NSoC 20: Tradition and Revolution

See Notes on this series...

Wow! Over halfway through the book...

Merton says here that the Church is framed by both tradition and revolution in apparent contradiction. As he writes of the "living Tradition of Catholicism" (yes, with capital letters), I feel somewhat left out, but I have no pangs of guilt by broadening his scope of Tradition to include the rest of us, and by doing so I found enough meat to keep me going.

When one thinks of human tradition one usually thinks stale and stodgy, robbed by time of value and influence and out of fashion. However, Merton says, the traditions of the Church are its life breath, the very spirit of God exhaling the truth of God. This tradition is revolutionary, he continues, because the truth never changes in the face of the societal constants of greed, power, and pleasure. There has never been a more satisfactory revolution. Other revolutions require the deaths of others to succeed; this one requires only one man's death - mine.

When one thinks of human revolution one usually thinks of complete change, charting a new course, with new blood and new vitality. Actually, Merton counters, just the opposite is true. Human revolutions are nothing more than status quo: swapping one set of minority overlords for another. The vices and lusts are the same, only the faces and names change. Only the revolution of change from within can be successful.

Men despise the authority of the Church, which they see as stony, dead, unbending. They would rather have "authority" that is capricious, misty, and nebulous. However, right doctrine is crucial. Merton says that every believer ought to have a strong understanding of what he believes, yet not get bogged down with the theologian's details to such extent as to lose the focus of what the doctrines point to. Theology is not "a body of distractions" but a "Living Reality Who is God Himself." (Merton likes the shift key). However, we must return to the theology to explain that relationship to the world.

Quaff:
One of the liturgical traditions I enjoy is reciting the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed each Sunday. Thanks to Merton I can now feel revolutionary in doing so.

I also appreciate the use of the lectionary. I am in an ecumenical Bible study at work, and at our meeting after Ash Wednesday we were discussing the services in our various churches. The Catholic's priest used the same scripture as the Methodist's pastor and my pastor did. That gave me joy, and hope for the church and the world.

Quibble:
Merton's idea of the futility of revolution has legs in the current presidential campaign. Has anyone ever run for the presidency without "change" as their foundational plank? Reagan was elected for change. Clinton was elected for change. Bush was elected for change. Has anything changed?

Quip:
Somebody smarter than me said, "If you are wed to this age you will find yourself widowed in the next." I'll tell you who as soon as I remember.