Thomas Berry says that the universe itself is a wisdom text. One piece
of wisdom that text relays is that chaos is a necessary step in the organization of the universe. As Susan
Elizabeth Phillips notes, “If we want to embrace life, we also have to embrace
chaos.”
Most of us have difficulty embracing chaos. We prefer the known because
it is familiar and gives the illusion that we are in control. Ironically, the
key to giving in to the chaos that brings life is to cling to just one thing:
faith that God will lead us and lift us up through the companions who have been
given to us.
This concept was illustrated in a short video clip I saw recently. A dog
that appeared to be a black lab was being swept downstream by rushing water.
Despite its predicament, it refused to let go of a large, stout stick it was
holding in its mouth. As the black lab came around a bend, another dog standing
on the bank, a golden retriever, grabbed hold of the end of the stick and used
it to pull the black lab to safety. If we cling to faith in God and our
companions as that dog clung to its stick, the chaos of life won’t sweep us
away, and we will be brought to a new place.
Our society is in a great deal of chaos today, but as is the way of the
universe, something new will be born out of it, and we will ultimately survive
and thrive through faith in God who leads us and through our companions who
accompany us.
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