Recently I had the occasion to return to some readings that
I did long ago. Because of an article I
am writing, I needed to go back to my Quaker roots for some ideas and Quaker
way of putting those ideas. I returned
to one of my favorite Quakers of last century, Douglas Steere. I knew Douglas as an acquaintance, but not
well enough to call a friend. He was a
long-time professor of philosophy at Haverford College in the Philadelphia
area.
In some ways Douglas Steere became a role model for me. He was one of those seasoned veterans who
come along early in one’s career.
Douglas was an academic---a good academic. But he also was a man of the Spirit and a man
of the world. Douglas was involved in
the ecumenical movement long before most of us knew what the word meant. He read Catholic literature, much of which
today we would talk about as the Catholic spiritual literature. He chose to spend a month in a European
monastery and that shaped his own Quaker Christian spirituality.
Douglas was involved in Quaker peace work. This was especially noteworthy in Europe
after WW II. This peace work continued
through the Vietnam period when I came to know him. Not only did he want to work for world peace,
he wanted to work for peace among the Christian churches and the various
religions that span our globe. I was
fascinated by his stories of being an official non-Catholic observer during the
sessions of Vatican II in the late 50s and early 60s.
I turned to his little volume called, Together in Solitude. This book
contains a number of different speeches and articles Steere delivered on the
interior life. One of the chapters is
called “Spiritual Renewal.” At one point
he turns to the Grand Canyon to illustrate how time and experience weather a
person. The Grand Canyon is deep and
amazing because of all that time has brought it. The same can be said for the deep, mature
person of the Spirit. He calls these
people Grand Canyonites! As he says,
“They never seem to be spared from troubles, but only to look at trouble
through different eyes.”
Steere then uses the African Christian group, the Kikuyu,
who experienced martyrdom for the faith at the hands of the Mau Mau tribe. They said, “Oh Lord we ask Thee not to be
safe, but to be faithful.” That prayer
hit me like a brick in the head! I
immediately sensed the audacity of this prayer.
It had a power and poignancy that I knew I was not yet capable of
mustering in my own spiritual life. I
could pray that, but it would be a lie.
I am not yet a Grand Canyonite.
Right now I feel fortunate because it is quite likely I am
not facing martyrdom. I am safe---safe
at least from that kind of ultimate harm.
I know there are Christians in other places in the world who do face
this kind of ultimacy. They may well be
Grand Canyonites. To use a baseball
metaphor, I am still a minor leaguer. It
remains to be seen whether I am even capable of playing at the major league
level.
Clearly, I still need instruction, practice and more
experience. Probably we have to be tested---and
maybe tested in very significant ways---before we even know whether we are
capable of playing big. What I know now
is that I want to be instructed, I want to practice and I want to gain more
experience. I can want all of this
without necessarily wanting to be martyred.
No sane person should desire to die for his or her faith. The history of the Church is clear we are not
to provoke martyrdom. But we are not to
shy away or run away if it comes to us.
I will continue pursuing instruction. That can come from books and from what other,
more spiritually mature folks can share with me. Certainly, I need practice more than I do
now. Grand Canyonites must have more
than a spiritual discipline. They have
found a way to live in the Spirit. Their
spiritual practice must be deep and daily.
I have a long ways to go here.
Finally, I can continue to welcome the kinds of experiences
that will chisel me spiritually. This is
where the prayer of the Kikuyu comes back into the picture. I want to be able legitimately to pray to be
faithful, not safe. I hope to be safe, for sure, but I want more to be
faithful. I know those are easy
words. I also know the deeds are all
that counts.
Steere ends that small section in his book by saying Jesus’
followers were promised three things.
They would be “absurdly happy, entirely fearless, and always in
trouble!”
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