{"id":1250,"date":"2018-12-13T22:17:54","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T04:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/?p=1250"},"modified":"2018-12-13T22:18:23","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T04:18:23","slug":"watching-and-waiting-with-thomas-becket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/?p=1250","title":{"rendered":"Watching and Waiting with T.S. Eliot"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love the poetry of T.S. Eliot. To kick off Advent, I recently got together with a friend and pulled out his play entitled Murder in the Cathedral<\/em>. It recounts the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket in the Canterbury cathedral on December 29, 1170. In typical T.S. Eliot fashion, he also offers much for our modern culture to think about.<\/p>\n

The play begins during Advent, on December 2. Becket is returning from France, where he has been living in exile for seven years, protected by King Louis (for whom the city of \u201cSaint Louis\u201d is named). Becket had been an old drinking buddy of King Henry II. They caroused and womanized together, as well as engaging in political affairs together. Becket was the brains behind Henry\u2019s operation. As chancellor, he helped the king forge a greater unity in the island and rule more forcefully \u2013 sometimes even at the expense of the Church. Henry thought it would be a brilliant idea to promote his friend and chancellor as the new archbishop of Canterbury. Then everything changed. Becket took his identity as priest and archbishop even more seriously than his role as chancellor. He embraced a life of penance and prayer. He resigned the chancellorship and led the flock courageously. He defended the religious freedom of the Church \u2013 even when it enraged his friend the king.<\/p>\n

The audience is presumed to know the basic story (back in 1935 in England they would have). By December 29, Henry grows tired of Becket’s unwillingness to compromise, he eventually cries out in anger, \u201cWill no one rid me of this meddlesome priest???\u201d Four of his knights pick up on his cue. They arm themselves with alcohol and swords and assassinate Becket at the altar during Vespers. After the fact, Henry II repented, doing penance at Becket\u2019s tomb. Sad to say, it was not the last time in England that a King named Henry would murder an ex-chancellor or a bishop over the issue of religious freedom. 460 years later, Henry VIII came along and killed both John Fisher and Thomas More.<\/p>\n

T.S. Eliot loves to explore the human heart. He offers the reader a window into Becket\u2019s soul during his moment of martyrdom. In the estimation of some historians, Becket obstinately and recklessly rushed into his death. They believe it was preventable. There is no question that he saw it coming. T.S. Eliot depicts Becket’s attitude in a way that shows true human freedom and fulfillment.<\/p>\n

The beginning of the play is set in Advent and offers some very Advent-y words. Becket foresees the end that is coming, but abides in a time of watching and waiting:<\/p>\n

End will be simple, sudden, God-given.
\nMeanwhile the substance of our first act
\nWill be shadows, and the strife with shadows.
\nHeavier the interval than the consummation.
\nAll things prepare for the event. Watch.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is not the actual moment of trial or martyrdom that is difficult. It is all the successive moments leading up to it. \u201cHeavier the interval than the consummation.\u201d Abiding in love, watching and waiting, is so much harder than a brief moment of pain. I think college students preparing for their final exam can relate!<\/p>\n

I have already written about the \u201calready but not yet<\/a>\u201d of Advent, and of our Christian existence in general. Christ comes to us at each and every moment, standing at the door of our heart, knocking and waiting patiently for us to admit him. We only live in the present moment and can only say \u201cyes\u201d in the present moment. Jesus teaches us that it is by being faithful in small things that we learn how to be faithful in large once. Our \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d to God\u2019s will in the present moment sets the stage for the Day of Judgment. That Day of Judgment is already present in each of those moments.<\/p>\n

Becket faces four tempters (played by the same actors who later enter as the four knights). One by one, he resists their efforts \u2013 tempting him to go back to his old pleasures of the flesh, to go back to the power of the chancellorship, or to ally himself with the barons and stick it to the king. Then comes the final and most enticing temptation: for Becket to position himself as a martyr, admired and honored, with his enemies reviled and repentant. Becket resists. The tempter even tempts him to think of centuries beyond, when his shrine is long since rotted and corrupted, but he will experience endless heavenly glory. Even there, Becket resists. Pursuing martyrdom, even for heavenly glory, would ultimately be feeding his own ego and dishonoring God.<\/p>\n

Becket renounces his pride. He surrenders his will to God\u2019s. He neither seeks nor avoids. He neither lets himself\u00a0 be a victim of fate, nor pretends to be master of his own destiny. He does not disagree with the words of one of the tempters: \u201cOnly the fool, fixed in his folly, may think he can turn the wheel on which he turns.\u201d However, Becket sees in faith that God<\/u> is the one turning the wheel. He positions himself in peace at the \u201cstill point\u201d in the very center of the turning wheel \u2013 neither active nor passive, neither controlling nor controlled. He is truly free as God\u2019s instrument:<\/p>\n

Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain:
\nTemptation shall not come in this kind again.
\nThe last temptation is the greatest treason:
\nTo do the right deed for the wrong reason\u2026
\nI shall no longer act or suffer, to the sword\u2019s end.
\nNow my good Angel, whom God appoints
\nTo be my guardian, hover over the swords\u2019 points.<\/em><\/p>\n

In holy and free receptivity, his prayer is like that of the Virgin Mary in the Annunciation: that it be done unto him according to God\u2019s Word. As each of us watches and waits for the final consummation of our own lives, may we also abide at that “still point” of God’s love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love the poetry of T.S. Eliot. To kick off Advent, I recently got together with a friend and pulled out his play entitled Murder in the Cathedral. It recounts the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket in the Canterbury cathedral on December 29, 1170. In typical T.S. Eliot fashion, he also offers much for our … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Watching and Waiting with T.S. Eliot”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[58,61,56,55,54,60,59],"tags":[48,99,113,81,111,112],"class_list":["post-1250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-renewal","category-reception","category-saints","category-scripture","category-spirituality","category-the-church","category-theology","tag-abiding","tag-advent","tag-martrydom","tag-saints","tag-t-s-eliot","tag-thomas-becket"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/becket.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1253,"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1250\/revisions\/1253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}