My sister-in-law (Molly) and her husband (David) just had a baby boy. They haven't decided on a name yet, but the little guy was delivered by C-Section at around 10:30 p.m. on July 4th: 7 lbs. 7 oz., 20 inches. Everyone is doing fine. I spoke to Molly today and she is doing well, though justifiably exhausted.
Birth is one of those experiences that changes the people who witness it. The same can be said of death or sex or war. They are initiatory experiences--baptism by knowledge. I certainly will never forget the first time I watched someone die (my Grandmother Johnson) or the time I saw an autopsy or did any of these other things that initiated me into the adult world of experience.
There are equivalents in the spiritual realm. You begin to see it when you speak frankly with people about their spiritual lives. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen nearly enough in our current church culture. Because spirituality is an aspect of human growth like anything else, people have spiritual lives whether they intentionally develop them or not. This is shows when you ask an atheistic about what gives their life meaning. They may say "Truth," or "Beauty" or "Compassion," but be reluctant to concede that those are all spiritual terms of reference. In this sense philosophy and religion overlap in their goals, language, and even methods (to some degree).
Alas, most philosophy makes a blunt instrument for spiritual development. So does most theology, I'm afraid. Thankfully post-modernism gives us permission to return to essentially phenomenological approaches. That, in turn, leads to the rediscovery of the medievals (as well as to the appreciation of Far Eastern approaches). Turns out that post-modernism isn't so scary after all.
I gave a sermon about post-modernism a few months ago. It was one of my favorites, though I had to be careful to walk the edge between teaching and confusing the congregation. I think I probably don't take enough risks in my preaching. Anyway, the best compliment I got on that sermon was from a graduate student of theology who said I had really opened up some possibilities for him that he hadn't seen before.
Great to give sermons that give people "ah-ha" moments, but as I mature as a preacher I become less and less concerned with preaching-towards-insight. Why? Because insight alone isn't enough to change us. It's helpful, but isn't enough. What is required, actually, is relationship. The goal of preaching is not to educate, or even inspire, but to RELATE to people in a way that transmits God's grace.
Anyway, this rant started because Molly and David had a baby. Good for them! Every blessing and joy...
-t
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