Sojourner - Simone Weil

1909–43

Simone Weil covered a lot of territory in her thirty-four years—spiritually as well as geographically. Born into an agnostic Jewish family in France, she had a keen mind, learning classical Greek as a child and Sanskrit as a teenager. She also had a deep-seated ethic of compassion for the needy.

Simone became well known among European intellectuals as a philosopher, teacher, and writer. Many admired her for throwing herself into causes she believed in. Once she left a teaching position to work at a factory for a year in order to connect with the working class. She publicly debated the Communist leader Leon Trotsky but also graciously hosted him at her parents’ home. A few years later, she fought in the Spanish Civil War against an oppressive dictator. It turned out she was not a very good soldier, and soon she was in Assisi, Italy, recuperating from injuries. There, in the hometown of St. Francis, Simone had a mystical experience of Jesus. A year later, reading a poem by George Herbert, she had another—reporting that “Christ Himself came down and took possession of me.”

Faith did not tame her wild intellect. It seemed to give her a whole new dimension to roam in. Many of her existentialist friends weren’t sure how to handle her conversion. There were questions—was this for real, or some kind of soul experiment?—but also admiration. Camus called her “the only great spirit of our time.”

During World War II, Simone left France for the United States and then England, but she still tried to support the French Resistance. She limited her diet to the meager rations eaten by those under the German occupation, and this severely weakened her, keeping her body from fighting off tuberculosis, from which she died in 1943.

Many of her writings were published after her death, including Waiting for God and Gravity and Grace. Few would agree with everything this freethinker wrote, but it’s clear that God was in her thoughts.

The apostle Paul wrote about how God transforms us by the renewing of our minds (see Romans 12:2). How is that happening with you? Has Christ taken possession of your thinking? Is he inspiring you, exciting you, and energizing you to throw yourself fully into his abundant life?

[Jesus said,] “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”

Matthew 22:37