Layers of Reality
I’ve been thinking about how layers of reality are present simultaneously to us. Take the Eucharist! (Yes, “Take. Eat.”) It exists on three levels at once. Immediately we see it is something happening in our present. We’re at a service of Holy Communion and we are doing it on a certain date at a certain time. Yet, at the same time, it is a “remembering,” which means a making present, of the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples the night before he died. So it is a past event that, by the action of the Holy Spirit, becomes a present event for us.
On top of both of those, the Eucharist is a “foretaste” of the heavenly banquet, the (for us) future event when, gathered with all the saints in paradise, we enjoy the food, the communion, the fellowship of heaven. So future, past, and present are all present in the Eucharist: temporal layers.
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It’s also true of our personal lives. Although my chronological age has a number, my true age is not any particular number. There are parts of me that are older than that, parts that are younger. This is true of everybody; there is no such thing as (for instance) a forty-eight year old woman. Each of our bodies has multiple ages, as does every human soul. Because of arthritis, your hands might be quite a bit older than the rest of your body; because of good genetics and proper hygiene, your teeth might be those of a much younger person. And, I say, this is true of your soul also. There are elements of our psychology that are still immature, areas in which we still need to grow up. But at the same time, there will be facets of our spirit that are wise and agile, perhaps even, it might be said, timeless.
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The layers of reality are all about us. I recently flew to Boston. At DFW, when my phone wouldn’t connect to the app at security, the agent suggested I get a printed ticket to avoid problems at the gate. So I went to the counter and asked for one. I was handed something I hadn’t seen for years: a “passenger ticket and baggage check,” a preprinted blank form that had all my flight info printed onto it. There was my name, my airline’s name, boarding group number, seat number, etc. On the right: Carrier – Flight – Class – Date – Time – Gate – Boarding Time – Seat – Smoke.
Smoke?
I looked again. Yes, there it was, a box to indicate whether I would be in a smoking section. I felt like I was a boy again, when part of the cabin was smoking and part was nonsmoking. It felt like something from the last century, this ticket in my hands.
The word in the “smoke” box, for the record, was No.
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Out & About: The Good Books & Good Talk seminar meets Sunday, March 23, at 5 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Dallas, to discuss Parts of a World by A. G. Mojtabai. We meet in Garrett Hall: when you come out of the parking garage, it is the building on the right edge of the beautiful close. Parts of a World is about a social worker (“science”) trying to help a homeless guy get over his delusions (“religion”?), but it’s much better than such a simplistic contrast.
I am to preach at St. Matthew’s on Sunday, March 30.
On the Web: The Sunday Mass at Church of the Advent (Boston) on March 2 (the Transfiguration gospel) had glorious music. Interrupting that was my sermon, which begins at about 37:20 at this link: https://soundcloud.com/mark-dwyer-2/2025-03-02-live-sunday-webcast
Around Town: I got to know Silas Farley when we both lived in New York City and he was a new company dancer with City Ballet. In addition to being a dancer he’s now a teacher and choreographer here in Dallas. His recent ballet on The Four Loves of C. S. Lewis was performed by the Houston Ballet last fall and reviewed in Christianity Today. He will be the speaker/host of the spring symposium of SMU’s Center for Faith and Learning: Tues., April 8, at SMU’s Bob Hope Theater; 6pm reception; 7pm performance; (free) tickets needed: https://www.arthousedallas.com/calendar/faithandthearts-smu. I think it is vital for our culture that faith and art enter more deeply into conversation; how Silas is doing just that at this particular time in our history is very interesting. I commend this event, and his work in general, to you.