Mission Monthly Newsletter June 2002

...Meditate on These Things. Phillipians 4.8

"Dominion. We have only one thing to give up, our dominion. We don’t own the world. We’re not kings yet. Can we give that up? Too precious, all that control; too tempting, being a god."

            Sir Anthony Hopkins as Ethan Powell in "Instinct"  

Each year during Great Lent the Church gives us the opportunity to read Genesis, the first book of the Holy Bible.  I have never seen a definitive statement as to why this is so.  What I have heard, is the Church in her wisdom wants us to revisit the beginning of creation and man's earliest experiences which shaped his relationship with God, with other men and with the whole of creation.  This is an important and vital reading!

     In the very first chapter we hear of man, the most beloved of God's creation, and of God’s gift to man: "dominion" over all the earth.  It is good to be reminded of this point at least once a year, although in this reminder we are forced to face the truth of its meaning.  The true meaning of "dominion" has always been difficult to accept but I believe that it is especially challenging in our era of man’s "enlightenment."  Man has supposedly "come of age" in this era.  We have finally been “set free” to follow our own path of discovery and self-direction and have been released from the weight of God's sovereignty and "oppressive" rule.  By now all of us should understand the dangers in following this logic, forcing us to again and again confess, accept and live with an essential understanding of one very important difference: the difference between dominion and ownership.

     Let’s take an honest look at the way our world lives; the way Truth has been relativized; the way science has progressed, unrestricted; the way morality has been replaced by tolerance; the way faith in God has been ridiculed and minimized; the way materialism has mushroomed; the way sensuality is exalted; the way education has been deified; the way ambition has been affirmed and success sanctified; all these and more indicate that we really do not understand the difference between dominion and ownership.  Yes, we are living in the world and we have responsibilities to the life that God has given us, but we are also living in a world which continually betrays those who fall prey to the ideals of “enlightened” humanity.  A simple example of this betrayal is how our modern economy is built on the illusion of “easy credit.”  Many believe that with credit they can live the “American Dream,” but in truth it often becomes a soul destroying enslavement to the realities of financial obligation.  I recall once hearing these bleak and binding words from a close friend, “I don’t own my house, my house owns me.”  In them I saw a disorder resulting from overextended finances and an unhealthy sense of ownership.  When our possessions control us, or the fear of losing them, or the excessive effort required for their care, the betrayal of the “Dream” becomes apparent and the words of our Lord become alarmingly clear, “No one can serve two masters…” (Mt. 6:24).  I love what Sir Anthony Hopkins’ character said, “We have one thing to give up, our dominion.”  Ultimately this is the ONLY thing that God has given us.  Unfortunately, once we become possessive of this life, self-directed and claiming ownership of that which we have no right to claim (is it not true that we are simply stewards of what belongs to Another?) we give up our true dominion and all becomes distorted.

     We are still within the season of Pascha.  We are still singing and proclaiming, “Christ is Risen.”  We are still in the joy of knowing the Bridegroom is among us; we rest in the freedom of His presence.  If there is one thing we should be growing in knowledge of through all the prayer, the fasting, the preparation to celebrate the Light of the Resurrection, it is the overwhelming temptation to once again claim (false) control, to once again claim a god-like dominion over a life that only belongs to the True God.  Those of us who have tried (and failed) to hang on to a false sense of control will resonate with these words of St. John Chrysostom, “For more bitter is this grievous slavery, when one finds delight even in being a slave.”  Obviously there is no easy answer to submitting to the stewardship of true dominion, but thankfully we know what it isn’t!  May the Light of the Risen Christ lead us to true freedom and a life of stewardship well within the blessed boundaries of His Dominion!