From Hearing to Listening to Healing

       Wed., 11/9  Overnight the primal scream that has been crying throughout the world found its voice in the United States. A significant part of the US population that has felt unheard and ignored for a long time forced the rest of the country to feel its pain. With seismic force, chasms that many did not know existed, were unearthed in the cities and countrysides of America. 

       After an election colored by name calling, harsh judgments, and false assumptions across the political spectrum, our country is left to deal with a pain, fear, and frustration similar to that which  has raised its head in many countries around the globe. From African countries with no stable government to England, from Arab Spring to Brexit, groups of people have been forcing those who hold the reins of power to pay attention to them. 

       The causes underlying this cacophony are probably multiple, but I’d guess a major one stems from the almost cataclysmic changes that have come to us in just one lifetime - communication, immigration, manufacturing, transportation……  As one commentator put it, it’s as powerful a change in society as the 19^th century industrial revolution. And who’s been hurt the most? The millions of people who have the fewest resources to cope.

       What now? During the election campaign, lines weren’t just drawn in the sand; ditches were dug. Bridges weren’t just dismantled; they were bombed. How does one move on from here?  How does healing and reconstruction begin? Who can lead? 

       This is where we come in, we, people of faith and good will. Our call is as seismic as the one that shook our country last night. We who believe in a power greater than a single individual - humanist, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Muslim, Native American… - all of us are being challenged to reach out across all divides, old or new, to learn another’s reality. Painful as it is, we need to listen to another person’s truth, and try to understand why theirs is different from our own.  All of us are wounded in some way. We are frail and imperfect, but each of us has the power to heal another because we have the power to love. Listening is a form of loving. 

       As a Catholic Christian, I know that the God who lives within me lives within each person around me. I know that Jesus reached out across society’s dividing lines and touched the good within others who had been judged sinful or religiously unclean. I am called to imitate him, and, because at one time or another I have experienced it, I know a word or a touch can heal.

        On this 11/9 I am reminded of another 9/11 when our country was called to come together. Today and the days to come, we are called to put on a new mind, a mind that realizes our individual perspective is not always shared by others, but if we work at it, we can probably find common ground. Our forebears who wrote the constitution had a similar challenge. They succeeded. Can we? Then what?

       

Blessings on us all for the difficult journey ahead.
                       Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

Following a Star: Epiphany, graveside, and beyond

        It was a cold Jan. afternoon as we stood around the open grave. A periodic wind carried the words of the Hebrew Kiddush as it persuaded onlookers to snuggle deeper into their coats. Most eyes were on the white, wooden coffin adorned with the Star of David and poised to be lowered into the ground.
       While I stood there, I became aware of the great diversity that love, history, and prayer were holding together. In the group there was blood mother and adoptive mother, connections broken and rebuilt.  There were believers and non-believers, Jews and Christians, relatives by blood and by legal agreement. There were those highly educated and those less so. This cluster of mourners, family, friends, acquaintances or strangers to each other, had been drawn together by Helen, the strong, diminutive woman to be buried, and her equally strong granddaughter, elegant in simple black. 
      In liturgy the day before, we had celebrated the feast of the Epiphany, and here I was, in the midst of another epiphany. Yesterday it was the magi crossing borders; today it was Helen’s family and friends. Once again love was reaching across boundaries to bring people together. It made me realize how often this happens in our daily life and how many times we don’t even recognize it, much less nurture it.
       There’s a lot about diversity in the news these days, usually focusing on how dissent brought about some kind of sadness or tragedy. Aren’t the stories about terrorism or transgender teens examples of differences leading to conflict? Then there are the personal, smaller differences on topics ranging from politics and religion to driving directions and TV choices.
       It’s safe to say these are common contentions, but do we ever look below their surface? When something is “obvious,” why doesn’t everyone agree?  On the other hand, how is it that we, who in our culture cherish individuality and independence, are surprised at a lack of unanimity on a topic? It’s as though our head tells us everyone’s different, but our daily expectations are grounded in the belief are that it is our “truths” and interpretations that count. How do we deal with this?
       The gospel writers quote Jesus in one place saying he came not to unite but to divide; in another place Jesus is praying that all be one as he and the Father are one. Early Christians had to struggle for unity through many interpretations of what Jesus asked of his followers. Today there are millions of people who worship one God while being at war over how it should be done. Apparently division is common and oneness is not easily achieved. Is community the ideal? What can we do to make it more real now? 
       Helen’s funeral gives us a clue. It was love that reached across all sorts of boundaries to bring a disparate group of relatives and strangers together.  It is love that enables a husband and wife or siblings to find the wisdom and patience to deal with differences. It is love in the form of respect and willingness to understand that can lead to tolerance, whether in families, cities, or nations. Then there are those moments where we see people reaching out to others. Take note each time; it is a holy gift. Sometimes there is an opportunity to honorably avoid conflict. Take it; this too is a holy gift. When we see political leaders trying to follow an elusive star that could make the world a better place, give thanks and support.                Two Jewish people, thousands of years apart, Jesus and Helen, give us epiphany clues for healing a broken world and celebrating the beauty of diversity. Like the magi, may we allow the diversities within and around us become a bridge for love and understanding that will lead us and others to wholeness.
     
                Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

Complexity? Simplicity? Incompatible?

“Why are things always so complicated? Nothing is simple anymore!”

     This phrase came up the other day while dealing with just a normal, ordinary human activity, not some technological puzzle. It launched a chain of questions:

            About complexity: Were things always so complex in human life, or did it arise from millennia of change leading up to today?

            About simplicity: What is it -  really?

     Simplicity seems to connote wholeness / completeness without a lot of parts. An apple is “simple”; an airplane isn’t. A child’s block is simpler than a Barbie doll. On the other hand, designers often describe Apple i-phones and i-pads as “simple yet elegant.”  But how can something have thousands of parts and still be “simple?” Is simplicity something different from a minimum of parts? Maybe simplicity has to do with not just how many parts something has, but its overall plan or design. How do the various parts work together? Are any parts unnecessary?

     I got to thinking about all of us who live in this age where change is constant and our society is becoming more interconnected as each day passes. This means each person’s life has many facets that interact with those of others. We’ve become like a global mobile where frequent movement and resulting changes make it harder and harder for anything to remain normal, usual or ordinary. Certainly this makes life more complicated and far from effortless.

     Jesus told his disciples they should become like children. There are lots of interpretations as to what he meant, but the notion of simplicity is often part of them. Does the complexity of today’s living mean this is no longer possible? Maybe not.

     When Steve Jobs designed his computer products, he had a basic vision and everything else had to fit into that. All aspects of the mac,  i-phone and i-pad had to be beautiful and easy to use while they filled their intended amazing functions. Maybe that is our challenge. Maybe we need to develop for ourselves a basic vision, one that will embrace all the threads of our life. For example, Brother David Steindle-Rast, OSB, speaks of life as thanksgiving; everything that we encounter is dealt with in the light of a spirit of gratitude. Benedict himself put everything into the context of finding God all around us, in members of the community, in guests, in strangers, in scripture, and in ourselves.

     There are many other points of focus people could choose to guide their decisions. For some it might be to bring justice to the poor, to preserve nature or to heal the wounded. For some it might be self-betterment in one way or another. For some it could be to shape stronger bonds within their family.

     These reflections bring me back to my starting point.  I’m thinking that our lives are not going to become less complicated unless we bring to them a sense of unity about where we are going and what we want to accomplish. If every challenge is handled as a separate entity invading our personal space, we will find more stress than we can reasonably handle. If, on the other hand, we look at each one to see how it relates to the overall vision we have for ourselves, we will be moving from increased complexity to increased harmony in our life. Simplicity will begin to reappear on our horizon, and we will find more peace.

     During these upcoming holidays as we celebrate God’s gift to the world, maybe we can make God’s vision our own as we gift others with our hospitality, our presents, our presence, our decorating….  Maybe it will help simplify for each of us this very complex season of the year.

                             Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB