Fog Machines and Fox News - AnnaKate
I thoroughly enjoyed this week's readings, despite the fact that one of the selections was twenty-seven pages of Julius being insufferable. My favorite of the three definitely had to be The Abbot and the Learned Lady. The Abbot continued to dig himself a hole as he spoke, and Magdalia continued to vigorously take him down a peg (or twelve).
Antronius reminds me of today's general public - unwilling to re-evaluate their way of thinking, but always ready to defend it to the death at the risk of looking foolish. And, boy, did Antronius ever look foolish! There were two instances in particular that stuck out to be in this regard, the first being his unfortunate "lack of free time."
When Antronius announces that he does not want any of his monks to surpass him in wisdom, Magdalia suggests that he simply grow wiser. To this, he replies "I've no free time." He claims he has no free time because of long prayers, housekeeping, horses, hunts, and court functions. Magdalia asks if these are more important than wisdom, and Antronius simply says, "It's what we're used to." This is a wholly dangerous mindset to have, but how often do we fall into it? We see this all the time in the church, especially in those who have been in the church for a long time. We don't want to hear a new type of song, don't want to install a different type of seating, don't want to get rid of choir robes or the carpet in the lobby that's been there since 1987. We resist change, even if it's a good change, simply because it's not what we're used to. I would advise us to be cautious of this mindset. As long as our focus is on the Gospel, nothing else matters. There is nothing in the Bible about hymnals or fog machines. The cup in which the Gospel is presented isn't nearly as important as the content of the cup itself.
The second instance I want to talk about comes from the last page of the selection when Antronius says he would only wish to die with wisdom "if wisdom came without hard work." It is easy to see, objectively speaking, that Antronius is saying something highly foolish, but often times we can fall into this same trap. We do not think critically. We read headlines and skim news reports, we seek biased information that appeases our current way of thinking, and we do not seek the Lord. I pray that Antronius' pitfalls can serve as a reminder for us to seek wisdom continually and to refuse to rely on our own limited and highly-flawed understanding, because it will always leave us in the wrong no matter how smart we are.
zelda & kayla
Antronius reminds me of today's general public - unwilling to re-evaluate their way of thinking, but always ready to defend it to the death at the risk of looking foolish. And, boy, did Antronius ever look foolish! There were two instances in particular that stuck out to be in this regard, the first being his unfortunate "lack of free time."
When Antronius announces that he does not want any of his monks to surpass him in wisdom, Magdalia suggests that he simply grow wiser. To this, he replies "I've no free time." He claims he has no free time because of long prayers, housekeeping, horses, hunts, and court functions. Magdalia asks if these are more important than wisdom, and Antronius simply says, "It's what we're used to." This is a wholly dangerous mindset to have, but how often do we fall into it? We see this all the time in the church, especially in those who have been in the church for a long time. We don't want to hear a new type of song, don't want to install a different type of seating, don't want to get rid of choir robes or the carpet in the lobby that's been there since 1987. We resist change, even if it's a good change, simply because it's not what we're used to. I would advise us to be cautious of this mindset. As long as our focus is on the Gospel, nothing else matters. There is nothing in the Bible about hymnals or fog machines. The cup in which the Gospel is presented isn't nearly as important as the content of the cup itself.
The second instance I want to talk about comes from the last page of the selection when Antronius says he would only wish to die with wisdom "if wisdom came without hard work." It is easy to see, objectively speaking, that Antronius is saying something highly foolish, but often times we can fall into this same trap. We do not think critically. We read headlines and skim news reports, we seek biased information that appeases our current way of thinking, and we do not seek the Lord. I pray that Antronius' pitfalls can serve as a reminder for us to seek wisdom continually and to refuse to rely on our own limited and highly-flawed understanding, because it will always leave us in the wrong no matter how smart we are.
zelda & kayla
I agree with you AnnaKate, sometimes it can be all too easy to be "too comfortable" to change and adapt to the current generation. However, I would argue that there is some value in keeping certain traditions alive from the past and passing them on to the future generation. I believe we should be able to have a balance of remembering the past but then also accepting change inside the Church. In reference to Antronius and his silly opinion of learning, he is completely wrong and shows only laziness in his beliefs. He needs to learn that he is not nearly half as wise as he thinks he with that attitude.
ReplyDeleteI definitely saw that theme of comfort in "The Abbot and the Learned Lady". It's something I've often heard cautioned against because it is such an easy mindset to fall into. Reading that passage was honestly such a motivator to be active in seeking God's wisdom because we can clearly see that our own wisdom is not enough for living a life of holiness. Thank you for writing about this!
ReplyDeleteI agree. You make very good points, sometimes we do tend to fall into the whirl of things not wanting to change. This could be turned around however. I consider myself pretty modern, however I think there is something beautiful about tradition. We can still get caught in a mindset to follow the world. Because we see the world changing, we feel as if we should. I feel if there is a balance that should be applied. Especially in the church. Yes, I think that we should learn to not always have to sing "Old Gospel Ship" and look ugly ugly red carpet for the rest of our lives. However, we can not come into a church and decide that we will have smoke machines and lights and loud music either. Older people, especially, in church enjoy tradition. It gives them security. There is a balance to be held. Allow a mix of these younger people would like, however, keep in mind the actual foundation of the church. It's not those 20 year old newly weds that are paying the tithes.
ReplyDeleteAs a Worship Tech Major, I understand where you're coming from with this. If I see a church that is struggling to move along in their worhsip with old, improperly used or worn out equipment, messy stages and neglected facilities, I find that changes need to be made. But the church that has a great production setup (big or small) and that is achieving success and not drowning in laziness is doing well for the congregation. Tradition, however, is not something that we should abolish and abandon altogether.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that we get into this funk sometimes where we just wallow in our relatable misery when we should be seeking the Lord's guidance. The Bible is the ultimate book of love, truth and wisdom and we should honor it day in and day out, probably for at least more than five minutes. We have to obey the Bible, traditions or changes, whether we like it or not.
As a Worship Tech Major, I understand where you're coming from with this. If I see a church that is struggling to move along in their worhsip with old, improperly used or worn out equipment, messy stages and neglected facilities, I find that changes need to be made. But the church that has a great production setup (big or small) and that is achieving success and not drowning in laziness is doing well for the congregation. Tradition, however, is not something that we should abolish and abandon altogether.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that we get into this funk sometimes where we just wallow in our relatable misery when we should be seeking the Lord's guidance. The Bible is the ultimate book of love, truth and wisdom and we should honor it day in and day out, probably for at least more than five minutes. We have to obey the Bible, traditions or changes, whether we like it or not.
Zane Duke