MAKE … US … GREAT AGAIN

So the cry goes out, and so others are drawn to join in the chorus – make us great again!  And I, like others, wonder what it actually means, what attracts people about that cry?  Make America, France, Britain, Israel, Germany … great again!  Is it that people don’t feel great, or that they want others to think that their country is great, or that they look back to some mythical ‘golden age’ when it seemed everything was ‘great’?  What does it mean to be ‘great’?  Is it linked to memories of a time when standards of living for most (white) Americans were reasonably high; when (white) people knew they were special because other ethnic groups were side-lined; when Coca-Cola culture ruled the (air)waves? When we could project the dark side of our persona onto ‘communism’?

In 2018 research showed that roughly 70% of white evangelicals in the US supported Trump (the percentage had fallen over the previous two years and was much was lower amongst other Christian churches).  ‘Social scientists have proposed a variety of explanations, including economic dissatisfaction, sexism, racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia. The current study establishes that, independent of these influences, voting for Trump was, at least for many Americans, a symbolic defense of the United States’ perceived Christian heritage.’ (Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review January 2018)   So is the cry, ‘Make America Great Again’ a veiled call to make America (here slot in any other nation) economically wealthy, white, Protestant-Christian with men in control and looked up to and feared by others?  In view of all that it seems appropriate to ask how Christ might respond to the cry – make us great again.  Here are some thoughts.

When it seemed Jesus might be the one to lead the Jews to freedom (Matthew 11.2ff) he responded to two of John’s disciples by saying: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”  This reflects what Jesus taught about how to live in the Reign of God in the Beatitudes:

              “Blessed are you who are poor,
                             for yours is the kingdom of God.
              “Blessed are you who are hungry now,
                             for you will be filled.
              “Blessed are you who weep now,
                             for you will laugh.

              “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame      you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is  

              great in heaven, for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

              “But woe to you who are rich,
                             for you have received your consolation.
              “Woe to you who are full now,
                             for you will be hungry.
              “Woe to you who are laughing now,
                             for you will mourn and weep.

              “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false

                 prophets.   (Luke 6.16ff)

That was echoed by the Mother of Jesus when she sang her Magnificat:

              “His mercy is for those who fear him
                             from generation to generation.
              He has shown strength with his arm;
                             he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
              He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
                             and lifted up the lowly;
              he has filled the hungry with good things,
                             and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1.50ff)

Mary does tell of the greatness she experienced, and why?  Because she was chosen to bear Christ.  So the first thing we can say is that those who bear Christ in the womb of the heart need to realise their greatness.  The second thing is a consequence, that any society which seeks to incarnate – give expression to – the Beatitudes needs to realise the greatness of how it seeks to live. 

              The kind of ‘greatness’ shown by Trump often seems accompanied by acts of bullying, denigrating others, using lies and fabrications, nurturing a culture of hatred towards any who hold different views (especially if they are in the media) and disregard for any concern for Mother Nature.  It seems to me that, just as Christ was quick to condemn certain powerful Jews:

              ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.’ (Matthew 23.27f)

he would have been quick to condemn these views and actions.

Christians can only be great to the extent they are prepared to put themselves aside, take the lowest place and wash the feet of others.  Our greatness comes from recognising that we are to live in this way, knowing that we are loved by God and precious in his sight; that in the eyes of the One who made us in his image and likeness, we have immense value.  Our greatness cannot come from something outside of us, it comes from knowing and believing that I am loved and precious in the sight of God.  It comes from knowing that God gazes on me, loves me and believes that I have all the potential he has given to me.  It is something we have to realise; it happens when we know that our Maker sees the wonder of our being. Then we are to live in the light of that realisation and know, as Jesus said, that our greatness is connected to the way we are to be the servant of all (Mark 9.35) and see the image of God’s greatness hidden in all things. 

Greatness is humility, the humility that comes from putting the other first, from knowing that I am dust, but dust destined for glory.  When our ego demands recognition, it will never find peace; Christ teaches us to set our ego-self aside and follow him.  There is great danger in tempting others to seek greatness, a temptation relished by Satan for it opens the way of corruption and the only weapon that Satan cannot defend himself against is the weapon of humility.

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”  (Matthew 16.24ff)

USING DIVINE COMPASSION TO COUNTER HATE, FEAR AND DIVISION

Since the country voted for Brexit and Donald Trump was elected President of the USA I have found, in my work as a spiritual director, many people speaking of an ‘existential angst’ they, or their friends, are experiencing.   Feelings of anger, disgust, fear and emptiness seem to exercise a greater hold and the dread of division has entered their – souls.  And I hear (and recognise something) of the way some are almost addicted to exploring news stories concerning these two subjects which are exercising a hold over them that seems unhealthy.  

As I have reflected on this phenomenon I have noticed a remarkable similarity between the effect that focusing on the effects of Brexit and Trump have with some of the teaching of S. Ignatius in what he described as ‘discernment of spirits’.  Ignatius pointed out that the ‘evil spirit’ (ad if someone has a problem with such a term, think of ‘negative life-force’) will seek to “move (a person) toward lack of faith and leave one without hope and without love” (The Spiritual Exercises, n. 317).  Ignatius goes on to say that when this occurs the person who is seeking to live as God would have them live should ‘confront those things that hold us back from such freedom’ - and act against those behaviours which are not life giving (Contra Agere).

For many years I have been attracted by the Sacred Heart of Jesus, finding in that image and devotion a real sense of God’s passionate love for all creation.  More recently I have become conscious of being drawn to explore practicing Compassion and how developing this deep aspect of our humanity can undermine the consequences of being drawn by the hatred, fear and division present in our world. It has also been realised that developing compassion can be a means of growing in personal well-being.  To that end I have been working on developing an Association of Companions of the Compassionate Hearts of Jesus and Mary. 

The idea of such an Association is to provide a means whereby people can commit to live out the compassionate love of God in their lives.  Jesus and Mary reveal aspects of compassionate love – Jesus responded to the world with Divine Compassion and Mary was warned of the pain compassion can bring when, in bringing the child Jesus to the Temple, Simeon prophesied that her soul would be “pierced” by a sword as she bore Jesus in the world.  

The purpose of such an Association would be to encourage and nurture compassion in the lives of all Companions.  Its aim would be to provide a means of commitment with others in developing a compassionate heart for the sake of the world.  And the charism of Companions would be to:

+  seek to be living lives whereby the love of God, realised in the Compassion of Jesus, might be fully realised;

+  recall that the heart of Mary was pierced by a sword as she remained in union with her Son.   Companions recognise that their hearts will also suffer as they seek to love with the heart of Jesus and Mary;

+  know that they cannot do this by their own unaided efforts, rather they seek to turn to Christ’s Compassionate Heart as the Divine well from which they will drink;

+  value the rich resources that come from all religious traditions that seek to cultivate a Compassionate heart;

+  look to the Sacrament of Confession (Reconciliation) as a means of cleansing and for renewing their own hearts.

At present this is an ‘idea in the working’ and I have sought advice as to whether to take this forward. But it seems to me that there is a great and increasing need, not only to act with compassion, but to live out of the Heart of Compassion.

SS. Cyril and Methodius, Patrons of Europe

February 14^th, 2017

STORIES TO LIVE BY?

I cannot help but wonder if one of the reasons why there appears to be a growth in right-wing extremism is consequent to the loss of the Christian narrative that influenced the way in which European societies have developed.   By ‘Christian narrative’ I don’t mean ‘what the Church teaches’.   Rather that story which has encouraged people to live beyond the confines of humanity’s primitive instincts which drive our desire for, amongst other things, safety and security.  Richard Dawkins named this as the ‘selfish gene’ and claimed it dominated the evolutionary process, but others have argued that this is not a correct understanding of the process and believe we evolved as social rather than individual creatures. 

Whichever is correct it does seem clear that, at present, a selfish current is at work deep within the psyche of our society and there is occurring a major shift in our cultural identity.   After 2000 years of Christian formation which has, arguably, shaped us and our society in conscious and sub-conscious ways, the past 50 years have seen an erosion of that process which appears to be speeding up.  The Christian narrative is hardly heard in our formative development and, whilst many may not have given it conscious attention, exposure to the telling and retelling of that narrative has given expression to the best in how we perceived our human calling.  It has offered something that has inspired generations of people to seek to transcend themselves.  The Parables of Jesus have been formative in our cultural development – the Good Samaritan, Prodigal Son, Widows Mite etc…  Now they are no longer normative in shaping our culture, what is replacing them?  How can we counter the selfish traits that can, so easily, be determinative?  What stories constantly remind us of the need to forgive?  To know that we are loved in spite of who and what we might be?  To welcome the stranger and see a ‘higher being’ in the foreigner?  To be generous.  To beware the lure of wealth etc …  What common narratives now form us?

Arguably the vote for Brexit was driven by a desire to be rid of foreigners and separate ourselves from others – both desires being ones which the Christian narrative warns against.  The hatred that has erupted both here and in the USA has not been fueled by the Christian narrative, far from it. Rather the worse in our humanity is being given permission to express itself by those who peddle the Brexit narrative.  And to ignore the consequences of the narrative that is now being offered, as history shows us, is deeply dangerous.  At present too many of our leaders are ignoring this and seeking to focus our attention simply on perceived financial advantages whilst neglecting more important concerns.  And just as Jesus was deeply critical of those who ignored the ‘weightier demands of the Law’ (cf. Mt. 23) those of us who call ourselves Christians should be pleased that some politicians are clearly warning us of the dangers of the populist fable gripping so many:

“We are at an ugly international crossroads. What’s happening in Britain is appalling. What’s happening across Europe is appalling. It has echoes from the 1930's.  And America, the most powerful country in the world, has just elected a fascist!  … I don’t use the term fascist lightly, (but) What else would you call someone who threatens to imprison his political opponents?  What else would you call somebody who threatens to not allow people of a certain political faith into their country?  What would you say, or what would you call somebody who was threatening to deport 10 million people?”  (Senator Aodhán O'Riordáin addresses the Taoiseach 10.xi.16)

A counter-narrative needs to be offered that appeals to our social as opposed to selfish genes and reminds us that simplistic solutions cannot answer our deeper needs.  The Scriptures offer a narrative that is increasingly counter-cultural: where story after story deals with the lure and corruption of power, the need to beware hatred of the Other and to learn to love the stranger.  The Christian narrative is not easy to hear and the Church, besotted with issues of sexuality, hardly seems in a place to proclaim it.  Yet I believe that is what we need to do, in season and – more importantly – at this time when the dark forces of Evil (and, yes, the Christian narrative presents us with the reality of evil and how to overcome it) have been welcomed into our midst in the shape of those who offer lies, trade in fear of the foreigner and seek to place the acquisition of wealth above the creation of a just society.  Whether they realise it or not the likes of Farage, Trump and their ilk are the heralds of darkness not of light – and by their fruits we will know them.