I read the award-winning, “Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War” by Nathaniel Philbrick when it was first published in 2006. It was a fascinating read. Among other things, it took me deeper into the reality of our origins than the American myths taught in elementary school; myths about the Pilgrims’ altruistic, inclusive beliefs, the idealized stories of the First Thanksgiving with friendly Indians, as well as the rather fanciful tales of a national origin emerging at a prayerful banquet shared around white, cloth-draped picnic tables laden with an abundance of food.
Since 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage to America and the establishment of the Plymouth Colony, Philbrick’s great book is in paperback complete with a Second Edition preface. So, I have read “Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War” again. New insights are jumping out at me.
I suspect that it is because of our significantly divided time, but one of those insights has been discovered in the horrific struggle the Pilgrims had finding an affordable ship that was sea worthy, a trusted captain and crew to sail her, and being sufficiently provisioned for a new world destination about which they had not the first clue.
After having been swindled out of life savings, fraudulent behavior by persons’ hired to buy what was needed, and weeks of delay which thwarted the Pilgrim’s goal of being on their way by mid-summer of 1620, one of their number – suffering a heart attack because of all the stress – wrote, “We are readier to dispute than to set forward a journey.” So much for the good old days. So much for making America great again. By the way, remind me, when was that exactly?
While there are always advances and achievements, history teaches that journeys to a brighter tomorrow are routinely thwarted, greatly delayed or limited in scope because of our all-to-human propensity to be ready to dispute rather than set forward on a journey.
It seems that hatred, dishonestly, cheating, efforts to enshrine racial superiority, and all manner of “disputes” of one kind and another are always, if not out in the open, somehow standing down and standing by. Sometimes such behavior is even encouraged. But is it too naïve to think that even though each generation has its challenges and examples of repeated bad behavior, we are making progress?
I once knew a seminary president who was impressed with himself. He liked to dazzle dinner guests in his home with vocabulary intended to convey his profound thinking. In commenting about humanity moving forward in terms of overall improvement, one of his phrases was, “we are always equidistant from perfection.” Really? Nothing changes for the better? We never move the needle forward … even a little bit?
This seminary president seemingly did not think so. This phrase was his way of making the point that, while there are all-to-brief exceptional high moments of social advancement, humanity does not make over-all progress. In this seminary president’s view, at least in terms of achieving a more just and loving world, each generation experiences the same human spirit failings and corruptions as the generations which have preceded it. The world with its human sufferings just keeps on spinning with the same old consequences. There is never anything new under the sun. Again, really?
While I have my times of doubt that we are moving forward, I think it would be horrible to be stuck in such age-old cynicism that chronicles all the reasons to think we are treading where we have always trod. I think it would be so defeating to be stuck in Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes thinking. “A time to die. A time to love. A time to hate. A time to kill and on and on with the idea that there is never anything new under the sun.” I think it is corrosive of the spirit to think that in any given moment and in any given time, we are “Equidistant from perfection”. And only ready for times of dispute rather than ready for a voyage of discovery.
We all are aware that these are extraordinarily difficult days of dispute and many voyages having been put on hold. I am more than tired of it. I am weary of virtual meetings, family zoom encounters and socially distant spacing. I am weary of sequestered living and hand washing protocols. And, I am absolutely exhausted by majority political leadership that ignores it all and instead creates super spreader events with the virus of hate and purposeful division by exploiting ancient prejudices all the while replacing fact with conspiracy theory.
But, what about vaccines against such things? Do they not enable us to move the needle…just a little bit?
The ancient Book of Hebrews – and particularly Chapter 6 – sets before us the daily choice; the daily choice of thinking about and participating in the “Same Old Same Old” or following in the way of one who promised life in abundance. It is not easy in the face of recession of all sorts, but there are these paraphrased words to live by:
Let us go on toward perfection… not just laying the same foundation, but building new and better upon the meaning of our foundation…We are people who have been enlightened by the hope of love and who have tasted the heavenly gift which love always is in us and others...We have experienced the Holy Spirit and its great shining in our lives. We have tasted the goodness of God’s word and the great spiritual powers which are yet to come…We are the earth which drinks up the rain from God that falls REPEATEDLY. As a result, we live lives producing useful crops… God is not unjust. God does not overlook our work and the love we show to others in a life of service…Be diligent so that you might realize the full assurance of hope to the very end. Do not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Indeed. Let this be so in me so that MY NEEDLE MOVES FORWARD! I do not have to be – and am expected NOT TO BE – equidistant from perfection.
As hard as it can be at many times to be positive, or to think that we are on an exciting voyage of discovery, we must refuse to be overcome and undone by the power of cynicism. I for one want to be transformed by the power of hope and always ready to be vaccinated by the best discoveries against the plague of deadly infections of despair and hate.
I do not want to be guilty of being more ready for a dispute than taking a great journey. I want to dream of taking such a journey, renewing my passport, and using it!