The
Goal
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Sunday, December 17, 2017
The purifying goal of mysticism and
contemplative prayer is nothing less than divine union—union with what is, with
the moment, with yourself, with the divine, which means with everything.
Healing, growth, and happiness are admittedly wonderful byproducts of prayer,
but they must not be our primary concern. The goal must be kept simple and
clear—love of God and neighbor, union with God and neighbor. Our common word
for this state of union is heaven. Wherever there is union, there
is a little bit of heaven.
Much of common religion is well-disguised
self-interest—high premium fire insurance for the afterlife—instead of
self-emptying love. Most of the official Catholic liturgical prayers ask in
some form, “That I or we might go to heaven.” (This is not a guess. I have
counted!) Is there no other priority than my personal salvation? If it is true
that lex orandi est lex credendi, “the way you pray is the way
you believe,” then it is no wonder Christians have such a poor record of caring
for the suffering of the world and for the planet itself, and the Church has
fully participated in so many wars and injustices. We have been allowed to pray
in a rather self-centered way, and that fouled the Christian agenda, in my
opinion.
Jesus talked much more about how to live
on earth now than about how to get to heaven later. Show me where Jesus healed
people for the next world. He healed their present entrapment and suffering in
their bodies, not just their souls. But many Christians, both Protestant and
Catholic, pushed the goal into the future, making religion into a petty
reward/punishment system inside a frame of retributive justice. (The major
prophets—and Jesus himself—teach restorative justice instead.)
Once Christianity became a simplistic win/lose morality contest, we lost most
of the practical, transformative power of the Gospel for the individual and for
society. I cannot state this strongly enough.
Objectively, we cannot be separate from
God; we all walk in the Garden whether we know it or not. The branch that imagines itself
to be separate from the Vine (John 15:1-8), acts as if it is
separate from God. We call the result sin, but the real sin is the imagined
state of separation. It is our own delusion and decision!
We came from God and we will return to God. Everything in-between is a
school toward conscious loving. As theologian Charles Williams (1886-1945)
said, the “master idea” of Christianity is co-inherence. “You
already know the Spirit of Truth; the Spirit is with you and in you!” (John
14:17). God is your deepest desiring. But it takes a long time to allow,
believe, trust, and enjoy such a wonderful possibility. We move toward union by
desiring union. We move into heaven by desiring heaven now. So just pray for
the desire to desire union. Then the actions will take care of themselves. - Fr. Richard Rohr
I have been told that one need only believe in Jesus to enter heaven. This is not what I was taught, but I've lost my need to disagree. I'm content with my own path and when the time comes we will see where it took me.
ReplyDeleteSherry, Richard Rohr and I do not disagree with you - we have more faith in God than many theologians/preachers. Thank you for reading and responding.
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