Cowardice

I was reading some devotions and other material as I do every morning. Father Richard Rohr's "On the Threshold of Transformation" had a devotion for today that talked about the need for true mentors - for someone who can show us the way. As I turn 50, I'm struck by how few mentors there are as we live our lives as adults. People who can model true courage of conviction and show us all a way to be in right relationship with each other. We are surrounded by cowardice, by people who make decisions based on how it affects their individual lives and not on how it affects the larger community. One only has to spend a moment in any news cycle to see that this is so. Life in post-secular (or post-modern) America is truly anti-Kantian, that is, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. If I can get ahead of you by doing something, then it is ok for me to do it. It's no wonder then that we have a dearth of social programming, that budgets for safety-net program are being slashed while "pork" is at an all time high. There's no ability to compromise in decision making at the local, regional or national levels of society. Everything is polarized and politicized and there are few who are brave enough to consider the narrow way. We've created idols out of everyday things and have thus lost the path to an encounter with the sacred. Rohr says (in the same devotional) in essence that Scripture and other sacred texts are not an end in themselves, rather they serve to point us beyond the words to the "hard facts of reality, life itself, and from there to authentic encounters with God." When we lose the narrative of the sacred in our lives, then there is nothing to point us beyond ourselves and our individual lives. There's nothing to give us the courage of our convictions - because we have no convictions - everything is negotiable. In other words, if we don't stand for something we'll fall for anything! Cowardice is easy, courage is difficult and challenging and ultimately the only way out of our current dilemma. This weekend, spend some time with the sacred texts - doesn't matter which one(s). Discover how those great G-d inspired writings contain large truths and consolation for our world today (and for you as an individual). Discover again how to become courageous through the experience of the leaders and mentors of the past. Peace for the journey, Dan