Yin and Yang

Ida and I accompanied good friends for a two-day trip to the Oregon Coast. Beach walks, tourist shopping, long conversations were the order of the day. A frequent topic of conversation among us was the current dilemma within the denomination to which Ida belongs. Ordination of women has become a source of tension between regions. The response of the denominational leadership is to enforce rules on those areas which are not in compliance. Various punishments are proposed for those who continue to ordain women.

These conversations have brought the topic of unity to the forefront of my mind and therefore a topic to which I will subject you.

The Yin-Yang symbol is familiar to most of us--a circle with two tear-drop shapes held within it, their outer contours conforming to the circle's circumference, the inner one a curving line with the larger ends pointing in opposite directions.1

Yin and Yang literally mean, "dark" and "light." The philosophy behind the symbol is a concept of the complementary nature of opposing ideas or realities. In this meaning, dark and light are opposites, but necessary components of one another. In fact, one gives rise to the other and are, therefore, interdependent.

Setting that aside and focusing on just the symbol itself, we who take the name of Christ may see in it something which is holy and truly of Father.

In the beginning, Father formed human's first ancestor from the mud of the ground, then separated female from out of male. They walked and talked with their Creator in that garden He gave them as home. The key point here, for my purposes, is that God and humanity are, at this time, separate. Walking side-by-side, they can sense the other with all five senses-sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell. But He is there, we are here. We look to the original garden and view it as a destination to which to return. But is that a worthy destination, the highest good to which mankind can aspire?

when Adam woke from the woman-extraction surgery, he said, "she is one with me; bone of my bone; flesh of my flesh." Moses, commenting on this says, "For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife."2 Marriage restores the unity lost in the creation of Eve. One with each other, each gives what he or she has to meet the need of the other, her or his opposite. For this reason, the yin-yang symbol is often used to denote the male/female relationship; oneness in difference. Here is where Christians can find a vast depth of meaning compatible with our belief in a creator-God.

As woman and man come together to complement, finish and fulfill one another, so, too, do we, the body of Christ, come together with our heavenly Bridegroom. We, in some infinitely mysterious way, fill up our Lord Jesus. "...He (Father) put all things in subjection under His (Jesus') feet and made Him (Jesus) head over all things for the called-out-ones (the church) which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."3

Created separate from God, the supreme act of love on the cross unified humanity with Divinity in a way which was not true from the beginning. Divinity became humanity that humanity might become one with Divinity. It is not a mindless unification, but one which incorporates individuality within the Spirit who is God. We do not lose our personality, memories and all else that makes us a unique human being. Rather, we join with Him who is All in mutual love, respect, purpose and being. What was once separated becomes one without sacrificing the one to the All. Great mystery indeed, but what a beautiful experience. Bride and Bridegroom united in holy matrimony for the benefit and joy of both. United we are one with our Lord Jesus Christ and find, in Him, that for which we have always sought.

We don't have to wait. It begins here and now, this being "in Him." The former things are passed away. Behold all things are new. Even that which was glorious and beautiful has been replaced, by the cross, with something even more beautiful and glorious. Jesus' prayer, "That they may be one as We are One; that they may be one with Us," is not a future event but one which was the immediate result of His death, burial, resurrection and glorification at the right hand of His and our Father.4

I have no solution for a divided hierarchical system which fosters rulership of one over another, of levels of authority, of leaders and followers. There is only one Head, our Lord Jesus. There is only one Pastor/Shepherd, our Lord Jesus. There is only one Elder, our Lord Jesus. All others are false shepherds, false pastors, false leaders who come in to steal and destroy and enslave. Therefore, whether in a denomination or not, the only true unity is unity in Christ Jesus our Leader, Pastor and Shepherd. To Him be our allegiance, our honor, our attention.

On that night which became the pivot of all history, Jesus prayed for His disciples. He said, "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me."5 His prayer joined those eleven men to we who have believed through their words. In an unprecedented request, Jesus prayed that this new human relationship would be incorporated into the oneness shared by Father and Son. What incredibly good news! How extraordinary that we, one with one another are drawn up into the very God, one with Him. Truly, the Garden of Eden is not something for which to yearn when we are offered a place within the Creator Himself. Communion is no longer a stroll through beautiful woodlands and over verdant plains. No, now, from that fateful night to the end of the age, we who have been drawn into belief in Jesus are in Him, united with Him, one with Him. There is no barrier, we are melded into Him. This is true, for what prayer of Jesus did the Father ever deny?

May we, His unified and unifying ones, find the true oneness of the yin-yang image. Distinct, yet merged; many but one; individually gifted but gifted for the blessing of all. Maye we be together as one within our Lord Jesus, the Christ. May we shed hierarchies, human leadership, man-made rules, cultural divisions, all that is not Jesus Christ. May we be one with each other and, in this unity, recognize we are included into that sacred, mysterious Unity which is Father and Son.

Sit back in your beach chair, stretch out your legs, dig your feet into warm sand, stare into the vast blue of sea and sky, listen to the cry of gulls, the roar of waves expending themselves on land. Let your mind comprehend this vast and deep truth--We who believe are united in an indissoluble bond with one another and with Father and Son. What praise can speak such unutterable reality? What song can provide melody to this marvel? What thought can truly wrap itself around such grand purposes? None. But we have a glimpse, for now, and that suffices.

8/19/18

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