Faith Venture

Pope Benedict XVI gave a series of insightful weekly teachings on the Church Fathers. This was a particularly interesting introduction to one of them.

Today we turn our attention to Saint Jerome, a Church Father who centered his life on the Bible: he translated it into Latin, commented on it in his works, and, above all, strove to live it in practice throughout his long earthly life, despite the well-known difficult, hot-tempered character with which nature had endowed him.

Pope Benedict XVI, Church Fathers: From Clement of Rome to Augustine

What better brief description of the works of spiritual disciplines can you find?

How often do we later regret some excess of out character–anger, depression (not clinical), cynicism, fear, hate–that expressed itself in hurtful ways?

Not only studying the Bible, but also striving to put it into daily, yes, even hourly, practice in our lives can tame that wild beast and at least make us easier to get along with. And maybe people would actually like us and like for us to be around!

Pope Benedict XVI presented a series of meditations on the early Church Fathers in 2007-2008. Discussing Clement of Alexandria’s thinking, he noted that Clement said Christians “must be guided by Christ and thus attain knowledge of the Truth…becomes a living reality in the soul: it is not only a theory; it is a life force.”

Discussing Irenaeus of Lyons, Benedict notes Irenaeus’ teaching that the Church should transmit the faith in such a way that it must be as it appears it is–public, one, spiritual.

Sometimes we humans become enraptured by a single word pulled from a context or by a theory proposed by another human. And we become fixated on just the words supposing that to be belief.

And we miss the spiritual, as Irenaeus would say, or we miss the life force described by Clement.

People who practice spiritual disciplines know that we must take those words and bring them to life within us. Not mere words, but descriptions of how we live. With the spirit, in the flow of the life force, described in the Christian Bible as living in the kingdom of God.

A year ago this past week I was in Hannover, Germany. The organizers of the annual huge trade fair known as Hannover Messe had assembled an international cohort of journalists, writers, and other media types to preview the trade show that none of us would return to visit. By April, we were all on some sort of lock down.

I returned home on Thursday evening. Friday morning I taught the regular Yoga class and went home to let the house inspector in. For we had accepted an offer (very nice one) to sell our house where we had lived for 35 years. Saturday, I taught a soccer referee class (most likely the last one I’ll do, even though I remain a ranking instructor), drove to the Chicago suburbs, looked at houses, and made an offer to buy.

While in Germany, we remarked that there were no Chinese journalists in attendance. We knew something was up. Little did we know how bad it would get.

The next four weeks were a blur of arranging financing, waiting for deals to complete, and packing. And packing. And selling excess stuff. And throwing away excess junk (I estimate 2,000 lbs.). Advice–don’t live in one place for so long–or leave it to the kids to clean up 😉

We moved March 23. We then found the reality of the Covid shut downs in the sudden reduction of activity. Yes, we had to unpack, hang pictures, and all that stuff. But we were in a new community where we knew no one, in a lock down, in a new state, with a new lifestyle (sort of).

The first thing I decided was to maintain my daily disciplines of study, meditation, writing. We made one trip back to Ohio to vacation in the back woods of the southern part of the state and to close out banking accounts. And then the virus took off again, and we were back to mostly staying inside.

I’m ready to travel, if I had somewhere to go. It’s been a year since the last time I set foot in an airport. Eleven months since I’ve taught Yoga; twelve since I’ve taught soccer.

But the daily disciplines carry on. Here I am with breakfast writing this essay just like the past six years or more. I hope you all remain safe and maintain your disciplines.

A brother came to one of the Desert Fathers, Abba Theodore, and began to converse about things he had not put into practice. Theodore responded, “You have not yet found a ship nor put your cargo aboard it and before you have sailed, you have already arrived at the city. Do your work first; then you will have the speed you are making now.”

How often we try to skip the work and arrive at the destination.

Once I worked for a man who was president of a small company as the marketing manager for a computer electronics product. We put together a marketing plan, packaging, started to find distribution. After six months, the president came to me, “I don’t understand. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were millionaires overnight at Apple, yet we are not selling boards.”

I replied, “No, Joe, they were not millionaires overnight. It took them years and several iterations before they found success.”

Joe may have had a Ph.D., but he wasn’t smart in the ways of the market.

Similarly, we need to do the work for however long it takes before we reach the point of wisdom. You have to chop wood and carry water before you can fix your meal.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction author

Similarly in spiritual formation and practice, humans should be able to study, pray, lead a group, be led in a group, comfort others, be comforted, serve others, be served, lead worship, participate in worship, commune with God, honor those who are godly, be peacemakers, defend those weaker.

Dons’t leave it for the pastor. Don’t abdicate your power to others. Step up and take responsibility.