Self-denial is not very greatly recognized or practiced as a virtue in our society. Of course we hear all the time that certain habits or the consumption of certain foods may impair health, but the reason for self-denial in those cases, is plainly self-interest and relates to material wellbeing.
We exhort our children be careful about too much spending and not to become victims of the conspicuous consumption of our society but here, once again, the intention is not really moral or spiritual formation: it is to spare them the pain of subsequent debt -- the motive is practical.
The lives of many of us are passed in a gentle self-indulgence which would have shocked our predecessors, and which stands, incidentally, in dreadful contrast to the massive privations of existence in large parts of our world. Our culture now contains little or nothing which suggests that self-denial may be virtuous for its own sake, and the religious teaching which once considered it an important aspect of the spiritual life has largely been abandoned even in Christian circles. The gospel of prosperity reigns.
Many today regard themselves as entitled (the word of our decade!) to the good life. Rights, have a lot to do with it: the moral culture of rights, with with the catalogue of human rights at its center, is hardly likely to honor our personal privation, even when voluntarily entered into. Life today seems more and more arranged by social or economic or political need; it seems to be about not having what we want or deserve. Most of us would say that we want to be happy: freedom from illness, stable and secure relationships, personal comfort, and emotional satisfaction, for example. But what do they mean? What are the limits? I recently listened to an interview on NPR in which a woman argued that 10-year-olds should have the right to read books that showed different positions of the sex act!
It seems to me we live in a world in which expectations of our happiness are forever extending and where satisfaction is more and more illusory. On the other hand, to seek self-discipline in the small aspects of personal living is to cultivate moral and spiritual awareness of the need for the same quality in larger matters; self-denial becomes a precursor of wisdom, of learning how to live wisely, a life not based on wants or rights, but on appreciation and gratitude; doing without helps one appreciate what one has. What we need is not more but less. However, it is almost impossible to declare this in a culture which denies itself nothing.
Christianity has always recognized the truth of self-denial. Jesus told his followers to take up their cross; truth was achieved by arranging individual lives so that the manner in which a person lives assists spiritual understanding. The world is a place where lessons are to be learned; it is not an interlude of hedonism before everlasting bliss. What we become through the accumulation of spiritual discipline here is what endures for eternity.
Blessings,
Jeff
After a less than stellar first-run, The Shawshank Redemption has become a cult movie, certainly one of the most popular and beloved movies of the 1990’s. Yet many viewers have remained perplexed about the title, especially the reference to “redemption.” First of all, many people today don’t understand what the word means especially in a theological context; and secondly, who or what needs to be redeemed? And where does it show up in the film? Clearly, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is the main character but he seems to be the one person in Shawshank Prison who needs redemption the least. In a harsh, hellish environment Andy remains, polite, calm, hopeful; he stands apart, almost above the fray, detached and enigmatic, a slight smile always on his face.
But something else is going on underneath Andy’s calm exterior; in the decades of imprisonment, in his own dark nights of the soul, comes a realization that he is guilty. He realizes that his own coldness, his aloofness -- insulated in his own self-contained world -- drove his young wife into the arms of another. While very much in love with his wife, he barely understood her, especially her emotional needs. So self-contained, content, and sealed-off was he that he had difficulty understanding need in others. And it is only then, after this pivotal recognition of his own culpability, his own very real guilt that Andy moves to escape.
And when he emerges from the sewer amid flashing light and pouring rain he raises his arms. He is exultant, clean and free. The success of the escape and the righting of wrong signifies absolution, a telling forgiveness from above (which is the Christian definition of redemption). Only after all of that is Andy suited for freedom, physically and spiritually.
But the process of “redemption” doesn’t end with his escape. There is more and it is beautiful. Putting what he has learned about himself, and life in general, Andy invites Red to come join him in Mexico when Red is released from Shawshank. This gesture constitutes the fullness of Andy’s redemption. He is ready to begin a mature relationship with another human being, which the picture makes clear is not confined to romance and marriage. In the remarkable closing sequence of the movie, as Red joins Andy on the Mexican beach, it suggests a mutual trust and delight in another -- which after all constitutes the very end for which people were created by God in the first place. The best thing to happen to Andy(and Red) is that one very thing that redemption is for.
The Shawshank Redemption, a movie that was released in 1994, is my wife’s all-time favorite movie -- and its way up there for me, as well. Interestingly enough, when it first came out the reviews were not good and the box office was worse. Then oddly, the video release became the top rental of the year. Due partly to my word of mouth, and perhaps partly because it was nominated for seven Academy Awards, it has remained a favorite of movie-watchers ever since.
Besides strong performances from Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman and yes, even Bob Gunton as the evil warden, what makes this movie so compelling is its universal themes of hope and redemption.
Let’s look at hope first. Andy Dufresne, a successful banker, is condemned to Shawshank prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. Shawshank is a terrible place, but worse than the corrupt warden and sadistic guards, its real power is the power to dehumanize. Andy’s cynical friend, Red, describes it this way:
“Spend enough time in prison and it no longer matters why you’re there. Guilty or innocent, there comes a time when you no longer have an identity except as an inmate. You lose your autonomy, and by then, even release leaves nothing but the broken shell of a man. They send you here for life, and that’s exactly what they take.”
Now there is a description of hopelessness.
There is only one thing that can keep an inmate in Shawshank alive -- hope. But what is hope? Is it just wishful thinking, a pipe dream, a refusal to accept reality? That’s what Red thinks; he’s stopped hoping. But Andy knows better. He knows that that whatever prison and its evil intent can do to beat down the body, they can never kill the soul. Referring specifically to music (one of the ways people throughout the centuries have nourished the soul and kept hope alive) he says, “there’s something inside that they can’t get to, they can’t touch.” Yet hope for Andy is not just an internal thing that one retreats into and ignores the situation one faces. Twice, he risks terrible punishment and his favored position as the Warden’s assistant to show his friends what hope means in real terms. For example, he accepts two weeks of solitary confinement for broadcasting Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro over the prison loudspeakers. When he came out, he told his fellow inmates, “easiest time I ever did.”
What Andy realizes and where the movie excels, is showing us that real hope is not about closing your eyes to the inhumanity around us or stopping up our ears (hear no evil) and dreaming. No, real hope is about embodying in one’s life a belief that life is worth living, no matter how bleak the external circumstances -- even at the risk of one’s own safety. “Get busy living or get busy dying,” Andy tells Red. From a Christian perspective, hope means a strong and confident expectation based on the promises of God. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God tells the people of Israel in the midst of their darkest moment, “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” In the Bible, hope is dynamic, active, and life-sustaining. It does not leave us drifting or rocking on the porch. It puts us in gear. That’s the kind of hope that Andy Dufresne exemplifies in Shawshank Redemption and why I think the movie connects with so many people.
Next time I will write about who and what is being redeemed in this wonderful movie. Stay tuned...
Jeff
While serving as an interim priest in a Church in Massachusetts a few years ago, the parish engaged in a year long study of how to deepen its youth ministries. We read an interesting book: Engaging The Soul of Youth Culture by Walt Mueller. In the book the author sites a series of studies comparing the changing influences on the values and behaviors of thirteen to nineteen year olds.
What stands out to me about these studies is: the decreased influence of the family unit on our teens, the rising influence of media, and the fact that the church is off the radar. Certainly it is easy to make “media” the bad guy -- especially with issues of bullying, texting and driving, addiction to games, etc. But media (i.e. internet, email, texting, Tweeting, television, iPhones, computer games) aren’t bad in and of themselves. Technology is inanimate and therefore not capable of good or evil. It is how we use the media available to us that makes a difference. Having a cell phone at the scene of a bad accident can save a life. Modern communication devices can help parents keep tabs on the whereabouts of their children.
Anyway, the influence of the media on our students is not going to go away. Therefore I vote for the proper integration of more media, especially visual media in Sunday school curricula and youth ministry. Visual learning is in! It is used extensively in our schools today; used creatively, visual media can help expose our children to the Christian worldview. This probably means moving away from boring denominational-produced programs to more “locally generated” ministries to our students (which means more work for staff!)
I really don’t know what to say about the decline of families as an influence on our children and teens. Clearly the family is meant to be the most important, first-line influence. However, I also don’t think it does any good to point fingers in a negative way. Clearly, contemporary life is more complicated than “Leave-it-to-Beaver-land.” Today, it is often the case that both parents must work outside the home; and many children today are growing up in a one-parent or divided household. Organized sports and cultural activities are much more pervasive than they used to be.
In that regard, somewhere along the line the spiritual formation and nurture of our children came to be seen as the Church’s responsibility, and thus, another activity in an already busy, if not frenetic, schedule for our youth.
A positive step for families and the church would be for the Church to equip parents to be able to “tell the story” and be able inculcate Christian faith and life into the home, starting at an early age. Here is why I think Adult Formation ministries are the key to the church of tomorrow. That can mean learning more about the Bible, or sharing a book study; it can mean parents of similar-aged children gathering together to learn from each other, supporting and praying together. The sky is the limit really in this regard. Personally, I think our adults at CCE need to take steps to make Adult Christian Formation more of a priority here. I encourage you all to come to the Fall Kickoff on
September 7 to learn about all the Christian Formation opportunities we’re offering this fall for children, youth and adults.
Norms and patterns of the 20th century are clearly changing; new paradigms need to emerge if we want our children to grow up in the Christian faith and life, and can engage that faith and life confidently and responsibly in today’s culture.
How exciting if CCE were to be on the cutting edge of strengthening the abilities of our families to be primary loci of Christian formation.
Jeff
"A cheerful heart is good medicine but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
- Proverbs 17:22
The ability to be able to laugh at yourself is a strong trait in a spiritually healthy person. Take the case of one of my all time favorite baseball characters, “Vinegar Bend” Mizell, nicknamed for the Alabama town he grew up in. Describing living conditions in his home growing up, Mizell once said, “One day a fire started in the bathroom, but we were able to put it out before it reached the house.”
A left-hander with a blazing fast ball, Mizell was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals after graduating from high school. After spending time in the minors, notably at the ace of the 1951 Houston Buffs Texas League championship team, he was called up to the big league team. He spent seven years with the Cardinals before being traded to the Pirates in the middle of the 1960 season and went 13-5 down the stretch for a team that defeated the Yankees in one of the most dramatic World Series ever. Mizell finished up his career with the New York Mets in 1962 (one of the worst teams in the history of baseball by the way). Later Mizell was elected to the House of Representatives, serving three terms. A dedicated Christian on and off the field, he championed the cause of Christ, and had a special heart for high school and college students.
Mizell once humorously spoke of his effort as the doomed starter in game three of the 1960 World Series. In front of 70,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, he retired only one batter and gave up 5 runs. “If people tuned into the game late on the radio or TV, they missed me completely!” he once said self-deprecatingly. But he still wore his World Series ring with pride, having pitched well during the regular season for Pittsburg.
His delivery was definitely old school. With a slow, arching windup,“Vinegar Bend” would rear back with his leg kicked high and his pitching hand close to the mound. Then he would bring the ball over the top and blow it by a hitter. When asked about his delivery, Mizell would reply with a twinkle in his eye, “Not only did I occasionally touch the mound with my pitching hand, sometimes I would actually knock the ball out of my hand before I could deliver it to the plate!”
One might think a Christian, a Congressman, and a competitive person would be very serious minded and have little reason to laugh, but that’s not the case. Vinegar Bend (his real name, by the way, was Wilmer), realized what many others fail to grasp. A cheerful heart is good medicine. Christians can really laugh with a security -- we know the end of history’s story! We know how it all turns out. Jesus wins in the end. Our enemy is defeated once and for all. Our sins are forgiven, our tears are wiped dry and our future is glorious.
So go ahead and laugh. Snicker at yourself when you drop the ball. Smile when you trip over a crack in the sidewalk. Guffaw with glee when you get the date wrong or forget something. Tell a joke on yourself in a crowd. Those around you will appreciate that you don’t take yourself too seriously. Your ability to laugh might just also help raise someone’s spirits who needs it, and may give them a right perspective the next time they knock the ball out of their own hand.
Your number #1 fan,
Jeff
