During Lent, the minister of the church I attend sends out daily reflections over e-mail. This is today's, and I think it's wonderful. From The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life, by James Martin:
When I was a novice, one of my spiritual directors quoted the Scottish philosopher John Macmurray, who contrasted "real religion" and "illusory religion." The maxim of "illusory religion" is as follows: "Fear not; trust in God and God will see that none of the things you fear will happen to you." "Real religion," said Macmurray, has a different maxim: "Fear not; the things you are afraid of are quite likely to happen to you, but they are nothing to be afraid of."
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Love this--it implies epiphany. It seems that the best realizations are the ones that we resist or that we blind ourselves to through most of the actions of our lives. It may be interesting to think about this in terms of characters too. The first kind has a discursive certainty that flattens everything out and is unearned. The second is full of contradiction and seems closer to truth.
ReplyDeleteWell...we fear things, in part, because we don't know what the outcome will be. If the things you're afraid of happen, and they don't end well, then you have good reason to fear them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the quote disagrees with that, Lisa. Rather, I take Macmurray to be saying that while you might have reason to fear those things, in a wider perspective -- God's perspective -- everything will be taken care of, so there is nothing to fear.
ReplyDeleteSuch a true statement.
ReplyDeleteA character in a book I've been working on has had to come to grips with that very thing, so I've been thinking on it quite a bit.
Good thought for today. The only way to get rid of fear is to accept you're probably screwed:)
ReplyDeleteLove your book, by the way. I reread it often.
Middle grade ninja, you may have successfully married all concepts here :\ Though as Cheryl said, it's probably not what the author meant. *laughs weakly*
ReplyDeleteThis quote is so elegantly simple. I've just written it down on a pink index card to give to a friend. This discussion makes me think of the irksome "everything happens for a reason" adage, to which I prefer "everything happens." I would have liked to have met this John Macmurray fellow.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement except that the things we fear are "quite likely" to happen to us. The truth is, most things we fear or worry about don't come to pass. That aside, it interprets what is much truer to Bible teachings in that no one is immune to unforeseen circumstance, but if we trust in God, we will worry less, or if we're REALLY strong--won't worry at all, about how things will turn out in the long run. I do trust that God knows what's best for us and will help (not protect) us through life, but I it's taken many years to be able to more often "Let go and let God..."
ReplyDelete:Donna
Prayer helps us through all circumstances; it may not make the problem easier, but reliance on God does. Other people around us might be suffering so much more, too.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that everything will be taken care of, unless by everything you mean the salvation of your soul (which is a big deal). In other words, if you accept the Nicean Creed and believe that you have been saved, then what bad things happen to you in this world really aren't that bad, because God has taken care of the most important thing--getting you saved. Put another way, the difference between "real religion" and "illusory religion" highlights the difference between a concern for the material (i.e., what is happening now) versus the spiritual (i.e., what will happen in the final days).
ReplyDeleteThe "real religion" versus "illusory religion" split reminds me of that passage in Huck Finn when Huck points out that praying all week for new fishing gear didn't get him any new fishing gear. When I read that passage, it highlighted why prayer can be unsatisfying.
What a beautiful reflection. Thank you for passing it along. It's just what I needed to read this evening.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful. I needed to hear this right now. Thanks for sharing. And thank your pastor too. Hope you and yours have a blessed and happy Easter.
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