A Bit of T. S. Eliot for Monday
The following excerpt from Eliot's poem, Choruses from "The Rock" possesses a relevance that belies its original date of composition. It speaks to me in my own context as a rector-in-the-burbs. I know that I will see only a smattering of the community of faith named Trinity Church,Wauwatosa over the next few days. When we spend so much time separated from our faith community through the week, there's little wonder that Sundays carry such a burden of expectation -- for clergy and parishioners alike.
We are all on the move, me included-- talking, texting, e-mailing (and blogging!). We are equipped with the latest gadgets to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of every portion of every day. We are entirely too familiar with movement. Less acquainted with the profound connection that exists in the stillness of settling in with ourselves, our community and our God.
What life have you if you have not life together?
There is no life that is not in community,
And no community not lived in praise of God.
Even the anchorite who meditates alone,
Prays for the Church, the Body of Christ incarnate.
And now you live dispersed on ribbon roads,
And no man knows or cares who is his neighbour
Unless his neighbour makes too much disturbance,
But all dash to and fro in motor cars,
Familiar with roads and settled nowhere.
The following excerpt from Eliot's poem, Choruses from "The Rock" possesses a relevance that belies its original date of composition. It speaks to me in my own context as a rector-in-the-burbs. I know that I will see only a smattering of the community of faith named Trinity Church,Wauwatosa over the next few days. When we spend so much time separated from our faith community through the week, there's little wonder that Sundays carry such a burden of expectation -- for clergy and parishioners alike.
We are all on the move, me included-- talking, texting, e-mailing (and blogging!). We are equipped with the latest gadgets to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of every portion of every day. We are entirely too familiar with movement. Less acquainted with the profound connection that exists in the stillness of settling in with ourselves, our community and our God.
What life have you if you have not life together?
There is no life that is not in community,
And no community not lived in praise of God.
Even the anchorite who meditates alone,
Prays for the Church, the Body of Christ incarnate.
And now you live dispersed on ribbon roads,
And no man knows or cares who is his neighbour
Unless his neighbour makes too much disturbance,
But all dash to and fro in motor cars,
Familiar with roads and settled nowhere.
posted by FrGaryB | 1:04 PM
3 Comments:
It's funny...most people - at least literature people - dislike "Choruses..." because (a) it is not his best poetry from a technical standpoint and (b) it is full of non-PC ideas. (The popular example of this is where he says that the Crusades were not 100% a bad thing, that at least the Crusaders had enough faith to leave home and die "at the call of a wandering preacher.") Oh, and the ending of the whole series is sort of lame.
The theology and ecclesiology is right on though. A lot of good stuff if you wade through it. You can tell the time it was written (1934) by the repeated images of unemployment and Depression-era poverty, which he uses to represent Western spiritual poverty. These days we may have more money, but the spiritual issues are exactly the same if not worse.
Point taken about "Choruses" not being his best work...not nearly as subtle as "The Four Quartets", but I thought "The Wasteland" (which I was reading earlier today) might be a bit too heavy for a Monday!
April _is_ the cruellest month, eh?
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