( radish marriage theology )

The red radish seed sneaks across the US border breathing Wa-hah-kan busses. Three days of sneaking. Guns. Dogs. Desert. Grown by two acres of latinos next to my garden, Nelida gives her saved seed... As she tore the plant out of the ground and shoved it into my trunk, I savored saving seed for the first time. Last winter, we de-shelled each of Nelida’s radish seed by hand and planted them in the spring. We ate radishes this year and behind me is next year’s Wa-hah-kan radish seed crop; it is heirloom, organic, open pollinated, and spicy. Now the seed waits to be gathered in, stored deep in the barn. How does plant life correlate to death? Embedded in the dying breath is next years life. The frozen death in Narnia becomes a thawed dance in Aslan’s sovereign paw, deeper magic from before the dawn of time.

Does our base hypostatic connection with being alive correlate to marital union? Marriage and offspring are the clearest shadow of the invisible community creator. Moral lessons are summed up in the living example of a healthy marriage. I used to justify monasticism; imagining living in a cave by a water fall with theological books. This quote by the Christ turned the tide: "Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn't for everyone. Some, from birth seemingly, never give marriage a thought. Others never get asked—or accepted. And some decide not to get married for Kingdom reasons. But if you're capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it." I didn’t have to be a monk but could still draw from monasticism. The nuptial implications of humanities union with perfection did not contradict spiritual purpose. The man creates atmosphere so he can live in the woman. The woman agrees with the atmosphere and lets him in. Similarly the creator set in motion designs for climatic situations, in which we let the numinous spirit enter us and create life: new vision, tears of joy, relaxation, actively listening, laughter... we only do it for a few moments at first. The depth at which a couple can hold this poetry of life in their individual hands directly correlates to the health of their union and offspring.