Most of us, as people of faith, live in the challenging terrain between righteous laws, the call to have true hearts and the call to be doers of the word.( Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 17 [22] Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9; Psalm 15; James 1:17-27; and Mark 7:1-8, 21-23.) Will power and moral struggle cannot resolve our dilemma. Neither can avoidance and withdrawal. Only a surrendering to being transformed can address the state of our hearts and all that flows into and out of us. Only following Jesus on the Way, on the path, can transform us.
I encourage you to consider what I wrote three years ago on The Heart of the Matter.
Back in the gospel of Mark, Jesus defends his disciples from the exactitude of some interpretations of the purity codes, by commenting on the hypocrisy of those who focus on the cleanliness of the cup and not of the heart, but he stops short of dismissing the laws themselves. And while some of us initially thrill to the defence of earthy and less than perfect outward behaviour we quickly find that the refocusing on the inner state of our hearts and minds and all that pours out of us is actually a more exacting and impossible standard to which we are called. For out of my heart pours judgement as well as compassion, meanness as well as generosity, anxiety as well as trust, rumination as well as letting go, and any number of other small and large failings that reveal the inner state of my fractured and all too human self.
Most of my adult faith life I have struggled not so much with the ideas of personal holiness (although my definition would be on the progressive side of detail) and the call to the perfection of love but on the need and ability to put into daily action the manifestation of a loving heart. Even when we lean into grace to cover our failure it doesn’t entirely solve the problem of becoming fully alive and fully human in the way of Jesus. That is, if we are concerned beyond being assured of our personal salvation, then there is no way forward but to surrender to the Jesus path of transformation. This is not so much about believing correct things, or even correct morality, but seeking to become, by grace and courageous commitment, fully present to the divine and filled with the divine where we are. Or as the community of those who practice centering prayer describe it “to consenting to the presence and action of God” in us.
Beyond ideals and will power and wishing the only spiritual practices that have really helped me to grow (an ongoing project of surrender and becoming) come from the contemplative traditions both Christian and other. A daily giving up and over of my ego’s striving and surrendering to the loving spirit of God. The practice and techniques of contemplation and meditation can help in the emptying of self to make room for God and neighbour; to allow the flow of the divine spirit into and through me so that the oneness of creator, self and neighbour can be experienced; and so that greater self awareness can help us perceive, challenge and change out internal behaviour that so often leads us to judgement, comparison, fear and blaming of the other.
In 2010 I had the wonderful opportunity to spend an all too brief summer internship at the Center for Action and Contemplation. I remember Richard Rohr making the comment that AND was the most important part of the name and that it was holding the need for contemplation and action that overcame dualistic thinking and living “By contemplation, we mean the deliberate seeking of God through a willingness to detach from the passing self, the tyranny of emotions, the addiction to self-image, and the false promises of the world. Action, as we are using the word, means a decisive commitment to involvement and engagement in the social order. Issues will not be resolved by mere reflection, discussion, or even prayer; nor will they be resolved only by protests, boycotts, or votes. Rather, God works together with all those who love.” Or in the language of James, we need also to be doers of the word.
There has been in the last century a great re-awakening of the ancient Christian traditions of contemplation. For myself I am grateful to the simple traditions of centering prayer; lectio divino; daily examin; and on occasion chanting and sacred dance. (This is of course in addition to the more formal study of scripture; shared liturgy; intercessions for the world and those I love; and spiritual direction.) Over the next weeks as we hold the holy tension between the teachings of Jesus and the treatise of his brother James; as we seek to accept the challenge of being liberated into the larger, more generous and yet also more all consuming way of Jesus and to be transformed into fully human ones, I will reflect on some of these simple practices that can help us grow from ideals to companions on the way.
To become companions of Jesus on the Way may lead us to take up traditional religious practices at times, and equally we may be encouraged to let go of practices that tie us in knots. Jesus meets us where we are as we are. As we companion him on the way we find ourselves invited ever further into the relationship that undoes us, that remakes and refines us, and leads us home to where neighbour and self are beloved ones.
This is my work informed by all I have heard, read and experienced. I am indebted to the wisdom of others. This week I am especially grateful to:
Cynthia Bourgeault, “The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind – A New Perspective on Christ and His Message”, particularly chapter 6 Kenosis: The Path of Self-Emptying Love, Shambhala, Boulder, 2008.
Cynthia Bourgealt teaching Centering Prayer
Richard Rohr
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