Pastor E

A Christian Koan?

In my way of thinking A Christian Koan (kōan) is a 'riddle' which defies human logic, but not the divine.

[Japanese kōan : kō, public (from Middle Chinese kəwŋ) + an, matter.]

Mark 10:27 ¶ But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Mark 4:11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,
Mark 4:12 so that
“Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”

Mark 4:13 ¶ And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

In Buddhism a KOAN is a puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening. (1)

A well-known koan is: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

I am not a Buddhist and not suggesting it for you, however meditation is a Christian practice.

Try sitting in a quite place and meditate on this passage:

Luke 18:18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 18:19 ¶ So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

Let me know how it goes!

"E"

"To posit or to think of God at all we must be thinking of something that necessarily exists: ...
Anselm's argument is not primarily a philosophical exercise, but a trick (a 'Christian koan' like the koans of the Zen masters) to make us think of God. He is not – or at least not consistently – concerned with the process of thinking about thinking about God, but rather about the process of thinking about God.

The Five Ways (by St Thomas Aquinas): God as the bedrock of reality

Each of the 'ways' is like a signpost:

1. From observed motion/change: God as the Prime Mover

2. From the need of causation: God as the First Cause

3. From the contingency of things: God as the one Necessary Reality

4. From observed degrees of perfection: God as the Most Perfect

5. From apparent purposefulness and design: God as the Final Cause and End

According to Aquinas, the First Being or Principle differs from all else by the fact that its nature is simply 'to be' (esse). The nature of anything else is to be something in particular. In other words, the existence of each created thing is limited to this or that particular set of (positive) attributes or qualities that reflect some aspect of the divine infinity. From the infinite 'fulness' of Being (esse) derive the Divine Attributes or 'Names' such as Unity, Simplicity, Perfection, Goodness, Beauty, Wisdom, Eternity... "(2)

(1) Dictionary definition of koan
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. More from Dictionary

(2) Summa Theologica
Thomas Aquinas, Saint (1225?-1274), Rights:Public DomainLC Call no:BX1749 .T5

Matthew 5:42-44 (The Message) Love Your Enemies

God's gifts and God's call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded.

A Complete Israel 25-29I want to lay all this out on the table as clearly as I can, friends. This is complicated. It would be easy to misinterpret what's going on and arrogantly assume that you're royalty and they're just rabble, out on their ears for good. But that's not it at all. This hardness on the part of insider Israel toward God is temporary. Its effect is to open things up to all the outsiders so that we end up with a full house. Before it's all over, there will be a complete Israel. As it is written, A champion will stride down from the mountain of Zion; he'll clean house in Jacob. And this is my commitment to my people: removal of their sins. From your point of view as you hear and embrace the good news of the Message, it looks like the Jews are God's enemies. But looked at from the long-range perspective of God's overall purpose, they remain God's oldest friends. God's gifts and God's call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded. 30-32There was a time not so long ago when you were on the outs with God. But then the Jews slammed the door on him and things opened up for you. Now they are on the outs. But with the door held wide open for you, they have a way back in. In one way or another, God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in. 33-36Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It's way over our heads. We'll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him.

 Always glory! Always praise! 

 Yes. Yes. Yes.

The Message Romans 11

God wants us to Ask him for the things we need! So do it!

(The Message)

Matthew 7 

7-11"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

 12"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get.

(New American Standard Version)

Matthew 7

Prayer and the Golden Rule

 7"^(F)Ask, and ^(G)it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

 8"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

 9"Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?

 10"Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?

 11"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^(H)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

 12"In everything, ^(I)therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for ^(J)this is the Law and the Prophets.