"...long obedience in the same direction... something which has made life worth living." Nietzsche
A statement regarding the Oaken vows:
“I heard that, but I don’t really understand it,”
After praying the Celtic morning prayer for two years now, I’m having a deeper understanding of myself and why I need prayer and structure to remind me of God’s faithfulness, both to me and this world. The power of words as the frame for our life’s deeds mirrors the beautiful portrait of the incarnational spirit of the Scriptures – life-breathing words repeated throughout generations.
There’s times like now that I know I won’t want to get up in the morning. I know that lying in bed tomorrow I’ll be forced with the choice of whether or not I want to get up early to pray or just stay asleep.
There’s times like yesterday when I wanted to pray, but knew not what to say… until the scriptures were read. My heart was filled with the imagery of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites in the form of cloud and fire and my prayers followed those images on into the work place.
Perhaps our vows are similar to liturgy. Though the grasp of what it says or why people want to say it (sometimes over and over) may not always be there, the commitment to a discipline of “long obedience in the same direction” continues to lead us despite the lack of personal wherewithal. Though not necessarily easier in community, this commitment gains mass “in the same direction” and propels us along the Way when we’re willing to be in this for good, together.
Sometimes vows can only be lived, not fully understood. Marriage. Christ’s flock. We’re just trying to love one another.
posted by mcblogington @ 12:22 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
There's a strange connection between being profoundly quotable and having a tendency to go insane / suicidal, isn't there?
thus spoke willithustra.
well put, willistrustra, and well self-monikered. i suppose the worth of one's obedience depends upon the source of dependence and the direction of the moving.
nietzche's long obedience landed him in a straightjacket, so to speak. ironically, a long obedience to the way of christ leads to true freedom, though many think the opposite. good to see, oak types, that you're trying to embody communities that demonstrate otherwise. --cmar
sometimes i feel like the dumbest member of this here blogging circle. and i'm okay with that. thanks for your comments, amigos.
what exactly was it that nietzsche was obedient to? when the direction of obedience is compass-less, can one actually go anywhere but insane? perhaps the straight-jacket was his last ditch effort to be obedient to something, anything.
Well, I'm sure I was conveniently over-reaching a bit when I proclaimed the reason for Nietzche's mad season. He could have lost it because of a brain tumor for all we know, which is an oft-proposed theory.
I've never claimed to fully understand Nietzche's writings anyway, so take what I write with a mug of mead. --cmar
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