A riddle- What we have all stopped asking

This most exciting question was discussed differently before: whether we needed a core, what commitment and journeying means, the influences of the "blue ants and the red ants" etc. Some of you might have encountered this before. Some of us might not know the details of those discussions and I think in general, this question has slowly lost its force at the back of people's minds.

Why have we stopped asking this question? Because the structures in place make me and perhaps many assume that the question is answered or that there are other people asking it. In place of this question is another more insidious and pervasive movement of efficiency that lies within our agendas and behind the manner in which decisions are made. This question is replaced by a work culture that has inevitably entered into the community's, that focuses on the pragmatic at the expense of the spiritual.

What is this question? It is a question that has been asked too often at one point in time, and have become completely non-existent at another. It is one that asks for the individual to ask within himself or herself, in Henry Nouwen's words, what deeply celebrating another's life is. It is a question that has brought many, myself included to be a part. That question has ironically has also made others leave. It is one that hides in the recesses of our being and begs for our attention because it asks what is fundamental- it is embedded in scripture, from the genesis of the first family to the Acts of the apostles. It hides behind the richness of the scriptural verse, "and everyday they met for the breaking of bread" and "when two or three are gathered in my name, there i will be".

Is there a need to ask this question? Archbishop fulton sheen said that this generation has "declined in controversy" and that the church loves controversy because the truth must be re-iterated in a different way to this generation that is one in constant flux. And that dialogue promotes appreciation. We must continue to encounter this question in the ways MSC has grown and evolved, simply because this growth shapes our understanding of this question and at the same time is as a result of it! This question also moves a person to ask "how can i contribute". And this is where the question stops being an abstract, theoretical or even intellectual one. It moves us to reflect on our relationships and moves us to be real. The questions begs our participation and prayer and makes sense of our realities, diverse as they are.

I will be quick to add that there is no final answer, or that there is even a right one. But that is not the point. What is most important is that you ask it. Simply because it is yours to ask. It is not a mathematical definition so that I can prove you wrong when you say two and two equals ten, but a question that is personal and posed to you and you alone. So if some say that the answer is "to find me some friends", that answer if it is not yours will be shown in the choices you make and the way you set your priorities.

And the challenge of the Church today, is to bring one deeper into answering that question. The challenge of our friends today, is to tear away our illusions that shoves this question aside. Finally, The challenge of MSC today is to bring one to encounter the answer.