Eternal and Essential

Take a moment to read Matthew 1:18-24 once more.

I want to pick up on the ideas that my "traveling companion," Kathy, put forward earlier this week, regarding the nature of "soul" and our friend, Joseph.

If loving with the "heart" is about emotion, loving with the "mind" is about reason, and loving with "strength" is about initiative and perseverance...then what is loving with the "soul?"

A quick search of the Internet results in many ideas about the "soul," and how soul differs from the other elements in the "Greatest Commandment."  They confirm they way I have understood what "soul" is, and what Kathy wrote, as well.  Two words characterize "soul" for me:  eternal and essential.

The soul has an essential quality because the soul is the true "essence" of a person.  The soul represents who each of us truly is, at the core.  When we silence the chatter of who the world and our own egos tell us we are (or aren't), we re-acquaint ourselves with who we truly are at the level of soul.

That, for me, is one reason that quiet reflection, prayer, and meditation are such important disciplines. For example, when I am not disciplined about my daily walk, during which I talk to God and to myself, I lose that connection with the very essence of who I am and allow myself to be enrolled in all the different "rackets" the world has to offer.  Are you disciplining yourself to engage in quiet listening, prayer, meditation, and reflection this Advent?  Are you re-acquainting yourself with the very soul with which one is commanded to love?

The soul has an eternal quality because (I believe) the soul transcends the temporal boundaries of the body.  My understanding of who I am, who God is, and how we are in relationship has changed, expanded, and deepened as I've aged; however, one belief that has not changed for me is that we each are "soul," and "soul" is not limited by time and space. I think of that eternal quality of the soul--the essence of who each of us truly is--in terms of some basic geometry we learned in elementary school.

There are those who view our "being" as simply a line segment, a path connecting two endpoints...nothing before, nothing after.  Then there are others who see our "being" like a ray, with a point on one end and an arrow on the other, signifying a moment at which we "began" and an infinite eternity into which we are destined.

I see the eternal nature of "soul" as a line...arrows on both ends, representing eternity in both directions.  What a concept to think of "eternity" extending its reach both before and after life...that we came into this world as sojourners from the source of light...and to that light we shall return!  Have you ever encountered a child you would describe as an "old soul?"  Perhaps the little one's eternal wisdom is shining through to you.  Do you think of yourself as a physical being having occasional spiritual experiences...or a spirit having a long (hopefully!) physical experience?

But back to Joseph...who seems like quite the "soulful" character when we read about him in Matthew 1:18-24.  Joseph had several choices he could have made in his situation.

Had Joseph been caught up in his own ego, in what the world was telling him about who he was or should be, he could have easily chosen a path of disgracing Mary to protect his own reputation.  He could have abandoned her or--worse yet--abused her.  But those choices, apparently, were not reflective of the essence of who Joseph was.

From the beginning, we learn that his first plan of action was consistent with that of a person whose essence was both righteous and compassionate.  He wanted to do what was right according to the law, but to do so in a way that would inflict the least damage on Mary's reputation.

That an angel guided him in a dream hints at the eternal nature of Joseph's soul.  While unconscious--not really "in the world," Joseph was open to, and able to receive, a message of clarity and hope.

To me, at this point in my journey, loving the Lord God with my whole soul means first I need to be very clear about who I am, at my core.  When all else is stripped away--the roles I play, the responsibilities I carry, the social masks I wear--who is there, naked, vulnerable, and true--at the core of my being?  Who has been there from the beginning and will be for eternity?

Once re-acquainted with the soul, unencumbered by the chatter of the world, one can love openly in a world where hatred, insincerity, and apparent "soulless-ness" abound.