November 20, 2018
Heraclitus of Ephesus was a Greek philosopher. He lived from 535
BCE to 475 BCE. Likely you, dear reader, have never heard of him. He isn't a
household name like Aristotle or Socrates, but Plato knew of him and his
thoughts about the universe and quoted him often. Heraclitus was best known for
his novel idea that the nature of the known universe is change. That is;
everything in the universe is always changing. If something is a part of the
known universe then it is in a constant state of change.
Everything in the universe is changing constantly? Yes.
That has some fairly broad implications for our understanding of
all that is.
Are rocks changing? Yes.
Is the universe changing? Yes.
Is time changing? Yes.
Constantly. Without ceasing. Everything in the known universe is
in a state of change.
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| Heraclitus of Ephesus |
Plato, borrowing from Heraclitus quotes him several times in his
work, Cratylus. He quotes Heraclitus saying,
"All entities are moving and nothing remains still."
"Everything flows and
nothing stays.
Everything
flows and nothing abides.
Everything
gives way and nothing stays fixed.
Everything
flows; nothing remains.
All
is flux, nothing is stationary.
All
is flux, nothing stays still.
All
flows, nothing stays.”
“You could not step
twice into the same river.”
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| Kentucky River dam at Valley View |
It
was that last phrase that came to my mind this morning as I was meditating in
the office at the church. So much has changed. So much is still going to
change. You cannot step into the same water twice.
Yesterday
was yet another memorial service for yet another beloved saint of the church.
It was a difficult service for me because the person who passed away has
figured in so much of what the church has been doing during the years I have
been here. She made a point to consult me, include me, value me. She passed
away very suddenly and unexpectedly. It has been a shock to the system of the
church, and to my system – and even more so to her family. Today I have finally
found some time to explore my own shock, grief, loss and to ponder the bigger
thoughts about time and life and change and death and, par for the course with
me, what it all means to the universe in general.
I don’t
consider that I have never been averse to change. As a child I loved new buildings,
newer houses, new cars, etc. I didn’t have a whole lot of appreciation for
older things. Now that I am an older thing even that has mindset has changed some.
What I am learning to process over the span of my life is how change sometimes
takes away things that we hold precious – never to be held or loved or touched
in the same way again. The resulting losses leave holes that cannot be filled
with new things. Sometimes change can bring negative consequences. Not all
change is positive or progressive. Sometimes change is destructive and harmful,
but one cannot stop the changes. RUSH sings this so eloquently in their defining
song, “Tom Sawyer,” “He knows changes aren’t permanent, but change is.”
You
simply cannot step into the same river twice.
One
can be sad about that at times, while rejoicing in it at other times. One can receive
negative consequences from that reality and one can reap benefits from that
change too. Life isn’t comprised only of positive changes. Sometimes the
changes hurt. But the changes are still going to come. No stopping that.
I
think about the Qoheleth who wrote the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes.
“For everything
there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born,
and a time to die;
a time to plant,
and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and
a time to heal;
a time to break
down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and
a time to laugh;
a time to mourn,
and a time to dance;
a time to throw
away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace,
and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and
a time to lose;
a time to keep, and
a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and
a time to sew;
a time to keep
silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and
a time to hate;
a time for war, and
a time for peace.
Thanks
to ole Heraclitus of Ephesus we know that nothing is stationary, nothing stays still.
Everything will change in its season.
And I believe that God, who is outside
the known universe and not subject to its physical laws, is in charge of the
times and the seasons.
Peace and Love,
Jerry
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