printer-friendly

excerpt

What I have learned at Bethel

by Don Lemons

A Latin aphorism reminds us to “speak of the simple simply, and of the complex clearly.” I love the second half of this aphorism – to speak of the complex clearly. I have made it a matter of professional pride as a physicist, as a teacher and as a writer to speak of the complex clearly.

But [here] I want to be guided by the first half of this aphorism and will attempt to speak simply of a few simple ideas I will take away from 23 years of teaching and working at Bethel. …

Question yourself. It is remarkable how the Arabic word “jihad” came into our vocabulary on 9/11/2001. One sympathizes with those Arabic-language purists who, somewhat protectively, insist that “jihad” simply means “struggle.” These purists have lost the semantic battle to those who have hijacked the word to employ it as a synonym for violence and mayhem. But struggle of the kind intended means creating order – not mayhem – and such struggle with oneself is required of Christians as well as Muslims. One could just as well say “Know thyself,” or “Create an interior dialogue,” or, as I put it here, “Question yourself.”

We humans are works in progress. We make mistakes that need to be corrected. Did I say something hurtful? Did I ignore that person? Did I use the wrong words? Have I, as St. Paul counseled, meditated on what is true, noble, pure, just, lovely, good and praiseworthy (I Philippians 4:8)? I need to ask myself these questions – daily – and, when necessary, to repent (that is, to reform).

Not to question or struggle with yourself is to accept a lower standard. Not to question yourself means to “go with the flow.” Not to question yourself means to do what merely feels good. Even when we attach the proviso that, of course, we will not hurt another person in our pursuit of pleasure, we are still a far cry from St. Paul’s standard of meditating on what is true, noble, pure, just, lovely, good and praiseworthy. So I aspire to question myself and to struggle with myself.

Listen to others. We listen to one another because each person is made in the image of God. Listening responsibly is just as hard as speaking responsibly and even more important because we need to listen more than we need to speak. After all, we meet many people in a day and each has something to say – and there is only one of us.

So I ask myself: Am I so eager to say my own piece that I fail to listen to others? Is this a person I would rather avoid than listen to? Have I really entered into this person’s world? Have I heard each word aright? Have I asked for clarification when needed? These are questions we ask on the way to becoming good listeners.

But “What is the point of listening?” Of course, sometimes the point is obvious – there is something to be understood, something to be done, someone to be congratulated, a request to be granted or someone to be advised. But here is what I have learned at Bethel: To speak is not always required or always helpful. Sometimes we don’t know what to say or do – other than listen. And these are the most precious moments … the moments when we can only respond in our hearts with watchful waiting or listening. Listening is a holy work because listening is the only way to encounter the other.

Pray always. Prayer is also an appropriate response when we don’t know what to say or do – for instance, when we do not know how to encourage one another. When the barriers to understanding or to real sympathy seem insurmountable, we can always pray “Lord have mercy on my brother (or my sister).” Or if we feel the urge to say a harsh word or to judge, we can always pray “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.”…

Interior, private prayer is always appropriate and was especially recommended by Jesus. This is why Orthodox Christians prize the Jesus prayer so much – “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” The Jesus prayer, when said silently, is always ready as an antidote to judgment and is a way to pray without ceasing.

Of course, these are aspirations, rather than accomplished facts: to question oneself, to listen to others, and to pray without ceasing. I know that some of you have long embraced these aspirations. And I have learned the urgency of these aspirations during my 23 years at Bethel. You might be thinking that these are the kinds of things that could be and are learned anywhere and everywhere and not only at Bethel. And in thinking so, you would be right. But these simple thoughts describing simple aspirations are some of the things I did, in fact, learn at Bethel. No matter how or why, God’s grace is in all.

The preceding is from a meditation that Don Lemons, professor of physics, gave in chapel April 28.