The Feast of St. Francis, 2008
Dear Friends and Parishioners:
These past few weeks have witnessed events that seem out of our control and apparently out of everyone’s control. Allegedly, there are some bad guys who will be brought to justice and according to our leaders, greed and selfishness are the “real reasons”. While these downward forces swirl and unfurl, many of us feel a deep insecurity in our gut. “What will become of me?” is the central thought beneath our various manifestations of angst. Almost every day I receive an bromide in my email from a stockbroker that tells me, “Hang in there, it will all be OK in the long run.”
Time and again, if we live long enough, we find out that what we had thought to be solid and permanent has proven to be fluid and transitory. How can appearances be so deceiving? How can we so easily be conned? Who would have thought the Soviet Union would fall so precipitously, or for that matter our own World Trade Centers? With each failure we wonder, again, where can my family and I be safe?
It is likely most of us will find a way through. Somehow we will endure sleepless nights, recalculate our retirements, postpone vacations, eat-in more often, save leftovers, etc. etc. But we will know that forces beyond our control have altered our plans. We will feel this profound insecurity shadowing our steps. We will know life is not in our hands, that is until we forget again.
In-days-gone-by, unexpected forces always threatened the wellbeing of people. From droughts and famines, to rampaging armies, to very high infant and child mortality rates, people have always been reminded of the capricious rudeness of life. When these forces have upset plans and reminded people of the fragility and uncertainty of life, people have struggled for deeper meaning. It is from these deep disappointments that much of our scripture and wisdom arise.
Crisis can either destroy us or cause us to look deeper. When the assumed verities of life are challenged, when we see that the wizard behind the curtain is only a frail old man, when we remember that we are “but dust and unto dust we will return,” we are ready to begin our spiritual journey. Instead of crumbling like our economy and so many other structures, those who answer the call use philosophy (wisdom) and theology (faith really) to find moorings and meaning beneath the prima facie manifestation of the world. Suddenly the dope of this world; celebrity, sports and entertainment, pale in comparison to the bright light of finding our soul’s true purpose. When we begin our spiritual journey in earnest, we understand what St. Paul meant when he said “I count all things as loss for the surpassing worth of Christ.” We find ourselves in it but not of it.
In this time of uncertainty, instead of teeth grinding and finger crossing, I encourage you to pick up your cross and follow the One who chose to empty himself in order to bring life and love and healing to all. The world is constantly giving us reminders and opportunities to begin the most amazing journey of discovery. This journey will result in our gaining our souls as we work out our salvation in real community.
These past few weeks have witnessed events that seem out of our control and apparently out of everyone’s control. Allegedly, there are some bad guys who will be brought to justice and according to our leaders, greed and selfishness are the “real reasons”. While these downward forces swirl and unfurl, many of us feel a deep insecurity in our gut. “What will become of me?” is the central thought beneath our various manifestations of angst. Almost every day I receive an bromide in my email from a stockbroker that tells me, “Hang in there, it will all be OK in the long run.”
Time and again, if we live long enough, we find out that what we had thought to be solid and permanent has proven to be fluid and transitory. How can appearances be so deceiving? How can we so easily be conned? Who would have thought the Soviet Union would fall so precipitously, or for that matter our own World Trade Centers? With each failure we wonder, again, where can my family and I be safe?
It is likely most of us will find a way through. Somehow we will endure sleepless nights, recalculate our retirements, postpone vacations, eat-in more often, save leftovers, etc. etc. But we will know that forces beyond our control have altered our plans. We will feel this profound insecurity shadowing our steps. We will know life is not in our hands, that is until we forget again.
In-days-gone-by, unexpected forces always threatened the wellbeing of people. From droughts and famines, to rampaging armies, to very high infant and child mortality rates, people have always been reminded of the capricious rudeness of life. When these forces have upset plans and reminded people of the fragility and uncertainty of life, people have struggled for deeper meaning. It is from these deep disappointments that much of our scripture and wisdom arise.
Crisis can either destroy us or cause us to look deeper. When the assumed verities of life are challenged, when we see that the wizard behind the curtain is only a frail old man, when we remember that we are “but dust and unto dust we will return,” we are ready to begin our spiritual journey. Instead of crumbling like our economy and so many other structures, those who answer the call use philosophy (wisdom) and theology (faith really) to find moorings and meaning beneath the prima facie manifestation of the world. Suddenly the dope of this world; celebrity, sports and entertainment, pale in comparison to the bright light of finding our soul’s true purpose. When we begin our spiritual journey in earnest, we understand what St. Paul meant when he said “I count all things as loss for the surpassing worth of Christ.” We find ourselves in it but not of it.
In this time of uncertainty, instead of teeth grinding and finger crossing, I encourage you to pick up your cross and follow the One who chose to empty himself in order to bring life and love and healing to all. The world is constantly giving us reminders and opportunities to begin the most amazing journey of discovery. This journey will result in our gaining our souls as we work out our salvation in real community.
Posted by
at
22:33:58
Steve,
If one was indeed to pick up one’s cross and begin the journey (or for many of us perhaps to re-start a journey that was half abandoned) does that mean putting down the tools of our trade or setting aside our nets. Is there a conflict between turning to Christ on the one hand and focussing on and dealing with the issues forced upon us by the world around us on the other?
This is excellent advice for our personal morality - how we deal with our thoughts, feelings, desires, actions, goals and values - and we should follow it. But we also have to talk about our public morality - how we deal with the world we live in.
This economic train wreck didn’t have to happen. The market is not like earthquakes, tides, droughts and hurricanes. It is not a force of nature. It is a part of culture, which means it undergoes constant change and, most important, that we can to a large extent change it to what we want it to be. It is a force beyond our control as individual persons, but it is not beyond the control of the collective citizenry.
Part of the cause of the train wreck was greed and selfishness by persons willing to game the system for their own benefit, regardless of the harm done to others or to the market. But another cause was that persons in authority passively let them do it and in some cases encouraged it. We don’t have to put up with this. We can’t eliminate greed; we will always have these parasites with us. But as citizens we can demand sensible regulations, effective controls and useful incentives to thwart these parasites and help the market do its proper job.
This means making an effort to be informed on economic matters, supporting politicians who want proper regulations, speaking (and listening) to friends and acquaintances, and joining and contributing to organizations supporting these goals. Surely this is a civic duty. May I also call it a moral duty?