Detachment

Thursday, September 3, 2009 -- Week of Proper 17, Year One
Prudence Crandall, Teacher and Prophetic Witness, 1890

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 982)
Psalms 37:1-18 (morning) 37:19-42 (evening)
1 Kings 11:1-13
James 3:13 - 4:12
Mark 15:12-32

Detachment is a traditional virtue taught by many of the traditional spiritual directors. It is a humble release of desire, tied to an abiding trust in God's providence.

James begins today's reading with a question regarding the origin of conflicts and disputes. "Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it..." so we either covet or sometimes even commit violence. "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

I'm reminded of the section in Matthew 6 where Jesus urges us not to worry or be anxious, for God will supply that we truly need: "Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Or the Beatitudes. Or the poor widow who gives away the penny which was all she had to live on.

In the Eastern traditions there is a strong teaching about "non-attachment," that focuses not only on detachment from things, but also from thoughts, a willingness not to be harmed mentally or emotionally by our own thoughts. The Christian spiritual director Gerald May traces the biochemical progression of our strong emotions and thoughts back to their origins as energy within our synapses and biochemical soup, and identifies moments in the process when we have the choice simply to observe our emotions or our thoughts, and not necessarily have to do anything about them. When we are under an overwhelming emotional barrage, we can watch our feelings like watching fireworks, and let them explode and pass, without having to act or react. (seee "Will and Spirit")

One of my favorites, Jean Pierre de Caussade, teaches a fundamental state of trust -- surrender to the sacrament of the present moment. God is always doing the best God can, given the limitations of creation and our own free will. So for us to spend energy in resentfulness or judgment about what is, is futile. Abandon yourself to the present moment, accept it radically. If God is to be present to us, and God is always present to us, God can only be present in this moment, under these circumstances. The conditions of the present moment are the sacrament of God's presence, the outward and visible signs of God's inward and spiritual gifts.

Let go of the past -- it is gone. Be not preoccupied with the future -- it is not yet. Live completely in the present moment, says Caussade, trusting that this is where and how God is present with us. Then, humbly participate in whatever God is doing right here right now.

So Caussade tells us to be completely detached from judging and resenting. Surrender to this moment and all of its circumstances as the expression of God's providence, and ask "What is God's will for me in this present moment?" At any moment, God's will can be only three things: 1. To do some duty that presents itself. 2. To enjoy some enjoyment that presents itself. Or, occasionally in the dark mystery of God 3. To suffer something for the sake of Christ and in union with his self-offering.

Today's reading from the Gospel of Mark holds for us one of the most poignant images for such a practice of detachment. Jesus is condemned to be crucified. Imagine the potential attachments -- if I die, I cannot fulfill God's mission for me; I do not want to suffer pain; I do not want to die; this is unjust and wrong. Jesus does not resist the present moment, rather he abandons himself to it. He surrenders in trust to God -- under the circumstances this is the best that God can do. Rather than becoming Messiah the king, Jesus is dressed in a purple cloak and crowned with thorns, while the soldiers and crowd mock him. His kingship is expressed through humble surrender.

Yet we know that it is through the cross that God is creating resurrection, overcoming evil and death to bring new life and salvation to the world.

We cannot know what it is that God is doing in the circumstances of our present moment, we can only trust that God is with us, the sacrament of the present moment. We can let go of everything except the desire to accept this moment, and to do whatever might be God's will in this moment. Whenever we cooperate with God in the present moment, we are doing everything we can on behalf of God's purpose. If God can bring what God did from the crucifixion of Jesus, what might God do with our obedience?
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A note about the new feast today:
Prudence Crandall [September 3, 1803-January 28, 1890] The daughter of Quakers, Crandall opened a boarding school for women training to be teachers in Canterbury, Connecticut. When she admitted the daughter of a wealthy African American farmer, the school was forced to close, but Crandall opened a new one, exclusively to educate young Black women of the Northeast. She was arrested under the provisions of an act prohibiting the teaching of any colored people not inhabitants of the state. She was tried twice, but freed on a technicality. Mob attacks on the school continued, and ultimately Crandall moved to Illinois with her Baptist husband. She continued to teach and work for African American, Indian and womans rights. Crandall died in Kansas.

Lowell

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About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

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Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas