Doing the Impossible

On the surface the title of this inspirational reflection makes little sense.  Why would any person with brains want to do the impossible?  Most of us know that sometimes doing the possible is hard enough!  Why would you try to do the impossible?  And likely fail?  I think I would have agreed with this until I read an interesting little account in a book by my friend, Parker Palmer.          

I have been using one of Palmer’s books, The Active Life, in one of my classes.  The subtitle of the book gives you a good sense of its focus: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity and Caring.  It is not his best book, but the content matches something I try to help students and adults think about in their normal lives.  Many of us think monks and nuns can live a spiritual life.  They have made special arrangements in life so that being spiritual becomes their full-time job.  But the rest of us in the “real” world have it much harder.  Routine life gets in the way of being spiritual.          

Palmer helps me and others think about how to pull off being spiritual in the ordinary work world that most of us inhabit.  It is not always easy.  We have to be intentional.  It takes time.  We are not always “successful.”  And certainly, things like “success” have to be treated very carefully when it comes to gauging spiritual things.  It is one thing to be successful in business.  It is another thing to succeed spiritually.  In fact, I suggest we dispense with “success” language when it comes to the spiritual realm.         

At one point, Parker Palmer shared a little story---an incident in his life---which rocked me.  The story was about one of his friends who worked at the Catholic Worker house in New York City.  I know a few things about the Catholic Worker movement.  The name of Dorothy Day is associated with that amazing ministry that began in New York and spread to many other cities.  The Catholic Worker was a ministry to the poor people in New York---the down and out. 

         

It served people who were hungry, homeless and sick.  I always thought it must have come as close as any ministry I knew to replicating what Jesus was about in his ministry.  The Catholic Worker had a non-judgmental approach that often was a challenge to many of the “faithful,” who often make too many judgments---without thinking we are judgmental, of course!          

Parker describes his friend and her work in this way.  “Daily she tries to respond to waves of human misery that are as ceaseless as surf in that community.”  That puts it pretty graphically!  And then Parker begins to indict himself, as I am sure I would have, too.  He tells us, “Out of my deep not-knowing I asked her how she could keep doing a work that never showed any results, a work in which the problems keep getting worse instead of better.”           

I cringe because Palmer’s question makes perfect sense to me.  Take a moment and notice the assumptions he is making in that question.  He assumes the work she is doing will never show any results.  That makes sense to me.  He assumes it is senseless to do it, if you have no hope that there will be results.  That logic matches my logic.  He assumes that actually things will keep getting worse instead of better.  Again, I would have agreed.  In effect, Parker is saying to his friend: “You are crazy!”          

His friend is a genius---a spiritual genius, I think.  She does not challenge his assumptions.  In fact, she might have agreed with him…but I doubt it.  Instead her answer is an answer from the spiritual perspective, not the human, rational perspective.  She changes perspectives.  As Parker puts it,  “I will never forget her enigmatic answer.”  Her answer is spiritually powerful.  “The thing you don’t understand, Parker, is that just because something is impossible doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.”            

That answer only makes sense if you are crazy or spiritual.  I hear her answer to be straight from the heart of obedience.  She is so clear about her commitment to God and to God’s call on her life, she is willing to act just like God (or Jesus) would act in New York City.  So it seems impossible?  Do it anyway!  Why?  Because it is the right and spiritual thing to do!            

Her mission surely was not to be “successful.”  On that calculus she might be an abject failure.  Rather, her mission was to be obedient.  Perhaps that is the secret of real ministry in our world.  Real ministry grows out of obedience.  The goal of obedience is not success; it is obedience.  So it might be impossible…just do it.  To the folks in the world, it might seem like you are crazy.  But you know the difference between craziness and obedience.          

I am not sure I am yet up for that kind of obedience.  But I understand it now.  I understand why someone spiritual is quite willing to do the impossible.  Who knows, God might succeed!