Buddhist Christianity, in particular, and the Gospel of Interpretation in general, are believed to be the fulfillment, at least to some extent, of the ancient prophecy of withered bones regaining flesh, nerve, blood, and life.
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The Dry Bones Live “The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!” Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, “Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.” (Ezekiel, 37:1-10) |
Naturally, the current moment of Buddhist Christianity means and constitutes a new attempt, a new effort, a new impulse – within a very bleak panorama (the “valley of dry bones”) – to rescue the truth contained in the ancient symbols of this religion. Religion that the world mistakenly thinks are two. And this panorama is so bleak that it seems that something new is being brought forward. But, as I said, it’s just a rescue of things that are old and very distorted, or, sometimes, even forgotten.
Thus, there is an urgent need to rescue these symbols that are still there. In conventional science, materialist consumerism, politics and worldly art there is almost nothing that speaks consistently to the Soul of the human being. So, it is necessary to rescue the truth contained in religious symbols.
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“Herein the literalists show that they fail to see that to make the “obvious” sense of the Bible its real sense would be to destroy it as a Bible or book of the soul; since as such it must appeal to the soul and not to the senses; and must refer, not to persons, things, and events belonging to the physical plane, but to principles, processes, and states purely spiritual – though expressed in terms derived from the physical plane – using persons, things, and events by way of illustration only. The literalists fail, moreover, to see that, in view of the fact that all ancient Scriptures were similarly written, namely, in symbol, parable, and allegory (…)”. (Edward Maitland. The “New Gospel of Interpretation”, p. 12; emphasis added.)
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I once had an insight. I was in the United States, in the middle of that wasteful consumer society, and I was looking for a Mass to attend. I took the bus, looking, until I found a Catholic school far from where I was. I arrived for Mass at 8 am, and when I entered that church, I saw the children singing, with all those symbols around them – the Cross, Our Lady, etc. – I realized, in a flash of inner light: “This here has a lot of idolatry, but compared to the world outside, at least it still has a shell, a veneer of the real thing. In the world there is almost only materialism. In here, even with all the idolatry, there is a remnant of sacred things”. It’s a pale summary of the insight.
The Difficulty of Finding the Correct Interpretation
It is really difficult for us to find the correct interpretations of religious symbols in these religious traditions. Not only in Roman Catholicism, but also in other traditions, there are still many sacred forms and symbols preserved. If we have sensitivity, we will perceive the Divine Light behind all that idolatry, that misunderstanding.
When the priest is officiating, if we pay close attention to what happens, we will see that very good things still happen, such as the flow of sanctified energies, especially in the ceremony of the Eucharist. If we can interpret their words in the light of the Gospel of Interpretation, we will realize that these symbols, now distorted, have already contained and may again contain knowledge that can save the world from materialism and nihilism, like the bones that regain flesh, blood and life .
The Living Mystery Still Exists
Although much misrepresented, there is still a Mystery, a real and living ministering and flowing of spiritual energies. At least there is more there than out there, in the world at large. And the sacred symbols, though now somewhat empty, just like the dried bark or bones, are also present. And even if the Mystery of the living flow of spiritual forces did not exist, if the symbols are there, we must try to rescue their true interpretation, as a duty to our people and as a duty to the Greater than us, who gave and who continually give their lives for us. If They made and make this Sacrifice, who are we to deny?
We need to take out what’s false and put light on. This is our duty, both thinking about those who are smaller, “younger” and those who are bigger, “older” than we are. We have to try to bring what little light we can into the world.” [Arnaldo Sisson Filho. Vislumbres de Uma Religião Realmente Católica (Glimpses of a Truly Catholic Religion)]