Mission Monthly – May 2004
“He smiled. It was as he had always thought and she had not the slightest idea of what she was and what she did. That was as it should be, for to have begun to know her value would have been to begin to lose it.”
From The Dean’s Watch by Elizabeth Goudge
I must be honest, this month’s quote has not come from my own reading but is a beautiful passage from a book my Mother-in-law is reading. It obviously made an impression on her and in sharing it with me I obviously was also impressed. The fictional “she” character is a virtuous old woman named Miss Montague who possessed a depth of wisdom and humility. She called herself an “antiquity.” She was a woman absent of presumption and full of “quietness and receptivity.” Miss Montague touched me as a true matriarch, unassuming and yet extremely powerful in her lack of self-importance.
Pride is a cunning sin. Like the “prowling” one himself, pride seeks to devour Lord’s image within every man(1 Peter 5:6-11). As a sin of violence, pride eats away at the spiritual viscera of one’s own life and distresses the horizons of all we see and do. Pride twists all that is good, allowing it to appear as it was, while actually distorting it into an unrecognizable form. The Prophet Isaiah expressed this completely in the well known passage, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (5:20). Pride deceives, deludes, defrauds, deforms, and destroys.
Why am I so impressed with the humble Miss Montague? Maybe because I’ve never met anyone like her. I have met parts of her in many people but never completely in any one person. She is one in whom the Kingdom of God is present and presented in a life set apart (holy), naturally providing safe haven for others where the only need to “prove” oneself is through the quiet and sincere pursuit of virtue. Maybe one day my own nature will reach this fine woman’s nature, for now I suspect it is my own need for “refuge” which draws me to her character. In an era where old age and life’s experience are disdained by a youth culture that disregards and distrusts tradition, I find myself yearning for patriarchal and matriarchal figures to comfort and encourage me while navigating the volatile demands of our “post-modern” society. But I suppose if I were to seek this from Miss Montague she would probably respond, “Why all the fuss, my boy? Time is a thing so soon to be finished with. Why not let it pass slowly through your fingers?” I am sure she would see much in our society as “selfish and ridiculous” and wonder why people so often seek their joy in the “intractable and explosive stuff of human nature.”
There was no sense of entitlement at all in the life of Miss Montague, which tells me another thing; she was a woman of deep appreciation. I am always concerned about my own capacity to be thankful; and as priest I am also concerned about helping others examine and increase their own sense of thankfulness. Thankfulness is the bedrock upon which our faith must be founded. The greatest gift God ever gave to His creation is the Gift of Himself—His very Body and Blood. Holy Communion is the common English term, but more accurate is Holy Eucharist. “Eucharist” comes from the Greek, “eu(f)charisto”, which simply means, “Thank you.” God Himself comes into us when we receive the Holy Eucharist. My response to this gift absolutely cannot be examined apart from my thankful (or thankless) responses in all areas of my life. Sadly, I often see a diminished spirit of thankfulness and an increased sense of entitlement permeating many areas of our lives. The spirit of complaining inevitably follows and we find ourselves no better that the Israelites who complained against God after being set free from Egypt. When asked whether or not she should “expect” a certain level of respect from within her society Miss Montague replied without complaint, “I do not have the right.”
Miss Montague knew that the depth of her value was only truly seen through the eyes of God. It was said of her that she could not take her eyes from the incredible glory of God’s love. When we take our eyes off of God and forget to be thankful, ultimately we can lose even what value we do have. Much of anyone’s sadness or discontent can be found in a lack of freedom from self-importance. It was also said of Miss Montague that as far as it was possible for a human being in this world she had turned from herself. “For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it” (Luke 9:24). Thank you, Miss Montague, for helping me see a little more clearly the meaning of these words, and the freedom and joy that this sweet “saving” can bring.