A very poignant and adult reflection from Dr Kania that seeks to give insight into the kind of relationship God seems to be calling us into. We all carry within us elements of both sinner and saint. How are we meant to navigate our way between these two polar opposites? An adult picture of a God who desires above all to love us. Not a picture of a God forever running around seeking to scold and punish us.

A poet with a sordid reputation to boot…

It is the 5th of June, 1455, a young Master of Arts of the University of Paris, François Villon is walking one evening along the rue Saint-Jacques. Villon is in the company of a girl named Isabeau and a priest, Giles. Soon the small company meets another Master of Arts student, Fr. Phillippe Chermoye Sermaise. A fight breaks out between the group and after daggers have been drawn, Villon strikes Sermaise dead.

After having his sentence remitted, pleading self-defence, Villon at the close of 1456 finds himself involved in yet another brawl, this time over a young woman, Catherine de Vaucelles. Beaten and disgraced he escapes from Paris and goes to live with his Uncle in Angers who is a monk. Hopes are held for Villon's redemption. However, soon thereafter in March 1457 officials discover that the chapel of the college of Navarre has been robbed of its extensive treasure — Villon is implicated.

Again in1461 Villon is accused of robbing another church and on this occasion is imprisoned for a brief period. So in light of such a resume, why should history recall a brilliant mind turned corrupt? Perhaps the words of King Louis XI make the reason clear: "I cannot afford to hang François Villon. There are a hundred thousand rogues in France as great as he, but not such another poet".

A study of the tension between good and evil within the human spirit…

Statue of François Villon

François Villon (1431-1474) beggar-king, thief, drunkard and street-brawler is also one of France's greatest poets, and the author of the majestic verse, Grand testament, as well as the beautiful words of lament on youth poorly spent, "Where are the snows of yesterday?" Villon is a study of the tension between good and evil within the human spirit. Capable of greatness, Villon with equal frequency could descend into episodes of depravity. On occasions Villon would write exquisitely on the moral life, giving the world such verse as: "I am a sinner, well I know/ But God does not want me to die/ He wants me to be saved, and so/Others as gnawed with sins as I/ Though deep in sin my life may lie/God still lives, with his compassion./If with remorse to Him I cry/In His grace He will grant pardon". (Villon, 2000, p. 29) However as if to torment those who prayed for his salvation, such episodes of sanctity were only too frequently followed by a criminal spree. Even a period within the quiet solicitude of the cloister in 1462, was followed by a notorious street brawl in Paris.

The Greek philosopher Plato in The Sophist has two protagonists, named "Theaetetus" and "The Visitor" conduct an avid debate. As part of this discussion both men arrive at the notion with regard humanity that "nothing can be said to be or not to be" for everything exists in a continuous state of "coming to be". According to the two philosophers, we cannot quantify or constrain the human spirit as being static, for each moment of time lends itself to a new person possibly radically different from that person who existed in the previous moment. Each individual is therefore a combination of moments which lead them toward eternity. As "Theaetetus" and "The Visitor" note, the purpose of life is in the striving to use these moments in order to become more and more aware of leading a good and moral life which is pleasing to God.

Each one of us has the potential to do good or evil…

Plato's debate has obvious applications for the spiritual life of the Christian. Each one of us has the potential to do good or evil, and to use the particular moment freely for whatever purpose we seek. As St. John Chrysostom points out: "Human beings are not consistent in the choices they make. One moment a person may choose to act in a most generous and self-sacrificing way; then a moment later the same person may act with greed and selfishness. Since God has given us freedom of will, he does nothing to prevent this inconstancy". (Chrysostom, 1996, p. 64)

The object of the spiritual life is therefore not only to do good which can be a servile enterprise, but to love goodness and to love doing good, which is based on a relationship with the Divine rather than a matter of simple obedience. This coming into goodness requires of the individual a consistent, and life-long daily change of heart, orienting oneself to God. Such a journey is filled with tempest when one considers even for a moment the many stumbling blocks that each day throws over even the most straightened of our paths. As St. Paul admits of his own struggle in his Letter to the Romans (7: 14 – 17, The New Jerusalem Bible), "but I am a creature of flesh and blood sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand my own behaviour; I do not act as I mean to, but I do the things I hate. While I am acting as I do not want to, I still acknowledge the Law as good, so it is not myself acting, but the sin which lives in me."

St. Paul's Letter reminds us with its honest self-revelation, that human nature is fundamentally too inconsistent for any of us to be perpetually good in this life. For this reason Christ taught that "No one is good but God alone". (Luke 18: 19, The New Jerusalem Bible) If we do attain elements of Godliness, as in the lives of the Saints, we are co-authors participating with God and not Goodness itself; we choose to bask in the Sun's glory, rather than claim to be the radiance Itself.

Getting the picture of God's relationship to us correct…

God in many ways is very much like King Louis XI of France casting judgement on Villon. He knows our worth and does not seek our total destruction, but desires that we come to realise our potential rather than destroy ourselves with ill-discipline and unrestrained illicit passion. God would have the good within us win the battle over ill, not out of fear of Divine retribution, but out of a desire to come to the fullness of life. As such, the Law is the last port of call for the spiritual person, for they do not base their lives on the dichotomy of reward and punishment – but rather seek as "Theaetetus" and "The Visitor" the good, and avoid evil for the inherent value of leading such a "good life".

So where are the snows of yesterday? Exactly where each of us leave them, either preserved in virtue, or destroyed by sin. The simple truth is that our yesterdays are exactly what we make of them today, and our only regrets are those ill-spent present actions which come to haunt our consciences in the winter of our lives.

Image Credits:
Clicking on the images in the body of the article will take you to the original source. The image used in the headline was sourced from: www.global-greenhouse-warming.com

©2008 Dr Andrew Thomas Kania

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