"We think we know what we ought to be doing, and we see ourselves move with the inexplorable deliberation of a machine that has gone wrong, to do the opposite. A most absorbing phenomenon which we cannot stop and perhaps deploring! But it goes on. And as Christ said over Jerusalem, we do not know the things that are for our peace."
-from Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Thomas Merton
As I sit in a coffee shop, reading the words of the prophet Isaiah, I can't help but let it get under my skin. Desperately crying out, roaming around for years totally naked, exiled, crying out to the people of God to not rely on strong armies and the strength of Egypt, everyday this man was ravished for one thing: the word of God. The more I sip my Toffee Nut Latte, the more I feel absolutely oblivious.
"He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground
and casts it down to the dust.
Feet trample it down-
the feet of the oppressed,
the footsteps of the poor."
Delusion is a scary beast. Its very strength lies in its ability to deceive, but more so, to deceive with the mask of righteousness. In the race of modernity the world flashes before us in instants of technological progress, forcing our minds to keep up, forcing us with its instant comfort, scaring us to death of not being comfortable, filling us with anxiety if our comfort is different than the rest. Before we know it, what have we trampled upon to asert this membership of society? There is no time for reflection, no time to ask, no time to understand what happens to me as I whore myself to my work, my degree, my certificate for only a resume and a pat on the back. And all of this of coures is for the good of yourself: so that you can uphold whatever little you hold in your hands now.
Do we know that it will burn? In our nakedness, have we sought the word of the Lord, or have we forsaken the words: "what is first will be last and what is last will be first?"
I have known too many people walking down whatever road they walk down for the single purpose to ease one anxiety about their life. It truely saddens me, although I can completley undertand how we are controled by such fear. (There is more at work here than I can say, and I know that I am speaking of a very large generality.) But I know the feeling of being caught up in the spirit of this world. Before you know it, your nakedness is a foriegn thought to you. Your weakness is written off with, "I'm not really like that," "I'll be better once I finish this thing I'm working on," "I just need to suck it up." We adhere to the words of Merton: "...we do not know the things that are for our peace." We cover up our anxiety with more and more things to do, more and more keeping up with the modern race, and we never strip ourselves naked before the Holy One of Isreal. Before we know it, the false gods cosume our lives and the thought of denying the help of the strong Egypt and surrendering everything to the unseen God of the promises of Abraham fills us with anxiety. The entire point was to have the opposite effect.
What has given us temporal confidence will be taken down. I want to agree with the prophet (although I myself may take offense at his words) the day of the Lord is near when all delusion will be uncovered and all of us will be naked, just as he made himself. For God longs for us to throw away our covenants with death and to embrace Him only as He has forever been in the posture for an embrace, even in all of our filth, if we would just turn to Him.
Thoughts?