By Ajung Sojwal

There’s a certain assumption of purity, maybe even holiness, around the notion of simplicity.  But, the other day, it dawned on me that the state of being simple, uncomplicated, with freedom from guile, which the dictionary calls simplicity can be a dangerous allure. Dangerous, because such an imagination devoid of subtlety, complexity or diversity has no capacity for transformation. 

In the midst of all the suffering brought on by the pandemic, one thing has emerged more clear than ever— nothing can be taken for granted, not even who I see myself as. Never would I have thought that the simple act of wearing or not wearing a mask would produce such strong reactions from within me. That which I associated with a visit to my dentist and forgotten by the time I opened my mouth wide on the reclining chair became a political statement that soon morphed into a theological meaning of neighborly love. 

In the face of startling complexities in life that vexes me to no end, I thought I should be reaching for simplicity, especially in my faith journey. To my surprise, I discovered that my quest for simplicity is not so much a yearning for the holy life as it is a need for security and control in a complicated world. In many ways, it is profoundly reflective of that ancient story of Babel where the powers that be sought to control and silence all other variations of human expression in the imagined simplicity of one language. Today, I am willing to look at my faith journey, my relationships, including my relationship with God as a painful process of surrendering my imagination of the holy life in the essence of simplicity. 

The allure of simplicity, I suspect, has given rise to the absurd belief that the faithful practice of following Jesus can be exemplified only in a particular way of life by a certain group of people. In reality, the truth of following Jesus is far more complex a story for any one group to lay claim on. Even so, I find myself all too willing to be seduced by a shimmering white vision of simplicity that is mistaken for spiritual well-being. Christian discipleship is, I am discovering, far more color-full and complicated than my reductionist mind imagines it to be. 

Brian Maclaren in his podcast, Why can’t we see? talks about our complexity bias that makes our brains prefer a simple lie to a complex truth. That is the challenging place I find myself in these days — the complex truth of who Jesus is, the complex truth of who we are, and the complex truth of following Jesus in a world that virulently insists on controlling a narrative of the “simple and pure” Christianity. My hope clings to the astounding welcome of God that keeps open the invitation to the holy life of reflecting God’s beautiful complexity that refuses to be captured in my quest for simplicity.    

Ajung Sojwal is Rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Hempstead, NY.