Gathering in Compassionate Communion

What does it mean to truly live in solidarity with those on the margins? Nathan Davis Hunt, part of the nonprofit Community Purchasing Alliance, explores the healing power of contemplative stillness—even in the face of overwhelming grief. Join the call to build a more compassionate and loving world for those living in poverty and need. Nathan writes: 

On the longest night of the year, activists, social workers, and faith leaders who walk alongside folks surviving the streets of Boston hold a memorial for our unhoused neighbors who have died in the past year. The ritual is a public witnessing of the dignity of those who are often discarded.  

As I work with people experiencing homelessness, organizing economic and racial justice campaigns with Community Purchasing Alliance. We work to build a cooperative of congregations and nonprofits who leverage their collective purchasing power to close Boston’s racial wealth gap. I was four months into my work when I was asked to collect the names of the dead for the annual memorial. 

As I called the numerous social service agencies to gather a list of names for the memorial, I felt detached. The grim task did not penetrate the layers of scar tissue accumulated over a lifetime of navigating a wounded and wounding world. 

And then, someone told me to write down the name “Gary.” I knew Gary. I walked alongside Gary for months, in awe of his relentless determination. I pushed back. I pressed for details. Gary had just got an apartment last month. Gary was the one who did everything right. But the caller confirmed it. Gary had been found the week before on his apartment floor.  

When I explain what I do, people often say something like, “Oh, that must be so rewarding!” After I hear a comment like that, I often experience a quick fantasy of punching that well-meaning person right in the throat. I’ll be honest—I’m not a natural contemplative, easily riding waves of Zen. Such fantasies of violence are a self-protective reaction to painful moments I have experienced in this work. Like the moment I found myself sobbing on a curb after learning that Gary really was dead. And it wasn’t the first time — or the last — I found myself struggling to manage a deep sense of grief and loss on a workday. 

To enter the world of those living on the edge of society is a sort of communion. We may call it solidarity. For me, it’s an experience of being plunged into a place awash in grief. This grief is a result of the unnecessary violence that our society continues to accept and perpetuate.  

When the great mystic Howard Thurman was asked what Jesus’ message was for those with their “backs against the wall,” he said that any religious message had to speak to the primary question on the lips of the oppressed: “How is survival possible?” For me, those of us who seek to confront injustice are faced with a similar question: “how do we survive this vocation that lives in the face of death?” Thurman says our survival lies in the unbounded freedom we find at the inner depths of our souls—in the place where the borders between God and the Self dissolve.  

In other words, survival begins in the healing silence of contemplative communion. In contemplative silence, we draw upon the Spirit which pours herself out in silent assurance of our own belovedness. This same Spirit also pours herself out for the liberation of the poor. As Jesus said at the outset of his ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to declare good news to the poor!”  

These two outpourings of the Spirit, for inner freedom and social freedom, are one. There is no union with the liberating Spirit of God other than the union we discover through participating in the work of liberation. Contemplation sets us free through love.  

I dream of the moment when I have a different kind of conversation with a similar well-meaning person. Instead of saying “Oh, that must be so rewarding!” that person becomes inspired to join in the work of building a world in which people like Gary no longer need to die. Such are the dreams that inspired be to be a part of the democratically governed, racial justice seeking cooperative that I now lead. 

Brazilian philosopher Paolo Freire described his hope of “the creation of a world in which it will be easier to love.” I share that idea. Indeed, that is my work. Together in gracious communion, through the Spirit’s continuous outpouring of love, we can become a healed and healing creation—a world in which the names of those who died before their time need no longer be collected.  

Reflect with Us 

What is your contribution to making the world place where it is easier to Love? Who inspires you to take action? Share your reflection with us. 

Nathan Davis Hunt is the Massachusetts Cooperative Director for the Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA). A seminary grad, wannabe contemplative and writer, Nathan attempts to root all his work in a spirit of solidarity, friendship, thoughtfulness, and laughter. Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA) is a cooperative that leverages the buying power of community institutions to accelerate progress towards sustainability, equity, and justice.  

We Conspire is a series from the Center for Action and Contemplation featuring wisdom and stories from the growing Christian contemplative movement. Sign up for the monthly email series and receive a free invitation to practice each month.