Be resourceful and courageous

In this season, we easily feel angry and passionate about things. We are deeply frustrated about the problems of our time, the small Corona crisis and the big Environment crisis. We show our wit in the media by pointing to the political causes of the problem. In the end however, our sharp view gets lost in an ocean of views. It needs to hide our helplessness and despair in solving the planet’s problems.

In this Sunday’s lectures, Christ assembles his own self-made whip and chases all merchants out of the temple, fulfilling the prophecy: “The passion for God’s house will consume me”(*). Christ’s anger was a sign he cared and so is our anger a sign we care. His anger made him violate the local rules. The rules did not serve their purpose anymore.

When we obediently follow the rules, we may be safe at home and safe for criticism, but a lot of people will miss our compassion and companionship. We may feel very sorry for ourselves, but the Corona crisis hits the poor and the lonely most, those who live in narrow spaces, alone or with the elderly and the sick. They are the victims of the Matthew effect of Misery. Our blind obedience to the rules, without compassion, does not serve any purpose. How can we violate the rules in a smart way? When the impossible needs to be done, we need to look for virtues of people who are used to do the impossible: boy or girl scouts, engineers and entrepreneurs. Resourcefulness and courage are needed most in these impossible times. They are the basis of our resilience.

The word resourceful doesn’t exist in Dutch. We say ‘finding-rich’ (vindingrijk) but this word actually means inventive. The meaning is close however. Resourcefulness is the ability to recognise hidden resources and combine them in a smart and courageous way to achieve the impossible. In the overdose of news we get, I sometimes discover wonderful stories of resourcefulness and courage. The question is whether you can cultivate these abilities or whether you need to be born with them. It is a bit of both. Resourcefulness and courage are powerful blends of virtues and talents (so-called ‘gifts of God’).

(*) Footnote: there is a growing tendency in the catholic church to interpret God’s house as our planet Earth. The lecture can therefore also be understood as a teaching not to mess with the planet.

Inspiration from an article by J. Haers, Kerk & Leven 2021/09.

Picture: Water mill at Arenberg Castle, Leuven ©Wim Lahaye