of Frank Zappa, on this album,
“Discorporate and come with me.”
Set aside 40 days of healthy self-denial and ecstasy, to think about
Christ’s life, passion, death and resurrection and how that informs and trans-
forms our life, passion, death and resurrection.
And if that is too hard, then just pray every morning, “Lord, please