Lasting Over the Long Haul
Dave Andrews
Many
of us are familiar with the riddle: What is the difference
between a radical and a reactionary? And most of us are
already only all too aware of the distressing answer to the
question that the riddle poses; Twenty years!
Some time back Ange and I went on a sabbatical that we took after twenty
years of community work. We took a trip, with our children,
Evonne and Navi, to visit a whole lot of friends around the
world that we used to live and work with in a cluster of
intentional discipleship communities scattered across
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal. So we got a unique
opportunity to see how these people, whom we knew in the 70s,
as very committed young people, were doing in the 90s, as
middle-aged men and women - twenty years later
On the positive side it
could be said that
1.
All of them showed
signs of commitment, in one way or another, to integrity,
family, and community
2. All of them bore
scars that came with continued commitment to serving causes
beyond themselves, in one way or another, through mission,
aid and development.
On the negative side it
could be said that:
1.
Though they
continued to be committed to serving causes beyond
themselves, for many, the enthusiasm for these causes, that
once had been so vital, seemed to be decreasing;
2.
There was a
tendency for many to increasingly withdraw from a more
direct personal involvement into a more indirect
professional association with mission, aid and development;
3. Very few indeed
continued to be involved to the same degree as they had been
twenty years ago.
There were a number of
people whom we met who were still slogging it out as strongly
now as they were twenty years ago. And the question Ange and I
asked ourselves when we met them was, 'What do these people
have going for them, that has kept them going so strongly
throughout the years?
Ange
and I were able to identify three significant qualities, which
characterized their lives, which, combined together, seemed to
contribute to their capacity to sustain their sense of resolve
so far:- the first was their 'Closeness To Christ'; the second
was their 'Commitment To Vocation'; and the third was their
'Accountability To Others.
1)
Closeness to Christ
Closeness to Christ is essential for any of us who want to
sustain our sense of resolve to work towards community in
society.
For
Christ is the inspiration for the simple, practical,
compassionate path that we want to take towards the
realization of the love of God for all people, particularly
those on the periphery.
Closeness to Christ helps us to stay in touch with the only
One who not only constantly encourages us to comprehend the
importance of the love of God for people, but also
continuously enables us to apprehend the experience of the
love of God, of being loved, and of being able to love as
people, individually and collectively, ourselves.
Closeness to Christ doesn't mean any of us should ever try to
slavishly copy the example of Christ, but that we should try
to stay in touch with the spirit of Christ, as closely as we
can. so that we can know his heart, feel his heartbeat, and,
continually, voluntarily, want to make the same kind of
choices that he has made, to accept life, respect life, and
empower people to five life to the full.
Without such a closeness to Christ, we are in danger, not only
of losing our direction, but also of losing any motivation for
us to find our direction again, when we lose it, as we all do,
from time to time, along the way. it is only through our
awareness of the amazing, magical love of God, revealed to us
in Christ, that ordinary mortals, like you and I, can sustain
out-hope in the possibility of redemption, amid the
disappointments that dog our footsteps every step of the way.
2)
Commitment To Vocation
Closeness to Christ involves knowing his heart, feeling his
heartbeat, and, continually, voluntarily, wanting to make the
same Kind of choices that he has made, to accept life, I
aspect life, and empower people to live life to the full. So,
if we want to be close to Christ, we will want to make his
vocation our own.
We
will want to know God, the source of all life more fully -
like Christ did. We will cultivate the disciplines that will
help us develop a relationship to God in our everyday lives.
We will seek to live in sympathy with God, sustaining our
selves, supporting one another, and serving those around about
us in an increasingly steadfast, faithful, life affirming
manner.
We
will want to be aware of our selves, and the gift of life,
that each of us can bring to a community - like Christ was. We
will recognize not only the reality of our weaknesses, but
also the reality of our strengths. And we will seek to grow
individually as people, in our capacity for self care, self
control, and self sacrifice, for the sake of the community.
We
will want to be aware of one another, and the gift of life
that every one else can bring to a community - like Christ
was. We will acknowledge not only the reality of our
brokenness, but also the potential for wholeness in
relationships. And we will seek to grow collectively as
people, in our capacity to speak truthfully, listen
attentively, and work co-operatively, for the sake of the
community.
We
will particularly want to remember people in the community who
are neglected, rejected or forgotten - like Christ did. We
will affirm our commitment to the welfare of the whole of the
human family. And we will seek to make ourselves available to
brothers and sisters who are marginalized, in their ongoing
struggle for love and justice.
It is
only through such a commitment to vocation, that very capable,
but very corruptible people, like you and I, will ever be able
to avoid the fate, that awaits so many of our erstwhile
colleague, of starting off "really doing good", but ending up
"merely doing well', because they couldn't resist the
temptation of selling the skills that they acquired from
working with the poor, to the rich, to such an extent, that
now they say they have no time for the poor any more
themselves at all.
3)
Accountability To Others
But
isn't that a Catch 22? It may well be, that it is only through
such a commitment to vocation, that very capable, but very
corruptible people, like you and I, will ever be able to avoid
the fate, that awaits so many of our erstwhile colleagues, of
starting off as radicals, "really doing good", but ending up
as reactionaries, "merely doing well; but how on earth can
corruptible people, like us, ever stay true to anything for
any length of time - let alone to anything as tough as the
calling we have in Christ?
Now,
there's no doubt in my mind that, if we were left to our own
devices, we would all find ourselves in a Catch 22 situation,
from which there would be no escape.
However, the good news is, that, none of us are left to our
own devices. Sure, all of us have blind spots, flaws that
could be fatal, that we cannot see, because of the flaws
themselves. But none of us are without a witness, at least
some one in our lives, who can see the reality pf who we
really are that we cannot see ourselves, and who would
Willingly keep us honest, by confronting us with our
contradictions, and challenging us to a greater degree of
integrity in our lives, if only we would let them do so.
One of
the biggest hindrances to this happening, in our circles, as
much as it should, is the hero status that some of us acquire:
As a result of the halo affect associated with this he to
status, we are put on a pedestal, so that the people around us
either feel that we are so high up, that they can not reach
us, or think that we look down on them, so there's no reason
to even try to relate to us. When we eventually get pulled off
our pedestal, as we all do, sooner or later, we tend to get so
hurt that we only listen to our pain, not to the point people
at such pains to make to us.
This
is only exacerbated when wounded heroes are wheeled in to tell
their stories at one conference after another. For, if any of
us, are put on a platform too many times we tend to become
speakers. And speakers, by definition, are expected to speak,
rather than to listen. And when any of us are expected to
speak, rather than to listen, we lose our proclivity to
listen. And when any of us lose our proclivity to listen, we
lose our Capacity to listen. And when any of us lose our
capacity to listen, we are lost.
We can
only find salvation in losing our illusions. And we will only
lose our illusions when we take time away from the limelight
to listen to the truth that only those who know us can speak
to us.
If we
want to be true to our vocation over the next twenty years we
all need to be accountable to others, especially our partners
and our peers, who love us enough to ask us the hard
questions, and whom we trust enough to answer honestly. For,
in repentance, there is always hope of redemption, for us, our
ministries, our families, and our communities.
Be
continually converted to Christ. Try constantly to relate to
our reality through Christ Be mutually accountable to one
another. Try to answer the hard questions we need to ask one
another as honestly as we can. Not be responsible for
everything, but be responsive to everyone. Never react; always
respond; as constructively as we can. Not try to do big
things, but try to do little things with a lot of love. Extend
love unconditionally, but trust only conditionally. Not have
high expectations; but have high hopes with low expectations.
Cultivate seeds of hope in the grounds for despair. Never
forget there can be no salvation without grace, and no grace
without suffering. Always remember that strength is made
perfect in weakness.
