Eastern Catholic Person
Today, I went straight from liturgy to the airport. I live between two suburbs, Richmond in British Columbia and Evanston in Illinois.
Tomorrow, I teach again at Northwestern University. It is an exciting set of classes, both advanced undergraduate. One is on Global Chinatowns, another on Asian American religions. A research assistant will be working on a psychoanalytic reading of the afterlives of occupy protests on social media, and another will be doing an independent study on Asian American Christianity. Work is full, and writing will accelerate because of it.
But this is made possible by the love and communion of those at home. Like many things in my life, living in Richmond and then becoming Eastern Catholic much later began as a joke. With the joy born of laughter, these places became home. I will miss the sounds and smells of these places, the enthusiastic recklessness and the silent contemplation, looking forward to returning soon.
Father’s ‘commentary’ on the post-feast of Theophany at liturgy today sum it up for me. In this time of Theophany, we say ‘Christ is baptized’ when we kiss each other before the Symbol of Faith. But at the regular Kiss of Peace, we say ‘Christ is among us,’ not only among the clerical hierarchy, but among us the people. ‘He is and will be,’ we respond, for he is here and in this moment of kairos, we are also caught up in the future of our consummation, the reboot of the heavens and the earth.
Is this not what Theophany also signals? Is this not why the waters of the Jordan are blessed? Is this not why all creation is filled with rejoicing today? Christ is baptized in the Jordan by John! Christ is therefore among us! He is and will be!
Like yesterday’s post, this was originally posted on Facebook.
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