Embracing the tensions of discipleship
John 16:29-33
The disciples said to Jesus, “Now
you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that
you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you.
Because of this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do
you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you
will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not
alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might
have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have
conquered the world.”
I’m reading lately the writings of
the famous psychologist Erik Erikson.
Have you heard of him? He taught
that people progress through eight developmental stages through life, starting
at birth and ending at death. The final
stage is old age, where people learn wisdom.
An example of such wisdom, I suppose, is what an elderly friend of mine
likes to say, “Getting old ain’t for sissies!”
There’s wisdom for you! Now, the
interesting thing about Erikson’s theory is that each stage requires embracing
a certain tension between two polar opposites.
Only when you appreciate both poles of this tension, and can hold them
both simultaneously, have you mastered that stage. A child, for example, struggles between trust
and mis-trust, and only when he or she sees the value of both – even seeing the
purpose of mis-trust – does he or she integrate both into something called
“hope.” You see, the trick is in the
tension.
In the gospel today, Jesus suggests
there is a similar tension in the Christian life, a struggle between belief and
disbelief, and we must embrace both throughout our lives. The disciples boldly say, “Now we
believe! We have no more questions! We’ve arrived at the final stage of Christian
perfection!” But Jesus replies, “Not so
fast. Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home and will leave me
alone.” In other words, you’ve forgotten
the value of the tension between belief and disbelief. Only when you see that questions and even
disbelief can be valuable (because they will deepen your faith), and hold both
together in creative tension, will you master this stage of growth. The apostles would always feel that push and
pull between belief and disbelief, and they would be able to integrate both
only when they rested in Jesus, who has conquered the world with all its
troublesome tensions. You see, the trick
is the in the tension.
One of the great challenges we face
today is how many Catholics have left the Church. Do you know any? Usually those Catholics have faced some
crisis in their faith: a divorce, disbelief in some teaching, disobedience to
pastor or bishop, scandals, same sex attractions, etc, and they felt they had
to leave the Church. They faced a kind
of “spiritual ultimatum,” an either-or, take-it-or-leave-it choice, and they
left. We who stay in the Church may
believe that’s the case, too, you can’t keep both the baby and the
bathwater. But the Church, like Erikson
and Jesus, has always rejected the “either-or” mentality, and said the best way
forward is “both-and.” Somehow, in
mysterious but creative tension, no one has to leave the Church: we can all go
forward together. That’s the hope that
Pope Francis holds out to the world.
That’s the wisdom of the cross, which is both horizontal and vertical,
in perfect tension and perfect balance.
In other words, the trick is the tension, to embrace both, and rest in
Christ who has conquered the world.
Maybe my
old friend was wiser than he knew: “Getting old ain’t for sissies.” Being Catholic ain’t for sissies either, as
we embrace the tension of the Cross, and embrace its wisdom.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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