"Seeing Beyond the Illusions"
Fr. George Wertin
Sunday, February 29th, 2004

Anthony DeMello, the Jesuit priest and spiritual mentor who died prematurely 15 years ago used to say that we are sleepwalking through life. What we need, he said, is AWARENESS. That’s what I mean when we talk about “seeing beyond…” this Lent. In other words to be aware is to be free of illusion. DeMello also used to say that we find it incredibly difficult to let go of our illusions. They numb us and we become comfortable in our illusions.

That’s why I was delighted with the wonderful story about “The Emperor’s New Clothes” that was the focus of our Ash Wednesday service. The emperor had been deceived into thinking that anyone who wasn’t fit for their office or was unforgivably stupid wouldn’t be able to see the magical clothes. And when he couldn’t see the clothes he became duped and wouldn’t admit that he couldn’t see them. And so the emperor paraded around in his invisible clothes and all his subjects admired them…until an innocent child exclaimed, “The emperor has no clothes on!

So often we make Lent a time to change our behavior. We strive to change the engrained patterns of our lives. This Lent I suggest that we, instead, examine our attitudes. I suggest we see if we need to wake up from our illusions and become aware.

Let me propose what seem to me some of the greatest illusions that pervade our culture today. No only do they pervade our culture. They are reinforced by government, corporations and the media every day.

• We are told that happiness will come from more and greater prosperity.
• We are urged to rely exclusively on reason to solve our problems.
• We are told to take care of ourselves and forget about others.
• We are told that domination through violence is necessary to save us from evil. I ask you is this a healthy and authentic way of living or is it an illusion and just another way of interpreting the temptations Jesus faced?

• Can we see beyond progress and prosperity and find new ways of celebrating life that are not based on addictive consuming of things.
• Can we see beyond to more holistic and creative ways of solving problems than just using our heads?
• Can we see beyond our own needs and work for the common good? In other words can we develop healthy communities.
• Finally, can we see that using power to dominate over other people only breeds more violence and oppression?

But there are signs that we are waking up. There are signs that we are transforming the principalities and powers. Think of the changes from 40 years ago: the recognition that we cannot just dominate and exploit nature. We are constantly expressing concern about conservation, the environment and ecology. We place high regard on building healthy relationships in families and communities. There are prophetic social movements: civil rights, feminism, human rights, alternative health care, inclusivity of all in our society. People are exploring peace studies and nonviolence. We are conscious of the importance of meditation and spirituality.

We need to reclaim our Baptismal vows. But we also need to ask who - or what - is the Satan whom we renounce along with his works and pomps. Here at St. Joan’s we often give them a contemporary relevance by stating them this way:

• Do you reject the lure of evil as it calls us to selfishness and sin?
• Do you reject the attraction of seeking success for yourselves through fame and fortune?
• Do you reject the false promise that you can achieve security and happiness through the possession of this world’s goods?

We find ourselves lured by the dominant culture with its glitter and slick advertising. We are pulled by the appeal of instant gratification and domination. But we also find within ourselves a yearning to wake up and see beyond our addictions and our sleep walking.

Meister Eckhart says it so well: “God is not attained by a process of addition to anything in the soul, but by a process of subtraction.” In other words we need to see beyond…and let go.

Let me close with a short Japanese parable about the sun and the mirrors. It goes like this: if we reflect the great sun’s rays back to her, maybe she will return to the dance of life.