What does that churchy word “discernment”
mean?
Discernment
is the practice of distinguishing the voice of God from among the many different
voices that vie for our attention: expectations
of others, cultural pressures, our own inner critic or tendency toward perfectionism,
etc. The root word for “discern” means
to “cut away.” So, discernment is the
art of identifying all the many voices in our lives, sorting through our own tangled
motivations and cutting away all but those that come from God.
In our
scriptures we often hear the “voice” or call to live for others, unselfishly,
both in terms of our time and our resources; to put the needs of others before
our own. Jesus himself said ‘there is no
greater love than to lay down one’s life for others.’ We must fight with all we’ve got to put an
end to injustice, to care for the sick, feed the poor, and be peacemakers in a
troubled world. Not to mention the “teeny-tiny”
demands of family life; caring for our children and/or aging parents &
relatives. This voice is undoubtedly of
God, so, there is no disputing the truth that being a Christian means being a
person for others…
But, we
also hear another voice, sometimes very LOUDLY, that seems to be calling us in
the opposite direction, towards comfort, pleasure and restful security. This voice tells us to enjoy life, to take
care of ourselves and find time for solitude.
Fr. Ron Rolheiser says if we can manage
to sort through how our culture has distorted this voice – we will find
a bit of God’s truth here as well.
Many
times in our scriptures Jesus tells us to find a deserted place to pray, take time
to reflect, eat and rest. Jesus sought
solitude and encourages his disciples to do likewise, not just to be alone, but
to be alone with God fostering an awareness of life that we stand to lose in
the blur of daily living. We are
instructed to be still and savor our relationships and opportunities for fun
and laughter. This voice invites us to
enjoy and appreciate the creativity and the sheer beauty in nature, art, sex,
reading, romance and intelligence that make life worth living.
Both
of these voices taken to the extreme, have their dangers. Discernment is the delicate art of listening
for God in both. On the one hand we must
guard against becoming self-righteous, compulsive “do-ers.” Thomas Merton was once asked what is the
leading spiritual disease of our time.
With one word he answered, “efficiency.”
He said that our problem is not so much our ‘badness’ as our ‘busyness.’ We are so busy with our to-do lists and
packed calendars that we do not take time to reconnect with our source, and
listen to what God wants us to become, in terms of our character and
development as a person.
“Instead
of becoming genuine martyrs, we are becoming people with ‘martyr-complexes,’
frustrated people who have become negative and manipulative in the name of love
and service. Times of rest, solitude and
prayer are not lavish, self-indulgent, or optional aspects of the Christian
life…They are non-negotiable essentials” (Rolheiser).
Time
is a (THE) hot commodity these days, and how we spend ours says a lot about who
we are. We are called to recognize and
respect the complexity of our lives and live thoughtfully with integrity and no
small amount of grit and moxie – not an easy task! Jesus knew well the feel of work and
tiredness, but he also enjoyed time alone in prayer and fun with friends around
the dinner table.
I must
say though that my writing this article is more than a bit ridiculous, because
if I died today I genuinely fear my tombstone would read “Here lies Lisa. She was very efficient.”
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