Center of the Universe

"You don't understand. We are at the center of the universe."

Pretty audacious words! So who do you think said it? And when? In what circumstance?

Could it be CEO Ken Lay explaining Enron's creative accounting?

Could it be President Lyndon Johnson justifying the bombing of Cambodia? Or President Bush addressing his decision to invade Afghanistan and Iraq?

Perhaps it was WalMart executives moving into another community with a SuperStore or into China to find cheaper labor?

Or maybe even a Pope, pick a Pope, any Pope-- could you imagine a Pope saying such a thing?

What do you think?

The answer is: A Carmelite nun! College students, spiritual, but not religious, in the early seventies, who as part of a religion class at University of California, Santa Barbara visited a cloistered Carmelite monastery. A sister met them at the gate talking and listening through the small grate in the door opening into the cloister. They asked endless questions. "How can you live in such isolation? How do you have any affect on the world situation? Don't you care that people are dying in Vietnam, that Blacks are oppressed in our nation, that the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer? How do you even know what's going on?" And after many patient responses-- "We listen to the prayer requests that come to us, so we know what is going on." "We have families and loved ones of our own." "We have come apart in order to find a different way." And finally, "You don't understand. We are at the center of the universe."

Still an audacious response!

Unless you consider that the center isn't the same as being on top. It is not an above the world position, but a deeply hidden, mysterious center not accessible by ordinary means. It cannot be conquered by force. It cannot be purchased for any price. It cannot be build by the best of intentions. It can only be recognized, accepted, honored and lived from-- apart from the ordinary ways we live and understand. It is what Jesus called the "Kingdom"--it is within/among you, he said. It is like a seed growing in the ground, we know not how. It is like a tiny, insignificant thing which grows into something huge and meaningful. It is something worth more than anything we could ever find. It is not something we find, but something which finds us. It is outside the control of emperors, presidents, CEOs, Popes and billionaires. It is accessible to the poor and wretched.

What would it be like to live out of center instead of striving for the top? How would life be different if the world were oriented toward the middle rather than up and down? Maybe it wouldn't be so strange to say, "We are at the center of the universe."

P Moe 6-8-05