The Echo, or the Voice?

I've been a bit consumed at night researching my martial art, which is called Sanjuriu. Apparently, it matters to a handful of people out there what style you are taking and whether or not your style can claim a pedigree line that dates back to a particular instructor with a proficient set of credentials.

My research and my questions led to an hour long discussion with my sensei. During this conversation, we talked about what we know, what we don't know, and what's important about either. My instructor ended our conversation with the following question:

"David, what you have to decide is do you want to be the echo, or the voice."

I knew exactly what he meant, and felt no additional need to discuss the matter further. People obsessed with lineage and history are clinging to the echo of the past in order to claim legitimacy in their training. People who master their own circle allow what they have learned and practiced do the speaking for them.

I suppose there is some truth to be found in lineage and history, but great martial artists are not made from paper and diplomas. They are born from hours and hours of practice and demonstrated proficiency in their techniques.

As usual, my mind wandered off with these thoughts into the world of Christianity and my personal faith. As Christians, we have both a lineage and a history. There are those who like to argue and debate such things... self-appointed textual critics who can inform us via scientific analysis whether Jesus lived and if he really said the things contained in the gospels. Such individuals are bright and probably decent people, but they are nevertheless an echo of something gone by.

My mind also wandered to one of my favorite thinkers, Mahatma Gandhi. He once said to Christian friend:

"I do not like your Christians, but I like you Christ. Your Christians are nothing like your Christ."

It occurred to me that here we also see the downside of choosing to be the echo. It's somewhat typical these days to claim authority and legitimacy because of our history. It's easy to quote scripture verses at people and echo a time gone by. But quoting the right verses at the right time is a product of having a voice, not echoing something because we think the power rests "way back there" in a magical time and a far away place.

The same is true when I hear people say, "We've never done it that way before," or "I've been a member of the deacon body for over forty years, I have the right to X, Y, and Z." Again, these are only echoes of the past and claims to legitimacy that hardly matter in today's world.

I am not dogging the past, or saying the past isn't important, but when we choose to stop in the past, without applying and using it in the future, we lose our voice. Jesus preached a famous sermon in which he started several sentences like this:

"You have heard it said .... X .... but I say .... Y ...."

John the Baptist is referred to as "the voice" crying out in the wilderness. He was a voice because he took the echoes of the past and applied them to the present.

Likewise, Paul the Apostle trained a young man by the name of Timothy. He said, "Let no one look down on you because you are young, but instead set an example..." In other words, don't let the echo tell you that you aren't good enough, wise enough, or pure enough to lead. Instead, be a voice. Let your life be your voice in the kind of example you set for other people.

Jesus said it himself, when he stated to his disciples: "You will do greater things than this..." In other words, you and others like you are going to be voices just like me.

The statement by my sensei has me thinking about a lot more than just martial arts. I am doing some soul-searching, trying to figure out exactly whether my personal faith is just an echo from the past, or a voice that speaks to the present. I encourage you to join me in these thoughts.

Until then,

Peace and Love