A Monk’s Chronicle: 12 December MMXI — Wisdom in Our Midst
December 12, 2011 by monkschronicle
Wisdom in Our Midst
When it comes to Christmas, our thoughts don’t turn immediately to the elderly. After all, it’s the season of Santa Claus and gifts for children. I hope we all have happy childhood memories of the season, but we scarcely exhaust the potential of Christmas if we reduce it solely to a festival of youth.
For too long our culture has had a fixation on youth. On bad and good days we wistfully long for our youth. In unguarded moments we let ourselves slip back into youthful (read: immature) behavior. We’ve developed major industries around staying youthful. And if the truth be told, many of us are a bit uncomfortable around the sick and elderly who are not our relatives.
You likely have your own theory to explain this latter phenomenon. From my own perspective as a historian, I think we’ve paid a heavy price for being the first society in history in which the generations haven’t lived together. Though they may have fleeting visits with grandparents, the young have not learned from them how to socialize across generational lines. And the elderly have not stayed truly young by being with their grandchildren on a daily basis. In short, there has been nothing of the shared wisdom that once bound the young and the old together, in mutual love and respect.
One of the remarkable illuminations from The Saint John’s Bible is Donald Jackson’s depiction of the Mirror of Wisdom. The Bible speaks of wisdom in feminine terms, and it describes wisdom as a great prize — perhaps the greatest. And so when it came time to personify wisdom, Donald Jackson reached for the picture of an elderly woman which had graced his studio wall for years. It was the haunting portrait of an aged middle-eastern woman, and the timeless nature of her face had grabbed his imagination years before. She would be the personification of the truly wise woman.
Saint Francis House, Saint John’s University
We don’t normally use older faces to promote products in America. For us the ideal woman is young, athletic, and serenely beautiful. That image sells cars, vacation spots, and luxury goods in a way that a wrinkled and bent figure will not. But for the woman of wisdom, the weathered face is the epitome of beauty. Her wrinkles are her jewelry, earned from a life-time of service and care for others. They are the product of decades of love given to family and friends and guests. Those wrinkles are what have bound people together in family.
One of the distinguishing features of monastic life is the intermingling of the generations within the community. Like the newborn, the novices are gradually introduced into the community. But over time the goal is that each takes his place as an equal. At the same time, there comes the moment when the senior has to accept help from others in the infirmary. But from beginning to end of life in the monastery, monks must see Christ in the face of each member in the community, no matter their age. Seniors cannot lord it over the juniors, and juniors cannot dismiss the seniors as useless. Rather, Saint Benedict writes that the seniors must strive to love the juniors, and the juniors must respect the seniors. And in a novel twist for the sixth century, Benedict encourages the abbot to seek advice from all, including the young. Sometimes even the young have wisdom.
This lesson for life is important as we enter the Christmas season, and balance as always is the key. Programs that insure that every child has a toy at Christmas are worthy of our generosity. But that’s not enough. If a child can feel left out at Christmas, there is no doubt that many of the elderly do so as well. As often as not they need only a token of a gift, because what they have to offer is far richer. They have a life-time of accumulated wisdom, and the chance to share a bit of it at Christmas is the best gift of all.
My Calendar: The New Mexico History Museum
In early November I had the opportunity to be in Santa Fe, NM, for activities surrounding the opening of a new exhibit of The Saint John’s Bible. “Illuminating the Word” opened on October 21st at the New Mexico History Museum, and the show will continue through Aprill 7th, 2012. The exhibit features folios from the volumes of Wisdom and Prophets, and it is one of the best-designed shows of the Bible that I have seen.
Drawing on the traditions of New Mexico, the curators created a round sacred space in the center of the gallery, and surrounding it is a tall wall pierced by two doors at opposite ends of the gallery. The two doorways in turn frame the cases that contian “The Mirror of Wisdom” and Ezekiel’s “Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones.” As they face each other across the sacred space, it creates an environment that is really quite moving. Should you find yourself in New Mexico this winter, by all means go and see this.
On November 5th we hosted a reception for friends and alumni of Saint John’s, and on the 7th I gave a short talk and introduction to Donald Jackson, who then spoke to a large gathering of Friends of the Museum. The Museum has put together an impressive series of events to complement the exhibit, and I was privileged to be there when a long-time friend, Dr. Carol Neal of Colorado College, spoke on praying the Psalms through the centuriies. Later in the month the Benedictine monks of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu gave a concert of sacred song to Friends of the Museum.
I had never been to New Mexico before, and for those who have yet to see it, it is a major treat. I was struck deeply by the cultural traditions, as well as by the physical beauty of the landscape and the venerable architecture. I was also taken aback by the altitude, which left me breathless. All told, Santa Fe is one of the unique treasures of the United States. When you go there you step into another world.
