Going Beyond our Tried and Tired Ways
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,
‘Give me a light that I may tread
safely into the unknown.’
And he replied:
‘Go out into the darkness and put
your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better
than light and safer then a known way!’
So I went forth and finding the
hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills
and the breaking of day in the lone East.
(Minnie Louise Haskins)
This poem, entitled The Gate of the Year, is surely an invitation to continue to let go the chains with which we have bound our God and to go beyond our boundaries, beyond our tried and true ways of living, and walk in places of the heart beyond our wildest imaginings. It is the invitation the 2008 Congregation Chapter expressed in different words.
‘Whose hand will I grasp this year when I sense the darkness closing in, begin to lose energy and look for someone else to blame for my predicament?’ ‘Is this the moment of grace when I must let go and risk falling?’ These are questions we may ask as 2010 gets under way. What we do know is that the answers to our burning questions lie within us, all of us, and our task is to listen carefully to the murmurings of the Spirit in our midst to find our way forward. It is about walking hand in hand into the unknown.
Drew Dellinger’s poem Hieroglyphic Stairway begins:
it’s 3:23 in the morning
and I’m awake
because my great great grandchildren
won’t let me sleep
my great great grandchildren
ask me in dreams
what did you do while the planet was plundered?
what did you do when the earth was unravelling?
Surely you did something
when the seasons started failing?
It reminds us that we live at a time in history when the starting point for a new way of living, thinking, and organizing ourselves must begin with a focus on the security and well-being of the children of the future - which means caring for the health of the planet today. Our current economic system, of which we are an integral part, is generally based on an exploitive and extractive way of seeing the world, not a self-sustaining way of living. In this system, the earth’s riches are for the use of the human species and have value only in their usefulness to us.
Excluded often from this ‘market economy’ are the household or community economies, the natural economy of our earth, and the volunteer economy - three economies that are of key interest to the Edmund Rice Community. It is important that we enact in our daily way of operating, the centrality of a community of right relationships with people and all of life.
What would a more equitable, sustainable, and caring system look like? It would surely be one of partnership, not one of patriarchy and domination. What are the signs of a movement towards a partnership way of operating, away from one of dominance?
Over the past few years there has been a move towards forming communities of shared leadership, where the community comes together in a spirit of dialogue to discern how they might live together, reach out to the margins, and challenge systemic injustices in government and church. Women are becoming part of community life, and their presence is bringing new life to our mission and formation programs. Some communities are growing their own vegetables, while others are supporting farmers’ markets as opposed to the transnational grocery chains. Communities are exploring new ways in which they can live the spirit of the Munnar Chapter (2008): we have much to celebrate about living its directions.
Groups of young people are gathering to share their vision and dreams for a better world, to work towards being part of an Edmund Rice community through immersion experiences and by building strong networks with others of like mind and passion. Our retreat centres and schools have tree-planting programs to revitalise the fauna and flora of these properties.
Perhaps near the beginning of the year it is good to take time to look at our community, and together as a community, list how we are moving towards a ‘partnership’ way of living. When we decide what we can do, then we can plan to ensure words become actions. How can we partner the most marginalized and ensure the diversity of nature is promoted? Are we living more consciously and sustainably as we realize our responsibilities to the next generation of young people? Our ‘flying free’, as Edmund did, impels us to create a future in which all children can realize their potential for consciousness, empathy, caring, and creativity – the capacities that make us followers of Jesus and Edmund.
Peter Harney
published February 2010
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