A Sermon delivered to The Company Of Jesus
St. Aidan's Anglican Church, Nicholasville, KY
St. Anthony heard the Gospel
call to him and left his comfortable life to be a hermit in the
Egyptian desert.
St. Benedict heard the call of
God to holy living and left his comfortable life as a Roman student
to go live in a cave.
St. Francis heard the voice of
Christ calling him to rebuild His Church, and left his father's
comfortable house and clothes behind to embrace Lady Poverty.
St. Patrick heard 'the voice of
the Irish' calling to him and left a comfortable life in Roman
Britain to go back to the very people who had enslaved him and lead
them to freedom in Christ.
This 'leaving' is traditionally
referred to as FUGA MUNDI in Latin. It is a 'flight' from the world.
Immediately upon saying that however, we must be quick to define our
terms.
This kind of flight is not like
the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt or the flight of Christians
from Jerusalem to Petra. Flight of this type is driven by the fear of
something – Persecution in these cases. And even though God
Himself may direct those fleeing persecution by the world, yet this
is not what we're talking about.
The Fuga Mundi in view here is
rather better thought of as a flight TO something than FROM
something. It's a flight INTO the arms of God and His service rather
than a flight from the evil of the world – even though escape from
the corrupting influence of the world may be part of one's motivation
for leaving. It certainly was for St. Benedict.
This is an important distinction
because it has a direct impact on our attitude towards the secular or
pagan world around us. If we see the world as full of devils, full of
evils to avoid at all costs, then we run the risk of Gnostic
Manicheeism – of seeing matter itself as evil – and becoming in
fact the 'haters of the human race' ancient Roman pagans accused
Christians of being in the first century. The result of this attitude
is separation from of condemnation of the World.
If, however, we see ourselves
primarily as fleeing to God, then our focus becomes Him and His
Grace. As our eyes are trained on Him, we see the world and its
people through His longing eyes and we are able to reach out in love
rather than condemn in legalism.
Consider St. Francis and his
approach towards money. Although it's true that he forbade his friars
to even touch money, I believe Francis was more driven by a desire to
embrace lady Poverty and the freedom that comes with that mistress,
than by a fear that money will corrupt.
And even though St. Benedict was
harsh against private property in the monastery because of its
tendency to foster greed and contention, his greater focus was of
freeing the heart to Listen to the Father who loves us.
Finally, Patrick left all the
comforts of Roman Britain, not because they were essentially evil,
but because the voice of the Irish – really the Voice of God,
called him to Himself.
These brave brothers and their
female counterparts, Clare, Scholastica and Brigid kept their eyes on
heaven, so that they could be of earthly use.
And we are called to do the same
- in our own places. We are those who have heard the same call, but
are not asked to leave the world physically, so much as to fly to God
in a 'Monastery of the Heart” has Joan Chittister says. In this
Heart Monastery, we observe our Rule of Life, mostly praying our
offices and saying our rosaries privately. We retreat into the inner
cloister in order to Know the Lord, and then go out into the world to
make Jesus known to every person we meet as if they were, in fact,
Jesus himself.
This incarnational view allows
us to receive the world and all the good things of the world in a
spirit of hospitality and openness rather than one of suspicion and
distrust – even though we are not naïve about the reality of sin
and evil in the world.
Rules of Life, sacrifices and
penances are for those who are already committed to the Lord and
accepted by Him. They are the tools of growth for the sons and
daughters of God, not the entry exercises for those who have yet to
meet Him. Understanding this, we welcome the world into our sphere.
Benedict knew this and said simply that 'there will always be guests
in the monastery'.
Even under the spirit of welcome
and openness, however, there has traditionally been some separation
between monastics and their guests. A guest master is appointed to
welcome guests, but guests are not to pester the monks.
Francis kissed lepers, but
retreated to a cleft in a rock to spend time alone with God.
If then, our patrons understood
this need for solitude and communion with God, we as Third Order
people must be equally aware of the need for quiet and reflection,
the need to draw away for a time so that we might be able to engage
our world tasks from a place of renewal and calm. This is the place
for personal meditation and Lectio Divina, that slow, quiet chewing
on God's word that culminates in us praying God's word back to Him.
Now having said all this
however, there is indeed one thing we want to flee in fear – Sin -
anything that causes us to focus selfishly on what I want or demand,
or harms others through abuse or neglect. Paul told Timothy to 'flee
youthful lusts' (2 Tim. 2:22). But because the world system tempts us
with things that appeal to our Sin nature, we can say that we what we
most need to fear and flee – is ME! As that wise philosopher Pogo
once quipped, “We have met the enemy – and it is US” (Walt
Kelly).
Contrast this with what Jesus
said, “Come follow me.” Our FUGA MUNDI is away from the sinful
self and back toward the Father, through Jesus the Son. It is a
flight of Grace, empowered and directed by the Holy spirit and meant
to help us grow more and more into the Image of Christ. In the
process, we become more and more available to minister to the Christ
in others, and in so doing helping us to fulfill the ministry
purpose of the Company of Jesus: To Make Jesus Known.
Brothers and Sisters, you have
chosen a good path to flee on! As you make your initial vows, know
that your Fuga Mundi is a delight to our God and a sign of Joy and
Hope to the Church and the World – even though the world doesn't
know it.
Please feel free to call upon
these, your brothers and sisters of the Order to help you in your
journey. I charge you all to help one another, to prefer nothing to
Christ and to press into the Opus Dei with all your heart mind soul
and strength.
Do not fear failure. Anything
worth doing is worth doing - badly!
You will certainly have failures
along the way, and the Lord is not shocked about that – and neither
will be your Abbot or confrères. Simply follow Benedict's advice and
'begin again'. As you do so, day after day, year after year, you will
eventually complete the journey and find your rest in Him.
Be encouraged in your beginning
today, in the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, AMEN.
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