H I G H E R
T H I N G S __
4
CLOUDS AND
GUT
This is a magazine about “higher things”. But don’t get the wrong idea. This is not about having
things are found in lowly places.
Church is not a religious rave party and the sacramental life is not about “rolling.” No. It happened on a real wooden cross with real nails
spiritual hyperventilation. This higher life is not found or lived in the clouds in some transcendent ethereal plane of consciousness.
hand ruling everything for the sake of the church. And you’re with Him as He does that. This is not all a bunch of positive self-talk or
But it’s history. Jesus really hung around on the planet as one of us. He really died, rose, ascended, and sits at the Father’s right
you’re home sick with a cold and can hardly rise out of bed.
dead to sin when all you can think about is wearing or removing such and such an outfit. You don’t feel too risen from the dead when
You don’t feel particularly enthroned in glory when some jerk decides to ruin your reputation or swipe your girlfriend. You don’t feel too
ascended. You are seated at the Father’s right hand (see Ephesians 2:6). It’s a done deal. Now, of course, we’re not good at seeing this.
tion from the grave, His ascent to heaven, and His session (being seated, enthroned) at the Father’s right hand. You died. You arose. You
happened in baptism. When Paul says, “You died,” he is passing along Good News. Baptism hooked you up to Jesus’ death and resurrec-
just for your soul, but for the whole you. It happened in baptism. In Colossians 3, St. Paul tells us “You died.” He’s talking about what
You see, Christianity doesn’t handle “The Great Divide” between the gutter and the clouds by sending us off to India to lose our skin, take on a glossy-eyed serenity, and find our inner divine self. Nor does it keep us stuck in the gutter of rage and self-pity. There is another way—death and resurrection. Not
octane, honest, realistic, maybe even Lutheran version of female Christian Rock. In fact, I think we’d get higher things.
A very impressive singer, lyricist, and musician, Alanis, if she ever became a Christian, could provide us with a higher fiber, higher
smoking a cigarette.
doesn’t matter much anymore. She was probably better off when one hand was in her pocket and the other was
with “Carrie” (Sarah Jessica Parker) on HBO’s Sex in the City. When you decide you’re God or Goddess, your skin
ly come back from India without her skin. She is now a “womyn” and is comfortable doing “the big kiss thing”
feel good in this skin.” And to a suicidal friend, “You were uncomfortable in your own skin.” Alanis has apparent-
The singer Alanis Morrisette, herself, is not comfortable in her own skin. “If I am famous then maybe I’ll
could ascend to the heights of glory God must have had in mind way back when.
could just drop it off at some sort of spiritual dry cleaner and pick it up on Monday morning. Maybe without it your soul
When it comes down to it, sometimes you just don’t feel comfortable in your own skin. It gets you into trouble and you wish you
exchange for a permanent smiley face tattoo.
way out of the grime is through a sort of cloudy Christianity where you give your heart to Jesus (not sure why He’d want that!) in
that wades through the sludge of our idiotic times. If you ask the students at the local Bible study, you might get the feeling that the only
Sometimes you get the idea that you have to choose between clouds and gutters—between some sort of fake spiritual high or a life
and found again, you come to see that higher
Now if I’m losing you, don’t worry. When it comes to higher things, a person has to be lost before they can be found. As you’re found
same time and place.
your head in the clouds or your mind in the gutter. Higher things are very familiar with both clouds and gutters, which are often in the
