A couple weeks ago I read an article in the NY Times in which a young man said his was the first generation that believed it could change the world. He was speaking of the millennial generation, those born between 1982 and 2004 (roughly). How interesting, I thought. I remember people of my generation also believing we could change the world! In fact we thought we WERE changing the world. There were so many major sociological and theological developments in the 60’s and early 70’s that it did seem we might actually advance culturally, politically and spiritually. At least, the idealists among us had reason to believe, and to hope.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in schools and facilities serving the general public and guaranteed equal protection to all U.S. citizens. It energized the women’s rights movement and led President Johnson to issue an Executive Order (11375) banning discrimination on the basis of sex in hiring and employment. That action, in turn, led to the Higher Education Act of 1965 that opened doors for women to enter every sector of society previously closed to them as the exclusive domain of men. It allowed women to dare and to dream, to follow their talents and bring their gifts to the world.
All this civil unrest gave rise to the Stonewall riots of 1969 that birthed the gay liberation movement. The fight for gay rights ultimately led to this year’s Supreme Court decision guaranteeing marriage rights to same-sex couples nationwide—something hardly imagined 50 years ago. And then there was the Second Vatican Council that revolutionized an archaic Church by throwing open the doors to ecumenical dialogue and discovery, accentuating the role of the laity as equal partners in spreading the Gospel, and recognizing the church as a pilgrim people called to serve, as Jesus did, the larger family of God.
What is painfully clear now, in retrospect, is the extreme and often malicious backlash following these cultural and spiritual changes. The efforts to undermine the theological advancements of Vatican II have been so bitter and persistent that the animosity of some Catholics toward Pope Francis’ efforts to revitalize Council principals is frighteningly vicious. And then, just to our south on Friday, we were subjected to yet another extreme example of hateful reactivity as protestors lined streets holding venomous signs, some with guns on their hips, telling our President to “go away” as he arrived to offer a country’s sympathy to families of victims of last week’s shooting at Umpqua Community College. One sign in particular caught my attention: “go back to Kenya” it said–an ugly slap at the ethnicity of our first black President.
I don’t know the answers to the world’s problems and I no longer believe WE by ourselves—whatever generation—can change the world. We can change laws and, in some cases, by various means, we can change attitudes. But real change only happens in the interior world of human hearts and that is the realm of God. Change happens there slowly, over time, and we are all on different trajectories with sometimes radically different life experiences. Those experiences, I believe, would pull us toward a place of love, compassion and gratitude if we had WISDOM, but they all-to-often throw us over the edge into fear, anger, jealousy, hatred, and even acts of violence and revenge in extreme cases, if we do not.
This insight helps me hear Jesus words to the rich young man in a different way. First he acknowledges that observing the commandments is a good thing–is needed, really—but it’s only the beginning. To go further we need to recognize and grapple with the attachments that hold us back from experiencing and embracing the deeper Wisdom of the heart, the Wisdom of non-attachment.
When we hold onto what we own and who we are in the eyes of the world our values are naturally aligned with externals. Most of our time and energy is devoted to maintaining our possessions, securing our position, protecting our image. As a result, ‘the realm of God’ within us doesn’t seem very real or particularly interesting. The outer world of things and circumstance captures our attention and holds us captive. We don’t have the interest or desire to pursue the intangible realm of God while the glaringly “real” world occupies our senses, our focus and our whole-hearted concern. The world of God pales in comparison. It is like the eye of the needle—so small and inconsequential that it barely shows up on our radar. The ‘riches’ of the world dwarf that nearly invisible opening and the more we carry—the more ideas, opinions, convictions, possessions—the more it shrinks and fades from view. The more we cling to our possessions—physical, mental or religious—the more difficult it becomes to enter the realm of God where Wisdom reigns.
We may not be at a point in our lives where we can make the leap Jesus asked of the rich young man. I have a house and a car, furniture, a bank account, and any number of possessions that would make moving a nightmare. I can’t imagine selling all that stuff and giving the proceeds to the poor right now. But I can begin the process of detaching, little by little, as I try to follow Jesus’ invitation to let go. As someone pointed out in an article I was reading recently, there are no U-hauls following a hearse! We ultimately have no choice but to let go, so why not begin now?
There is a deeper Wisdom available to those who are free of the human tendency to cling to whatever provides a sense of ‘belonging’, ‘accomplishment’ and security in this world. Because, in reality, we are passing through, and the lighter our load the easier it is for us to see where we actually are—living in and with each other in the usually unrecognized but very real realm of God. The more we are able to recognize that circulation and flow is the essence of life, that possessing and clinging is stagnation and death, the more Wisdom can blossom within us. It is that deep Wisdom emanating from a multitude of human hearts that can change the world. Holy Wisdom can change the world.
Thank you…just read this again…thank you for reminding me to look within…trying to find a service near Brookings to celebrate the hope of Christmas…Peace!