Howard Zinn famously said: “Human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives.”
Yes, our individual lives are shaped by our choosing values instead of cruelty and greed. We are not able to determine the end result of our collective actions, but we can remain firm in our everyday resolve to be the kind of person we have chosen to be.
In my experience, most people who make such resolve in their teenage years stick to it throughout their lives, even though their “rectitude” — that is, their staying essentially upright — might not be evident to all because it is mixed with imperfections of all kinds. We might even get the impression that humanity is made of very defective individuals, precisely because we expect perfection to be the mark of good persons. How many times do decent people say: “Hey, I’m no saint!” by which they mean “I am not perfect.” But this is essentially a mistake with regard to people and with regard to holiness.
A few years ago, Matthew offered us a novel definition of sainthood which remains very relevant. Fighting against the idea of perfection which has dominated the search for personal holiness in the Catholic tradition — but is also an engrained mental complex apart from religion — he explains how the ego quest for perfection is damaging to the individual and to society. Our life journeys inescapably leave scars, precisely because they are journeys. It is the same with the cosmos. The word itself means “order” but it does not imply “perfection.” Imperfection is not a sign of the absence of God. It is a sign that the ongoing creation is not an easy thing. We all bear scars from this rugged process.
But if holiness is not perfection, what is it then? And why should we look for such a thing? Matthew suggests that true holiness consists of cosmic hospitality. This means, on one side, to recognize our place as invited guests at the banquet of the divine creation. A banquet of rivers and lakes, of rain and sunshine, of rich earth and amazing flowers, of handsome trees and dancing fishes, of contemplative animals and of whistling winds. And, on the other side, it means becoming hospitable. That is, giving hospitality to all other creatures, says Matthew, echoing Hildegard of Bingen when she says: “I welcome all creatures of the world with grace.”
But I would venture to say: hospitable to everything. This includes being hospitable to one’s own imperfections and scars, as well as to those of other human beings. This is obviously not an easier task than the traditional attempts at perfection, but it is healing rather than damaging. It heals relationships, primarily those inside ourselves. It operates horizontally as a widening of space in the soul and among souls, rather than vertically in a vain attempt at climbing yet another step on the ladder of perfection.
Our fundamental choice for values is enhanced, rather than diminished, by understanding holiness as cosmic hospitality. Compassion and kindness, in time, become a habit in treating others. Courage and sacrifice emerge naturally as life-giving solutions to particular situations when no other options are viable. Cosmic hospitality is costly on its own terms, but enhances the journey of each person who chooses it. Cosmic hospitality requires a deeper and deeper reverence for all that is and all that might be.
We should not let go of the quest for personal holiness, but transform it. Moving away from perfectionism. Remembering our original choice for the good. Resisting the waves of indifference and cruelty and thus playing our part in the unfolding cosmic process. We might be scared about where the whole process is going but there are many of us, in every corner of the planet — I mean people but also animals and all kinds of beings — who are at their job of cosmic hospitality day after day. This is what matters.
All quotes from Matthew Fox, Original Blessing, 112-116
See also Fox, Hildegard of Bingen, A Saint for Our Times
And Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion
And Fox, Passion for Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video meditation, click HERE.
Banner image: “Halo.” Image by rpphotos, on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Where and when do I recognize in myself the impulse toward perfection?
Am I able to remember my “original goodness” as it reflects in my fundamental choice to be an upright person, as well as in my choice to become hospitable?
Recommended Reading
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
Matthew Fox writes in Hildegard of Bingen about this amazing woman and what we can learn from her.
In an era when women were marginalized, Hildegard was an outspoken, controversial figure. Yet so visionary was her insight that she was sought out by kings, popes, abbots, and bishops for advice.
“This book gives strong, sterling, and unvarnished evidence that everything – everything – we ourselves become will affect what women after us may also become….This is a truly marvelous, useful, profound, and creative book.” ~~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism.
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register
Passion for Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart
Matthew Fox’s comprehensive translation of Meister Eckhart’s sermons is a meeting of true prophets across centuries, resulting in a spirituality for the new millennium. The holiness of creation, the divine life in each person and the divine power of our creativity, our call to do justice and practice compassion–these are among Eckhart’s themes, brilliantly interpreted and explained for today’s reader.
“The most important book on mysticism in 500 years.” — Madonna Kolbenschlag, author of Kissing Sleeping Beauty Goodbye.
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