Trappist monk Thomas Merton suggests that each one of us is a word, a particular word that is present in us at birth and stays with us all our lives. That echoes the comment made about clergy, namely that each minister has one sermon they preach over and over, not for lack of creativity but because that one sermon has a core message, a hard truth that they need to keep expressing. What is the word you are living, the sermon that only you can preach, the sentence your life is giving expression to? Along with considering one’s life purpose, I am intrigued by the challenge to consider one’s lifelong communication, so that not only discerning my calling I am also invited to discern my word.
At present in our culture, the word that many seem to carry—and often shout—might be the word no. So much appears wrong, leaders back away from hard choices saying no or refusing to say no when no is called for, those who have too long been marginalized are crying no, while others who believe they are about to lose positions of privilege in order to make room for marginalized persons are responding with angry versions of no. If an entire culture might be said to have a single message or speak a particular word, for now we are saying, on all sides and in various circumstances, the same word, no. Even the earth itself may be caught up in its own version of no as it responds to our unwillingness to deal with climate change by spinning up ever more violent storms.
While saying no is necessary at times in order to set boundaries, to refuse harmful choices, still: I wonder if we have reached a point where we need a new shared word. Each of us might have our own particular version of that shared word, some aspect or variation or nuance we could put forward to deepen the meaning of the shared word, but just one word to which we all contribute individual meanings that enrich our understanding of the shared word.
Maybe one day that notion of a shared word will take hold, though I am not especially hopeful of seeing that anytime soon. My guess is that we will all be caught up in shouting our various versions of no for awhile longer—and that is not necessarily a bad thing. If at least for now, on all sides, people are saying no, then that ongoing no might have a clarifying effect, casting away so much that has accumulated that we no longer need, that no longer has a beneficial purpose. After we have said no long enough, we might finally be able to begin saying a different word, a word that invites rather than rejects, that carries us forward rather than backward, that opens up possibilities which we presently cannot see.
BLESSING
No words come with this blessing.
You already have all the words you need
And beneath the words
You carry the one essential word
That only you can speak.
So this blessing intends to give you voice,
To amplify your speaking,
To strengthen your conviction
And enable you to speak your word
Which the world so desperately needs to hear.