The sun peeked in my window this morning – right when I needed her to say hello. She brushed my cheek with a soft yellow kiss and danced in the branches outside until she saw that she had cheered me up.
I live in a little treehouse right now, and the birds are all awake around me, having their morning gossip and not caring that they woke me up at 5 am before I wanted to be alive.
I could have been annoyed – I did consider it… but then I heard an eagle chortle. And that is all it takes with me, that cascade of little things in the wild – especially when the eagles call. Yesterday I saw one carrying a bunch of branches in its beak and think it’s nest is nearby… but I digress…
When my eyes opened, I was in a bit of physical distress and on my way down into a tailspin; my mind had already decided to be upset at today. But the world outside grabbed my chin and shook it like my great aunt would when she was teasing me out of a mood.
So I decided to write a different kind of post this morning, a post hunting for joy. I decided to pick the first verse that popped up on my phone screen to contemplate. This is what it was:
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh – Gal 5:16
I could sigh when I read it. And roll my eyes. Much of my life was spent contemplating Bible words in black and white. Trying to live my way into purity through verses like this. Seeing them as a scolding and a challenge to try harder. And this verse falls right into that category – Spirit or flesh it asks. Ugh the flesh. Always the flesh! A taunting, bulbous Jabba the Hut way to look at the self I am chained to… next to the purity I am supposed to be.
But that little bird outside is chittering at me – right there on that green fir branch bobbing in the sunshine – telling me not to get my fingers tangled in that burning ball of religious training. The one that the Trebuchet of Trauma (might as well name it something interesting) flings at me. It’s a ball that’s loaded with slow burning oils – oils of resentment… anger… defeat and skepticism. Yes, there’s a lot of chaotic emotions stuffed in that ball! And they light fires everywhere that take me too much time to put out. And so instead, I turned and listened to the sweet song of that little ball of fluff outside my window, settled deeper into Jesus’ arms, and looked into what the ancient Greek says about those Bible verses.
I am learning things about Greek this year – lots of mind boggling things – lots of scratch my head and try hard to keep up things. But some of them have been so very very life giving to me. And I am so grateful to know a little about these ancient words thanks to my teacher.
Peripatew is the Greek word used for “Live” in that sentence. And what a fun word it is! It’s actually two words squished together “peri” and “patew” – peri meaning: all around/ through/ all over it (it can mean other things, too). Patew is path/ trample or tread – so peripatew is an action word commonly meaning to walk around or live by or live around etc.
What happens when we imagine these two words stuck together? Right away this image of walking around and living, brings me straight to Winnie the Pooh and Piglet in the 100 acre woods tromping around – the kind of tromping that requires arm swinging and making up songs – on an adventure, thoroughly invested in their hunt for honey and acorns.
And it is in the imperative – meaning a command. Do it! Paul is saying – Invest in that tromp – be thoroughly enthralled by Holy Spirit and what she’s doing, where she’s guiding you (from her spot inside your soul). Go heart first into the world, each step on the path of life is full of possibilities and secret gardens that show you bits about who Love is and the things Love makes – big things, glorious things you don’t realize exist until the next step. Yes, there are scary things like heffalumps and woozles out there(see Winnie the Pooh for details) but even nightmares are worth being in the 100 acre woods on a tromp.
“Do not gratify the desires of the flesh” – this part is the part where I would have felt spanked in the past. Where my soul still sits up and stiffens – wary and waiting to be hit. But Jesus and I have done a lot of work here, and I have learned to trust him – the grace he lavishly wraps around his truth. (He always ties them together you know.) He’s taught me to rest in his care… besides we’re on a tromp in the 100 acre woods right now with Holy Spirit! Trying to scourge myself while I’m in such good company as the birds and the sun and great big trees doesn’t work very well.
And here is where the Greek is so helpful. “Do not gratify” is really one Greek verb “Telew” meaning “to end” /conclude/ finish up. And it’s used in the subjunctive…
Do you know what the subjunctive is? It’s a kind of Greek grammar that is about possibilities and probabilities. Meaning what CAN happen. So Paul is soft in his language here – he’s saying this is the result of tromping around on an adventure with Holy Spirit. You might – maybe even probably will finish up your “longing” (the better word to translate for “desires”) for things that don’t satisfy – the many ways we try to temporarily fill ourselves up on our own and are left feeling empty after just five minutes. The addictions we get sucked into that feel good for a blink, but leave us feeling bereft as soon as we’re done and stop us from seeing the 100 acre woods we’re surrounded by. The kinds of things that keep us from being in the wide-awake wonder part of living.
Oh, well then, my little busy bird and sweet sunshine. Sure, I’ll go tromp around with Holy Spirit in the outside world, especially if she gives me things that keep me awake and aware and full of wonder at who Love is and what lovely magical things God hides in the woods like beauty and truth and wonder.
Especially if it means she can protect me from that cycle that empties me out – the one of addictive self abuse and various snake oils and self help cure-alls that I keep thinking will make me happy.
Once Upon the Ink 