The Forgotten Holy
Conceived in 2006
Completed April 22, 2008
What's Missing?
When was the last time you heard the word "holy" used in a sentence? When was the last time you used the word in a sentence? Ah, I see. Yesterday, was it? I suppose the word does have a variety of definitions these days. But I'm referring to this definition from the online version of the The Free Online dictionary: "Regarded with or worthy of worship or veneration; revered," or "Belonging to, derived from, or associated with a divine power; sacred." Even more to the point, I think, is Berkhof's explanation of Holy or holiness in Systematic Theology: "Its fundamental idea is that of a position or relationship existing between God and some person or thing." Berkhof goes on to discuss how "holy" is used to convey the concept that God is completely "other" than we are, that the differences and distance between God and His creation are so vast that we cannot bridge them or even attempt to cross over from where we are to where He is.
Now I ask you again, when was the last time you heard or used the word "holy" in a sentence in a manner that reflects the understanding noted above? Hard to remember, for many of us, isn't it? Did you even know that the word carried such a meaning?
For the remainder of this writing I will use "Holy" to indicate relationship of God to His creation, along the lines that Berkhof uses the term, capitalized to emphasize that the term is more than just a word with a definition in a dictionary. I will also use "holy" almost interchangeably with the term sacred as defined following, with some emphasis on the understanding that something "holy" or "sacred" derives its importance from Holy. The Free Online Dictionary has two definitions of sacred which apply here: "Worthy of respect; venerable", and "Made or declared holy". What do we hold sacred in our time? Human rights? Animal rights? Freedom of choice? Economic value? Gross national product? What do you hold sacred? From what holiness do these sacred things derive their sanctity? Think carefully before you answer.
When a person speaks of Holy Spirit or Holy Bible, what do you think he or she understands by the term "Holy"? It is used as a name, or as a meaningless adjective! Or at the very least its meaning has been degraded to become synonymous with "religious". So what is the relevance of Holy? If an understanding of Holy is missing from our lives or from our society, what is it that we have lost?
The Importance Of Holy
In the Old Testament the gulf between man and God was considered so great that it was believed that a person could not look upon God and remain alive. In Genesis 32:30 Jacob said "... I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved." It's not that God would strike dead the person who saw His face, but that the experience and awe would be so traumatic as to rend a person's soul and spirit. This is a surprisingly advanced understanding of the human psyche, especially considering the period in history during which this belief was held.
According to one source that has researched Holiness, "The word "Holy" is mentioned in the Old Testament over 500 times, and in the New Testament, over 100 times. The word "Holiness" is mentioned in the Bible 43 times. The word "Sanctification" is mentioned in the Bible 70 times."
Clearly, Holy is an important theme in the Bible, and an essential element of Holy is relationship. This term should be familar to all of us, as relationship is widely used in our culture. In particular, our culture is highly sensitive to the notion of equality as a relationship between persons. Much of our legal system is devoted to the enforcement of that equality. It is a sad commentary that so many of our laws, and more of them each day, must address such a basic relationship as equality between persons. To make matters more personal, how often do we find ourselves in discussions or negotations in which we must constantly be on watch to ensure that we are treated fairly, that no one else will shove us aside to assert their own interests? The race toward equality has become a part of our every day lives, and the absence of equality a part of our every day fears. Wouldn't it be delightful if we never again had to fight for equality, never again had to fear inequality? In the context of a Holy God, equality among men is a non-issue.
Chosen Forgetfulness
How did we come to forget Holy? We ran from it. Separation of church and state is good, but that doesn't mean that we should eliminate all references to God, and all forms of reverence toward Him, from everything that is government-owned or government-sponsored. From my own experience, I know that discussion of God and religion in the context of a belief in God were permitted, at least in some public schools, as recently as the late 1970's. I had the opportunity in (public) grade school to have religious education once per week. And that education was unapologetic Bible instruction. I attended a Christian crusade in my (public) high school gymnasium that was presented by a well-known Latin American evangelist. I can't imagine anyone in today's public schools even attempting to teach religious education in grade school, or using a high school gymnasium for a Christian crusade, out of certainty that lawsuits would follow. But neither can I imagine attending class, much less being able to learn anything, in today's schools where even the instructor gets no respect from the students.
We also forgot Holy when we elevated ourselves to God's status. I know a former co-worker of mine who refused to believe in a God who would command his people to slay the entire population of a city (as was done in the Book of Joshua). No such God deserves his worship. Because he cannot imagine a justification for the command, he has judged the command to be immoral, in spite of the fact that he was not present at the time and has no comprehension of the issues at stake. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche declared during the late 19th century that "God is dead", presumably meaning that God had been either explained away or was no longer necessary. With God "dead", however, Nietsche proposed that a few select humans (himself among them) should establish the moral standards for the coming ages.
In addition, we forgot Holy when we lowered God's status to levels below ours. Historically, when a subject was poorly understood or mysterious the solution was to place the mystery in God's domain and to get on with life. As scientific advances became more frequent in the fields of astronomy, medicine, etc. we found that fewer and fewer mysteries needed to be relegated to God's domain. Because cause and effect were better understood it seemed that God as an explanation, or God as master of a mystery, became much less important. We understand what causes earthquakes, floods, hurricanes. Learning has also advanced in the areas of psychology. We needn't label someone's action or thought sinful, because that could be emotionally disturbing to the person who performed the action, and besides, we don't want to be judgemental. I could go on here, but surely you get the point. The common perspective in today's culture is that God and Holy are not only unnecessary, but they conflict with our new age values, and therefore are to be avoided, even despised.
Given that we have run from Holy, that we have elevated ourselves, or demoted ("killed") God, or some combination of these things, where does this leave us? We ignore the teachings that result from thousands of years of human civilization, because we are "smarter" and know better. We produce more laws to enforce relationships between persons, because the natural relationships are selfish and contentious, and not at all to our liking (so long as we ourselves are not charged with these vices). Wherever we turn someone is in our face doing something that we wish they would not do. Meanwhile, we ignore that our children mature sooner in those aspects that should be later, and later in those aspects that should be sooner. Children do not respect adults, nor do adults respect other adults. The very laws that we write to enforce right relationships work at cross-purposes to our intentions. The mindsets that anything not proscribed by law is permissible, or that something is wrong only if one is caught, become increasingly prevalent. But no one dares to admit such a cause and effect, because that admission requires us to bring Holy back into our presence, from where it sheds light on all that we do. Mindful of our own inadequacy, we mix our own poison and drink it heartily!
The Price Of Forgetfulness
What are the consequences to us individually, and to our human race, now that we have forgotten Holy? What is our human condition without a correct understanding of Holy? Jesus bridged the communication gap between Holy God and human kind. His death and resurrection made it possible for us to look upon God, but they did NOT alter the difference between God and Man. God is still wholly other than Man. He is Creator and Sustainer, righteous and perfect, while we are His creatures, fed and nourished at His pleasure, sinful and ever-failing. That we are so different from God, yet created in His image, is a tribute to His mercy and creativity. Being created in His image does nothing to change the relationship that defines God as Holy and set apart from us.
Perhaps we have become so accustomed to the objective of maintaining or achieving equality in our relationshps that we cannot comprehend a desirable relationship which does not assure us of equality with, or even superiority over, the other party to the relationship. The fact is, however, that we have a relationship to God whether we want it or not. Such a relationship does not conform to our desires or expectations. It is what it is, and denial of what it is puts us in conflict with the Creator of the Universe. When our spinal column has one vertebra slightly misplaced, the body compensates for that misplacement by tightening muscles that apply pressure to and displace yet another vertebra. Similarly, our lives must compensate for the stress of being at odds with our Creator. Relationships with people and things around us become imbalanced, leading to still more anguish.
In forgetting Holy we also demote "sacred". In demoting sacred we devalue our own lives and the lives of those around us. If there is no Holy from whence to derive sanctity, of what relevance is sanctity? Those things held sacred by our society and culture are only shadows of what is truly sacred; they are placeholders, because deep within us we understand and long for relationships to people and things that are sacred. But how can one truly hold sacred another being such as oneself unless sacred derives from Holy? Without Holy, the sanctity of others grows out of our own self-importance. The value of human life is not derived from the fact that we are human, or that it is natural for us to value other beings similar to ourselves; it is derived from the relationship of each human life to a Holy God! No one who seeks to find value in human lives can comprehend the true value of those lives outside of their relationship to Holy God.
Surely we have met, may in fact be so ourselves, people who make a practice of treating others equally. Such people are often well-liked, and certainly appreciated by most others with whom they come into contact. But on its own, such behavior that willingly grants equality to others is not enough. Human nature adjusts values to correspond to circumstances, so that even a so-called reverence for life or for humanity, or a love of the sick and the poor, is subject to "adjustments" according to circumstances. But Holy is not open to circumstantial adjustments. Holy is. In contrast to the great gulf between us and God all other circumstances are irrelevant. If we are in right relationship to God then circumstances cannot change this relationship. And if our relationship to God is in order, our other relationships are less likely to adjust to changing circumstances.
One of the most declarative descriptions of God's holiness and our expected response to it is found in Leviticus 11:44-45 (NASB): "For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm upon the earth. For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; thus you shall be holy for I am holy." See Byblos.com for additional insight into this passage.
What you find in this passage is that we must be holy for no other reason than that God is our Lord and God. Our sanctity is derived from and in response to God's holiness. If we need more reason than this, look no further than the fact that we owe him our lives. We have freedom because He brought us up from the land of Egypt where we were slaves. Our expected response is an active and energetic effort to honor His holiness by treating ourselves (and thus those around us) as special and sacred possessions of God. How we live, and what we do, matters for our holiness. Once again, the magnitude of God's glory is so far above us that no circumstance in which we can find ourselves can possibly be so important as to move, adjust, or modify God's relationship to us. In a world of indecision, where everything is subject to interpretation and relativism, God's holiness, and its implications for us, stands firm. God knows this. His creation knows this. It is only humans who have difficulty understanding, accepting, and remembering this. And for this difficulty the whole world suffers.
The Joy Of Remembrance
Right relationship to God restores balance and health to our lives and to everything that is truly important to us. Submit to God, acknowledge Him as Holy, as Lord, Master, and Creator. Recognize that we have responsibility to Him and to everything that He has created. Recognizing ourselves as God's creation serves to elevate us. Further recognizing ourselves as creatures capable of communicating with God makes us even more remarkable. Finally, recognizing ourselves as children of God should inspire humility, at least because He has adopted us as His children in spite of the huge gulf between His holiness and our poor state. Our right relationship to those around us depends upon right relationship to God.
In Isaiah 6:3 (NASB) we find Isaiah recording his vision of Heaven, in which the Seraphim are speaking to each other: 'And one called out to another and said "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory."' In Revelation 4:8 (NASB) the Apostle John records his own vision of Heaven in which the "four living creatures" cry out: " ... day and night they do not cease to say, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." These heavenly beings, Seraphim and "four living creatures", are not announcing some new information to all the other heavenly beings, who cannot help but know already of God's holiness. I doubt, too, that they were under anyone's orders to announce such obvious information as some sort of propaganda. Nor are they being boringly repetitive. Rather, can you see them rejoicing in the knowledge and implications of God's holiness, and can you see that they cannot cease to proclaim God's glory because of the sheer joy that comes from realizing it? Recognition of Holy should inspire rejoicing in who God is, in our relationship to Him, and in the sacred nature of those people and things around us.
Remembrance of Holy is not our final objective, but only a first step. For the Israelites who were slaves in Egypt, leaving Egypt was the first step, their recognition of their status relative to others and to God. For Christian, in Pilgrim's Progress, it was recognition of his status that drove him to and through the Wicket Gate. For both the Israelites and Christian, the journey began with a recognition of Holy. So it will be for us. In leaving Egypt the Israelites had to escape the army of Egypt, and had to cross the Red Sea. In finding the Wicket Gate Christian had to pass the Slough of Despond, and to endure the ridicule of his neighbors Pliable and Obstinate. Leaving Egypt for the Israelites, and entering the Wicket Gate for Christian, was neither the most difficult step nor the most dangerous. So it is for us. Recognition of Holy, of our state relative to God, is not the ultimate objective, but the necessary first step. It is the first number of a combination lock. Recognition of Holy doesn't put us "in the clear." Most of the Israelites who left Egypt died in the wilderness, though their children arrived finally in The Promised Land. Similarly, Christian found that many who entered the Wicket Gate before him had died or given up.
Summary
Remembrance of Holy gives us an understanding of who God is, which must logically precede any understanding of who we are. Holy is the foundation of our relationship with God, each other, and our own inner selves. There is no substitute, no alternative. See Revelation Revealed for further perspectives on holiness. See Sensing God for some appreciation of the sweetness of remembance. See The Age of Reasons for further explanation of the ways that we run from Holy. And see The Elastic Christian for some idea of how easy it is to forget Holy, even for those who have experienced its joy.
Remembrance of Holy unifies us by our common relationship to God. Recognizing Holy gives us all common ground. No amount of money or status, nor skin color nor physical or mental handicap can change this, in part due to the realization that none of these things has any effect on the magnitude of the gulf between us and God. Looking at ourselves and those around us each in relation to God dwarfs any recognition of differences between ourselves. We also see that God's Creation has derived its sanctity from its relationship to Holy God, therefore we acknowledge Holy by our stewardship of Creation.
The logical consequence of our forgetfulness has been, and is, contention with Him and the rest of His creation. Let us now correct our wrong thinking and recognize the sanctity of ourselves and those around us. God's holiness is a tremendous force that should shock us into recognition of the sanctity of all His Creation. If you have recognized His holiness you have seen His face, yet your life has been preserved. Hence forward, with each breath you take, remember what you have seen, and be holy for He is Holy.
Epilogue
The day after I finished writing this essay I found myself at a train station. I looked around and observed the several dozen people at the station with me. They were all busy, some focused on getting to work, others wearing headphones listening to their iPods, perhaps trying not to focus at all. I saw people who had no connection with "beauty" in the outward sense, and I gained no sense that anyone around me had inward beauty. Then I made a conscious effort to see each person as holy, and as I did so I saw these people transformed in front of me. As I continued looking, however, it struck me that my recognition of their holiness is only one step out of several that must be taken. I guessed that few of the travelers in the station were able to see themselves as holy, at least not the kind of holiness that derives from Holy God. If they cannot see themselves as holy, how can they see others around them as holy? I further thought to the time when Jesus walked among men, how He came to make it possible for us to join Holy God in fellowship. He sought the poor and downtrodden, and the outcasts, who had no beauty about them, who recognized their own unholiness and had no hope of ever associating with Holy. These poor people finally recognized their derived holiness as they recognized Jesus, and witnessed how One Holy could love and respect them. How He must have ached as He saw how others treated God's holy creatures, and ached even more as those whom He sought to heal, those to whom He sought to impart holiness, took their own self-made holiness as reason to crucify Him.
Yes, people whom we regard as holy will strike us, rob or kill us, cheat or lie to us, or simply hold us in contempt, because they recognize neither our holiness nor theirs. Consider what Jesus did for us in light of what He sees in us, and in light of how He was treated. Sense His urgency during His few years upon Earth. Sense His despair as He witnessed first-hand the effects of The Forgotten Holy. He knew in advance what to expect from us, yet chose His way regardless (or because of!). Jesus taught Holy, and that was the beginning of His Gospel. For those of us who remember Holy, who know what will come in spite of and because of our understanding of Holy, how do we now proceed?