How Then Should We Imagine?

Conversations After then End of Time

We are all crowded into the tiniest of spaces. This space is not deemed sacred as of yet. It is not on our maps to date. We did not arrive here for it is beyond destination. We are still in mourning over the death of time and history. We speak of things as though they were still. We remain encased in a way of seeing aand knowing that blurs what is beyond. We strain and squint for clarity only to see ourselves reflected back over and over again.

This is the end of time. Corporate lamenting longs to explore but alas we cling to the edge of time unable to imagine another world. Our assumptions, much like a mobius strip, keep bringing us back to the same place. We have accurately described the past but find that old language unable to inform the felt meaning that is brushing up against this razor thin edge. Our former ways of knowing are collapsing right before our eyes and the blind understanding drains our hearts of desire. We are being emptied of ourselves.

In this emptying something radiant appears beyond the horizon. Is it the futility of everything attainable? How can this futility orb with beauty? How can this collapsing serve us? Finally modern humankind is beginning to see true beauty breaking into to this tiny space, this old broken crucible of time. It is a blessed event.

The story is unfolding. It contains us. It forms us. It draws into its narrative vortex. The portal to this emergence is our imaginations. The imagination is the language of the soul. It is the faith needed to name, discern, negotiate, and pray. We do not know the world through a concrete set of principles but imagine it. The imagining is beyond real in the sense of its manner of engagement. It is felt knowing that the imagination offers us. It takes us out of time in that it reveals the eternal nature of our souls. Some may call it ecstatic but it is really the only way the imagination can inform us of something that knows us beyond the literal. To know in this manner is to discover God. That is the ultimate message of our transcending. More than beyond, it is here, for here is sacred in light of this revelation. Our imaginations illuminate the revealing. Our imaginations know the narrowness of time and the vast unveiling of wonder that comes through the attributional recognition of His beauty. He is speaking. Can we taste Him? His aroma is wafting through our hearts can we see Him? In this synethesia, the beauty of the rainbow sings, the mountains dance, and the very God of the universe offers Himself up as bread for our souls.

This capturing is an eternal dance. We are lovers, we are radiant with expectation, and we are illumined by passion. The incarnation breathes from our very lungs. My heart is His heart. It takes courage to imagine a world as revealed through revelation, the long and beautiful story of the Church, and the story of those close to my life at this juncture. My fallenness continually paints and arranges experience as though I were the center of the universe. I want all things to flow towards my benefit. I want all individuals to love me as I long to be loved. But alas, this seldom happens. So I can at any time fall into despair and lament my seeming lack. To imagine a source of joy that goes beyond my self interest, to see a world where beauty, truth, goodness, and love are preeminent responses. What am I to do? Submit my imagination to a vision beyond myself. Place myself inside a story that is larger than my own personal story. This does not negate or lessen the meaning or power of my own personal narrative. It merely gives it context.

The imagination may very well be the mother tongue of the soul. To speak of its depths is to listen to its musings and with great care and stewardship name and tell the world with devotion and wonder. We need a place where the divine in the ordinary is observed. This will be a place where songs, lamentations and confessions begin to emerge as their voice and presence approach the threshold of God with us. Let our imaginations prepare the way.