Finding a Place
December 4, 2020
Anne Koerber
I found this poem by another Christian, W.H. Auden, which highlights a particularly Christian conflict:
I could (which you cannot)
Find reasons fast enough
To face the sky and roar
In anger and despair
At what is going on,
Demanding that it name
Whoever is to blame:
The sky would only wait
Till all my breath was gone
And then reiterate
As if I wasn’t there
That singular command
I do not understand,
Bless what there is for being,
Which has to be obeyed, for
What else am I made for,
Agreeing or disagreeing?*
*Remembering W. H. Auden by Hannah Arendt, the New Yorker, January 13, 1975
Our role, suggests Auden, is to “bless what there is for being.” Yet, are we supposed to bless, for example, this virus that is devastating the humans on this planet? Is acceptance of what is, then, the Christian thing to do?
Another view of our role is suggested by an Advent text for today, Jeremiah 1, 4-5: 4The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” God goes on to say She chose Jeremiah to be a prophet. Later in the New Testament, we have the parallel to this in the Christmas story. Jesus was not only chosen by God, but was actually conceived by Her in Mary's womb. Both of these stories are about persons who risked all to save their people. They didn't simply “Bless what is there for being.” Yet, there is a basic truth in Auden's poem that speaks to me, about coming to terms with God's creation.
In this Advent season, I work to find my place in God's creation, which includes bad leaders and devastating microbes. I pray that each of us may find guidance for our lives, for our roles and for our actions, as we worship God and await her Redeemer.
