I remember seeing a Roman churchman being assailed by a gushing, smart Alec interviewer on some issue that involved his having taken some action that would displease many Australian people. 'Aren't you afraid that doing such a thing will cause you to be seen by others outside the church in a negative light?'
'I have only one primary commitment, he said, and that is to please the One who is the divine head of the Church. I am much more concerned about His opinion of us than of any other person or group of people in Australia or anywhere else.' The reporter suddenly lost all her gush! I suspect this occurred because this churchman wasn't playing by the normal rules the media operates with: that self-presentation (Goffman) or 'impression management' is always centre stage and therefore every word and gesture is calculated to put one's self in the best light. But, what do you do with someone who has a higher calling than that?
On another occasion I heard a Cistercian monk being interviewed about the work of his particular abbey and being asked, 'Do you make cheese, honey, plough the land and grow crops?' 'No, said the monk, we simply pray.' The interviewer was entirely thrown by this answer because to 'simply pray' didn't fit into his notion of proper work. The monk went on to say, sensing the young man's puzzlement, 'that we believe that all of the energy of the good work done in the world comes via prayer!'
And, I sometimes wonder with the world's ability to squeeze the Church into its mold (Rom 12: 2, Phillips) http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/JBPNT.htm, that we have lost a pervading sense of the divine 'audience of One' (Os Guinness) http://tinyurl.com/ysa6kq who calls us for His glory and His pleasure alone.
