Knowing
Who I Am
I
am
very much in sympathy with feminism. I believe that women have been
degraded in history and that their voices are not being heard adequately
in our own times. This calls for much greater appreciation of the
feminine and not for its elimination. There are those who protest
the sex roles taught to children. "Little boys don't cry."
"Tessie must have a little doll…" and I agree with
them to some extent. However, the difference between male and female
cannot be denied. In a book called "Men" written by a woman
the author claimed that, "apart form the physical there are no
other differences between male and female." If this were true
what an impoverishment it would mean for the human family! Some feminists
pursue their cause with a markedly masculine belligerence. Some "liberated"
parents have chosen not to teach sex roles to children, not to have
any distinction in toys, games or ways of dress. The consequences
have been horrible in little boys being greeted as little girls and
little girls been greeted as little boys. This leads to confusion
at the core in answering the question, "Who am I?" A clear
self identity is necessary for everyone if we are to live mentally
healthy lives. The first basic identity for all of us is our gender
identity.
Jesus
the Christ was a man with a great sense of personal identity. This
identity lay mainly in his relationship with the Father, his Abba-relationship.
He had come from the Father to do the will of the Father. He knew
exactly who he was even though he at times had to struggle to know
how to express it. He accepted that identity and lived it out even
to the extent of accepting the chalice of brutal suffering and death.
John
the Baptist, the main focus of today's liturgy, was another man of
remarkably clear self identity. "He came as a witness to speak
of the light. He was not the light." When asked. "Who are
you?" he not only declared, but declared quite openly, "I
am not the Christ." He went on to say "there stands among
you - unknown to you - the one who is coming after me; and I am not
fit to undo his sandal strap." He knew who he was and knew who
he was not.
Unfortunately,
due to our egos, our selfish insecure selves, we are often caught
in identity crises. Because we cannot accept who we are we try to
pretend to be someone else, we wear masks and live at an interior
distance from our own selves. For John Main the great fruit of meditation
was to bring about integration within our selves. While a lot of the
usual type of petitionary prayer is seeking what we need to reassure
the ego, in meditation we let go of that seeking. We just be in stillness
and truth at our own centers. Through this simple practice, we learn
to, as St. Bernard described someone, live within our own selves.
The
Benedictine Fr. John Main (1926-1992) was one of the great spiritual
teachers of this century. He learned meditation from a Hindu Swami
in Kuala Lumpur and later rediscovered that the same rich way of meditation
was to be found deep in the Christian tradition. The final years of
his life were spent teaching meditation and forming groups to meditate.
Today there are thousands of people in meditation groups around the
world following his teaching. When he died he left behind his writings
and recorded talks. These are a priceless treasure but like all treasures
they can also be a liability. John Main was also a witness who came
to speak for the light but he was not himself the light. While it
is important to read and listen to his words, these are only of value
in so far as they lead us to the word of scripture and to the Word
Himself. The true identity of the teacher is to lead us to the Master.
Meditation is fruitful in us, too, to the extent that it leads us
to discover who we are - people in relationship to our Heavenly father
- and to live in response to that relationship.
Taken
from Sundays
into Silence - A Pathway to Life. Copyright © 1998 by Claretian
Publications
