Page 8 - 2021 SPRING Sojourner Newsletter

8 THE SOJOURNER

Kicking or Beating a Dead Horse

The word change normally refers to new beginnings. But transformation, the mystery we’re examining, more often
happens not when something new begins, but when something old falls apart. The pain of something old falling apart—
chaos—invites the soul to listen at a deeper level. It invites, and sometimes forces, the soul to go to a new place because
the old place is falling apart. Most of us would never go to new places in any other way. The mystics use many words to
describe this chaos: fire, dark night, death, emptiness, abandonment, trial, the Evil One. Whatever it is, it does not feel
good and it does not feel like God. We will do anything to keep the old thing from falling apart. This is when we need
patience and guidance, and the freedom to let go instead of tightening our controls and certitudes. Perhaps Jesus is de-
scribing just this phenomenon when he says, “It is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find
it” (Matthew 7:13–14). Not accidentally, he mentions this narrow road right after teaching the Golden Rule. He knows
how much letting go it takes to “treat others as you would like them to treat you” (7:12). So, a change can force a trans-
formation. Spiritual transformation always includes a usually disconcerting reorientation. It can either help people to find
a new meaning or it can force people to close down and slowly turn bitter. The difference is determined precisely by the
quality of our inner life, our spirituality.—The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder, by Richard Rohr, O.F.M..
A few months ago, I had a youngish mother fighting tooth and toenail to get her children back. Part of the packet iden-
tified her as suffering from PTSD, alcoholism, and at least ideations of suicide. While in the Army I dealt with those ex-
cept the alcohol. In my training, I dealt with narcotics and alcoholism. Been there, done that. No one else in the room
wanted to address the overweight demon in the room, so I asked momma to name her demon. Everyone in the room
shuddered and was aghast that I would take on the role of the exorcist and ask such a question. Until she can face-down
and come to terms with her demons I will be opposed to giving her children back to her. If nothing else there is a very
thin line between suicide and homicide.

You all know that I am a cancer survivor. I do both chemo and surgeries at times, depending on what the cancers are
and what they are doing. I deal primarily with two kinds of cancer. One digs deep and the other spreads out looking for
territory. The treatment, therefore, is different. When I am discussing my lesions I never use a C, it is always a c.
Yesterday was inauguration day, the vice president was identified as being a woman with black and south Asian roots.
We also have two new senators in Georgia; in the media, one was simply described as the first black to serve as a senator
from Georgia, and the other simply as a 34-year-old Jewish male. What would our culture be like without the influence
of Alex Haley? Since about May we have been bombarded with stuff on racism. I was tickled to see something about not
using terms like racism, bias, and bigotry. I was again in a panel last week going through files to be reviewed that after-
noon. All were described as Black African Americans. With all the hoopla and stuff going on the state of Georgia is per-
petuating racism. Diane and I enjoy listening to JD Robb, the Vendettas, Eve Dallas only deal with mixed-race dece-
dents. At this point, we are all mixed race. I believe that C.S. Lewis in the Screwtape Letters talks about devilish wanna-
bes. These are just devilish wannabes.

Screwtape’s sir's name would seemingly be discrimination. If we were to throw out all the “ism’s”, call them what they
are, we would be living in a new world. In the past year, we have been faced with pandemic, or contagion, which a lot of
people have ignorantly tried to ignore. We have had riots and demonstrations that also seem to be contagious. We have
been faced with discrimination since Cain and Abel, so that is the start and that is also the root of the problem. Obvious-
ly, we cannot excise or chemically treat Cain. We can, however, treat discrimination. We would need to get to the root
and excise it.

To do that we need to name it and claim it. In talking to a friend this week, she brought up another c-word, Change.
That will get to the root of the problem. I can change what I am doing and thinking about those around me and so can
you. So why aren’t we? Because Change is not something that we want to do, it is painful and uncomfortable, but it also
the only way to solve our problems and to move ahead towards the Kingdom of God.

Thom Davies
National Chaplain