Move from Here to There

Move from Here to There

Memorial of Saint Clare, virgin

For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of his faith, shall live. (Habakkuk 2:3-4)

Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."  Matthew 17:19-20

Piety

Study

Haba-whok?  In the cycle of daily readings, we do not come across readings from the Prophet Habakkuk very often.  When we get a reading in the sequence every other year, there are only three short chapters from which to draw one annual selection. (There are only two other books in the Old Testament which are shorter.

Scholars explain that two crucial events frame Habakkuk’s prophecy: the great Babylonian (Chaldean) victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish (605 B.C.) and the second Babylonian invasion of Judah (587 B.C.), which ended with the destruction of Jerusalem. The desperate conditions in Judah during these years, arising from internal and external threats, provoked Habakkuk’s struggle with difficult and important theological questions about divine justice.

The prophet complains about God’s apparent disregard for Judah’s inherent evils in language that echoes the preaching of prophets like Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.  For the Law to be credible, the Habakkuk wants the Lord to punish the wicked and reward the just.

Despite the bleak outlook, the Lord tells the prophet to “write down the vision.” Writing down the vision can serve several purposes.  First, a troubadour may carry and proclaim its contents to the people.  Secondly, the written document serves as evidence, so the fulfillment of the vision is known and verified.

Conditions in the church also were bleak in the days of St. Clare and her divine inspiration Francis.  Clare chose to leave the world and enter religious life, first as a Benedictine before founding her order of sisters and writing a Rule for Life. We now know them as the “Poor Clares.” 

The cathedrals for these saints are just blocks apart on a hillside in Assisi.  Francis is known for the San Damiano cross before which he prayed and was given his mission/vision to “rebuild the church.” The actual cross upon which we model our replicas and icons hangs in the Basilica of St. Clare (which sits higher up on the hill than the Franciscan church at the base) and on the other side of the village.

During our 2008 visit to Assisi on Good Friday, we started our pilgrimage at the top of the hill and walked down, stopping first at Santa Chiara before moving down to the Franciscan monastery and basilica.

Action

Sometimes the cultural world of humanity can be frustrating as Habakkuk and Clare found.  They put their trust in God.  Richard Rohr reminds us to find our place in the world as well.

“Go out into the natural world and look with God’s eyes; listen with God’s ears; know your place within God’s good creation.” (Richard Rohr)