View the July 21, 2019 Bulletin
| |
| “When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency.” It sounds like the author of these words has his thumb squarely on our social situation today. The writer, however, was the philosopher and essayist Dr. Samuel Johnson who lived and died in 18th century England. Even then, he was genuinely concerned that the new “industrial revolution” society in which he lived was fast losing its sense of gentleness, civility, kindness, and decency. Society was acquiring a hard, sharp edge – deceiving itself into thinking that technological progress defined a nation’s true strength and greatness. But there was (is) a cost. Even a casual survey of our own post-modern society reveals growing hostility, rudeness, and belligerence. In a recent study of consultant psychiatrists, they report that “social anxiety” is on the rise and depressive illness is increasingly commonplace and is now associated with the decline of the social atmosphere in which citizens live. People are afraid. It seems we no longer engage in constructive dialogue with one another, rather we seek to take “command and control” of the argument, trying to force, at the very least, the “intellectual surrender” of the other. Facts are up for grabs. The truth is manipulated, distorted, or wholly ignored so as to painfully stretch the boundaries of credibility — or cross them altogether. We badger, we blame, and we bully — we do not reason. We coerce and do not dialogue. We hurl insults and cruel names at each other or at groups, hoping to strike to the most personal in us, to our human “underbelly” where we know it hurts. Social scientists, mental health professionals, family counselors, and clergy persons are coalescing into a worried group regarding the present and future consequences of living in this growing social chaos and bitter cynicism. How do you and I, as Orthodox believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus, face this social deterioration? How do WE live within it? We are summoned to speak the message of the One who brought peace, to announce mercy rather than judgment, kindness rather than violence, and the dignity of every human person rather than the spiteful and ego-driven triumph of one opinion over another. Though each of us is guilty at times of adopting that “hard edge”, of seeking control and yielding to the baser instincts of our nature, we are summoned nonetheless to advance the Word of Love: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12) and “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) The Gospel is never ambiguous, never unclear, about adopting kindness as our mode of living. In the late second century, an unnamed Christian writer wrote a letter to a Roman named Diognetus (who may have been the tutor of the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius). The letter tried to describe what Christians believe and how they acted out or lived their belief: “Christians,” he wrote, “love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonored, and yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honor; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers.” How can you and I fight the trend of coarseness and incivility? How can we make sure that we ourselves are faithful disciples of the Gentle Lord? I offer three suggestions. Firstly, develop an ongoing awareness of incivility/coarseness in your own life. How do you use language and words? Does your language tend to be coarse, abusive, demeaning, cynical, and impatient, or judgmental? Are you quick to snap at others? Do you turn annoyance into arrogance and impatience into aggression? Must you prevail and have your way in every argument? Most importantly, do you lose sight of the other as a human person with a holy dignity and see him or her (even implicitly) as a potential victim to be conquered? Someone who is not as enlightened as you are? Is gossip a regular means of communication for you and criticizing or talking about others a means of feeling superior to them? Secondly, learn to guard and control your tongue. Recall the teaching of St. James: (James 3:5-8) Develop the discipline to watch what you say, to avoid idle and useless chatter as the Prayer of St. Ephraim reminds us. Speak only what is healing and of benefit to others – otherwise keep silent. Pray for this discipline in your daily prayers. For the holy Fathers, this silence was “golden.” Lastly, prayerfully read all four Gospels regularly to see how Jesus spoke to others. Get to know His simplicity of speech, the stories He told, the gentleness and deference with which He spoke to people – good people and bad. Understand Jesus’ motivation. Watch how He communicated in an “ego-less” way – it was never about him or his agenda but always about surrendering to what His Father wanted. Remember, the cup never passed from His lips. That was basic humility and is a good start for changing our own way of relating and talking to others. Want to help improve our common life and our nation’s social climate? Start with yourself. Look honestly into your heart and the way you speak. Take inspiration from the Russian ascetic, St. Seraphim of Sarov, who wrote: “You cannot be too gentle, too kind. Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other. Joy, radiant joy, streams from the face of one who gives and kindles joy in the heart of one who receives. We condemn others only because we shun honestly knowing ourselves. When we gaze at our own failings, we see such a morass of filth that nothing in another can equal it. Instead of condemning others, strive to reach inner peace. Keep silent, refrain from judgment. This will raise you above the deadly arrows of slander, insult, outrage, and will shield your glowing hearts against the evil that creeps around.” So amid the social chaos and cynicism we face daily, let us remember that ours is a different struggle. Our discipleship calls us to lift up our society, to raise its hopes, to break open the fullness of love among us by our words, our thoughts, and our actions. We are commanded by the Lord to lift each other up – not to tear each other down! It was St. Paul who provided us with our “call to battle.” Ours is a radically different field of battle – not the sterile ground of policy or politics, but the fragile soil of the human heart and soul. It is there that victory will be won or lost. Read his words from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in high places. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:10-18) May we all be faithful to this summons to discipleship! We ignore it at our peril. Your servant in the Lord, Fr. Dimitrios |