The title of this inspiration, people in transition, comes from a line in a recent essay by Sister Joan Chittister. Chittister is a Benedictine nun in the monastery in Erie, PA. I have visited that wonderful, lively and hospitable group of Benedictine nuns. I spoke there on occasion and found a receptive audience, which was much more attentive than almost any class I ever teach! I don’t think Sister Joan was in the audience that night, nor did I see her the next day at breakfast. But I know she lives in an apartment somewhere removed from the monastic buildings themselves. I suspect she had better things to do than trek to the monastery to hear some Quaker!
For years I have followed her, read some of her books and appreciated the inevitable prophetic witness she brings to any situation. Her recent article focuses on the question, rebuilding our economy? She begins with this observation/question: “Amazing, isn't it, how quickly life changes, becomes good again, gets resolved? Goes back to "normal." Maybe. At least we seem to think so.” She rehearses some of the obvious issues for our current times: the ravages of Covid, racism and more.
And then she makes the case that “We are clearly a people in transition.” It is easy to say, Amen. But what does she mean? And what, really, do we mean when we agree? Let’s listen carefully to her. If we are in transition, she then asks, “from what to what?” That’s a great question and one, I suspect, not everyone answers the same way. We all hope we leave Covid 19 and never face the likes again. But when you look long term into the future, who can be sure?
Not surprisingly, Chittister is interested in the role religion might play in this transition. What would the answers of religion be? Pressing further, religion is not as abstract as we teach it in college or some membership class in church. Rather, real religion is embodied. It is lived out by individual folks and, hopefully, many of those folks in groups or congregations. Chittister is bold enough to ask, what is Christianity in these times? It is fair to ask the same question for the Jew, Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist.
Appropriately, Chittister reminds the reader of the fourth and fifth centuries of Christian history. This was the period Christianity went from being illegal, sometimes, secret organization to being legitimized as the religion of the Empire. No doubt, many were relieved. But surely, it came at a cost. Now one could be a Christian in name only. Instead of being killed for the confession, you might be elected to office! Sounds familiar does it not?
Once again, it is not surprising that Chittister’s mind goes to the earliest monks who left the cities and civilization as it then was to head to the desert. There they knew they had a better chance of living a real spiritual life, imitating Jesus as they understood it. We can write them off as wackos, but maybe they were the ones who were on the pursuit of truth and a life lived truthfully. It is difficult to imagine any of them winding up in Washington, D.C. as a politician! I think Chittister is right when she claims, “These Desert Monastics became living reminders of what it meant to live the real Christian life.” I know that is why I read them and value their insights.
Well into the essay, Sister Joan quotes one of these desert monastics, Abbot Pambo. Pambo says, “If you have a heart, you can be saved.” I love those words! Chittister begins to speculate on what people with a heart might be doing in this time of transition. Let’s see a couple of her guesses. She thinks, “Heart reaches out to provide the money families need to feed their children, to sustain their non-working elderly.” This seems like a good idea, but then I hear rich people say, “we can’t afford that.” And yet, anyone who follows the stock market knows those rich investors became stinking richer during the pandemic!
Another thing Sister Joan speculates is “Heart requires the accessibility of food stamps for families…rather than allow them to expire.” Feeding people seems like the decent thing to do! I can’t imagine Jesus saying, “Who cares!!” As I read more of our Benedictine nun’s statements, I can’t help but begin to think what I might do, if I truly am to be a heart person? For most of us, this action will be local and personal. I know for certain there are more than enough things in my own city and neighborhood that needs heart action.
My guess is all of us know what our heart means. We know it and have felt it. We know when we do something with all our heart. We give it our all. We are all in. We don’t hold back and make excuses. We don’t rationalize why we cannot do something or share something. Care and share sounds like kindergarten guidance, but it makes sense for people of the Spirit.
I want to keep Abbot Pambo’s words in mind “If you have a heart, you can be saved.” Who does not want to be saved? I don’t think it necessarily means a life-after-death thing. Being saved might mean being saved from our egotistical, selfish, destructive self. The way out is to have a heart. That is what we hope for with this people in transition.
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. Brooks’ article focused on the 2016 contentious election. He provocatively suggests, “Read Buber, Not the Polls!” I think Brooks puts
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