Theological Reflections on the-open-sees.
by C. Elmer Chen
Welcome!
This is a place to find some of my reflections - theological, spiritual, and personal. I do not expect to post frequently. But I hope that what I do share will serve to connect me more deeply with friends as well as to engage more broadly in some informal academic dialogue with colleagues and acquaintances.
A note about the wordplay on the title:
To the ancients, the open seas were mysterious, untameable, terrifying, powerful forces of destruction, often depicted as a giant sea serpent. But the Israelites knew of One who ruled even the sea...One who created the world and called it 'good', because it was marked by shalom - peace, rest...One who would later come in the flesh and amaze his disciples by commanding the wind and the waves...'Peace! Be still!' By faith we can look at the seas and the storms and the mysteries of life and know that there is One who is good, whose creation is good, who does all things well. With a word he creates shalom.
As I make the transition from my teaching post to PhD studies, I feel as if I were being launched into deeper waters...thus the play on words. May these theo-reflections help us towards more faithful seeing.
A note about the wordplay on the title:
To the ancients, the open seas were mysterious, untameable, terrifying, powerful forces of destruction, often depicted as a giant sea serpent. But the Israelites knew of One who ruled even the sea...One who created the world and called it 'good', because it was marked by shalom - peace, rest...One who would later come in the flesh and amaze his disciples by commanding the wind and the waves...'Peace! Be still!' By faith we can look at the seas and the storms and the mysteries of life and know that there is One who is good, whose creation is good, who does all things well. With a word he creates shalom.
As I make the transition from my teaching post to PhD studies, I feel as if I were being launched into deeper waters...thus the play on words. May these theo-reflections help us towards more faithful seeing.
It is so good to sing of You
At the first sight of the morning And at night Your faithfulness review Before I close my eyes And sometimes in the dimming light I stumble on Your glory That overwhelming sudden fright But not the daunting kind It’s so hard to describe - Steve Bell, "Fresh and Green" |
There are few things I love more than to stumble upon a thought that opens up my imagination and reawakens my affections to take in more of the beauty of God. I walk through the semi-darkness unaware that dusk has fallen, unaware of just how blind and dull I have become, when suddenly...light! I realise how I have ached to see the glory. Suddenly, the dull ache becomes a raging passion. Suddenly, the hunger pangs return to remind me that I am alive, and that I have a life to live. It is when I am painfully hungry, and when my soul begins to feed, that I feel most fully alive. Perhaps this is why this passage from the song often makes me weep. I weep with joy to find the long lost friend my heart misses most...I find myself in the presence of the Glory of God. It's the Spirit himself!
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© 2012 C. Elmer Chen