Tags
catholic, catholic spirituality, Christian, confidence in God, God wins, interior life, patriarchy, sacrifice, spiritual blindness, suffering, Truth, universalism
“Be angry and do not sin,” says the Psalmist, but I am so tired of being angry. I’m angry at the world, the flesh, and the devil; I’m angry at patriarchy, misogyny, sexism, complementarianism (which is just patriarchy in fancy window dressings), and all forms of oppression or dominance of one part of humanity by another; I’m angry at certain illnesses for taking abilities away from me; I’m angry at certain people for being obstinately blind; I’m angry at the Church for letting me down over and over. I’m angry at myself for being who I am rather than who I think I ought to be. I’m so angry, and I’m so tired of being angry.
But if I weren’t angry I wouldn’t be thinking about those things, or talking about them when people listen, or writing about them when people won’t listen. “We’ve had enough exhortations to be silent. Cry out with a thousand tongues – I see the world is rotten because of silence,” Saint Catherine of Siena said, and she didn’t live in a world quite so evil as this one.
My anger is only surpassed by my confidence that God will, in the end, fix all those things I’m angry at, including me. He will drag all to Himself and God will be all in all; death will die; He will make all things new. But in the meantime, I feel called to verbally kick and scream and protest against the insidious, disgusting, and rampant injustice which is currently defacing creation to a grotesque degree. Maybe if I kick and scream loud enough other people will notice the filth we wallow in and reject it as I have. If we reject the filth and embrace the cross instead, we can actually assist Christ as He makes all things new. And yes, we must embrace the cross. That’s the choice: either filth or cross; there’s no other way to live. And we must choose. There is no liminal space here, no middle ground, no sitting the fence. At any rate, I know that no good deed ever goes unpunished, the prophet is never welcome at home, and all things work together for the good of those who love God. I have to trust that whatever God put in my heart to write will reach the right eyes and minds and will do some good, even if people get angry with me along the way, even if I am almost completely ignored, even if I’m laughed at. I’m willing to make a fool of myself for Christ.
But in the end, aren’t we all willing to be fools for Christ? Deep down, if you love Him, I’m sure your fiat is there. You are one of us, aren’t you… Little fools for Christ. We can’t do much but be foolish, as far as the world is concerned, but that’s OK, since He has overcome the world. Let’s be fools for Christ together. Let’s kick and scream and reject the world and embrace the cross, and help Him make all things new. Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus!