Seduction

In his book, "The Way of the Heart," Henri Nouwen quotes the introduction of "The Wisdom of the Desert," written by Thomas Merton:  "Society...was regarded (by the Desert Fathers) as a shipwreck from which each single individual man had to swim for his life...These were men who believed that to let oneself drift along, passively accepting the tenets and values of what they knew as society, was purely and simply a disaster."  Nouwen goes on to write that our society is "a dangerous network of domination and manipulation in which we can easily get entangled and lose our soul."  Another way to put the problem is that we can be seduced by the powers of the world.      

It is certainly something to think about on this first Sunday of Advent.  Advent launches us into a time of seeing with new eyes the Lord and King who has come and is coming again.  It is a time of asking ourselves if we are living under the authority of the Kingdom of God, or if we have come to a place of living as a subject of a kingdom which seeks to control our lives through fear and manipulation instead of grace and love.  The Desert Fathers decided to swim away, to go into the desert so that they could survive and serve the Christ in such a broken world.    

At some point we have to decide about swimming or staying.  Swimming may not mean going off into some remote area, but it will require us to make decisions about our ultimate loyalty and lifestyle.  The Desert Fathers saw their decision to be one which was made for the safety of their souls.  It is something for us to consider for ourselves as well.  "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."  (Matthew 10:28)