THE CAMBRIAN PESHER
THE VOICE OF THE DESPOSYNI TO THE AMERICAN DISPERSION
Pentecost, 2002
Beloved:
The story of the Holy Grail is really a Medieval development of an important theological doctrine concerning the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ, of course, is of central importance to the Christian faith. The vicarious Atonement rests upon its worth in the satisfaction of public justice and in its power to restore the favor of God upon a fallen race. Popular literature makes the Holy Grail an object of adventure, but the Scriptures take a more serious view of its relation to the problems of humanity.
The Atonement of Christ in relation to our eternal salvation has been addressed at length in other of our published studies.[1] What classical Christianity has chosen to ignore is the Early Church's emphasis on the Atonement as a restoration of worldly dominion to the Elect.
This is brought out markedly in the Didache, a 1st Century discipleship manual. Its presentation of the Eucharistic service is very different from the Mass of traditional Christendom and the Protestant Communion service which is based upon the instructions of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 (see Eucharistic liturgy).
The Mass, of course, teaches a mystical view of the Host and the Cup, that somehow the Eucharist is truly a recapitulation of the Atonement. The Protestant and Modern view sees it as a memorial only, which may or may not impart spiritual grace, depending upon the understanding of the recipient.
It can be received at different levels of meaning, certainly, but its meaning to God is what really matters. He honors his symbols and in some sense it does communicate the power of Christ's Atonement to the worshipper: for while Paul describes it as an Ordeal of Jealousy which results in real consequences in the life of the believer - or to the unfaithful, in which it can ultimately cause death - it is also a cornucopia of blessing to those who receive it in faith.[2]
Its power as a means of grace is the exoteric message of the Grail romances, whose heroes seek out the Sacred Cup which Jesus served His disciples at the Last Supper - which now is said to contain, not wine, but the actual blood of Christ preserved under the care of Joseph of Arimethea and his succession of chosen guardians. Recovering this holy relic, as told in the romances, is not for the purpose of obtaining eternal salvation, but what is in view is the restoration of Divine favor upon a stricken land. It is the temporal order which is out-of-balance in the Grail stories.
The Grail romances are allegories very similar to John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress which was so popular during the Puritan era. They both describe a spiritual quest of the hero. Yet they differ on this important point: while Christian, the hero of Pilgrim's Progress, is struggling to overcome the obstacles on his way to Heaven, the heroes of the Grail are trying to restore Paradise on Earth. Pilgrim's Progress represents the very pietistic and other-worldly perspective of the Reformation period, while stories about the Grail represent a concern with the crisis of Christian civilization.[3]
Understanding the historical context in which these stories were written makes them a commentary on the times. The Grail legend came on the heels of the failed apocalyptic expectations at the turn of the first Christian millennium. The concern with "end-times" events is not a modern invention. It was very much on the minds of Christians at the end of that era, as well.
Like today, there was disillusionment with Christianity and its failure to produce a returning Messiah. Like today, the failure of Christian civilization to produce an earthly paradise led to the expectation that an imminent return of Christ would provide the remedy. Nothing happened.
The Grail stories serve then - during a very dangerous period when the stake was the lot of heretics - as a means to safely propagate criticism of Christian symbols and their inadequacy to change the human condition. At the time, Christianity had had a thousand years to work its miracle, and like the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel, their was nothing but wailing and self-mutilation. God did not answer with fire, nor did classical Christianity bring its Paradise. And today, we have a repeat of history: Protestantism has had a half millennium, and it too, has failed.[4]
In the Grail story, we find that the Grail feeds and nourishes the Fisher King (an Adam-like figure), yet it does not heal his wound. The Grail can keep him alive but it cannot restore him to his previous condition. Original sin is in check, but it is not reversed. Thus, the Grail legends are telling us that Christian symbols and rites have preserved civilization, yet have not overcome man's fallen nature. There is something missing in the constellation of Christian doctrine, a key ingredient which prevents it from transforming the world.
The Grail romances occur at about the same time as Joachim of Floris and his "Holy Ghost movement".[5] The same is true of our time. During the 20th Century, we saw the meteoric rise of Pentecostalism. Individualism, the quest for mystical experiences, and general dissatisfaction with organized religion, are signs of a holding center weakening from defective first principles.
Within the story of the Grail is preserved the legacy of the Desposyni: that the Church is not the Imperial institutional propagation of pax Romana, but an extension of the family of Christ through the Biblical laws of adoption. It is a doctrine of covenantal succession. In this we find the central meaning of the Eucharist in the Didache: that in partaking of the sacred elements, the worshipper is joining in fellowship with the "Vine of David" - the lineage of David over which Jesus Christ is its head. In so doing, he partakes of the blessings of the Davidic Covenant and its promise of earthly paradise. The Grail can only heal when the chosen guardian has found it.
Currently, the Christian world is celebrating the season of Pentecost and the promise of the Holy Spirit. It is the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit which changes human nature and writes the law and the statutes upon the heart (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Unfortunately, this meaning of Pentecost has been lost or even denied by the Church. It has rejected teaching Biblical law which was so dear to the saints of the first Jerusalem Church. And it has a truncated view of the Holy Spirit, because it rejects as heresy the feminine side of God. These doctrines are thinly veiled in the Grail romances and point to the solution of the Christian failure.
A study of the Grail legend is planned during our annual Labor Day gathering in north Idaho. If you are interested in attending, please contact us gathering@grailchurch.org .
A Servant of Jesus,
James Wesley Stivers
Collect for the Day:
Almighty God, who on this day didst open the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of thy Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Footnotes:
[1] See Kinsman-Redeemer
[2] An Ordeal of Jealousy is a test of faithfulness (Numbers 5) which is what the Eucharist becomes to the Christian (1 Corinthians 10:21-22), resulting in physical consequences - good or bad (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).
[3] See The Grail Legend by Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz (Princeton University Press, 1960)
[4] The current Secretary of Defense in a press conference following the 9-11 terrorist attacks asserted that America must continue to maintain its war culture until "there is a change in human nature". The hands of Christendom, dripping with the blood of two world wars, still propagates a culture of death throughout the world. We might argue that these sins represent a departure from Christian principles. Of course, it does. That is not the point. The point is why does the departure take place at all. Theologians shrug their shoulders and mumble about Divine sovereignty, prophecy, free will, ad naseum. They offer no real answers. Request a free copy of Biblical Terranomics #2 entitled, "The Failure of Protestantism" at bt2@grailchurch.org
[5] See The Holy Conspiracy for a more complete discussion of Joachim and the spiritual Fransciscans as precursors of the Reformation.