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What Drives Saints

 

            Since writing a recent piece on saints, I came upon a related question which I would now like to ponder.  What drives saints to be and do what they do?  For example, we could think about Jesus or the Buddha or Muhammad to try to answer this question.  If we can figure out their “drive,” then we have a clue about us lesser folks.

         One answer Christians might have offered would be that somehow Jesus is divine.  And that surely is an advantage!  But I would counter by saying all Christians also think he was human---fully human.  And that is always a disadvantage!  And Muslims do not think Muhammad was divine.  And no Buddhist thinks the Buddha was a god.  So whatever ‘drives” them to be and do needs to be explained from the human perspective.

         As I ponder what drives saints, I have come up with two things.  The first of these is motivation.  Motivation is one of those things that everyone assumes they can define until they are asked to define it!  When I define it, motivation has the connotation of moving me.  It is an incentive.  Motivation moves me into action.  Whether I am motivated depends on me.  It is a choice.  A coach, teacher, or parent can try to motivate, but it will not work unless the individual wants to be motivated.

         Jesus was motivated by his vision of God’s desire for humankind.  In a word he called that “kingdom.”  And when he looked at his world, he saw too much “non-kingdom” living.  There was injustice, violence, selfishness, etc.  His motivation was to change---to transform---humans into new creatures.  The call to follow Jesus is a motivational call to imitate his kingdom living.  Too often, I am embarrassed by how far I fall short of this.

         The second thing that drives saints is aspiration.  If motivation moves me, then aspiration draws me.  In my mind’s eye I see aspiration as something out in front of me pulling me into action.  Of course, we can aspire to many different things.  Some of these things are not even laudable.  I might aspire to be rich and famous.  Neither is illegal, but both probably get in the way of being spiritual.

         When I think of the Buddha, I see someone who aspired to be enlightened.  This sounds different than the kingdom of Jesus, but maybe it is just a different version.  The Buddha wanted to know---to understand the essence of life.  I share that aspiration.  I want to understand why so many of us are choosing lives less than what they could be.  I aspire to be a saint.  That might sound pompous, but in fact, it is perilous.  To aspire to be a saint is dangerous to the way most of us are living! I will have to share and care in ways I do not currently do.

         I have not mentioned Muhammad much, but clearly he was incredibly motivated.  His vision and experience propelled him in challenging and creative places.  The results are profound: the second largest major religious tradition in terms of numbers---something short of two billion adherents.  And what were his aspirations?  Probably, he aspired to something similar to Jesus---a way of life grounded in obedience to a God who wanted humanity to live in community, in love, and in peace.

         And how we all continue to pervert that divine drive.  Too often, we are motivated by sinister things.  We become terrorists of the divine dream.  It is too easy for a Christian to see the “other” as terrorist.  I do not want to be naïve to the political and religious killers---people who drive planes into twin towers are evildoers.  But Muslims are not the only ones who have done heinous things.

         In my own way I can be a benign terrorist.  I don’t blow up buildings, but I can blow up good possibilities and good dreams.  I can be motivated by “no good” and succeed in achieving no good ends.  I can aspire to things which are not kingdom-quality.

         But I do want to be a saint.  Lord, let me be motivated by that and aspire to all that I can pull off in this life.

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