Original Unity

Abstract

Thomas Merton’s vision of the original unity of humankind speaks of the oneness of the inner life of the Trinity. It is a vision that we need and one that the healers among us can offer us, whether they are acting as doctors or simply as Christians.

Some years ago when selecting the daily devotional I would use for the coming year, one filled with reflections by Thomas Merton caught my attention. I have always been touched by his vocation story, his insight, and his wisdom. I even collected, over time, a full set of his journals. So with the devotional in hand I undertook a yearlong, deep dive into this very complicated man’s philosophical, psychological, and spiritual journey. I found his ability to open his mind to all that is possible in an intimate relationship with God both inspiring and challenging. I am certain that his withdrawing from the world into the cloister of the Monastery of Gethsemane was part of what made this possible. Even in that confined and isolated space—something I can identify with more and more as a result of this pandemic—he went on a far-ranging journey in his quest for knowing and loving the Lord even more.

I have always heard it said that some of the most profound thoughts and words that we have are shared in the final moments of our lives and I believe it. I recall Sister Stella at St. Joseph Hospital sitting with my wife and me the night before her dad died. When he was most lucid and talkative Sister said, “a candle often burns most brightly just before it goes out.” It was true of my father in law, and it seems it was true of Merton as well. Regardless of how one looks at the course his life took, and in spite of the criticisms that are levelled at his theology, I found his last journal entry a thing of crystalline clarity, challenging, and profound.

The last thing that Merton wrote in his journal is a lesson for us all. Merton was in Asia to participate in a conference with religious leaders from many diverse backgrounds; he was a featured speaker. This is what he wrote on that trip:

The deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless. It is beyond words. It is beyond speech, and it is beyond concept. Not that we discover a new unity. We discover an older unity. My dear Brothers and Sisters, we are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. (The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton)

Thomas Merton died of an accidental electrocution in his Bangkok hotel the next day. I recalled when I first read this how very much I wish we could have known the direction his thinking and writing would have taken him next.

Perhaps what we need to explore is that original unity. Throughout scripture, we hear Jesus praying to his Father. He prays a prayer for unity among all of us, that we be one as He and the Father are one.

In John’s Gospel Jesus challenges Peter about his love for him (John 21:15-19).

Three times Jesus asks the never-in-doubt Peter whether he loves him. Three times Peter answers yes, even getting what seems to be a bit testy with his third response…You know that I love you! The important part is not in Jesus’ asking or Peter’s responding in the affirmative. What matters, at least in my thinking, is Jesus’ follow up comment…Feed my sheep…Tend my lambs.…Feed my sheep. I think Merton would approve. We need to find the original unity that holds us together in our diverse lives and journeys and we find it in service to others.

The prolonged suffering of this pandemic is creating an environment where too many are looking for the “scapegoat” that can be blamed or used as an excuse for division, vitriol, and even violence. If we truly love, we have to show that love in the way that we act with and toward one another, in spite of our differences. If we truly love, we have to develop the most powerful bond of unity among all of God’s creation; that does not come naturally to humankind. Our “oneness” with all, our sense of solidarity and compassion and concern for every “lamb and sheep” will become the lasting testament of our commitment to love that is the core of what it means to be Christian.

Those in health care, especially physicians, can show us a way to do that, I think, and that is a witness we need beyond the walls of the physician office or hospital. When I look at the diversity of the healthcare team both in approach and in training, there is little uniformity. Doctors are not nurses; respiratory therapists are not laboratory technologists. Even within the narrower categories, there is often disparity of vision and approach. Anyone who has heard surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists discuss the best way to treat a patient’s cancer—and then heard nurses and social workers add their two cents—also understands that opinions are sometimes strong, diverse, and opposed. But ultimately the treatment team comes together to care for a person. They come together around a body and as a body, and in that, they discover communion and unity, though they continue to be very different and, sometimes, to disagree. Their deep original unity as healers transcends their individual perspectives and does so because they serve a common goal: the health of their patient. They somehow understand that communion Merton speaks of, and that Jesus calls Peter to, and it carries both them and the patient to a new place of health and healing. I witnessed this when my wife was in hospital for heart problems; her care reminded me of a dance among the caregivers, almost choreographed it was so smooth, but also incredibly responsive to her changing needs.

This is a glimpse of the original unity that Merton speaks of, of the oneness of the inner life of the Trinity. It is a vision that we need in this increasingly angry and fragmented world. It is one that the healers among us can offer us, whether they are acting as doctors or simply as Christians in the quiet of everyday life. And when that unity does not exist—as surely it does not among humankind—may their striving for it serve as a beacon for us all.

Biographical Note

Deacon Dennis Dorner, BA, is a permanent deacon and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Atlanta as well as the Director of the Permanent Diaconate for the Archdiocese. He has coordinated the Eucharistic Congress for the Archdiocese of Atlanta for the past eleven years. It is the largest and longest running Eucharistic event in the United States.