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Spirituality in a Time of War 
On September 11th Americans as a whole were horrifically forced into experiencing the precarious and at times evil dimensions of life that so many throughout the world live daily. The poor of our own land know this fear. If unchecked, it is something that destroys the very spirit of humanity. Whether due to grief or soul searching reflection, we are better now to be out of the illusion of security than to search for a world that does not exist. While we bomb Kabul and other terrorist targets in Afghanistan, and possibly elsewhere, it is dangerous to imagine we can recreate the past or force others to give us back what we believe we have lost. Whether through the capture of Osama bin Laden or the difficult destruction of Al Qaeda, no one can give us back the feeling we once had. Rather, we are forced to experience life in a new way, with a different foundation for meaning. We are at a crossroads and need a spirituality that provides a ground for us to base decisions in this environment of war. An appropriate spirituality that is relevant to our times requires an attentiveness to the signs and symbols around us that mark this "new reality". First of these is 5 thousand innocent souls whose voices call to us through the window of their trade tower tomb and offer us wisdom for the journey ahead. They offer warning and point out a new road to walk. Are we listening? Those same voices call us to be more than we have ever been before as a people. We are being offered a new vocation in relationship to the rest of the world, a vocation born out of conflict that goes to the depths of our being both as individuals, a country, and humanity. To say the least, this IS a religious struggle. Not between Judaic/Christian traditions and Islam. It is a religious struggle because it is a fight about what life is all about and whether God is even around. So far we have returned to the weaponry of arms, economic sanctions, diplomacy, and surprise. At times a healthy patriotism can approach a dangerous nationalism. We have the vocabulary of Churches and temples, and use morality to explain our current decisions. But are we really moving forward in leadership or becoming a puppet of someone else's unfolding plot playing upon our ego? Faith and Fundamentalism The beginning of the spiritual life focuses upon where or in whom we have placed our faith, our confidence. The Trade Towers were not simply a symbol of our economic prowess. Their collapse serve as a prophecy that as long as our faith remains in simply an economic vision of material affluence as the goal of our workday lives, then we have placed our hope in what will never bear the weight of crisis. In the burning walls of the Pentagon, our pride in our military might has led us to imagine that strength will achieve our desires. However, in the spiritual arena, the poor is the victor. In the poor are resources of unity and vision that the mighty are simply blind to. We have stepped spiritually upon extremely dangerous ground by attacking one of the poorest countries in the world. We might be able to recoup the loss by consulting the wisdom of the poor on our own streets before taking any more 'mighty' steps. 
Money and power cannot contain faith, they are annihilated in suffering. However equally dangerous is the current approach of placing our faith in each other - dangerous for it runs the risk of crushing the prophets voice under the appearance of unity . In the spiritual life, there is really only one question, where is God? We must go to where God is, discern the Word of life, and follow. We are being called to be a people of deep faith.This vocation was clear in the first moments of the crises, like a flash of light calling us back to our roots. Churches and temples were initially packed. We were quick to search out voices of wisdom for a few weeks. But history has revealed that we rise to the moment only to become moaners for the long haul, so much like the Israelites in their desert wanderings. However, our recent events are not a passing moment. The President is so correct that the fight we are in is one for the long haul. But do we recognize the fight has much more to do with a call for leaders with a deep faith than it does in a pursuit in rooting out terrorism. Terrorism is a reality that much of the world has been living with in the daily struggle to simply stay alive. It is fueled by injustice, starvation, and indifference. What is more recent is that the educated, the leaders of large portions of the world have grown up with a shallow faith (fundamentalism) that itself is in terror/fear before its inability to respond to the rapid changing realities of the world. Leaders having a deep faith reveal the presence of God, they unify peoples, are instruments of peace based on justice and inspire people to give their all. Leaders with a dread that their own faith cannot bear up beneath the questions and choices of the world around become instruments of their own internal terror. Despite efforts at manipulation by extremists of all sorts, Islam is not the enemy but an ally. It is important to recognize that all the major religions, especially Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism, are fighting with the deceptive enemy of fundamentalism. It multiples under the disguise of martyrdom when attacked. It feeds on other fears, and when systematized as in the work of Ayman Zawahiri, advisor to Osama bin Laden, it grows rapidly in an environment of great suffering or rapid change. This fear takes shape wrapped in often legitimate injustices and can become a spirit that haunts people. With fundamentalism always the facts become distorted so that the root fear is never addressed. Fundamentalism is not a result of a lack of education or a lack of economic development. It is a response to fear. And I must say there is a lot of fear in the US at this time. Where there is great fear, there is the danger of tyrants and demagogues manipulating peoples to do things they would never have imagined. We must be careful. Religion is being used as a mask. The fear that supports fundamentalism can only be rooted out by a long-term caring presence which reestablishes a sense of trust. Then in safety, the fear is revealed and defeated by genuine community. A Call to be Missionaries  I suspect that some of the most needed persons in the current international crises are genuine missionaries - genuine in that their faith is deeply rooted in God and not the illusory Christian fundamentalism that breeds distrust and fear. Missionaries are people who live with, are in solidarity with those who are in terror. They carry the wounds, listen to the story, and call out for the voice of God who has always chosen to dwell in the brokenness of the poor. Through the emptying of themselves, they become a bridge for peoples to cross back and forth and meet in safety. And through the love they have, they assist people with the terror that arises when something new and unexpected confronts life. Such missionaries, through the God they hold in their heart and whom they meet through the people they serve, become instruments of community building in the most amazing, miraculous ways.But where are these genuine missionaries of deep faith? People who are willing to give their entire life in service of others they don't even know; to walk with and even die with peoples in the most difficult situations. If we look at the heroes and heroines of recent events, we see firefighters, officers, and chaplains who are vocational beacons for us. They know their mission and they step courageously forward in the saving of lives. Such faith of depth is what is needed even as we tremble when we step forward. My invitation is not a new one, but very old. Going to the roots of that impulse that moved apostles and saints before us; we step out, maybe not initially having a strong faith, but with a desire to find such a faith of depth. It is found with others, building community. If you are Christian, baptism is not simply a ritual of membership. It is a passage to a different way of living, of seeing ourselves in relationship to God and each other. If you have the audacity to bear the name of Christ, then you have been baptized for the world. Do something about it. |
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