“Chuang Tzu would have agreed with Herakleitos. What is impossible today may suddenly become possible tomorrow. What is good and pleasant today may, tomorrow, become evil and odious. What seems right from one point of view may, when seen from a different aspect, manifest itself as completely wrong. What, then, should the wise man do? Should he simply remain indifferent and treat right and wrong, good and bad, as if they were all the same? Chuang Tzu would be the first to deny that they were the same. But in so doing, he would refuse to grasp one or the other and cling to it as to an absolute. When a limited and conditioned view of “good” is erected to the level of an absolute, it immediately becomes an evil, because it excludes certain complementary elements which are required if it is to be fully good.” (Thomas Merton, Thoughts On The East,  “Taoism”)

Heraclitus or Herakleitos was a Greek philosopher before Socrates, and a native of the city of Ephesus. He is famous for insisting that change is ever-present, and as such, change is the fundamental essence of the universe. His most famous saying is: “No man ever steps in the same river twice”. This is commonly considered to be one of the first digressions into the philosophical concept of “Becoming”. The concept of “Becoming” is the possibility of change in all creatures. This is contrasted with Parmenides, who is famous for his statement “what-is is” (sounds a lot like our recent familiar saying: “It is what it is”) – and this is one of the first digressions into the philosophical concept of “Being”, or “the existence of a thing. Anything that exists has being”.

As such, Parmenides and Heraclitus are commonly considered to be two of the founders of ontology, or the study of “Being as it relates to individual existence”. A good example of ontology or “Ontological change” in the church, is our understanding of baptism. Through baptism, we believe that the person being baptized goes through a fundamental and important change – from personhood, to “child of G-d”. In the process of our growth as humans, our baptism moves us from “becoming a child of G-d”, to “being a child of G-d”. And that, my friends, makes all the difference in our journey of faith.

Pastor Dave  

“The true character of wu wei is not mere inactivity but perfect action—because it is acting without activity. In other words, it is action not carried out independently of heaven and earth and in conflict with the dynamism of the whole, but in perfect harmony with the whole. It is not mere passivity, but it is action that seems both effortless and spontaneous because performed “rightly,” in perfect accordance with our nature and with our place in the scheme of things. It is completely free because there is in it no force and no violence. It is not “conditioned” or “limited” by our own individual needs and desires, or even by our own theories and ideas…. The key to Chuang Tzu’s thought is the complementarity of opposites, and this can be seen only when one grasps the central “pivot” of Tao which passes squarely through both “Yes” and “No,” “I” and “Not-I.” Life is a continual development. All beings are in a state of flux.” (Thomas Merton, Thoughts On The East,  “Taoism”)

Don’t we all wish we could reach a relationship with Jesus where our lives were actively lived defined by G-d’s will, but without effort or thought? Imagine having such a relationship with Jesus that our every thought, action, and deed were within His will and without hesitation or resistance. Jesus hints at this kind of relationship with him when he says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

As Thomas Merton writes, “…all life is a continual development, and all beings are in a state of flux.” We are not the same people we were yesterday, and we will not be the same tomorrow. Yet Jesus remains the same, yesterday, today and forever. To base our lives on the love of G-d found through Jesus Christ, though our lives will be in constant states of flux, the presence of Jesus is not. And the more we have Jesus as our foundation, the simpler our lives will be.

Pastor Dave