But the original Greek text of Luke 17:21 is deliciously ambiguous. While it does use a word that means "on the inside," the phrasing of the verse suggests a plural meaning inside "all of you," or, inside the community of believers. So the paradox is that we find heaven and the key to contemplative life by turning both within ourselves as individuals, and to one another in a community of faith. The richness of Luke's message helps us enter fully and truly into the contemplative life. As aspiring mystics, we must turn both within ourselves as individuals to cultivate a deep and rich interior life, and to a community of faith where heaven is found within and among the family of believers. And indeed, Jesus tells us so: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Matthew 18:20).
If the kingdom of God is within you, then your strategy for exploring the mystical life will naturally include disciplines such as meditation and contemplation. As worthy as such practices are, your journey to divine union must be supported by immersing yourself in a community of fellow men and women who are trying, as best they can, to figure out what loving Christ is all about.
GO TO CHURCH
If you're already part of a faith community, feel free to skip the rest of this chapter and move on to the next. The rest of this chapter is written for those who yearn to explore Christian mysticism but who are not currently members of a church. If that's you, please take a deep breath and read on.
The first step toward the practice of Christian mysticism is to engage with the Christian religion. I don't mean just reading the Bible and the writings of the mystics, or saying prayers, or attending a retreat at a monastery once in a while. I don't mean just showing up at a church every now and then. I mean getting involved with a community of others who are following Jesus, and making this community a priority in your life: which includes showing up every week, getting to know the people there, making a financial commitment (no matter how modest it may be), and actually participating in a class or a service project or some other volunteer activity.
I know that some who read this book will insist that this is the last thing they want to do. But trying to experience the splendors of mystical Christianity without becoming part of a community of fellow seekers makes about as much sense as trying to become an attorney without going to law school. Just as the first step to practicing law is making the decision to attend law school, so the first step on the Christian mystical journey entails making a commitment to be engaged with others who practice the faith, even when they are not mystics.
If you are adamant that you want nothing to do with Christian community, then you are declaring to God and to your deepest self that you have no desire for Christian mysticism other than perhaps just wanting to learn about it. If you desire more than just knowing about Christian mysticism, and actually want a living mystical relationship with God through Christ, the first stop on the journey involves getting to know others with a similar hunger for Christ's presence in their lives.
The Franciscan friar Richard Rohr defines a Christian as "someone who's met one." It's a wonderful definition in that it neatly encapsulates the key role that community plays in the life of communion with Christ. Just as the Christian understanding of God is grounded in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) living in eternal co-communion, so the heart of Christianity is found in relationships, in communion, and in love. Unlike many other mystical traditions, Christianity does not narrow the goal of mystical spirituality to "becoming one with God," as if the ultimate end of mysticism is annihilation of your mortal self in an experience of cosmic divine union. Rather, Christian mysticism invites you into eternal communion with God, implying a joyful dance of ever-increasing love and delight in relationship with God, and through God to all people (and through all people back to God).
Relationship forms the heart of Christianity, whether we are relating to God or to one another. Christianity undermines the idea, prevalent in our secularized society, that God is nothing more than a metaphor for the deepest, highest, or best parts of ourselves. While faith in Christ invites us to seek God within ourselves, we are not seeking just a part of ourselves. Rather, we are seeking to become part of something much bigger than ourselves the God who is greater than the cosmos. We can seek this because, paradoxically, this transcendent God has been seeking us all along. We love God in response to God's love for us. Likewise, Christianity also offers an alternative to the pervasive narcissism and self-obsession of our time, by calling us to look for God not only inside ourselves, but also through each other. Meister Eckhart once cryptically remarked that "the eye with which I see God is exactly the same eye with which God sees me. My eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing and one love."29 Since God is in each of us, when we gaze into the eyes of our friends and neighbors and fellow Christians, we are gazing into the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
In the fourth century, thanks to the efforts of the Emperor Constantine, Christianity became a legally acknowledged religion in the Roman Empire, which meant that more and more people became Christians, not because they necessarily accepted faith in Christ, but because it was socially advantageous to do so. Consequently, many dedicated Christians felt a calling to abandon the decadent cities and retreated into the desert, where they lived as hermits, in solitary pursuit of their single-minded devotion to Christ. On the surface, this movement of mystical individualists (known as the Desert Fathers and Mothers) seems to suggest that Christian spirituality really can be a "go-it-alone" matter. But the desert hermits who sought the contemplative life in pure solitude lasted for only a generation or so. Soon, they recognized that they needed each other and started to band together in communities for shared worship, labor, and fellowship. Those communities became the first Christian monasteries. Likewise, the Carthusians, an order of monks who live most of their lives as hermits, nevertheless gather together at appointed times for communal prayer, meals, and fellowship. So even those Christians most committed to solitary spirituality inevitably balance their isolation with an equally important love for community. No one can be a Christian in perpetual solitude. Christians need other Christians.
The social nature of Christian spirituality holds true even for those who are dedicated to following the wisdom of the Christian mystics. Because mysticism entails the cultivation of a rich inner life, a profound interior intimacy with God, it naturally appeals to introverts and perhaps even to people who regard themselves as shy or social "misfits." But just because contemplation has a strong solitary dimension does not diminish the necessity of embedding your private spiritual life in a larger context. In fact, the tradition of Christian mysticism clearly warns that those called to this path must be wary of the innate human tendency to get lost in their own inner capacity for self-deception and illusion. It is important to measure your own spiritual life against external benchmarks. And one of the most important of these is the community of fellow seekers of the love of God.
A friend of mine who is a surfer told me about the thrill of surfing and its dangers. He described how a rip tide can easily snatch an unwary surfer and drag him away from shore. To surf safely, he said, two things are essential: a landmark on the shore to mark your location, and a surfing partner to help in the event of an emergency.
Christian mysticism may not pose these same kinds of physical risks, but it does involve spiritual risks. For example, the pursuit of mystical spirituality can lead to spiritual pride, the belief that, as a contemplative, you are somehow better than other Christians or other people in general; or to megalomania, the erroneous idea that God has called you to a "special" place or task; or to spiritual narcissism, an unhealthy and excessive selflove that interferes with your ability to love others humbly. To avoid these risks, you need spiritual landmarks and "surfing partners."
The "landmarks" for Christian mysticism are the Bible and the sacred tradition of wisdom handed down by the saints and mystics of the past 2,000 years. Your "surfing partners" consist of those who teach you, guide you, an
d walk alongside you on your spiritual journey. This may include a mentor (spiritual director); members of a prayer group, Bible study, Christian meet-up group, or other small community; and the members and leadership of your church (no matter how large or small it might be).
As I write these words, I am keenly aware that people who do not participate in a Christian faith community have almost always made a conscious decision not to do so. Plenty of reasons can be found for declining to join a church. Some pass over the Christian religion in favor of an interest in other religions or spiritualities (Buddhism, Goddess Spirituality, and Druidism); others reject church because they might disagree with how many Christians think about science, feminism, politics, human sexuality, or environmentalism. I don't want to minimize these concerns, and yet the good news is that among Christian communities today, you can find tremendous diversity in viewpoints and values. Frankly, no matter how liberal or conservative or academic or scientific or interfaith-minded you might be, unless you live in a truly remote area, you will probably be able to find a faith community where you can be yourself and relate to others who will either share your values or, at least, respect your right to follow your conscience. The fact that some Christian communities insist on a rigid conformity among their members should not blind you to the fact that many other, far more tolerant, options exist for Christians with unique perspectives (including an interest in mysticism).
When we criticize a particular faith community as "too superstitious," "too patriarchal," "too repressed," "too conservative," or "too liberal," often this says more about us than about the group we're criticizing. The path of Christian contemplation leads to increasing self-awareness, and perhaps a good place to begin is by considering why you do not participate in a Christian community. Are you afraid to associate with people whose views challenge your own? Or do you secretly think you are better than they are? Rejecting a church because you think you're smarter than everyone else who goes there is, frankly, a form of spiritual pride that is incompatible with the contemplative path -a path grounded in love and humility. Conversely, if you avoid community because you are convinced that no one will accept you because of your views, perhaps you haven't made an effort to connect with other Christians who share your values.
Some avoid churches because they are scandalized by corrupt or unethical actions associated with the institution or the clergy. It is not my intent to defend or apologize for all the wrongdoing that has happened in churches over the years. But consider this: many businesses are corrupt or unethical or engage in practices that harm people; if it turns out that your employer is corrupt, this is no reason to give up on your career and live as a hobo. On the contrary, the business probably needs honest and ethical employees like you to help it overcome its problems. Churches likewise need caring, ethical, conscientious people. If you're the kind of person who is outraged by injustice, then there is a church somewhere that needs your high standards and commitment to doing the right thing. If you have been victimized in a church setting, please seek healing, which may involve professional help or support from healthy and ethical Christians who care. For the sake of the larger body of Christ, we must all help to create spiritual communities that are honorable and safe.
Ultimately, there's only one compelling reason not to participate in some sort of Christian faith community: lack of faith in Christ and the Christian message. But such a nonbeliever would not want to practice Christian mysticism anyway. If you are drawn to the possibility of achieving communion with God through Christ, then begin your mystical journey by finding (or, perhaps, rejoining) a community where you can express the religious side of the Christian life.
THE CHURCH AS A HOTBED OF MYSTICISM (NOT!)
Why am I making such a strong case for participating in a faith community? It's not because your local priest or pastor or church elder is going to usher you in to the hidden secrets of Christian contemplation.
Far from it.
In fact, as I pointed out in Chapter 8, ordinary Christian churches, whether Catholic or Protestant, often seem to be the last places where you can go to explore topics such as mysticism, inner development, and contemplative prayer. Sometimes this is just an issue of semantics the leadership of the church may be uncomfortable with the word "mysticism," but actually do encourage their membership to foster a deep, experiential, conscious relationship with God through Christ. Other communities place such a strong emphasis on social justice, outreach, and care for those in need, that inner spirituality of any kind, mystical or otherwise, never gets mentioned. Meanwhile, other churches have a tradition of Bible study, or an emphasis on personal holiness, that is in itself spiritually beneficial, but is accompanied by an implicit understanding that nothing else is necessary for Christian discipleship. The message seems to be "Follow our program but go no further."
As important as I believe it is for aspiring contemplatives to begin their spiritual journey by participating in a faith community, paradoxically I need to stress the fact that most Christian faith communities will not directly support your interest in the inner life. And if you're unhappy with your neighborhood church because the pastor thinks mysticism is selfindulgent nonsense, changing churches is rarely the answer. If you do switch to a different congregation, you will likely find that as far as mysticism is concerned, your new place of worship won't be any different.
Fortunately, not all Christians are opposed to mysticism in fact, most have no idea what it is. Within any given denomination, different clergy and church leaders will have their own opinions about mystical spirituality. Especially if you are a member of a large church, chances are that someone else in the community will share your interest. But you may just as easily discover that your fellow Christians, like people in the world at large, don't share your interest in the mystical tradition, either because they are indifferent to the idea of life-changing intimacy with God, or simply because they are vaguely uncomfortable with the idea of experiential faith.
So why, for heaven's sake, must you begin with joining a church?
For the same reason that an artist's apprentice begins by learning how to clean dirty paintbrushes, or a novice in a monastery is put in charge of mopping the floors. The contemplative life rarely, if ever, begins with ecstatic visions of God. On the contrary, the first task of an aspiring contemplative is to learn how to be a humble student, a kind and considerate neighbor, and a serious student of the teachings of Jesus Christ. And the best place to learn these things is an ordinary community of Christians in other words, a church.
Commitment to a faith community should not be driven by what you can get out of it, particularly if what you seek is a cheering section to support you in your contemplative exploits. On the contrary, church involvement is a necessary prerequisite for contemplative practice because it grounds your spirituality in a real-world, down-to-earth network of human relationships. It is very likely that no other church members will care if you meditate or not but they will expect you to attend services every week, follow through on your committee assignments, and keep your pledge current. Church membership teaches you that the Christian community often needs you in ways different from what you may expect.You may approach the pastor with an offer to teach a class on the wisdom of John of the Cross, only to have the pastor suggest that what the congregation really needs is someone to teach teenagers about the virtues of abstinence. While you don't have to accept every unexciting task that comes your way, doing so may be a great opportunity to learn old-fashioned Christian values like obedience, humility, and perseverance all of which are essential to the flowering of the mystical life, and all of which are far more easily learned in a communal setting than by yourself.
Likewise, participation in a church teaches you how to worship and how to pray. It familiarizes you with the great themes of the Bible and the key beliefs of the Christian faith. In short, it's a training ground for the two essential tasks of loving God and loving each other.
FINDING THE RIGHT CHUR
CH
Some churches are historically more congenial to contemplative spirituality than others, but each local congregation will have its own "personality." Depending on the priorities of the clergy and the parish leadership, this will go a long way toward determining whether the church you join is a place where you can discuss your interest in mysticism freely and openly, or where you will need to exercise a certain discretion.
My first piece of advice is to start where you are. If you're already a member of a congregation, that may very well be where you belong. If you haven't been to church in a while, now is the time to dust off your Bible and your Sunday best and get back to it. The roof of the church will not cave in when you cross the threshold. Your first Sunday there, you may get some excited or bemused greetings, depending on how long you've been gone. But if you go back Sunday after Sunday, it won't be long before you feel as if you never left. Soon you'll be fending off invitations to serve on committees as if you had been there every Sunday for the past twenty years.
If you have not belonged to a church before, perhaps you can find a congregation of the same denomination you grew up in, or that your parents, grandparents, or other relatives attend. If you come from a thoroughly secular or non-Christian family, then start from scratch and just shop around for a church. Take your time to get to know the community before making a commitment to join it, especially if you have had a bad experience with church membership in the past.
Once you actually join a church, give it time. It's very easy to get bored with a church, or disillusioned by its many human and structural imperfections, or frustrated by its political infighting, boneheaded policies, uninspired liturgies, sleep-inducing sermons, and incessant pledge drives. Sooner or later, you may chafe against some of its social philosophies. But this will be true of every church you explore. The truth is that churches don't exist to meet your needs, and the spiritual benefit you get from being "churched" has more to do with the opportunities you have to give of yourself than it does with the gifts it bestows on you.
The Big Book of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality Page 14