Practising Patience in a Culture of Outrage
A Long-Forgotten Lesson from Jonah
There is little doubt that our modern, interconnected world delivers us no shortage of occurrences to be incensed at. From the realms of politics, secular or ecclesial, economic or ecological frontiers, all the way down to what he-or-she said to you-know-who after Mass just the other day. Outrage and indignation seem to be high-value cultural currency in daily conversation.
Over and over again we hear the cry, "Someone needs to do something about this!" Or perhaps even "We need to do something about this!" It's exhausting, isn't it?
The Easy Way Out
Well yes, of course it is.
Much of the time it can feel as if we are powerless to make meaningful change, and those who could seem apathetic to points of current social frenzy. Yet hour by hour another set of headlines, another onslaught of notifications, another development in that situation we know a bit too much about.
It can be easy for a Catholic to wonder how we're supposed to live in peace when outrage is so easy.
The answer, I fear, maybe a hard pill for some of us to swallow. Because outrage is easy. It's nearly comforting how self-righteous we can be without any personal cost or obligation. But it is a fire that we are fuelling with our own time and energy, and it will turn us into an ash heap if we warm ourselves too long by it.
Rebel Without a Clue
Call to mind the prophet, Jonah, for instance. Scandalized by the task God had given him, he ran away. "It's Nineveh," He could have told himself, "Those people are awful! They might even kill me for doing that." He wasn't wrong.
He was just taking the easy, angry way out. Well, we all know how that went for him. Some of us may not know that even after he had been "persuaded" to do as he was asked, he became even more upset with the result! Instead of finding joy in a great work of God's mercy at repentance, he stewed on his frustrations outside of the city in the blistering, deadly heat.
Hopefully, most of us would wish to avoid becoming so jaded. So with that in mind, allow me to offer you a home-grown proverb for those moments when we feel aghast.
"Outrage is easy, but patience will purify."
That's right, the answer to our outrage is patience. Not frenzied activity or frustrated simmering, but active and discerning patience.
Return to Roots
St. Paul tells us in Galatians chapter 5, verse 22, that patience is a fruit of the Spirit. The thing about fruits of the Spirit is that we don't grow them ourselves. It is a work of God we must abide in. "I am the vine, you are the branches, whoever abides in me and I in them bear much fruit…" Our Lord informs us in John 15.1
Patience then, and an abundance of it, comes from our dwelling in Christ. This is granted to us innately in our baptism but is also actively exerted in our life of prayer. Our "return to roots" in each of our spiritual lives, if you will.
Interestingly a couple of verses later in John, we are told, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." Indeed, in the case of our outrage abiding in Christ for patience doesn't mean never doing anything.
Quite the opposite.
It can and often does involve taking the correct course at the best moment. But this is exactly where patience comes in. We must wait for the heat of the emotional flame to dwindle, relinquish our instinctual need to jump into the fray and wait, discerning the will of Christ for us in those moments. Then we can ask properly, with his words abiding in our hearts and souls, and be confident in our Father's providence.
Uneasy Purification
It's not easy by any means. I think it's almost purgative in the way it trains us to wait on the Lord's timing. But if we want to stop choosing the easy way of outrage, we must learn to have our intentions and timing purified by this patience the Spirit is growing in us.
"Do not be conformed to this world," the Apostle reminds the churches in Rome, "...but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Perhaps even reading this short piece you feel some frustration bubbling up.
"This guy doesn't understand!" You may think, "If only he knew..." That may be so, but again I say in response, "Outrage is easy, but patience will purify." Pause. Breathe. Take a moment to be with the Lord and remember your baptism. Be transformed and renewed anew, and discern from there. Maybe if we each put this into practice a little more often, we'd be less frustrated and more fruitful in our ministry as salt and light to the world.
NRSV-CE