2014
articles 2013
articles 2012
articles
2014-02-23
Daniel
Daring
Where Are Those
Fools?
Leviticus
19:1-2, 17-18; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48
(Comments welcome here)
In
his Life on the Mississippi (1893),
Mark Twain shares with us the process of mastering the language of the river.
The process had just one goal in mind: "the safe piloting of a
steamboat." New to steam boating, Twain often marveled at the beauty of the
river, but as the course was proceeding the awe and wonder was replaced by a
deconstructive analysis of the Mississippi's language. A sunset indicated a wind
the following day, a floating log meant that the river was rising, and a
"slanting mark on the waters" was revealing a bluff reef. Twain got
his Master of Arts in steam boating, but - as he confessed - he lost something
precious that could never be restored: "all the grace, the beauty, the
poetry, had gone out of the majestic river!"
"If you think that you are wise in this age,
you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this
world is foolishness with God" (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). Paul places this
passage within the section that discusses the issue of division within the
Corinthian community. It seems that what he meant by worldly wisdom was a kind
of wisdom that was proud of its knowledge, divisive, and exclusive. The letter
of James is more precise in this matter. A worldly wisdom is characterized by
"envy and selfish ambition," whereas a godly wisdom "is first
pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits,
without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy" (James 3:17). But if we dare to
bring the two descriptions together we come with a shocking conclusion: people
who follow the godly wisdom are fools in the eyes of the world. Could that be
true?
According
to N. Chomsky, our educational system is extremely competitive: "you've got
to beat down the person next to you, and just look out for yourself." That
would clearly indicate the principle of "envy and selfish ambition"
the two marks of earthly and devilish wisdom (James 3:14-15). Aside from being
competitive, our educational system is mostly concerned with indoctrinating
people, instead of teaching them how to think and be creative. The goal of our
educational system is to form a conformist who will be able to fit well within a
system and properly perform the role assigned to him/her. That would call for
partiality and hypocrisy, other characteristics of earthly and unspiritual
wisdom. It does not come then as a surprise to know that when Einstein was
opposing McCarthyism by advocating non-cooperation, he was called by the media a
rebel, irresponsible, and even a jackass. This only proves our thesis that those
who do not conform are considered fools. But how did they become such fools?
Christianity has a rich tradition of saints who are known as holy fools,
people who take the Gospel seriously and live outside of the conventional wisdom
of our world. The most famous are St. Basil the Blessed (1468-1557), who is
supposed to have given the Tsar Ivan the Terrible a piece of meat during
Lent telling him: "Why abstain from meat when you murder people?", and
St. Francis of Assisi, with his peaceful approach to Muslims when popes and
other saints were campaigning for crusades. I think also of Gandhi with his
belief that "an eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind".
He also could also be placed in the "fools" category. To be a holy
fool or creative thinker and non-conformist requires a unique approach to life
and sets of principles that see truth as being discovered, not created. Einstein
did not create his famous equation E=mc²,
he discovered it while probing the mystery of the universe. Once it was
discovered, it was then applied and tested, and after being successfully tested
it was upheld even if to make a stand for it was costly.
"If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools
so that you may become wise." I wonder if Twain was really right to claim
that the beauty of the Mississippi river could never be restored to him. I
wonder if we are right in clinging to the standards of our education that turn
us into imitators and conformists. Perhaps a little foolishness would do us a
lot of good. It could set us free from the "chain" of measuring up to
the standards set up for us by others, and of competing with others for power
and position. It has to be a truly liberating experience to have no ambitions,
to be contented, to admire the Creator and His creation, and to wonder at His
mercy that "makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to
fall on the just and the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).
Let me end with a story about the famous
philosopher, Diogenes of Sinope. Once he was seen by Aristippus eating lentils.
Aristippus who lived comfortably by flattering the king said: "If you would
learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on such garbage
as lentils." Diogenes is supposed to have responded: "If you had
learned to live on lentils you would not have to flatter the king" (Anthony
de Mello, Song of the Bird).
--------------------------