Looking at our cultural and religious
shifts over the past few centuries Richard Rohr, Franciscan author and mystic,
writes in his book The Naked Now “We moved
from wondering to answering, which has not served us well at all. This reached
its nadir in what we today call fundamentalism, common in almost all religions.
Let’s start wondering again.” The more I study the Bible the more I wonder.
The more I read of scientific discoveries and breakthroughs the more I wonder.
The more I listen to the stories and experiences of people the more I wonder,
the more I am drawn into the numinous. This wondering does not always need to
seek answers, sometimes it is content to remain in the realm of awe and
mystery.
In his book The Other Side of Silence
Morton T. Kelsey writes “For many
Christians mysticism is either illusion or delusion…a flight from reality and,
even worse, a flight from Christian morality and responsibility… Yet those who
call themselves mystics speak of finding the goal and fulfillment of the
religious quest in their experiences. They suggest that the meaning of religion
lies in the reality which they encounter through this inner realm and, in
particular, that the inspiration and power of Christianity comes from this
reality. It is just such experiences, they find, which open us to the source of
love (God) and bring us its creative and heroic energies.”
Perhaps my real awakening to mysticism came
from an experience I had while participating in a simple worship service at the
Qu’Appelle House of Prayer. I had gone out
to this retreat centre seeking a spiritual director, thinking this would help
me with some struggles I was having in my vocation at the time. I was not even aware
there was a service scheduled until I was invited to stay for worship if I
wanted to. I was forewarned that the worship would have times of extended silence. In my mind I thought this might be boring,
but in my spirit I felt a compulsion to stay.
That contemplative worship service surprised me by its quiet power – I
experienced the love of God pouring into me in a way that was healing and renewing,
affirming and comforting. It was a
transitional and transformational moment
for me.
Contemplation began to be part of my
religious experience, and I began offering contemplative worship services at my
church (first with something I called Ambient Vespers, then with an
alternative worship experience called Mysterium which has been running for
over 5 years now). It was through these
contemplative services that I discovered there were many others who also found
this form of worship, this approach to prayer, deeply meaningful. This was prayer as listening to God rather
than prayer as a list of requests made to God.
Contemplation was enriching my spiritual life. Richard Rohr writes “Contemplation refuses to be reductionistic.
Contemplation is an exercise in keeping your heart and mind spaces open long
enough for the mind to see other hidden material. It is content with the naked
now and waits for futures given by God and grace.” (from The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See)
Perhaps many would still hold that mystics are
people who are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good. This has not been my experience, and nor is
it true of most of the mystics I have read about. Carl McColman, in his helpful volume TheBig Book of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality
writes “Mysticism is about immersion in
the great stream of Christian thinking, from the wisdom of the Bible to the
teachings of the great mystics themselves. But it’s also about putting down all
the books and retreating into silence and solitude to encounter the God who
calls you to love. And then it’s about returning from solitude to engage in
real-world life and relating to other people in love and joy, in conflict and
challenge, in suffering and trials.”
No comments:
Post a Comment