Psalm 67:7

avoiding dull grey towns

God who maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house: Who bringeth out them that were bound in strength; in like manner them that provoke, that dwell in sepulchres. (Psalm 67:7 DR)

There’s an old joke that [insert any thing or endeavor] would be great, except for the people. We are, however, always studiously careful—conveniently—to neglect to include ourselves within this group of people. After all, it’s always everyone else who is an idiot driver.

C.S. Lewis in his book The Great Divorce fancifully presents hell not as fire and brimstone, but rather as a dull grey town. What is most fascinating is that the denizens of hell have a peculiar habit of building their houses further and further away from each other, tearing them down and then building even further away. The reason for this is that they simply cannot stand to be around each other; after all, it’s everyone else who is the problem. Within this image I suppose we could rework the joke to be “hell wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the people.”

In contrast, the Church is meant to be characterized by unity of heart and mind, centered not on our own ideas and desires but in our subjection to each other for fear of Christ (cf. Ephesians 5:21). This unity is the subject of Christ’s prayer before His Passion:

And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me; That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 17:20-21 DR)

But unlike the residents of the grey town, members of Christ’s body are to be united by denying themselves and considering others more highly than themselves (cf. Philippians 2:1-12).

This unity is what the Psalmist envisions and speaks of in this passage, and he frames the unity not in terms of a shared purpose or mission (which aren’t unimportant) but rather in terms of having the same manner, as St. Paul elaborates:

For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5 DR)

St. Paul goes on to describe how our Lord humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant—that is, our human nature—and made Himself subject even to death for our sake. This and only this is the kind of mind which allows for actual unity in the Church, for as we reorient our minds to the mind of Christ we begin to desire what He desires, which allows us to live together in unity, which is most pleasing to God:

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity. (Psalm 132:1 DR)

Regrettably, this unity does not come easily nor naturally for us; it is an act of grace on God’s part that it is even possible, for otherwise we will naturally tend to build our houses further an further away from each other. The Psalmist notes that this unity is God’s work in our hearts, for he brings this unity out of those who are chained in sin and concupiscence (them that were bound) and those who are dead in heart and incredulous to God and his ways:

Behold God’s great love, who not only “maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house,” but he also “bringeth out them that were bound in strength;” that is, by the strength of his arm brings from captivity those that were bound in the chains of sin; and, what is more wonderful, “them that provoke” God by their incredulity; “that dwell,” as if they were dead, “in sepulchres” of the deepest iniquity; even such people, by the power of his grace, he brings out of their sepulchres, restores them to life, and “makes them to dwell of one manner in a house.” (St. Robert Bellarmine, A Commentary on the Book of the Psalms, 67, 6.)

This unity is thus not something we can generate out of ourselves, it cannot be forged by consensus or popular vote. It arises only when we dwell in the unity of Christ by refashioning our minds to His mind; St. Paul puts this required action in the most visceral terms:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. For I say, by the grace that is given me, to all that are among you, not to be more wise than it behoveth to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety, and according as God hath divided to every one the measure of faith. For as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office: So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. (Romans 12:1-5 DR)

As. St. Paul explains, the only way in which this unity is possible is through our constant death to ourselves. We have to continually immolate our self-wills on the altar so that they can be transformed by God’s power. This then enables us to discern His will which then allows us to see ourselves and others in the proper light without pride or self-will but with the mind of Christ (cf. Philippians 2:1-5). In this way we can then be sober-minded and be one body in Christ, closely united rather than building dull grey houses far away.

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For this animation I found an interesting image in an old manuscript showing a procession into a church; I don’t precisely remember, but I believe the occasion was a kingly coronation. At any rate, I liked how it showed men of different stations processing to the same place, which I thought highlighted the passage well.

I cut out all the figures and the church in Photoshop and brough them into After Effects. I then animated them moving from the left to the inside of the church, using a quick scaling as they go closer to the door just so there was a bit of visual interest and so one could see the figures more closely for at least some of it.

I created a simple matte for the doorway so that as they entered the layers were occluded once they reached the far side of the door frame.

I finally added in some textures and color correction and it was complete.

Enjoy.

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View a higher quality version of this gif here: