Recently I read a piece my friend, Dan Horan wrote. Dan is a Franciscan priest and theology professor. He and I both serve the Thomas Merton Society, which is a group of folks---not all academics---who appreciate Merton’s life and writings and think he still has something to say to us---long after his untimely death in 1968. Dan and I both were attending the biennial conference of this revered Catholic Kentucky monk. The theme of the gathering was “Thou Inward Stranger.” The theme is found in one of Merton’s poems.
Merton’s last decade of life was the 1960s. All of us old enough to remember those days know how chaotic it was. It was a time of crisis---Vietnam, race and much more. Vatican finished its work in the early 60s and a man stepped onto the surface of the moon. It was mind-blowing. Vatican II unleased a great deal of energy, but it also brought a crisis of sorts to the Catholic Church. But the Catholic Church was not the only institution in crisis.
Fast forward to today and it seems like we are in another crisis. Again the Catholic Church is embroiled on many fronts in this struggle. The Church---not just the Catholic Church---has become politicized in embarrassing ways. Being a Republican or Democrat evinces more allegiance than being a Catholic or a Quaker. I agree with Dan when he claims, “the church, at least in the United States, is facing a crisis.”
I let him speak for his own Catholic tradition and then I want to steal a key idea in his words. Dan tells us “part of what contributes to the crisis is the refusal of many bishops to recognize the ongoing creative power of the Holy Spirit.” He continues to suggest, “Instead, they double down on their own sense of self-assurance and the mistaken belief that they---and they alone---are responsible for the success or failure of Christ’s church.” I will let Dan’s claims be discussed by his own Catholic brothers and sisters. Quakers have our own problems, but it is not with our bishops, because we don’t have any. But we have leaders and we have unfortunate senses of self-assurance and the rest.
I want to steal and focus on the wonderful affirmation contained in Dan’s first sentence. That focus is shines on the ongoing creative power of the Holy Spirit. Clearly this is a theological assumption and assertion. It seems accurate to me, but that is because I believe it, too. It affirms that God is creative. But the creativity of God is not limited to Genesis work, namely, bringing the universe into being. The creativity of God is ongoing. Theologically this means the ongoing creative power of God is sustaining. God is still “in it” with us.
In fact, God could not---and would not want to---get out of it, that is, get out of the ongoing creative business and get out of the relationship with all of us human beings. If we are in a crisis, God is in it, too. God has a stake in it. We are asked to believe it. Furthermore, we are asked to trust that ongoing creative power of the Holy Spirit. We are asked to open ourselves to the Spirit empowering us. With spiritual power, we are ready for real, good work. Enough with the judgmentalism and the bitching. Enough with the factionalism. Let’s worry more about getting real than getting right.
If we can pursue this path, we are on to what Merton calls “valid Christian hope.” To have hope is incentive. It charges our batteries and gives us capacity to go on and go higher. I appreciate my friend Dan reminding me and us that the church is all the people of the Spirit. The church is not simply the bishops or church leaders. The church is not the ordained, but the ordinary---which includes the ordained.
Rather than engage the politics of our crisis, I prefer to explore and experiment with the ongoing creative power of the Holy Spirit. I don’t control it; nobody controls it. But we experience it and express it. I watch it happen in my friend Dan. I witness it in countless of my Quaker friends---young and old alike. I see it in the lives of some of my students---many of whom have no church affiliation. But I doubt we need a particular church affiliation to qualify as recipients of the Spirit. Rather, some openness and willingness are the only prerequisites.
Because this Spirit is creative, we will also be given the capacity to be innovative and find new, fresh ways to clean up our world---literally and metaphorically. This will have to do with climate and diversity, as well as within the life of each one of us. Maybe you are in good shape, but I have some cleaning up that needs to happen.
I find it exciting, even if it feels a bit scary from time to time. It is true that the Spirit within may take me places I did not expect to go---and perhaps am timid to go there. But with the creative power of the Spirit, I can be bold enough to go. With the support of my spiritual friends, I can be compassionate to act. And thankfully, with the grace given me and us, we can celebrate and be grateful.
Come Holy Spirit…
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/faith-seeking-understanding/thomas-mertons-wisdom-church-crisis
Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber. I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s. It was already a famous book by then. I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it. It has been a while since I looked at the book. Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks? I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece. I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation. I wish more people read him and took him seriously. ...
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