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Opening Quote
Look on everyone you see with an open, loving heart.
*Shantideva. The Bodhicaryavatara. Trans. Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton
Christ never defined spiritual communion with Him in religious terms; we did that. Let us get back to the Gospels and recover the meaning of "in Christ," as opposed to placing so much stress on being a "church member" or of "the faith."
*Brian K. Wilcox
Breath Prayer
Breathing in: Christ
Breathing out: open heart
Breathing in: Holy Spirit
Breathing out: loving heart (smile)
Wisdom Story
In the 2003 “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” after escaping Shelob, Frodo, and Sam begin the final leg of their quest. Frodo and Sam lie exhausted on the slopes of Mt. Doom. Sam encourages Frodo by reminding him of the Shire, the beautiful home to which they long to return. Sam recounts for Frodo how spring has come, and how the planting of the barley is coming and the sweetness of the first fruits of the strawberries with cream.
Frodo is spent, however. He tells Sam that he can no longer taste food, hear the sound of water, or even feel the grass. Frodo is completely absorbed by the power of the Ring. Speaks Frodo, "There's nothing. No veil between me and the eye of fire. I can see him with my waking eyes!"
Sam urges, "Then let us be rid of him, once and for all! Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you! Come on!" Sam bends down, picks up Frodo, and placing one foot in front of the other, slowly ascends the mountain toward the cracks of fire, with Frodo holding the ring to be placed, finally, in the fire, to free that world of its evil power.
Comments
Spiritual community can be on a universal scale, or it can be between two persons. Spiritual community is mirrored in terms like “synagogue,” “church,” “sangha,” “mosque,” “covenant group,” "family," "soul mates," "marriage," "one flesh," "sacred space," … These terms testify to a universal longing and search for intimate togetherness arising from the Sacred Center. Likewise, the concept “Body of Christ” is an evocative image of a unity realized little by little in the concrete circumstances of our everyday world.
This "Body of Christ" is not "Body of Christianity" or "Body of the church," anymore than it is "Body of Islam" or "Body of Buddha." This "Body of Christ" is the loving union our common Creator calls all humans to, a union embodied in the living Christ and actualized through this-world means present to us on this earth. This union will transcend the politics and religion that divide humans appealing to the divine right of state and religion, which masks fear of losing "personal" and "group" power to a larger Whole of Love.
What I write about today allows no spiritualized escape to dreamy dreams of another time and place. And, generally, what I write about seems far from the minds of popular, conventional Christian faith.
I have witnessed how congregates in churches can fear and seek to sabotage pastoral efforts to model the loving openness and compassionate vulnerability required for intimate spiritual communion. Indeed, many congregations, as is true of our culture, link strength with invulnerability, not vulnerability, and seek to perpetuate group integrity by exclusion rather than openness.
Jesus, however, provides us another model, one we need to recall often. This one is held in high esteem in Christian tradition from the early Church until now, though it is more esteemed than lived our, it appears:
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.(Isaiah 53.7, ESV)
Spiritual community rests on the reality that we are already one and that we need each other already. We are vulnerable already from a microcosmic to macrocosmic level. A germ can unleash a deadly disease in our body at any moment. Nature can hurl a deadly bolt of lighting against our flesh before we hear the sound of thunder or the drops of rain.
We need to belong to and consistently participate in a spiritual community of worship and service. We need to share our stories, our dreams, our pains, and to pray with and for one another hand-in-hand, heart-with-heart.
Included in this is realization that spiritual intimacy is nurtured by prayer that goes beyond a prayer list that mentions concerns for others. Spiritual community entails allowing others to hold us in prayer. To do that, contexts have to be created for deep, intimate. and honest sharing, which entails trustful vulnerability. Of course, this takes time to nurture, but it can be nurtured in any community willing to invest the time and energy. It all goes back to a matter of priority, does it not?
How can faith communities have a rightful impact on the world unless they enjoy deep sharing with each other? If we are not careful, "spiritual community” becomes another means of personal and collective avoidance of the humbleness and self-emptying that allows us to say, “I need you and your help,” and to hear a reply, “I will help carry you.” And our own vulnerability to admit our need for help is prior to our seeking to help the world beyond our circles of family and friends.
Spiritual Exercise
1. Are you in a relationship, wherein you feel accepted in expressing your need for the help of the other?
2. What do you feel like when someone offers to help you, as contrasted with how you feel when you offer to help someone?
3. What Gospel passages or stories speak about the vulnerability of Christ?
4. Are you in a spiritual community wherein you feel there is a true spiritually-intimate sharing?
5. Do you have a Prayer Partner?
6. If you live together with someone or family, when was the last time you had prayer together?
7. What are associations between the Passion of Christ, celebrated in Holy Week, and strength? How do these look when compared to images of strength in our media? Popularized images in religion of "successful" leaders?
8. How might person’s resistance to vulnerability lead them to misinterpret and resist spiritual leaders or other congregates modeling vulnerability?
9. Can you recall a time in your life when a spiritual community or friend made all the difference during a difficult time? When was the last such time?
Brian will respond to requests pertaining to seeking a Spiritual Mentor. He offers retreats, workshops, and classes in such subjects as Contemplative Prayer (he trains in Visualized Praying, Centering Prayer, Christian Meditation, The Jesus Prayer, ...); Contemplative Living; A Spiritual Understanding of the Lord's Prayer; Philippians and Spiritual Community; Spiritual Growth From Matter to Spirit; Spiritual Use of the Scripture.
See any major on-line bookseller for his book An Ache for Union.
For replies and biographical information, and submission to "The Light Shines" daily devotionals ~ a ministry of Christ Community United Methodist Church, Punta Gorda, FL, see next page:
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