Confronting and Affirming

Lorna and I are currently enrolled in a course in Benedictine Spirituality which is being offered by The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine (SSJD) in Toronto.  It is being offered via ZOOM which enables us to participate in the course.  The current COVID Pandemic has opened up many possibilities for distance learning.  So, this very dark cloud does have at least one silver lining. 

 We have attended the first of six classes, so it is early days.  However, my assessment is that it will be a very positive experience.  I did not have much information about St. Benedict or Benedictine Spirituality prior to this and am impressed by the strict nature of the rule and Benedictine life of those who dedicate themselves to it.  It is not for the faint of spiritual heart.

We are using two books as the primary reading, The Way of St. Benedict by Rowan Williams (the former Archbishop of Canterbury) and The Rule of Benedict by Joan Chittister, a renowned, prolific theologian and author.  They are both very good introductions to Benedictine life and how it can apply to life today.

Reading Williams yesterday, there was a passage which struck me as very much on point with the situation facing us with the current pandemic.  The sentence is from his chapter Benedict and the Future if Europe:

We need to recover Benedict as that kind of patron for our presently confusing continent; there is still much to do to spell out further the ways in which, both confronting and affirming (my emphasis), his Rule may open some windows in a rather airless political room and create a true workshop for the spirit (chapter 4). Page 83

This applies of course as much or more to this continent as to Europe.  I was particularly struck with the phrase “confronting and affirming” as it applies to the current resistance which people are demonstrating to rules for how to operate in the pandemic; including wearing masks and restriction on activities and businesses.   I must confess that my initial reaction to the protests has been a desire to confront rather than affirm.  I find the people who demonstrate for freedom to put their own health and lives and the health and lives of others at risk to be short sighted and selfish.  However, on reflection I don’t believe that attitude is very helpful or Christian.

So, to follow the Benedictine Rule, how can I be affirming of this approach to the position?  I think that there are likely many reasons for people objecting to the restrictions placed on them.  Perhaps part of it is due to fear of the unknown; some may be due to the lack of control people find in this situation which seems to be unending.  There may also be a reflection of the lack of trust in institutions and in government which has developed in the recent decades.  People don’t seem to know who to trust these days with the spread of “fake news” on social media – there does seem to be a significant number of people that just don’t believe that the pandemic is as bad as reported or even that it is actually real.

This is, of course, is supposition on my part.  However, it does enable me to appreciate those actions with an attitude that is more affirming and less confronting.  I believe that the Rule which can be applied for everyone today is the Golden Rule i.e. do unto others as you want them to do to you.  For Christians, this is can be understood as the great commandment of Jesus – to love your neighbour as yourself.  We can love one another and prayer that this pandemic will be brought under control and intimately defeated so that there will be no more need for masks and social distancing and people being hospitalized and dying because of it. 

Blessing on you journey and please care for one another.

It's so simple that only a child can do it!

Last week, I had confirmation that the world is getting way to complicated for me.  I had an encounter with a computer program which I thought was required for a course I signed up for.  The course is offered by the Sisterhood of St. John he Divine on Benedictine Spirituality.  I thought I needed to activate Drop Box program to access the material for the course – it turned out I didn’t.  However, as a result, many of my active files were reorganized on my hard drive and I am still having ‘fun’ trying to locate them.  It was rather shocking to sit for about an hour as get continual messages about files being moved to Drop Box and not being able to do anything about it - talk about helplessness.  

The second incident also involved my computer.  I ordered an external microphone for my laptop as I am using it for Zooming with others and the built-in mic is not as sensitive as I would like.  I plugged in the ‘easy to use’ mic but no joy, it would not work.  So, I spent about an hour checking the settings and running a troubleshooting program.  I was just about to give up and I noticed a small control on the side of the mic and in a flash of inspiration – or something less complementary – realized that it was a volume control built in to the mic.  Well all’s well that ends well – at least for now.

It was humbling to say the least and what came to mind was the song from the 1960’s by Tom Lehrer, “New Math”.  The chorus has a message that is more relevant that ever today:

Hooray for New Math
New-hoo-hoo Math
It won't do you a bit of good to review Math
It's so simple
So very simple
That only a child can do it!

It is getting to the point that I am less and less able to deal with the ever increasing complexities of life.  It seems that with computer technology a child to be able the figure out how things operate much more easily than us old fogies.  

There are a number of bible passages that seem to be appropriate in this, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”  (Isaiah 11:6).  Another is, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 19:14) I particularly like that one because it talks of suffering which I find that technology can have that effect on me.

Finally, there is Matthew 18:3, “‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  I understand this passage, in particular, is the key to seeing things - whether technology or the world in general like children is that they bring fresh eyes to looking at whatever is presented to them.  Now, we can’t look at this through rose coloured glasses because experience and education is important and brings a valuable perspective to understanding and evaluating the world.  However, we adults can be blinkered and blinded to what is in front of us because we don’t see things with fresh eyes.

On Sunday, Rev. Sherry DeJonge was talking about an aspect of this and the need to appreciate things that are counter intuitive.  She upheld the Sermon on the Mount called for a counter intuitive approach to people and the world.  

As we get older and more set in our ways, we are less able to see the world as it truly is and as how God intends it to be.  I hope and pray that God will enable me to remove a few of the blinkers that are preventing me to see the truth of God’s creation.  I’m not all that sure how that applies to computers - but I live in hope.  

May you have the eyes of a little child on your journey.