Foundations aren’t always pretty, but without them anything that is built is unlikely to last the test of time and “weather” – that is to say, events and circumstances which will put pressure upon it. And this is true both literally and metaphorically. And the taller a building is, the more important foundations become.
Our metaphorical foundations are as much about our understanding and the application of knowledge as they are our family, friends, culture and education. Each of these factors will contribute to who and what we are now. Those have been laid, stone by stone, in our earlier years, and everything we have done or become builds on that.
The new testament often refers to Christ as the foundation of our faith, and by extension of our selves. In the gospels, Jesus refers to himself as the cornerstone – the building block which supports and determines the rest of the structure. He tells a story about a wise builder and a foolish builder – one has a firm foundation and the other does not – and says that his teachings provide that rock solid foundation for our lives, individually and collectively.
John’s gospel opens with the famous phrase: In the Beginning was the Word… This echoes the opening phrase of Genesis: In the Beginning when God created the Heavens and the Earth… And again it is echoed in the reading from Proverbs set for this Sunday, which speaks of Divine Wisdom: The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.
Some theologians have drawn a parallel between the Breath of God which speaks, the Word of God which speaks all things into Being, and the Wisdom of God which is set in motion by that Word. Perhaps what is often called Christ Consciousness by people such as Fr. Richard Rohr is exactly this – the melding of the Breath, the Word and the Wisdom as a Divine essence that is the foundation of all that exists throughout the Universe, and which fills and interpenetrates all things, bringing life and joy and Being!
And we are already part of this, and are invited to become consciously and actively co-creators with God in this. What an incredible and wonderful thing.
And all of it is built upon this one Foundation – that is Christ – the Word and Wisdom of God.
I’ll be writing and talking more about this on Sunday… watch this space!
Blessings,
Revd. Talisker
(Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash)