Meditations from Zion

St. Augustine wrote, “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament.” There are so many symbols, motifs and archetypes that were intended to prepare the people for the coming Messiah. I wonder if this isn’t true for every life?

I Corinthians 10:1b, 3-4
. . . our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. . . . They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

I am not a theologian or an academic and I haven’t actually studied all the correlations between the Old Testament and the New. But Paul alludes to these relationships directly in this passage from I Corinthians 10 with his clouds and water and food and rocks. These words are powerful representations of presence, power, eternity, strength, and much more.

But what is the application of this passage for me? Were there clouds and water in my own short history before I came to the revelation knowledge of the Christ in my life? Did I eat God-food before I recognized it for what it was? Did I lean on a rock that was higher [Psalm 61:2]?

There are so many people and experiences that pass through a life outside of our control. Oh sure, I chose to go to New York to acting school, but I had no control over the makeup of the student body. Tom, who introduced me to the Bible as a living, breathing document, was part of that group. And maybe New Age stuff or fantasy reading may not be the best influence on an impressionable young woman, but it did set my mind on the “other world,” the world of Spirit where truer battles are waged, won and lost. In high school, I chose my friends, but how could I have known that it would be some of their parents who would impact my beliefs for a lifetime. I attended a predominately black public high school during some of the most tumultuous years of black history, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. As a result, I became much more sensitized and aware of cruelties and disparities between people, race to race, poor to rich, old to young. Later, in New York, I would go to school with his daughter, Yolanda, and my circle of understanding grew richer.

Symbols of meaning for me today that grew out of my past: small white lights on a Christmas tree, flowing waters of a stream, winter trees outlined by a setting sun, the purring of a cat, the smell of pine, unending circles like wreaths of fresh flowers or dancers or people holding hands, candles lighting a dark place, rain, stuffed bears, smooth stones, . . .

All of these have come to have much greater meaning to me as an adult. They can take me quickly into the secret place where I can commune. If I feel or hear or touch any of these things, I am with God. And I can only believe, back then, somewhere, somehow, God was with me before I even knew there was a God.