Wandering Christian

Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
Matthew 19:13-15
The Bible (New International Version)

I always learn from this passage. It is so short, and yet so meaningful... But every time I read it, I feel more and more puzzled. I mean, we should act like children, I know. But what is really behind this metaphor (which, in my humble opinion, is fundamental for a whole comprehension of the Christian faith)?

The point is that, throughout the years, I have developed this concept, not fully understood yet. And it is not me, the wannabe-theologian, who is saying that; but the man who is behind this high-church mask, who feels and realizes there is still a living gospel and God is always speaking in mysterious ways. And this concept, which I call "gentle orthodoxy", is somehow my approach to the word "orthodoxy", which is more and more associated with an ongoing war within all Christian denominations.

This gentle orthodoxy brings me back to my childhood. And I remember those first impressions I had when going to a church. The choirs sounded like angels singing (even if they were not that good), the smells were superb, all those people coming and going, priests wearing lovely garments (which could be just a suit and a clergyman, but still, something funny), and all those Christian education classes. I would draw, sing and hear stories about how nice Lord Jesus was to all those with whom he engaged in conversation. My Jesus was this nice man, with a big smile, who wore such beautiful robes and was always surrounded by many people. I did not even care who those people would be. All I knew is that my sweet Jesus would bless all them and he would take care of all those people - forever! I remember I thought heaven was a place full of fluffy clouds, and that we would actually walk on them. We would be able to meet everyone, and everybody would live there in harmony, just like a big family. And Lord Jesus was nice, and his Daddy, that good God, would want (and invite) everybody to go live with them, where there was no evil and we would meet all those great men and women who were already gone. And there was this cute book (the Bible) we were invited to take with us, but it was a book from which nice stories about this good God (and this nice guy Jesus) were taken. We did not know it was necessary to understand its full meaning - verse by verse - because we knew, and trusted in this gentle God, so, we could talk to him directly, through prayer, before we were going to bed...

And now I ask: why have we left this gentle orthodoxy?

The gentle orthodoxy still believes Lord Jesus is able to perform miracles. It does not deny He exists. He lives within us, and works on our lives everyday. He is the one who once was here, but now is with His (and our) father: the Almighty God. He loves us wholeheartedly, and wants us to love everybody, because he loves everybody.

The gentle orthodoxy states that everybody is invited to follow this nice Lord Jesus. The same way He had so many followers, we can bring more and more people to His houses of worship. And Jesus will take care of them. We do not need to say what is wrong or what is right (according to our own concepts). In fact, when we do that, we are denying that Jesus would tell them what to do, either miraculously, either through His words.

The gentle orthodoxy finds grace in everything. It sees Christ through everyone, and is always trying to help those who are in need. It wants to see everybody dressed, fed, happy and joyful. And wants everybody to live like a child, counting stars and jumping over the puddles.

The gentle orthodoxy believes everything can be beautiful, because God is beautiful, and He can turn everyone as beautiful as He is. To the gentle orthodoxy, beauty is a subtle concept, and doesn't follow fashion formulas. You can be beautiful at ninety, you can be beautiful covered with ice cream, you can be beautiful dressed like a clown... It is the heart what matters.

There is always forgiveness to the gentle orthodoxy. Fights do not endure for much time. And there is always a chance for reconciliation after them. People can be happy together, even if they have said mean things about each other some time ago.

The gentle orthodoxy knows God wants to save us all. It commits us to tell about Jesus and act just like Jesus. But it knows that those who were not able to meet Jesus will be taken care of... Because God is good, and He loves the entire world.

The gentle orthodoxy does not even know what orthodoxy means. It still thinks orthodoxy is about beautiful icons, Eastern churches and St. John Chrysostom's liturgy. By the way, the gentle orthodoxy loves icons, statuettes, bells, candles and all liturgical accessories, because they make you feel in heaven too. It respects those who do not want to have them, but it does not believe they are harmful to us.

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Jude 1:3-4
The Bible (New International Version)

The gentle orthodoxy is about Jesus, the Lord. And therefore, it is about love. Unconditional love, everlasting love... Because when we allow Jesus to be our lord, friend and brother, we allow Divine Love to flow through our veins.
I want to be a child again. And I want this gentle orthodoxy back. The innocent, non-judgmental Christianity entrusted to the saints, which lies in the hearts of all those who follow this daily path of death and resurection, of dying and being born again, of being like children and seeing the world the way Jesus would see it.

I want to dedicate this small text to all those people who emanate this gentle orthodox faith... First of all, I would like to thank my dear Rob, who has enlightened my life in so many ways. Also, I would like to thank all those heroes of the blogosphere (and off the blogosphere), like Jared Cramer (a compassionate MDiv student in Texas), Grace (the Lutheran girl who finds goodness in everything), Grandmère Mimi (and her lovely thoughts), Jonathan MadPriest (who steals many laughs each day), Éverton Vidal (the ambulant metamorphosis), Edi (a warm heart lost in time and space), Fr. Jake (with this obsession for doing justice), Leonardo Ricardo (the warrior against intolerance and prejudice), Mickey (and his Latin American dance parties), Michelle (my little beudinha), KJ, Livia Cassandra (my "fófis"), Christopher (with his inspiring and committed love to his partner), Virginia, Richard and all my All Saints' friends, Duda (the reddish Jô Soares clone), Good Old Prior Aelred, Susan S., Jeremy, Fr. John-Julian, my parish priests, Josh Ligan (jumping over puddles), J. C. Fisher, Rick Allen, Jon Zuck, David Green, Bob Griffith and so many others in whom I can see a glimpse of this innocence that commits me to rescue my gentleness back.

More than that, I would like to thank this lovely couple, who can barely read and send e-mails, but who represent to me the most perfect ideal (on Earth) of what "gentle orthodoxy" is... My grandparents.

Further reading:
Matthew 19
Jude 1

We are nothing more
than a drop of light,
a fleeting star,
a spark, just that,
in the age of the sky.

We are not what
we wanted to be,
just a brief bark
in the midst of an old silence
with the age of the sky.

Calm,
everything is calm,
let the kiss last,
let time cure,
let the soul
have the same age
as the sky.

We are nothing more
than a handful of sea,
God's anecdote,
a whim of the sun
in the garden of the sky.

We don't notice it,
among so many tic tacs,
so many big bangs,
just a grain of salt
in the sea of the sky.

La edad del cielo (translation) Jorge Drexler
Click here to read the original lyrics

The sky... Every time I hear about the sky, many different feelings come to my mind.. I remember the astronomy classes I took in College, and the nights I lost on its terrace, aiming the sigma octantis star with an astronomical theodolite. I remember the snow gently falling on my covered head, while walking through the labyrinthic streets in Salamanca. I remember the amazing Amazonian sunsets I could see from the Ponta Negra Road, while I drove home from work in Manaus. I remember looking at the sky and trying to figure out where the southern cross constellation was, when I as a 9-year old kid in Rio Grande. I remember the calmness of those shades of blue in Cape Canaveral, suddenly interrupted by an ephemeral rocket launch. I remember the strong winds and the frantic coldness I felt while at the Eiffel tower. But I also feel the everyday winds in downtown Rio while crossing the Presidente Vargas avenue to take the subway, which oblige me to "re-comb" my hair everywhere I go...

The sky is so vast and infinite that every time I think about it, God comes to my mind. The ancient peoples saw God in this vastness. Many of them thought the sky, and its "creatures" were, in fact, gods and goddesses. Human beings cannot deal with the infinite. We are always asking the following questions: How much? How many? How long?

But the sky is infinite, and therefore, not entirely comprehensible... We are not able to measure it, except in a poetic way. It is the ultimate symbol of God. It is something we actually look at when trying to speak with Him. The sky is heavenly...

And so is love.

Love is, at the same time tasteful and tasteless. It cannot be understood. It cannot be seen. You just feel it. And it is so embarrassing to imagine that, without love, we would have been just mere creatures: barks in the midst of a dull silence, sparks, drops... We often feel we are unique and important, but, at the end, we are just someone else trying to survive in this world. If it were not for love, our life would be meaningless.

Love is the tool God has provided us to reach eternity. Through love, God granted us salvation. Beyond love, we find eternal joy. In love, Christ was conceived. With love, He has preached. Natural love. God-granted love.

And when we love our partners, friends, children, relatives and even our enemies, we are simply replicating this love God lies in. Love connects us with the infinite. It gives us hope to go on. It restores our dignity. It immerges us in this great sea of compassion we call life. Love interrupts this chain reaction of degradation. Through love, we experience God in many unbelievable ways. Love is, for sure, a blessing.

And a church which does not bless love does not deserve to be called a church.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:4-13
The Bible (New International Version)

We ought to rejoice with this great blessing called love. And when we turn this God-given commandment into a true sacrament (i.e. a visible mediator of the sacred), we will have taken another step towards healing our wounds and reaching one more glimpse of God's grace.

So, let us sacramentalize these eternal moments of fulfillment and celebrate together that we are all one body of people who feel love, and through it, we have become as old as the age of the sky.

I didn't want to start another thread with a song, especially a Drexler's song, and so early... But this song (in fact, one of my old-time favorites) has spoken to my heart during the last week, in so many and unpredictable ways, that I felt obliged to share it all here.

Further reading:
I Corinthians 13