Does this question confuse you? It is a statement that has nothing to do with the dinner dishes. Rather, it is a question that the “young people” understand as a regular term in their vocabulary. You know, those people who do not know what a turntable is, they who laugh at the idea of an 8-track that you would take in and out of your car, and they who think a Walkman is way too clunky for anything. Our young adults and teens “sync” with regularity. They align all of their devices to make sure that each contains the exact same information.
It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to you, but “sync” is not a real word. It’s one of those terms that has been around our culture for centuries, since the Greeks. Recently, it has been hacked from the real term. The proper word is: synchronize. This was a term used widely in the military to coordinate operations, in the film industry to meld sound with visuals, and even in the world of sport for timing events and for accuracy in recording. So despite the fact that “sync” is a term that seems exclusive to our new technology, it is really a term of long history and presence in our culture.
Like so many cultural habits and terminology it is no surprise to find that everything old is new again. As I age I find a ringing truth in the old saw from Ecclesiastes: “There is nothing new under the sun.” For centuries, religious scholars and people of faith have recognized a truth when it comes to the spiritual life. This truth centers around the idea that the presence of God always brings order.
If a situation is falling apart, rife with chaos and full of controversy you can count on the fact that God is not present in the situation and/or the people. It’s unmistakable. The media today is pervasive, you can’t get away from it. Broadcasters talk about the “24 hour news cycle” referring to the fact that news today has nothing to do with solid information or responsible reporting. Instead, any piece of gossip, controversy or sensationalism is put out as news, just as long as it is less than a day old and the news organization in charge is “scooping” another news outlet. If it bleeds it leads!
In the middle of this modern day bedlam it’s easy to give ourselves extra credit for being up to date and in the middle of this mileu. Not everyone knows how to sync. The idea of “syncing” is not really a new one. As the wisdom of Ecclesiastes reminds us, though, maybe it’s not a good thing to completely throw out what appears to be out of date.
Father Tadeusz Dajczer († 2009, Polish professor of theology in Warsaw) makes a point about “syncing” that is worth remembering. He reminds us that when we choose to practice faith we are really seeking to be in touch with God. That’s the core of our desire. In that seeking is the fundamental fact of a life that recognizes the supernatural.
Faith brings change in us. Aquinas teaches that faith brings us closer to God’s knowledge and that by sharing in God’s life we start to see and evaluate things as through his eyes. So if you are aiming to deepen your spiritual self be ready to become a different person. Father Dajczer points out that “to have faith means to synchronize our thought with His thought and to identify ourselves with His thought. … Faith brings about our unity with God’s thinking and a [supernatural] sharing in the light in which God comes to know himself.”
So if you really desire to succeed spiritually and lend order to your life it is requisite to learn how to “sync” your own thinking and attitudes. Your devices are not the priority for what needs to be completely up to date.
Copyright© 2015, Kathryn M. Cunningham
Kathryn M. Cunningham
Kathryn holds a Master’s in Education from Saint Xavier University. Most recently she completed Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from The Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. This recent degree was part of a “retirement project” after teaching for 35 years. She has also worked as a spiritual director, music minister,council member and prayer team warrior. Kathryn has a deep interest in catechesis for the people in the pews. As a “sort of” convert she finds the wisdom of the Church a source for encouragement, joy and survival in a world not sure of anything. Her writing has appeared in diocesan publications and on-line sites, most recently for Zenit. To learn more about Kathryn check out her thinking at: www.atravelersview.org">ATravelersView.org.
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