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October 03, 2007
> 1:01 PM
merton on legalism > 2 It took me long enough - here's the next post in the "Merton on Legalism" series. I know you've been waiting with baited breath, or you just went out and bought the book (Disputed Questions). Off we go... Legalism is not synomymous with conservatism or traditionalism. It can equally well be found in those social-minded Christians who, by their contact with Communism in the movement for social justice, have unwittingly contracted a spirit of totalitarian narrowness and intolerance. The temptation to legalism arises precisely when the apparent holiness of a cause and even its manifest rightness blings us to the holiness of individuals and persons. We tend to forget that charity comes first and is the only Christian "cause" that has the right to precedence over every other.Wow. I'm not sure you can say it any stronger than that. The "enemy of the Cross of Christ" - yes sir. That will get some attention. And think, ecclesio-culturally, of the Catholicism of his day - some attention indeed. Of course big Tom often got negative attention from his superiors and from "the censors" of his Order and the Church authorities. Not all negative, certainly - lots of positive too. Anyway, he said some strong things and pretty generally came off on the "non legalistic" side of things in his day. I thought it fair of him to point out, in the beginning there, that this kind of attitude is found also in "liberal" circles in the Church. I'm sure this kind of thing is much more common now than in 1960 even. I see it quite a bit in certain circles - the whole social justice way of thinking now coupled with the unChristianization of anyone who doesn't recycle enough or reduce their carbon footprint. You have heard that God looks way down on such sinners, right? OK, now you know. It's on all sides folks. Historically, and in my experience, I have been the person and seen the people who act and think this way more from the other side of the legalistic fence. It is most commonly associated with a kind of Pharisaical way of thought and being. This, I hate. It's so destructive of a healthy spiritual life, I would have a hard time describing it. I have contributed to such destructive attitudes being built into people in the past and I'm ashamed of it. I have had it put into me and I'm a little angry that it ever was. It damaged me and my ability to freely and openly relate to God as a loving Father. That's not the only diet I ever got but it was part of the mix (and not just in Catholic circles either - perhaps even more in some others). Merton was a Catholic - a priest even - a MONK even! He said things like this, wrote them. I'm sure some people would find that amazing, that he would say something terribly negative about "keeping the traditions of men" - a charge thrown at the Catholic Church often by some in other Christian traditions. Now, Merton knew well, as do I, that the charge is possibly true at times, especially in certain areas of Catholicism. It's had a lot of time to build up thing upon thing, spreading out from the core. That's just an aside, a personal reflection. I'm not writing just about Catholics or the Catholic Church. The phenomenon of legalism is certainly not cornered in the Catholic market. It has its inherent pitfalls, but it's an equal opportunity disease. Sure, there is Truth. There are truths which are simply true. And truth sets us free, not falsehood. We must know this. But all rules or discipline or even laws are not all about truth and freedom in Christ. Many are about fear and control and a wrong-headed way to get people to "be good so they get to heaven." In all this, somehow, it was seemingly forgotten, the very center of our Christian faith - the Love and Mercy of God our Father which leads, as He embraces us, to our transformation into beautiful new children. We forgot, along the way, about that part. We got selfish - all about ME going to Heaven. Put your blinders on and power through this life to get to the other side! I could go on and on with this but hopefully you get the point. We must awake from our long slumber and become, once again, aware of the core, the point - our relational union with God leading to our transformation. And when we grow in this union, we naturally begin reflecting the Nature of our Father, and that is Love. Take care. Allow yourself to be awakened. God, give us all Grace to know well. technorati tags > legalism, christianity, thomas merton Labels: catholic, church, merton, spiritual formation 0 Comments:| permalink | e-mail me | 
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