The Next Step

“One cannot remain immobile where the political and aesthetic customs and potentialities are so conspicuous and compelling: one must take another step.” — a letter from Boris Pasternak to Kurt Wolff discussing Merton’s letters to Pasternak shared in Merton’s Journal, A Search for Solitude: Pursuing the Monk’s Life (October 31, 1958)

So, how can we remain immobile, paralyzed by the political, ideological, and theological crisis we are facing today? We cannot remain immobile! To be honest, there are days when I want to escape to some sort of sanctuary (a place of solitude, or a hermitage) with Denise. Especially as so much of the church at large is imploding into itself instead of bravely embracing the new potential that we are being called to as Christ-followers. Looking not to the past with longing but to the future with hope and expectation is, I believe, taking the next step.