10/31/15

I decided to go to Open Sanctuary last night. It was raining, and only about seven people showed up. Like last week, there was no live music and we did the office of the hours instead. Before that, James, Barbara's husband, gave a talk on discipleship, the theme being the suffering servant, a concept that originally comes from Isaiah and which many see as being exemplified in the life and teachings of Jesus.

James started with a prayer and a reading from the Psalms, and then he gave us a little background on the concept of the suffering servant. He noted, for instance, that most scholars tend to agree the servant alluded to in Isaiah refers to the nation of Israel, that Israel in some way bears the burdens of all nations. And it's easy to see how this story prefigures the life and teachings of Jesus, the idea of bearing the burdens and sins of others for their sake. But like Jesus' life and teachings, the point isn't simply that someone else has done this for us, it's also an admonition to take this example and live it.

Just as we see Jesus challenge the rigid, closed-minded, and legalistic spirituality of his day, championing the poor, eating with tax-collectors and sinners (i.e., the unsavoury and 'untouchable' people of his time), and helping all who come to him, whether man or woman, Jew or gentile, clean or unclean, we're called to turn from our selfish ways, take up our cross, and follow Jesus' example. The true message of the suffering servant, then, is really: when we help others, we're doing the work of God.

One of the things I appreciated most about James' presentation was the stress he placed on being mindful. In Buddhism, mindfulness is an extremely important factor of living a skillful life. It's a tool that's always useful, both in meditation and in our day-to-day lives, helping us to be more and more aware of the present and the things we do that cause ourselves and others suffering. And I think it's just as important in Christianity. Not only can it help us to intentionally do the work of God, it can help change our perspective to see that work in everything we do.

As an example, James used the story of two people being interviewed: when asked by a reporter what they were doing, one answered "laying bricks" while the other responded "building a cathedral." Both were doing the same job, but the latter was more mindful of that job and had a larger vision/perspective of what he was doing. In the same way, the more mindful we are of our intentions and our surroundings, the larger our awareness will be and the more opportunities we'll find for service.

To illustrate this, James told us about a recent commuting experience he had on the bus. As he was going to wherever it was he was going, he was observing the other passengers and noticing that most were absorbed in their own little worlds, not paying much attention to anyone else. An older gentleman with a limp bordered the bus, and James noticed that nobody was really paying attention. But one lady did notice, and got up to offer the man her seat, a small act of kindness that'd give her a small amount of discomfort.

The man didn't take it; nevertheless, James tapped her on the shoulder and said that it was a nice thing to do, which in turn made the lady feel good. Her awareness of the world around her gave her the opportunity to be kind and helpful; and she was willing to bear the burden of standing so that the man with the limp could sit. But it's not the act so much as the intention underlying it that's important, which is why it's important to continually strengthen our mindfulness. Being attentive and attuned to our surroundings opens us up to the suffering of those around us and gives us the opportunity to do God's work.

Whatever we do out of love and compassion is God's work. Whatever we do to help relieve the suffering of others and make the world a better place is God's work. Anything that helps others, from the smallest acts of kindness to the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, is God's work because these are the things that lay the foundation of the kingdom of God on earth.

Horace Mann is an inspiring example of this. Mann, one of James' heroes, helped create the modern education system, and spent much of his professional life in education instead of a more personally-promising career in politics. He was less concerned about positions of power than he was positions where he could help the most people, which for him ended up being in the field of education, serving as secretary of the newly created board of education of Massachusetts and then as president of Antioch College. As he once famously said to a graduating class, "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."

Then James asked us in what ways we serve God. I thought about it a bit and offered that on a personal level, I try to always say yes when somebody asks something of me. If they ask for money and I have it, I give it. If they need help doing something and I have the time, I do it. On a larger scale, I try to be politically active, pushing for a more egalitarian society, especially on behalf of those who are oppressed, disenfranchised, etc.

After adoration and Vespers, we all tried to go to Double Dragon but it was too busy, so we headed over to Pastini instead. Annie was in the area, so I invited her to join us, but the conversation at that point had gotten kind of ridiculous. Some were talking about parish drama and fawning over visits from the archbishop. Then everyone started talking about Satan and possession, but in a rather juvenile way, like a teen who's just watched The Exorcist. One person even said the discussion made her uncomfortable because OMG, Satan!

I was a bit annoyed at it all, to be honest, from the idea of Satan as some sort of evil boogeyman to the mentions of 'parish drama' and the fawning over one archbishop or another. I don't know, I guess I see all of that more as the superficial side of Catholicism rather than the heartwood; and I suspect all that kind of talk put Annie off from ever wanting to hang out with the young adult group in the future.