Where the Trouble Lies
Scott Cairns
January 1, 2003
Without question, for those who have pored over Scripture, the language of our daily conversations can sound a little hollow. For those who have leaned into the words and deeds of the fathers and mothers of the Church, the grim and gritty aspect of our own daily lives can appear impoverished. For those who have tasted the sweetness of prayer, the familiar repetitions of the praise chorus can seem like very thin soup. For those who have, on occasion, glimpsed the face of Jesus in the face of another, the world can, more often, pose a decidedly discouraging aspect.
Without question, when we have a look around and we behold the state of our alleged union, we may conclude that something about our situation is acutely diminished from a prior and a richer circumstance.
Still, when we speak of "re-enchanting the world," I think that we run something of a risk-the risk of imagining that it is the world that has failed us. Thereafter, we may be tempted to suppose that we are the innocent heirs of a flawed inheritance. We may be tempted to conclude that there is little to be done about our dissatisfactions. We may be tempted to imagine that-whatever must be done-it will be as a correction of the world. I have a hunch that this is not entirely the case. Our circumstances may appear manifestly flawed, but we are not innocent. If there is some correcting to be done, it must be undertaken much closer to home.
I have a hunch that the world is as enchanted-and as potentially enchanting-as it ever was, but that we have become-either through diligent labor or through blithe indifference-immune to its charms. I have a hunch that the world is, even now, absolutely haunted by holiness, but that we walk though a dense cloud of witnesses, blind to ...
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