Utopia looks like death to me....

Utopia...?

(At prayer this morning, Isaiah 65:17-25)

For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD -and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent - its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain,
says the LORD.

Or, The Kingdom?
Is there a difference between Utopia and The Kingdom?

I have thought about this for a couple of days... having been in contact with someone who seems to be caught up in a cultish-type thing or a cosmogony. And I have been wondering what it is we seek --if there is a difference in what sells a cult and in the faith Tradition of Christianity...

To be honest, I have always thought that it is not a specific future we struggle to attain, but a manner of living in the present in which we seek to practice and encourage each other, a way of living we keep in mind.... And, that manner of living in the present is informed, shaped, held in being in, by, with, through Christ.

--it is not a determination to change society, change people --it is hard enough to pick the logs out of one's own eye --but a way to live in love, giving all and each dignity and respect....

But I went and looked up Utopia just for fun... and was blown away.

The word comes from the Greek: οὐ ("not") and τόπος ("place") and means "no place". The English homophone eutopia, derived from the Greek εὖ ("good" or "well") and τόπος ("place"), means "good place". This, due to the identical pronunciation of "utopia" and "eutopia", gives rise to a double meaning.

And, in English, we use the form 'no-place' --utopia.... --huh! That seems rather cynical.... But, I can't help it --it seems rather true....

No place. Good place.... the so-called good place is no place....

And my mind went to the church --where it seems some are trying to form a community of people striving to be perfect... and whether or not that is possible, and all the typologies of people --good, fallen and in between.... --and others in the church have something else in mind.

And, my mind went to politics --where it seems some are trying to form a perfect society through law which imposes a certain vision of how we are to be... --and others have something else in mind.

The first category of each would seem to fall in to employing rigid and rigorous means to form perfection --beliefs, ideals-- and consequences, terrible consequences if one falls short....

--it's the 'something else' that captivates me. Not beliefs. Not ideals. Not consequences.

The description and history of Utopian thought --fascinating... cataloged as ecological, economic, political policies, scientific, gender specific, religious... (from wikipedia)

In many cultures, societies, religions, and cosmogonies, there is some myth or memory of a distant past when humankind lived in a primitive and simple state, but at the same time one of perfect happiness and fulfillment. In those days, the various myths tell us, there was an instinctive harmony between man and nature. Men's needs were few and their desires limited. Both were easily satisfied by the abundance provided by nature. Accordingly, there were no motives whatsoever for war or oppression. Nor was there any need for hard and painful work. Humans were simple and pious, and felt themselves close to the gods. ....

These mythical or religious archetypes are inscribed in all the cultures and resurge with special vitality when people are in difficult and critical times. However, the projection of the myth does not take place towards the remote past, but either towards the future or towards distant and fictional places, imagining that at some time of the future, at some point of the space or beyond the death must exist the possibility of living happily.

--emphasis in bold is mine... sifting through the gender-specific language.... knowing we are living in difficult and critical times and wondering at the archetypes being employed.....

Even if one of the gods themselves came, it would be impossible to make this world a perfect place --to make us peoples live in that perfect place and way.... the perfect life...

I would rather trust the One who created volcanoes and earthquakes, horrific winds and rains, wild hungry beasts... and not make an idol of life itself --grasping and holding to it, trying to perfect it... I would rather trust the One who did not oppress us with conformity to law and will... I would rather trust the One who chooses love over success, love over failure, love over power and force, love over weakness and vulnerability, love even through anarchy and chaos and violence and death....

--to hold all lightly....

Such is grace.

The artist of the work above can be found here. Imminent Utopia... looks like death to me....

Amen.