Thoughts Have Hands

Our lives move in three directions future, past, and present. ‘To live into’ each has a specific meaning, as each direction or orientation requires us to use different frames of reference to understand what is required of us.  Each orientation spins us on the face of time from chronology to kairos, from clock-time to miracle moment. Our direction turns endlessly from past to future on the axis of the present.  We struggle to the summit, straining to gain perspective, only to find still higher places to climb.  We balance each direction against the claims of the other, searching for a lever to move the world and guarantee the right direction, the correct path to success. Does our past explain our future or does it cause what is to come?  The archaeology of the future may reveal the truth of the past, or the present may be filter for the past, like a miner who pans for golden moments in the shifting streams of history.

Future oriented living takes one in the direction of the possible, things and events one hopes or plans to make happen. A world where entrepreneurial spirit and leadership may take charge. The future is often tethered to our past. It seduces us with what is possible and practical. Our ability to live into the future will be limited by the tourniquet we make of our past.

Past oriented living takes one into memory, things recalled as the way things were or are. The past is fixed, unchangeable. It can dictate the way we live. But we don’t have to worship there.  In fact, to do so is a form of idolatry. To live under the control of the past is a betrayal of life. To do so is to act as though life is a formula, no different than two plus two equals four.  I was abused, thus an abuser.  I was a slave to tobacco, alcohol or drugs and so I will always be. I have failed to achieve my goals so I am a failure.  Such mantras lead us to accept a gray future.

Abba Anthony once advised a  novice to “have no confidence in your own virtue, don’t worry about a thing once done and keep control of your tongue and your belly”

A significant event, a piece of history from our lives, scripture, or a tradition may provide insight or good information but it is demonic to let them dominate the possible.  All lessons are not intended to be mathematical equations or truth with a capital T.  The past can serve as a touchstone for future dreams and a standard for present judgements about what is correct behavior or good and evil.  But we should not allow it to determine the scope of our future. Such worship of the past confines us to a closed future, limiting our growth and development as free human beings.  It is the essence of sinful living as when the Israelites reverted to worship of the golden calf to alleviate their fear and satisfy past needs.

Abba Anthony’s advise to his novice not to worry about a thing once done is wise.  Past oriented living confronts us with a memory of things done which no one can change: one does not need to be victimized by it. Let it go. One cannot change it or make it better by worrying over it. The best one can do is confess the past openly, express joy for what went well and regret for what went wrong and move on.  Learning from the past is the way forward, worshipping the way things were is a trap. One must be careful with the way one relates to the past.  An example are scripture passages used to tell us what God judges sinful.  These are idols set up to past tribal beliefs that have no value today.

Remember God said my ways are not your ways. God is not bound by time or history. God rules history.

Living in the present is widely praised. Modern living is the cool, finger snapping moments that shape and add flavor to everything.  However, it is a deceptive orientation too.  The stuff of advertising and consumerism. Humans are fond of talking about living in the moment, but it tends to be hard to maintain.  To live in the moment you must be aware of the hold of the past. Otherwise you will repeat old patterns and call them new cloth. The past will slip up on you with comfortable habits and old patterns that have become second nature. We use our habits and past practice to orient ourselves in the world and to guide future decisions. Living immediately, in the now, is difficult because our past informs the present and modifies our expectations. We don’t just hang in the moment without some orientation to the past.  Here silence and or solitude may help. But silence can only do so when we focus on untangling our lives from the grasp of the past, extinguish the hold it has on our direction and purpose and float free.  This meditative state is powerful but scary because you are intentionally letting go of ties to expectations on which you have relied to light the way forward.  To live freely, one must take up the cross of Christ.  This is not about carrying wood but an intentional state of mind that recognizes the burden of sin, which is the common state of humankind. How many of us pray daily to be granted a future like the past you have known, trusted and, yes, even worshipped. We love the familiar smells and bells, they make us feel at home. They are also safe traps. It is a hard struggle to desire a world open to possibilities that exceed human habit.  The way of the cross is to easily seen as a sad and tortuous way because the Gospels tell the story of Jesus dying to show how he lived even when things did not go well. But the point is the future. The point is that we are all led to the resurrection. A moment free of past and its disappointments. A time beyond time when our expectations are shown to be small and weak.  When the glory of the Lord of Life triumphs and we are blessed with a future that exceeds all understanding and lifts us into the arms eternal love. A place where all expectations are quenched by a future unbounded by the past and available to all.

I wish you silence for a time, peace for reflection,

and struggle with the life you lead here and now and in the future. May it be open to the way of Christ. THH

Happy Lent THH