One of my
absolute favourite films is the 1997 black comedy Grosse Pointe Blank. In it, Martin,
a thoughtful and conflicted professional hitman travels back to his home town
for his high school reunion. His former girlfriend Debbie, seeing his obvious
anxiety and inner tensions, tells him what he really needs is ‘shakabuku’. When
he asks what that is, she replies, ‘it’s a swift spiritual kick to the head
that alters your reality, forever.’
The film doesn’t go to any lengths to explain ‘shakabuku’, certainly
not far enough to explain its significance within Nichiren Buddhism, where it refers
to the rebuttal of teachings regarded as heretical or overly simplistic.
For the film, ‘shakabuku’ was a clever, throwaway line.
Her definition doesn’t remind me of Buddhism much at all,
but it does remind me of Epiphany.
‘Epiphany’ comes from the Greek term Ἐπιφάνεια (‘sudden
manifestation’, ‘striking appearance’). The Feast of Epiphany, and the season
of Epiphany that follows it, celebrates within Christianity the revelation of
Jesus, the human baby born of Mary, as the Son of God.
It is tied to the biblical texts that speak of the Persian magi,
who divine from their astrological observations the wondrous news that a divine
king is to be born. Armed with this mystical belief, they set out from Persia
to Palestine to find this infant king and pay homage to him.
Traditionally, the significance of Epiphany in Christian
theology involves realization, revelation, coming to know, making an awesome discovery-
the person of Christ.
If I were to take it in a slightly edgier theological
direction, it’s interesting to reflect not so much on the revelation, but to
whom it was revealed- not righteous children of Israel with their law and the
prophets, but foreigners, gentiles with their esoteric occultism.
God’s revelation of salvation, it would seem, was open to everyone,
using a ridiculously wide variety of means…
That fact in and of itself is a pretty swift spiritual kick to the head… and it opens
up one more interesting reflective path:
Epiphany
reminds Christians that the God they worship is actually forever in the
business of swiftly kicking heads.
God shocks;
God
confounds;
God amazes;
God
confuses.
Epiphany is
yet another reminder that everything we think we know- everything on which we
have been comfortably relying- might be wrong, misunderstood, or might come to
an abrupt and totally unexpected end.
The heavens
declare, ‘expect the unexpected’…
This isn’t
necessarily fun or exciting; it can be a disorienting, not particularly
pleasant process, as anyone who has gone through a life-altering trauma with
tell you…
An epiphany
might come as a result of losing a loved one;
It might come
as a result of separating from the love of your life;
It might come
as a result of a devastating diagnosis;
It might come
as a result of the collapse of a church community;
It might come
as a result of new knowledge that throws a lifetime of assumptions out the
window;
all of
these and more can lead to an epiphany- a divinely-instigated moment of clarity
that nothing will be the same, that transience and uncertainty are key
components of human existence, and that in the centre of that transience and uncertainty
must necessarily be our understanding of God.
God, ineffable
and unknowable, and yet now a human baby, first recognized by gnostic
occultists…
God,
forever and unchanging, and yet seemingly ever-changing…
God, seemingly
solid, but apparently fluid…
God, always
thought of as an ever-present hope in time of trouble, and yet apparently silent,
distant…
The mystery
of Epiphany is this: Does faith endure the swift spiritual kick to the head?
It is
foolish to brashly declare beforehand that it will.
It might
not.
It might,
but in a very different form, changed, transformed, chastened, refined…
But
Epiphany assures us that, regardless of the outcome, the swift spiritual kick
is coming.
Be ready.
Love this. It reminds me of my favorite definition of karma: that we will get to it what we need to learn when the time is right whether we are ready or not.
ReplyDeleteAnd as an interspiritual person, I like you are a reminder that the Epiphany was not just closed to any one group of people following a specific set of indoctrinated belief: if Jesus was actually divine, a doctrine that I personally do not believe (nor do I believe it's necessary to garner what needs to be garnered from his teachings), the divinity manifests is one universal truth with a capital T,The Ground of All Being, Things As They Are. Like it or not, the God that Christians worship is the same Universal, unknowable, ineffable divine source of all that is. And for many Christians, coming to that understanding is a kick in the head all of its own.
Sorry for the voice recognition glitch: the definition of karma is that we will get taught whatever it is that we need to learn when the time is right whether we are ready or not.
DeleteSorry for the voice recognition glitch: the definition of karma is that we will get taught whatever it is that we need to learn when the time is right whether we are ready or not.
DeleteLove this. It reminds me of my favorite definition of karma: that we will get to it what we need to learn when the time is right whether we are ready or not.
ReplyDeleteAnd as an interspiritual person, I like you are a reminder that the Epiphany was not just closed to any one group of people following a specific set of indoctrinated belief: if Jesus was actually divine, a doctrine that I personally do not believe (nor do I believe it's necessary to garner what needs to be garnered from his teachings), the divinity manifests is one universal truth with a capital T,The Ground of All Being, Things As They Are. Like it or not, the God that Christians worship is the same Universal, unknowable, ineffable divine source of all that is. And for many Christians, coming to that understanding is a kick in the head all of its own.