Readings for 1st Sunday of Christmas:
Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 147:13-21; Galatians 3:23; 4:4-7; John 1: 1-18
December 29, 2002
The Rev. Mary Blessing
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
A few days ago we experienced the deeply moving story of the birth of a special child, Jesus, born of Mary, Son of God. The story filled our minds with images of innocence mixed with struggle, faithfulness amplified by rejoicing-all the world received hope of a new light entering a dark world. The anticipation of the Christ child has come and gone. Today we hear of a mysterious "Word" - in Greek, "Logos"-that existed before all Creation. The Word which has now "become flesh."
John's gospel has no baby Jesus. Only an adult Jesus, proclaimed by the Baptist to be the One to deliver humankind from all darkness. This adult Jesus Christ is introduced as the "Logos"-a Greek word with an enormous breadth of meaning. "Logos" is a word associated with the creative and prophetic work of God in the Old Testament. In Jewish thought it is identified with both Torah (the Law) and Wisdom. In Greek thought "Logos" was equated with the rational center of being, or "Reason."
I have an honors degree in Philosophy. As an undergraduate, and later as a seminarian, I worked hard to understand John's meaning of "Logos". I tell you, it still holds a great deal of mystery. I find myself wondering, 'how did a Galilean fisherman in the 1st Century come up with this language to describe the phenomenon of God becoming human?' Was he divinely inspired? Did a Greek philosopher coach him? Did he do it just to get our attention? A friend of mine loves preaching the first Sunday after Christmas. He says it is fascinating to imagine just how primal our relationship to God is through language. My friend believes language is the key to Being. The idea that "…the Word became flesh and lived among us" reveals the way God became incarnate. "In Jesus the Word became incarnate and manifested the identity and nature of God." (Anchor Bible Dictionary, v. 3, p. 923.) God became came a human being so we could communicate completely, fully, without question, without interpretation, directly, relationally with a person, Jesus Christ. My friend uses the example of Helen Keller, lost in a dark world with no hearing, no sight, no way to hear words, no way to see words, no way to speak. Grunting unintelligibly, appearing as a mindless idiot. Then along comes a wonderful tutor, a patient guide, a miracle worker, who teaches her language, using touch. Shaping letters in Helen's hand, touching her hand to objects, touching her hand to her vocal cords, Ann Sullivan gradually moves her pupil from a state of complete non-communication to a person who is highly articulate, highly evolved both mentally and spiritually. Herein lies the key to her sense of being a child of God, says my friend: her grasp of language. "The Word became flesh" in the life of Helen Keller, and a light shone in the darkness. (Credit to The Rev. Philip Cooke.)
My friend's example of Helen Keller coming to life through language made me think of autistic persons, and their challenge to communicate with meaningful language. Autism is a mysterious syndrome defined by various factors, but a primary indicator is an inability to communicate with language in a meaningful way. Autistic people often use language, but more as a mimic of what they hear, not necessarily understanding its meaning. I've known a handful of autistic people in my life, and recently St. Jude's community has been blessed by the presence of some of these "special needs" children and their parents. As a result, I discovered a fascinating book written by Donna Williams, a woman who is autistic, and yet has managed to break through the language/relationship barrier. Her book is called "Nobody, Nowhere." Ms. Williams describes her challenge with language from the time she was a small child. She heard every word spoken to her, but it had no meaning. She mimicked everything that was said. This enraged her mother, who got angry and hit her. Her mother could not deal effectively with this odd, seemingly rude, child. In school "I chattered incessantly to myself, annoying everyone else. People said that I simply loved the sound of my own voice. They were probably right….I was tested for partial deafness, for although I could speak I often didn't use language in the same way as others and often got no meaning out of what said to me….I developed a language of my own. It was other people who did not understand the symbolism I used, and there was no way I could…tell them what I meant." (Nobody, Nowhere, pp. 26, 29) Donna Williams developed an inner technique to make the mimicking language work for her, allowing her to move socially from "her world" to "the world." She met a lovely young girl at the park, named Carol. Carol and her mother were kind, and let Donna play at their house. There, Donna made a choice to model her language and behavior after this "normal", pleasant child. When she did so, people responded positively. Donna did not always know why this form of communication worked, but she actually made the choice to "be Carol". She put on a persona of a nice, normal child, communicating in meaningful ways, in order to reach the outside world. It worked.
Donna's mother was terribly abusive. Even without the autism, it would have been psychologically challenging to develop a normal human life with the level of abuse Donna received from her mother: the one person who usually offers our deepest love. But from her abusive mother's example, Donna created another persona, a tough guy, named "Willie." "Willie" came to life in Donna when she felt threatened. "Willie" spoke for Donna to protect her from teasing, mean people. "Willie's" language and mannerisms were helpful to get through tough times, but Donna preferred being "Carol". Things went smoother when she acted nice, using the kind language of a "good girl." School was partially successful for Donna, especially if she could keep up the "Carol" persona. She had tremendous knowledge, but was often unable to know how to use it effectively.
As she grew into adolescence, Donna found challenges of life so overwhelming-trying to keep up an appearance of normality with the Carol persona, but often needing to draw upon the Willie persona for survival. It became more and more complex trying to connect "her world" to "the world." Life was confusing, intense, and depressing. So depressing, she attempted to take her own life. The kind mother of a friend helped get her to a hospital where she received the first effective psychiatric care of her life. Meeting someone who truly seemed to let her be herself, for the first time in her life, made it possible for Donna to begin a process of self integration. She began to integrate her opposing personae, and after much work, began to discover the true Donna. Shear determination, the support of someone who worked to connect "her world" to "the world", led Donna to enter junior college, and later a University, where she excelled in-of all things-linguistics. Now she is the author of two phenomenal books on her experience being autistic.
Donna Williams says that one of the most important things "the world" can do to help an autistic child is to offer a "strongly persistent, sensitive though impersonal approach to teach them that 'the world' will not give up on them." (Williams, p. 217) When I consider the insights Donna Williams offers regarding the challenges of being autistic, I find myself imagining that an autistic person is maybe just a magnified version of what ALL humankind may be from God's perspective. I wonder, is this a metaphor for our relationship to God, our Creator, who yearns to make meaningful contact with us, who never gives up trying to reach us with language we can grasp? Perhaps what we find in the life of Jesus Christ, "the Word made flesh" is that one moment in time when God fully communicated with humanity, completely, in some wholly integrated way. What if we live our lives following the way of Jesus Christ, will we, too, be able to finally, fully communicate with God, to emerge from our darkness, into the light?
AMEN.
| Updated 12/30/02 |
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