There are many times when I find myself trying to find words to express my response to a moment of living and the string of words that comes out is a mishmash of adjectives that seem simultaneously contradictory and all encompassing. How is it possible that something can be simple and complex, powerful and gentle, or create a deep sense of peace and anger at the same time? These moments of mishmash, when things seem to make perfect sense and yet open up a world of confusion are signals of holy moments. Signs that we have stepped into the rushing river of the spirit and that, if we follow the flow - or even if we move against it - we are sure to catch glimpses of God.
Mishmash moments like this can very often lead to what Mary Farrell Bednarowski, Emerita Professor of Religious Studies at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, has coined "Lump in the Throat" stories. Stories that "stir up both the head and the heart at the same time." And when both emotion (heart) and intellect (head) are simultaneously activated they meet in the middle giving rise to a lump in the throat. [For more insight into Bednarowski's work on this subject see her essay "Lump in the Throat Stories" in the book Arts, Theology, & the Church, edited by Kimberly Vrudny & Wilson Yates, published by The Pilgrim Press, 2005]
What else should we expect in encountering God than a moment that engages both the body and spirit leaving us more grounded and uplifted than we were a moment before. After all it is God's nature to be a mishmash - God, the creator of all things, who offered to Moses the simple yet intensely complex self identifier "I Am Who I Am." It makes sense that a mishmash of adjectives would be the only offering our linguistically limited human intellects could offer to try to encompass that which is in and beyond all.
So, in those moments, when I am simultaneously feeling and thinking synthesized and contradictory things I very often pause and smile and realize that there is something going on in that moment to certainly take note of - even if that note is a mishmash.
Mishmash moments like this can very often lead to what Mary Farrell Bednarowski, Emerita Professor of Religious Studies at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, has coined "Lump in the Throat" stories. Stories that "stir up both the head and the heart at the same time." And when both emotion (heart) and intellect (head) are simultaneously activated they meet in the middle giving rise to a lump in the throat. [For more insight into Bednarowski's work on this subject see her essay "Lump in the Throat Stories" in the book Arts, Theology, & the Church, edited by Kimberly Vrudny & Wilson Yates, published by The Pilgrim Press, 2005]
What else should we expect in encountering God than a moment that engages both the body and spirit leaving us more grounded and uplifted than we were a moment before. After all it is God's nature to be a mishmash - God, the creator of all things, who offered to Moses the simple yet intensely complex self identifier "I Am Who I Am." It makes sense that a mishmash of adjectives would be the only offering our linguistically limited human intellects could offer to try to encompass that which is in and beyond all.
So, in those moments, when I am simultaneously feeling and thinking synthesized and contradictory things I very often pause and smile and realize that there is something going on in that moment to certainly take note of - even if that note is a mishmash.
