counter-cultural balance: part three...

NOTE: Today's reflection is part three of my contemplation/balance quartet. The previous postings have suggested that: 1) silence and solitude are an essential component to living as one fully engaged in the world; 2) our activity for peace and compassion is always a reflection of our inner/true condition; and 3) an open and peace-filled heart takes practice.

Once upon a time, one of my mentors - the Rev. Dr. Thomas Dipko - spoke to the people gathered in Tucson about my unorthodox and irreverent spirituality. He noted that within our tradition of Western Reformed Christianity, I was often the odd person out: my vision for ministry was mystical, my inner life was apophatic, and my spiritual practices were sacramental. In many ways I did not fit into the Congregational Way. The Eastern Orthodox tradition? Most likely. Perhaps even parts of the Anglo-Catholic heritage. But probably not comfortably within the often verbose, hyper-intellectual, Enlightenment-driven, rational and linear theology and practices of the United Church. 

And yet, there we were: celebrating the 20th anniversary of my ordination into ministry chanting contemplative Taize tunes in a candle lit sanctuary in the desert. Who could have guessed? As his homily concluded, Tom used a story from the Chasidic world to drive home the point that while our habits, intellect and preferences always have their place, what is most important in our journey with God in community is humility and patience. "There are many ways to sing the Lord's song," he smiled before saying:

One Yom Kippur, the Baal Shem Tov was praying together with his students in a small Polish village. Through his spiritual vision, the Baal Shem Tov had detected that harsh heavenly judgments had been decreed against the Jewish people, and he and his students were trying with all the sincerity they could muster to cry out to G-d and implore Him to rescind these decrees and grant the Jews a year of blessing.
This deep feeling took hold of all the inhabitants of the village and everyone opened his heart in deep-felt prayer.

Among the inhabitants of the village was a simple shepherd boy. He did not know how to read; indeed, he could barely read the letters of the alef-beit, the Hebrew alphabet. As the intensity of feeling in the synagogue began to mount, he decided that he also wanted to pray. But he did not know how. He could not read the words of the prayer book or mimic the prayers of the other congregants. He opened the prayer book to the first page and began to recite the letters: alef, beit, veit - reading the entire alphabet. He then called out to G-d: "This is all I can do. G-d, You know how the prayers should be pronounced. Please, arrange the letters in the proper way."

This simple, genuine prayer resounded powerfully within the Heavenly court. G-d rescinded all the harsh decrees and granted the Jews blessing and good fortune. The Rabbi paused for a moment to let the story impact his listeners. Suddenly a voice called out, "alef." And thousands of voices thundered back "alef." The voice continued: "beit," and the thousands responded "beit." They continued to pronounce every letter in the Hebrew alphabet. And then they began to file out of the synagogue.

They had recited their prayers.
(http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=567-02)

In some ways it has been uncomfortable to be an ecclesiastical misfit: I ache for silence when others yearn for conversation; I like to take a "long, loving look at reality" while activists hurriedly organize to get something - anything - done; I tend towards stories, jazz, and poetry yet my tradition was built upon precise theological doctrine; and I favor ortho-praxis (right action) in a culture searching for ortho-doxos (right belief.) Despite the awkwardness, however, I was blessed in each of four the churches I served with mentors in the outward journey. They became for me what John the Baptist was for Jesus. And their love, life experiences, prayers, and commitment to caring for others brought a measure of balance into my heart. Growing in community filled me full to overflowing as we faced joy, grief, birth, death, illness, and heart-break as one body.

It was in community that I found the words necessary to formulate a personal "rule of life" - a set of spiritual practices blending the inward/outward journey of faith - that also held value for doing spiritual formation in the local church. I chose the monastic expression, "rule of life," for two reasons. First, Western Reformed Christianity has lost any distinction between a life shaped by faith and popular culture. The early Church, however, came into being with a mission: to show the love of God through living compassionate lives, and, to train others to be disciples of grace. The very word church, ekklesia, in Greek means "those who have been called out." Out of our habits, out of our culture, out of our addiction/obsession with empire. Without a guide or map we inevitably get lost. Our cousins in Judaism look to Torah, the other side of the family, Islam, looks to the Holy Qur'an. We look to Jesus who taught us at the start of the Sermon on the Mount:

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

To live as a holy people - unique and called by God to express the charism of grace in the world - a rule is essential. The rule gives us a vision - and as the ancient prophets of Israel said, "Without a vision, the people perish." That is the first reason for using the monastic words. The second is more subtle: all religious traditions have touchstones. To name our formation guide a rule links us to sisters and brothers in other faiths so that we never think ourselves better than others. This has been an historic offense in Christianity -  and addressed openly only in the past 50 years. We honor our different and unique callings, yes, but never at the expense of others. We are connected to God's wisdom in all of our spiritualities. Our "rule," therefore, serves as a shepherd leading us beside still waters, guiding us through valleys of the shadow of death, restoring our souls. To speak of our rule is to recognize all rules on the journey into deep ecumenism - or generous orthodoxy - in this season of confusion.

A SIMPLE RULE OF LIFE: Following Jesus in the 21st Century

Five touchstones guide my journey. They begin with the stories of Jesus in the New Testament and ripen by celebrating both the Via Negativa of Eastern tradition (apophatic spirituality) and the Via Positiva of the West (kataphatic practices). The Serenity Prayer is foundational in this rule, showing me how to focus my mind on God's peace and learn to see with the heart. The wisdom of our era has a place in the rule, too by recognizing Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences (i.e. verbal, logical, bodily, musical, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic) as well as the personality traits explored in both the Myers-Briggs typologies and the Enneagram. (The fourth installment of this reflection will add commentary to each of the touchstones listed below.)

+ Silence and solitude:
     - the solitude of restoration: rest and relaxation
     - the solitude of exploration: wrestling with our demons in the desert
     - the solitude of formation: study and personal reflection

+ Simple Acts of Compassion: living into 10 foot rule
     
+ Unplugging from Empire: the "quiet refusal" of Jesus

+ Feasting in community: challenging fear and despair at the table

+ Public acts of solidarity: standing with those in need

credits:
+ https://fineartamerica.com/featured/hasidic-playing-the-flute-boris-shapiro.html
+ https://resource.acu.edu.au/ankelly/Chapter7.htm