By Stan Le Quire of Eastern University and Jay Renfro, member of Nashville A Rocha
Jay and Stan are two guys who dream about changing the world. Together, they are reading Paul Farmer’s To Repair the World. Paul has a great reputation as someone who changes the world. This week, Jay and Stan are talking about the second chapter, “Epiphany, Metanoia, Praxis: Turning Road Angst into Hope—and Action”.
JAY TO STAN: “There seems to be an unfortunate dichotomy in our conversations about the work we do. Either you can be successful or you can help people. That mind frame assumes you either have to be an artist or devote your life to a non-profit, but you can’t really be both and do both well. What are the consequences of these nasty assumptions and what how can our epiphanies and metanoias not end up in praxis that conforms to that pattern?”
STAN REPLIES: You are right. I bemoan this dichotomy all the time and I, too, fall into this trap. As a professor of sustainable development, I find my students are idealists who are truly committed to changing the world. And I know they will not be “successful,” as society defines success. Their school loans assure at least a few years of struggle! The consequence of these “nasty assumptions” is angst, but not the redeeming kind that Farmer is talking about in his second chapter. This angst is more like a dis-ease of always being hungry for more, for better, faster, richer. At some point, we have to give up on these greedy pursuits and focus on one good thing that we can accomplish with our lives of service. Jay, have you ever heard that saying, “Speak truth to power!”? I think that is the crux of what Paul Farmer is asking his listeners to do: look for epiphanies, wait for metanoias and and engage praxis that will speak truth into our world. Truth satisfies the real hunger in our world.
STAN TO JAY: In that second chapter, Farmer says, “What could be more soulful than allowing yourself to be open to epiphany and metanoia and so to know the suffering of others?” (page 28). Farmer encourages the graduates to seek epiphanies, metanoias and praxis. For examples of those who have searched, he shares the stories of Clarkson and Dallaire. Up to this point in your life, Jay, have you had any epiphanies, metanoias? What are they? If you have not had any of these experiences, do you believe they will come? And, how do you conduct yourself as you wait?
JAY REPLIES: Whoa, getting personal are we? Just kidding. My epiphany story starts in my high school years, when I started becoming a serial missions trip attender. I went a lot of places and came to know the suffering of others in a number of different ways. But the actual epiphany came when I started reading scripture on my own (a dangerous thing to do). I had known there was suffering in the world, but I soon came to see the Christian’s life as a way to ease that suffering. So I became enamored with the question, “How does a Christian live in today’s society in a way that eases the suffering of the world around him.” That’s the question as I can articulate it now, but of course I didn’t really know what I was searching for then; I just had a really strong feeling that I ought to be doing something.
That epiphany—that the Christian life is something distinct and a healing balm of sorts to the world— was one that I couldn’t shake and as it marinated, it led to a gradual metanoia (change of heart). It started out as just a thought, but soon it became something that possessed me, me like that alien from that movie Alien, gnawing at my guts. My praxis (action, I guess) is that now I’m really screwed up. I have a hard time imagining my success as something separate from sacrificing your time/talents/whatever for other people. Some people have had other epiphanies—about the environment, stopping slavery, combating hunger and poverty– and when you have epiphanies like that, you really have no other choice but to live them out and do something. I mean, you can choose to ignore them—but they’ll just get you later, when you least expect it and your guard is down.
Add a Comment