THE FIRE OF THE KINGDOM
AND OUR LUKEWARM PREFERENCE FOR THE "THINGS BESIDES"
(Homily at the Opening of the General Chapters, October 21, 1999)

 

The Lord and Teacher is talking with his disciples, those of then and those of now, with them and with us.  Though several subjects are touched upon B abandonment to Providence, renouncing one's property to give alms, keeping watch for the Lord's return B everything is focused on one basic concern: Set your hearts on his Kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well (Lk 12: 31).  The conversation concludes with the words we have just heard: fire, desire, immersion, distress, division (Lk 12: 49-50). 

 

The fire of the Spirit and of the Kingdom burns with ardent desire in the heart of Jesus.  The Kingdom comes at a distressing price: the baptism of the passion on the cross.  What is even more distressing, the Kingdom causes family division!  Jesus is against any kind of false peace, that is, any peace without demands.  Nonetheless, this fire is very different from the one James and John wanted to have fall from the sky and consume the Samaritan city that did not welcome them, a matter that earned them a rebuke from the Teacher (Lk 10: 54-55).

 

And yet, just what is this Kingdom burning in Jesus' heart, that causes division and that must be preferred above all else?  In Jesus' day, the Kingdom or the Reign of God was understood in different ways:

 

-For the Pharisees, the Reign was to have come when Israel had put God's law perfectly into practice.

 

-For the Zealots, it was a question of the social and political sovereignty of Israel which was to be achieved by force of arms and by the expulsion of the Romans.

 

-In apocalyptic literature, the Kingdom would coincide with the end of the world.

 

-According to the tradition of the Old Testament and for most Jews, the Kingdom meant God's sovereignty in terms of helping the needy, the poor and the weak.  It would be established by means of an ideal Messiah King and would be synonymous with justice, hope, salvation and peace (Cf. Ps 72: 1-4, 12-13; Lk 4: 16-22 quoting Is 61: 1-2).

 

Jesus' understanding of the Kingdom corresponds, then, with that of the Old Testament and apocalyptic literature, but in a way revitalized by the Spirit, giving way to a new and unprecedented understanding of the Kingdom.  For Jesus, the Kingdom is filial and fraternal communion with God and with human beings, a communion that begins here but is only completed in the world to come.  Transposed into monastic terms, this means for us, mysticism and cenobitism, contemplation and community.

 

The Teacher did not come to divide but to unite.  His plan of filiation and fraternity, however, meets with rejection, both then and now, since it jeopardizes the selfish interests of many.  Division is caused, not by God's Reign, but rather by opposition to it.

 

Perhaps none of us is outright opposed to God's Reign, but it is quite possible that some of us prefer the "things besides," that come with the Kingdom, to the Kingdom itself.  That is to say:

 

-Fine polyphonic singing, a trilingual Bible, an inspiring book, a gothic church and cloister, an ample cowl made of fine cloth, guaranteed solitude... to bare, radical and transformative contemplation.

 

-A warm and efficient group, an intelligent and open abbot or abbess, nice quiet neighbors, rich and influential benefactors, a prestigious place in the Order and in the country... to life in common and communion of life.

 

The "things besides" that come with the Kingdom are countless, as are those of us who continually gather up more and more of these "things besides..." The result of all this is

 

-A clouded and undefined monastic identity deprived of its Gospel meaning.

-Division among persons on account of a fragmented purpose in life.

-A lukewarm flicker which, instead of setting on fire, is sickening to Jesus.

 

A General Chapter is a good opportunity to evangelize our monastic life by making our commitment more radical, by freeing ourselves from all that divides, obscures or makes us lukewarm.  May the Lord grant that our meeting be, not just another Chapter, but rather something more than a Chapter.  Amen.