Musing on Religion, Lent, Mythology, and Devotions

[alanajoli]

For us Christian folk, we're almost at the end of Lent. Today was always the biggest day of the year for me: Maundy Thursday is the part of the story where everything goes wrong for Jesus. He gets betrayed, his friends are unable to stay awake while praying, he is arrested, his friends abandon him, and some time in the middle of the night, he gets tried unjustly. Without any sleep, the next morning he faces a second trial, also unjust, and is then executed by the Empire. As much as that sacrifice (and the subsequent resurrection--metaphor though some Christian theologians say that might be) is the core of what religion is about (as Lewis says, defeating or redeeming death), to me, it has always been Thursday, lost and alone, that felt like the biggest day to me. It's the day when all hope is lost, when the hero may indeed experience despair (though that is dependent on translation).

The story of Jesus of Nazareth, whether you believe it literally, mythically, or don't believe it at all, is a heck of a story. Madeline L'Engle once wrote that she became a Christian because she liked the storybook it came with. Yann Martel said in an interview with Publishers Weekly that given the choice between a world that was made at random and a world that was made by God, he would choose God, because it made the better story. Lewis was scolded for calling myths "lies breathed through silver" by Tolkien, who called Christianity the True Myth, or myth made fact (alas, I do not have the quote in front of me). Whether there is power in belief, power beyond humanity in the form of some sort of higher power, or simply power in story (I happen to believe all three), the way that the telling moves us, allows us to empathize with those in the thick of it, is probably what draws me to both writing and mythology.

I'll confess to you all for a moment that though I consider myself a Christian, it has been a long time since I've been a regular church attendee--around four years now. Experiencing a story that is intended to be communal (the way I think religions and myths are intended to be experienced) is odd, and this Lent, I have filled that gap as best I can by typing up a collection of Lenten Devotionals I picked up maybe seven years ago, featuring the writings of C. S. Lewis--mostly from Mere Christianity--and sending it out to family and some friends who I suspected would appreciate that kind of reading during Lent. The best part of this for me is that, on some level, I found a community. While the majority were silent, I have received several e-mails over the course of Lent discussing Lewis's views, and have had phone calls with members of my family that added to my understanding of Lewis's thoughts--and larger thoughts on selected scriptures. While I will be glad not to be typing them up daily (as often I would forget and have to send two per day--particularly during the time when I was at DDXP and had no internet access), I am not looking forward to Easter this year, because I will be sad to once again experience the story--in what little time I spend on it--alone.

I have been contemplating ways to avoid this--and I will certainly be mailing that list of people to see if anyone is interested in coming along for the ride I have percolating. My thought is to try, weekly, to post a Bible verse (assuming I can find a good online concordance) alongside something from a theologian or philosopher (wisdom can be found in many places and many religions, so I am loathe to limit myself to reading only Christian writers). The question becomes whether I continue to keep it a mailing list, whether I share those thoughts here, or whether I start a separate blog to host these. I may settle on some variation thereof, because I think the community feeling would be enhanced by the conversational capabilities of a comments section. As for you, faithful readers, this blog is dominantly about myth and storytelling--is adding religious and theological writings (as barely distinct as those are from myth, according to the Dewey Decimal system) a leap that people would be willing to take with me? Or is it the entry every week that would be skipped along the friends page? (I would most likely put it behind a cut, because I am sure that not *everyone* is interested.)

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. For those celebrating the equinox tonight, happy equinox! For Christians, may the rest of your Lent be meaningful, and your Easter the renewal it is meant to be. My calendar doesn't list any other holidays, but if you are celebrating them, I'd love to know--and I hope the celebrations accomplish what they are meant to evoke.

Comments

[caitrin.livejournal.com]

I would definitely be interested in participating, in whatever form it takes. A group blog or LJ community could be another idea to consider, to spread out the work a bit - you could do the weekly posts you're talking about, and others could posts quotes or links or thoughts as well, even if they weren't directly related to your verse of the week. Just a thought.

I've been having trouble with Lent this year - wish I'd known you were sending things out! :) I have been struggling to find a parish that I can be happy with - or at least tolerate - on liturgical, theological, AND social levels; I've definitely been feeling that lack of community you speak of.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Aw, I wish I had known! I will copy you in on the last three days. Finding a church community really is a struggle.

I suspect that community may be the way I go, but I am going to see if the folks on my mailing list would be willing to follow a link. :)

[jeff-duntemann.livejournal.com]

One reason I cannot be other than Catholic (if not Roman Catholic) is that the foundations of the faith are passed on as stories. We hear the stories before we read the Bible, and in fact during the time of my Roman Catholic childhood (roughly 1952-1966) we didn't read the Bible at all because it was not encouraged. That cuts two ways: We missed out to some extent, but then again, we received the stories as stories and were not encouraged to cut the focus down to one or two individual verses, which can radically alter the meaning of the verses quoted.

The Bible was not intended to be a propositional document. It is a collection of stories, within which lie myths of awesome power. It is my view that taking the resolution down past the story level blurs out the greater truths and allows people to see whatever they want in it, which is the same as saying that there's essentially nothing there at all.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

I think I agree with everything you've just said--the value of story in itself is certainly intrinsic. But I also appreciate the historical context, and wonder from what you've said above what you make of that part of the story's complexity. ;)

[orryn-emrys.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine did something kinda similar, and started a blog separate from his LiveJournal to do it. It focuses on the manner in which myths are reforged and retold in pop culture, and how it affects our social awareness of the principles at their core. He also focuses on how these myths and stories have mirrored each other in various culture throughout history. It's really good... Let me find the url.... Ah.

http://storiesaresignposts.blogspot.com/

*grins* It's pretty geeky, but worth the read. Some of the earliest posts are amongst the best.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Oooh, what a great blog! (I'm right at home in "pretty geeky.") I've put it in my rss reader. Thanks for the tip!

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Our Jewish friends are celebrating Purim.

Excellent post. As for the devotional, why not start a filter right here? Then only those who sign up will see the messages, and they won't disturb folks who would rather avoid religious subjects.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Purim! I was trying to remember that one.

How do filters work on the user end? I've used them to filter which friends listings I read, but not which folks get what content. Do you mean like a privacy filter? I could definitely consider doing that.

Or, possibly, a community, where others could also contribute (and then it could stay public but others could subscribe as they chose).

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I think the filters all work the same. But a community would work!