The Invitation to Descend
Post a responseIn the New Testament, those on top (in power) are always asked to descend, and those on the bottom (without power) are always given the invitation to ascend.
Thus, you have the two primary trajectories of Christian spirituality—crucifixion and resurrection.
In his two-tape audio series, Men & Women: The Journey of Spiritual Transformation, Franciscan Richard Rohr argues that for men in the second half of life, often the journey into spirituality requires that they learn how to descend, how to give up power. For women, archetypically, they need to learn how to ascend, since the first half of life was spent in the one-down position—typical for most women in patriarchal societies, where women were treated as second class citizens.
My wife, Jana, often reminds me that for years she didn’t know that my grandpa, whom I loved dearly, had two sisters in addition to his four brothers—because the old family stories always revolved around the five Goetz boys. It was as if the two sisters didn’t exist.
The language that Rohr uses is the language of the gospels—death, burial, resurrection. The most troubling part of Rohr’s construct for male and female spirituality is that it is the male who must learn to descend in the second half of life, since he has through career, privilege, and position ascended in the first half.
I squirm at this: The person with privilege must die to self. Must die to power. Must die to the notion of the endless ascent in this life.
The alternative to descending, says Rohr, is the embittered journey—the angry old fool, who at the end of life is miserable and is miserable to be around. We’ve all cringed at the remarks of an angry old fool in a church business meeting.
What Rohr is describing is the Paschal Mystery—the mystery of suffering and how it transforms us into the likeness of Christ. The art of all true spirituality is the art of letting go of self, of power, and my notions of what constitutes the good life.
There’s not much in life—my business, my family, even my church world—that can teach me about the Paschal Mystery. Suffering itself is the great teacher, if we stop fighting it.
September 29th, 2006 at 4:16 am
Amen to suffering. Even though I don’t enjoy it, I know I need it, it’s tethers me to God. But, I’m human, I want to be on the top rung of the ladder. I can convince myself that I am allowed to put myself even above Jesus Christ who took it all! Just because the suffering part of my christian life is not the part that is comfortable or easy.
A very wise friend said in our group study, “We are so fortunate to have the luxury of suffering”.
Amy
September 29th, 2006 at 5:24 am
Having recently retired I can relate to what Rohr is saying.
We strive during our working years to “climb the ladder” as we often feel that’s our measure of success. We may get there or we may not, but whatever happens what we experience in retirement is a loss of identity. Our lives were defined by our work and the descent from being important and making a difference to “we were easily replaceable” is a difficult one. Letting go of the old life and embracing the new life is the key to a successful retirement. Giving of yourself to several of the many good opportunities to volunteer is a key I believe. Living the “Thicker” life during our working years also will help us sustain the substance we can call upon when we retire. Whichever path we take, I believe it is important to not get so involved with our work that we forget what’s really important. Perhaps we need to look at how we define “success” and remember that our life on earth is just a blink of an eye compared to life in eternity with God. What’s really important?
September 29th, 2006 at 7:48 am
Amen, to suffering; “that which does not kill me makes me stronger,” as a perhaps-unexpected source, Nietzche, once wrote. “I don’t know why I am hurting but I know I will be better for it.”
As to the descent, I may be more sanguine because it has not yet arrived. At the same time, I look very forward to channeling the energies that helped my ascent into areas perhaps even more important. I ascended in some ways, but not others; I went up and left many behind; if they could not make the summit, it was their problem. On my coming descent, I might among other things make amends, and also give to others what I failed to give during my rise,
And there is this dimension: much of what I found near the top was not what I expected–beware of what you wish for. I have a closetful of shoes and a box full of watches, for example, and wonder why.
On the ascent, all you were was someone who was good, perhaps very good, at something. At the end, the question was, Was I good at everything that really mattered?
If I can know the answer is yes, I will have descended even better than I rose.
September 29th, 2006 at 9:01 am
You’ve nailed it here Dave. How counter-cultural to the messages we’ve been fed our whole lives. And turning away from that lie, and turning towards the reality that the thicker life comes in the descent, is at the heart of the struggle.
October 3rd, 2006 at 10:03 pm
Is there an alternative where we learn to live our lives in harmany with God’s plan for us? Can we, in our younger lives, be humble enough to cushion our descent or strong enough in our faith prepare us for the ascent? I think that Rohr has presented an accurate picture of society as a whole. I am wondering if I need to fall into those categories or if I still have the option of taking a different path. I think of it like those “GO AGAINST THE FLOW” t-shirts form several years ago. Because I live in the U.S. and go to an evangelical church am I doomed to fall into the same traps?
October 6th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Dave, Thanks so much for your book and for this website. I am a pastor in suburban Houston and am currently preaching a sermon series based on some of your insights. Not surprisingly, it has been a very popular sermon series! We are all so hungry to learn how to live this counter-cultural Way of Jesus in such a plastic world. Thanks for this ministry you do.