The Void Where God Once Was
Orbis books has just issued a third printing of the small volume The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life, by Henri Nouwen. It's an encouraging sign that there appears to be some demand for this book.
There are a few people out there who think there may be some spiritual lessons to be gained living in recessionary, "new normal" Obama America. But it may be too little, too late.
Christianity has failed in America. It becomes obvious when you step back an observe the big picture. And The Selfless Way of Christ, which is less a book than an essay with reproduced art by Vincent van Gogh, provides the big picture.
The President of the United States is a man who did not want to permit babies who had survived abortion to be given medical care. Not nearly so bad, but of genuine concern, is the philosophy among conservatives that we can simply create a utopia of an ever-expanding economy until everyone is well fed and happy.
Caught between the two poles of an evil, death-dealing regime that supports infanticide, and a consumer economy that eventually attempts to commodify all things, Americans have said, "yes!"
Yes to the false uplift of Barack Obama, which is really about the audience wanting to feel virtuous than about any concrete policy. Yes to the McMansions and Joel Osteen, with his snake oil and glimmering smile. Yes to abortion. Yes to three cars. Yes to Jersey Shore.
Henri Nouwen was a Catholic priest. He died in 1996, but his works continue to be published posthumously. This isn't detritus cranked out to make a buck, but wisdom that is ever ancient, ever new.
"Regardless of the particular shape we give to our lives," he writes, "Jesus' call to discipleship is primal, all-encompassing, all-inclusive, demanding a total commitment. One cannot be a little bit for Christ, give him some attention, or make him one of many concerns."
And Jesus is the ultimate example of a downwardly-mobile life. Born into poverty, anonymous for 30 years, then beaten and tortured to death while naked on a cross. As Nouwen notes, it is cause for serious and genuine reflection to ponder exactly what is meant by Jesus wanting us to live like him.
If taken literally, it means radical self-abandonment. Even if not taken as seriously, it still means that we should shun not only the culture of death but the culture of greed. We must resist the temptations not only of to be "relevant," "spectacular," and "powerful." We must embrace downward-mobility: "Our vocation as Christians is to follow Jesus on his downward path and to become witnesses to God's compassion in the concrete situation of our time and place."
I have long believed that there is no hope for a country that would kill its own babies. But a real tipping point came when Obama was elected. The night of the 2008 election parts of my liberal hometown of Washington, D.C. exploded with joy. There were spontaneous parades in the street, strangers hugging strangers, and chanting.
A lot of it was appropriate for the election of our first black president, but there was also a cultish fanaticism to the festivities. These were people who had been promised heaven, and they thought they were about to collect.
And now that the dream has been dashed after four long years, have we learned any lessons? Have we returned to contemplation, and to not only accepting limits but celebrating them, as they are an imitation of Christ?
The state of the political parties does not give one a lot of hope. One side is absolutely freaked out at the prospect that someone may get elected who will let people keep their own money and might hint that we should stop killing babies, and the other side wants to restore the economy to where it was -- that is, people buying a lot of crap they don't need so that can try and feel the void where God once was.
The line for the iPhone 5 is going to be stretch from sea to sea.
