“In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love, and the ability to ask questions. Which are, at the same time, the fires that warm us and the fires that scorch us.”
Mary Oliver
This is another quote from Mary Oliver. It is from an essay of hers about Edgar Allen Poe. Many consider Poe as simply a horror writer, but Oliver saw much more in his writing. She saw in his work the struggle with the
“anguish of knowing nothing for sure about the construct of the universe, or about the existence of a moral order within it – anything that would clarify its seemingly total and imperial indifference to individual destiny.” That is the perennial struggle. For us in the affluent Western world the question may be phrased as how to reconcile our relatively easy life with the horrors of life around us. Perhaps all we know is that there are no answers to the problem.
But the fact that there are no answers is not the end of the question. Faith is comprised of paradox. We are to struggle with the unknown, keep para dox with us, and resist easy answers. That is not easy for a world view that
does not make sense is more difficult to maintain than a world view that does. Mainstream narratives will always make sense and will always tell us that everything is fine. All we need do is to accept the world as it is. Yet faith responds that everything is not fine and that we need to question the status quo and resist its power over us. Paul warns us ‘not to be conformed to this world,’ in Romans 12:2 and in John 16:33 Jesus tells his disciples that he has overcome the world. We are called to do the same.
We all know how to conform to the world, to act reasonably under the cir cumstances, to support what everyone else supports, and to condemn what everyone else condemns. But we don’t know how to resist, how to ques tion, how to take unpopular stands. Mary Oliver notes we have two gifts that can help us navigate life, the gift of being able to question, and the gift of being able to love. Questioning the world seems to be the basis of our faith as our story starts with the Old Testament and the Israelites question ing the evil they suffered, trying to come to terms with their history, the Babylonian exile, and the loss of their kingdom. The questions only expand in the modern world as we question the evils of our history, and the present evils around us. The more we love the more we question, and that is not a bad thing. Loving and questioning is the path of faith. They keep us away from conformity and acceptance of the status quo and keep us pointed to ward God.
Mary Oliver
This is another quote from Mary Oliver. It is from an essay of hers about Edgar Allen Poe. Many consider Poe as simply a horror writer, but Oliver saw much more in his writing. She saw in his work the struggle with the
“anguish of knowing nothing for sure about the construct of the universe, or about the existence of a moral order within it – anything that would clarify its seemingly total and imperial indifference to individual destiny.” That is the perennial struggle. For us in the affluent Western world the question may be phrased as how to reconcile our relatively easy life with the horrors of life around us. Perhaps all we know is that there are no answers to the problem.
But the fact that there are no answers is not the end of the question. Faith is comprised of paradox. We are to struggle with the unknown, keep para dox with us, and resist easy answers. That is not easy for a world view that
does not make sense is more difficult to maintain than a world view that does. Mainstream narratives will always make sense and will always tell us that everything is fine. All we need do is to accept the world as it is. Yet faith responds that everything is not fine and that we need to question the status quo and resist its power over us. Paul warns us ‘not to be conformed to this world,’ in Romans 12:2 and in John 16:33 Jesus tells his disciples that he has overcome the world. We are called to do the same.
We all know how to conform to the world, to act reasonably under the cir cumstances, to support what everyone else supports, and to condemn what everyone else condemns. But we don’t know how to resist, how to ques tion, how to take unpopular stands. Mary Oliver notes we have two gifts that can help us navigate life, the gift of being able to question, and the gift of being able to love. Questioning the world seems to be the basis of our faith as our story starts with the Old Testament and the Israelites question ing the evil they suffered, trying to come to terms with their history, the Babylonian exile, and the loss of their kingdom. The questions only expand in the modern world as we question the evils of our history, and the present evils around us. The more we love the more we question, and that is not a bad thing. Loving and questioning is the path of faith. They keep us away from conformity and acceptance of the status quo and keep us pointed to ward God.
