On overhead projectors and spirituality

In my higher education today, I was intrigued to learn some information regarding Kabbalah. For those of you who haven't heard, Kabbalah is the cool spirituality of Madonna (the singer not the virgin) that has become moderately publicised as of late.

I don't know a lot about it, but what I learned today was that it's a form of Jewish mysticism and one of its beliefs is that before the Fall, everything was translucent, as in you could see through everything, like a stained-glass window. That would be kind of weird, to be perfectly honest, but it's intriguing nonetheless. You could look through a tree at an elephant. Any attempt to cover yourself with fig leaves would be a futile endeavor.

And then came sin, and with sin, a hardening of reality, and things were made opaque.

To think that the Fall brought opaqueness is a bit of a wandering into left field, but I like the concept that it points to, that we were created to be in harmony not just with God but with all of creation, and where there is harmony there is no need to hide.

I am not transparent. I'm barely translucent at times. I would say I'm fairly opaque. I think I'm pretty easy to read, in terms of knowing what's going on in me in general, but I try to guard the details from the prying eyes of everyone around me, to greater and lesser degrees of success.

I envy those stain-glass images of the saints. Maybe that's how they really do look now.

If I can't be honest about myself with others, I'm never really able to rest in being honest with myself. Everything inside of me must be protected from potential abuse and misuse by others, but in creating a barrier to guard against attack I create a barrier against healing and love, the things I desperately need to survive.

I pray that the Lord would be merciful and tear down the walls I've built. I hope that you would learn to have the same desire for yourself.

It doesn't even have to be as flashy as with Jericho.