I’ve had a lot of responses to
my several messages about the tension between my personal growth, while on my
solitary spiritual path, and living my life within combinations of group or
pluralistic settings, which is where I personally receive my spiritual
sustenance. Comments like:
- · “Can’t I just go out and sit in the woods where I feel at one with Nature?”
- · “I get this feeling of the Truth of the Spirit while I’m in church on Sunday – the services are always so uplifting.”
- · Or my 98-year old aunt who went to a church where the only music was a cappella congregational singing: “It wasn’t a real church service, Donnie. There was no music. Church without music isn’t church.”
I think people are looking for a
spiritual experience - positive, familiar, uplifting – and they associate those
feelings with the concepts of Salvation and Grace.
Some things I just know. And I
know I know. How? I just do. It’s the difference between the two Greek words
for “know.” One is oida, as in Mary
“knows” arithmetic. The other is ginosko
(from which we get gnosis), as in
Mary “knows” me.
Gnosis: It’s not a rational knowing. It’s a visceral knowledge. I
know (oida) I’m trying to discuss
what I cannot explain and it’s hard. I’m trying to put into words a Truth I
have experienced and a Reality that has transformed me. But, for me, this Truth
is the essence of Grace.
Many comments I received
described how religious or church experiences are the “spiritual community” of
choice. I truly understand where these subscribers are coming from and I am
also very wary of the “emotions of apparent grace” that many were trying to
describe: feelings of euphoria; feelings of confidence; assurance from their
“knowing” (oida) the truth of the
Pauline Gospel – Jesus died for me, I believe in Him as my Lord, I have nothing
to fear for I am saved from eternal damnation.
Underneath this discussion is
the tension between Love (Grace) and
Fear (Egoistic Thinking).
Let me explain.
My experiences have led me to
trust the quiet small-group-sense of grace I enjoy (at least most of the time).
As I stated last week: The Holy Spirit
touches me through the words of honest sharers within discussions of accepting
groups– be they formal or informal. That’s where I come to grips with me. It is
where I hear compassionate honesty. It is where I feel safe to share myself
honestly. Hearing honesty and sharing honestly – I desperately need both.
Small groups. Honesty –
sometimes rather brutal. Quiet. Non-Judgmental and Accepting. Safe enough for
me to honestly reveal the real me. That is where I often experience Grace.
However, Grace is not some kind
of intellectual knowledge that dispels fear.
That description of “grace” is dogma and its fear-dispensing quality is
very temporary. Grace is not a temporary emotional euphoria. It is a quiet,
confident knowing that “all is as it
should be – right now for me.”
There are groups that excel and
thrive on their ability to create a manufactured emotional high. Two that often
come to mind for me are pre-game pep rallies and political conventions. I think
I could also make the same case for mega-church productions with 100-voice
choirs and choreographed big-screen videos. The aim – produce an intense emotional
response from the audience, and people get addicted to these short-term emotional
highs. Watching these professional productions is like watching a Broadway
production of Les Miserables – when
it’s over, you’re ready to grab a pitchfork or musket and march forth into
battle for freedom, truth and justice. It’s a truly wonderful, but very
short-lived emotion.
This kind of manufactured emotional
high does not dispel fear. It only temporarily covers it up with a flood of emotion.
But my experience has shown
that’s not how spiritual growth really works. I may be mistaken, but I cannot
recall any instance in the Bible where true growth or insight came from
emotional, orchestrated, mass-produced tugs at our heart-strings. From Moses
(alone on the mountain) to the prophets (alone in the wilderness), to John the
Baptist (living alone in the wild eating locusts and honey), to Jesus (fighting
his demons during his solitary 40-day fast) to Paul and his private
“revelation” on the road to Damascus – all these were where the spirit of the
Lord came to them. The only exceptions I can think of are Jesus triumphal entry
into Jerusalem (on Palm Sunday) where the crowd’s euphoria lasted about 4 days
before the fear of Roman authority took over and everyone dissolved into the
shadows. Or the reputed experience of Pentecost as reported by Luke in the Book
of Acts (Chapters 1-2) – a highly stylized and very dubious historical event,
since virtually no other New Testament writer mentioned it.
Spiritual growth, Grace and
Truth – all this comes to me where I hear compassionate honesty and where I
feel safe enough for me to share myself honestly.
Although these messages are
mostly for me, thanks for listening. As always – feel free to forward this
message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual
journey.
Don.
#2 September, 2013
Copyright, 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment