Vows (part III)

In the book Order of the Sacred Earth, Matthew Fox gives concrete examples of how an important premodern human reality, such as that of making vows, can be transferred into our postmodern times and consciousness. Not by replicating the same identical forms, but through transformation and adaptation.

Even though the Middle Ages in Europe were a much more pluralistic era than we are used to thinking — absolute uniformity is a modern value — the vows that all monks were taking, in order to be supported by the vows themselves during their lives of service, were essentially four: poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability.

Each of them can become a trap, especially in our times, if taken up mindlessly. Today, they must be rethought. No vow makes sense out of context, and no vow makes sense unless it is thought through very deeply by the person making the vow.

Poverty — Matthew explains — becomes an awareness of the value of simple living and of resisting the dominant cultural myth about consumerism.*

Chastity becomes a heightened sense of responsibility in our sexual relations. In fact, it is extremely relevant to recognize the sacred dimensions to sexual experience, the return of the wild God of passion amidst mutual exchange and communication and pleasure-giving. But sex cannot be treated wantonly or as yet another object for consumption.

Obedience is about governance, but — as Matthew underlines — we have come a long way since a vow of obedience meant to obey the admonitions of “father abbot.” I know contemporary monastic communities trying to couch this vow as “obedience to the Gospel,” which is a fine ideal, but in the end says nothing about how the monastery is governed. More simply, and more radically, obedience now means that we cannot fight the monster alone. We belong, and we must abide by the self-determined democratic rules of our tribe.

Finally, stability, which used to mean never leaving the monastery, can be reinterpreted as faithfulness to a bioregion, which can be properly defended only when it is well-known and well-loved. Matthew writes: This relationship to place is also the meaning of humility, which comes from the Latin word for “earth.” Creation Spirituality is not about an abstract love but about a local love as well as a cosmic love.

The ecological qualities of these four vows are explicit in their revised postmodern form. Loving and defending the Earth — the basic vow of the Order of the Sacred Earth — gets articulated in four aspects, which can also be seen as grounding the person through the seven chakras, as explained by Matthew in another book, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh.

The first chakra is the locus of humility, earthiness, love of one’s home and its surroundings, i.e. the vow of stability; the second chakra invites pleasure-giving in responsibile relationship, i.e. the vow of chastity; the third and the fourth chakra through the expression of righteous anger and compassion for all are at the core of the fundamental undertaking as love/defense of the Earth; the fifth chakra is about not swallowing in hate or grudges, i.e., the vow of poverty; the sixth and seven chakras are about finding out rational ways of solving problems in order to get connected to all beings, i.e., the vow of obedience/belonging.

While none of this is easy, I insist that we need our tribe and we need maps that help us walk through the “dark night of democracy” and the “dark night of the Earth” — as Matthew calls them — that are prepared for us at this time. We must make use of the circumstances to become the fierce and loving beings that the Creator always intended us to be.

*All quotes from Matthew Fox and Skylar Wilson in Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action, pages 38-46.

Banner Image: Sister Simone Campbell of “Nuns On The Bus” speaking up for justice at the Whitehall / South Ferry terminal, lower Manhattan. Photo by Thomas Altfather Good on Wikimedia Commons.

Queries for Contemplation

What maps are you adopting for your spiritual journey at this time?

Related Readings by Matthew Fox

Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action (by Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, Jennifer Listug)

Prayer: A Radical Response to Life

Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society

Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation (by Matthew Fox and Adam Bucko)

A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality & The Transformation of Christianity

Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth

One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths