Blijft niet staren = Stand And Stare Not, 1979 - 2000

In the enlightenment of Vatican II, Huijbers and Oosterhuis took their vision from the ecumenical and liturgical renewal mandated by the Council. No longer would they be bound by history. Huijbers explained in his 1969 book The Performing Audience, as reinterpreted in the book In Assembly Together (currently being readied for publication) that they were no longer the victims of the restrictive (repressive) patterns of worship engineered between the 10th Century Carolingian Reforms and consolidated by Trent in the 16th. Blind conformity and mindless repetition made no sense. Charlemagne, to create political unity within the Empire, had enforced uniformity over broad swathes of Europe. Apart from a few isolated pockets in the Balkans and mountainous regions of Italy, there was an absolute finality which pervades even in the aftermath of the Vatican II. Some 50 years on, the reforms of the Council are still undergoing the birth pangs of renewing the Church at an ontological level. Yet this is still being hindered by the hierarchical structures dating from the 4th Century imposition of a pagan Roman priesthood by Constantine. The Council's model of concentric circles replacing the pyramidic structure of authority has yet to see shared responsibility permeating the Church become a reality. The liturgical reforms in Amsterdam, orchestrated by Huijbers and a group of Dominicans, had focused on a renewed ecclesiology in the Dominicuskerk. Oosterhuis had been working in tandem with fellow Jesuit Jan van Kilsdonk in campus ministry, the Studentenekklesia, to restore Scriptures as the basis worship. By looking beyond the past and its emphasis on the redemptive suffering of Jesus, they looked to the practices of the Early Church which had informed the Council. They realized the opportunity had presented itself, to celebrate the Risen Jesus, who broke down all barriers. Despite the intransigent of the Hierarchy and lack of imaginative leadership, many actually pursue these reforms because they readily understand and continue to welcome them. This background information is important for the Church to understand this song. Since the Ascension, Jesus is entangled within the human condition, and is now experienced within the assembly of all who continue to gather for worship. Looking back will always be important, but being imprisoned in the past is no longer an option. The Church today is the prophetic voice of the future, and we are the participants who are repsonsible for bringing about an anticipatory universe within our grasp. During the first part of the 20th Century, the Jesuit scientist and mystic, Teilhard de Chardin, gave breath to this vision; more recently, systematic theologian John Haught is further developing the reality of this dream. This piece, Stand And Stare Not, is the anthem of such dreams being fulfilled.