"fadder, ah live in a tragique gap!" whispered a Cajun woman from the bayous.
I was baffled by her words. She proceeded to describe her situation. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, a divorced, unemployed daughter decided to return home and to live with her. The intervening months, the mother said to me, were "a nightmare!" "There was nothing I could do to make her life better. I could not throw her out in the streets." Unfortunately, the mother added: "ah was stuck with her!" I lost touch with this long suffering mother and have no idea what happened over the years. But the memory of her words, "living in a tragic gap" inspired me in several talks I conducted. It was during this period I became acquainted with the legacy of John Woolman, an American Quaker, born in 1720 and died at the age of 52. His brief life gave me a powerful insight into what this Cajun woman meant by living in a tragic gap.
John experienced an awakening, a koan, or as his faith belief describes, "a leading from God" that slavery was a moral abomination and that his fellow Quakers should free their slaves. Mr. Woolman, a tailor by trade, was absolutely convinced of his inspiration, mounting a personal campaign by pleading with his fellow Christians to abandon the practice of slave labor. His belief went so far as to refuse to eat any meal prepared or served by slaves. He always dressed in white because dyed clothing was a product of slave labor. His day to day life was tested beyond what most of us would tolerate. He preached constantly against slavery and lost many friends who thought he was a lunatic. His reputation as a just and honorable man was admirable. For 20 years, he lived in this gap between what he knew was right and what his people believed. Eventually by sheer will power and by his exemplary conviction, his message was received. Quakers were the first religious group in the US to free their slaves some 80 years before the Civil War.
What I learnt from this Cajun woman and John Woolman is patient conviction and a refusal to despair. In a tragic gap, a person learns courage in a 'mess' and a deep gratitude to God. I can well imagine how these individuals wanted to give up, to say life was not worth the fight, the effort. Few of us in our century want to remain vulnerable indefinitely. Yet there is a long list of people who have lived in the tragic gap.
Like all such stories, we are invited to think about our moment in history. Changes do not happen immediately like instant messaging. Do we avoid any venture in the tragic gaps of our lives? Are we too afraid? Courage and conviction are not easily obtainable. +Don Ronaldo.
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