Imagery written by the young Johann Gerhard produced an image in my mind. He says, because we, the Church, have been clothed with the Sun of righteousness, “see to it then that you tread the moon, that is, all the earthly things, underfoot and esteem all these things little in comparison to the good things of heaven.” As I meditated on this a thought occurred to me. We do not stand from the lofty height of the moon to peer down on the world from time to time. Although we are no longer of the world, we are still in it. And yet, at the same time, we tread the moon. By grace, we overlook the constant change with our eyes fixed on the Author and Perfector of our faith. So we stand in a peculiar way. It’s a foolish stance. Our feet are on the moon and our head is in the earth. Although we tread the moon we ponder the earth. Although we dwell in heaven through the sacrifice of Christ we work and die in ashes and dust. By the Holy Spirit, we are flipped on our heads, upside-down to the looks of this world, and yet our feet are washed by the servant who sits at the right hand of God.
We do not live fully on the moon alone. We do not purchase a secluded island, gather only Christians, and live in seclusion from the cares of earth. We do not dwell in heaven alone where we are lords of all subject to none. If we attempt to tread the moon with our head in the clouds of heaven our neighbor suffers. God’s will is not done.
If we tread only where there is ash and dust, to which we return, then there is a danger to confuse the cares of this world with everlasting realities. The Gospel merely becomes a message to help the hungry and the incarnation, God condescending to us, is not considered. Then we end up seeking our best life in the shifting sands of this wilderness.
So we see a woman who has children out of wedlock. She has had many husbands and yet none are around to help. Her life is flipped upside by the Word of God and she receives peace beyond comprehension through the foolishness of what was preached to her. Her care and concern is for her children. She works multiple jobs in the nitty gritty of this ashen world so that her children will eat. More often than not her mind is in the earth where her daily concerns dwell, those looming trolls that that turn to stone in the light of God’s truth and become a story from our past. And there’s the beauty. The ash and dust to which we return, the daily concerns, that is not where we tread. Instead we tread the moon, the heavenly places far above the world. So this same woman can find comfort as she treads. She can find hope that her feet are led by God’s light. She can rest, even in darkness, that the light of the World is with her always. Although the transitory world looms so large her feet are planted secure in the heavens where she can tread in peace.
Be of courage. Although the grit of this world sticks in our minds we tread a place far above it all. Although it seems upside down to be sacrificial, to gain courage from suffering, to turn the other cheek, we stand secure in God’s realm and tread that place with Him. As Johann Gerhard said, “see to it then that you tread the moon…and esteem all these things little in comparison to the good things of heaven.”
Rev. Jaime Nava
quote from:
Sacred Meditations by Johann Gerhard
A nice post on the same stuff: