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Today's Scripture
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these [or, these others do]? ”“Yes, Lord [Master],” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” ...
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” ...
17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” ...
*John 21.15, 16, 17 (NLT)
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The great Sufi poet Rabia, from what is now known as Iraq, was born about 717 CE. She is known for her great love poetry to the Divine. She lyrics well our theme for today, in a poem titled "My Greatest Need is You":
Your hope in my heart is the rarest treasure
Your Name on my tongue is the sweetest word
My choicest hours
Are the hours I spend with You -
O Allah, I can't live in this world
Without remembering You -
How can I endure the next world
Without seeing Your face?
I am a stranger in Your country
And lonely among Your worshippers:
This is the substance of my complaint.
St. John of the Cross wrote, in the Spiritual Canticle, words about union with the Divine. John bears the same spirit as the Sufi tradition: mystical Love.
If, then, I am no longer
Seen of or found among the common,
You will say that I am lost;
That, stricken by love,
I lost myself, and was found.
John mentions the "common." This is where persons "gather for diversion and recreation" and, furthermore, "where shepherds ... feed their flocks." John calls this where "worldlings" engage "pastimes and conversations and feed the flock of their appetites." For all practical purposes, the soul is lost, though found in God.
Certainly, John can appear somewhat extreme. And many mystics would not voice withdrawal from the "world" in such marked ways.
Nevertheless, his apparent extremism is a rejoinder to our assumptions of what is normal. He, indeed, notes how persons who enjoy contemplative solitude more than human company are looked upon with askance. And while some persons can seek solitude as a defense mechanism, some persons are surely called to a life of solitude. If persons are called to an active life, and we do not look askance at them, then why do persons who enjoy much prayerful solitude note very little support from established religion and receive the suspicion of many?
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Again, solitude is no better or worse than the motive. The motive for the Lover of God in seeking prayerful solitude is love for the Divine and others. For she or he serves both the Divine and others in the practice of sacred aloneness. His or her vocation to contemplative solitude, at whatever degree, is a gift to brothers and sisters in Spirit and creation.
The contemplative, in religious community or sharing the world with others, is a living, breathing sign. A sign of what? A sign of the orientation the soul is fitted for.
St. Bernard, in his treatment of the Fourth Degree of Love - the final stage of Love - , describes such as our loving ourselves for the sake of God (See, such Love does not lessen, but increases true Love of self). In this he writes:
But since Scripture says that God made everything for himself (Prv 16:4; Rv 4:11) there will be a time when he will cause everything to conform to its Maker and be in harmony with him. In the meantime, we must make this our desire: that as God himself wills that everything should be for himself, so we too, will that nothing, not even ourselves, may be or have been except for him, that is according to his will, not ours.
Does this mean a negation of our self, an annihilation of the self under the tyranny of a self-aggrandizing deity? No. Why? First, we find our greatest pleasure in fulfilling this destiny borne in our soul: "The satisfaction of our needs will not bring us happiness, not chance delights, as does the sight of his will being fulfilled in us and in everything which concerns us." And, second, we, by loving Love, become like Love: "To love in this way is to become like God." For, "As a drop of water seems to disappear completely in a quantity of wine ...; in those who are holy, it is necessary for human affection to dissolve in some ineffable way, and be poured into the will of God." So: "The substance remains, but in another form, with another glory, another power."
To become what your soul longs to become, you must lose what you are to gain what you desire. If you want true Love, you must lose much to receive Such. You must lose striving to get that Love from anything other and less than Love Itself.
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Max Lucado writes, in It's Not About Me, of "Divine Self-Promotion." Now, does that not sound selfish? Is God selfish to claim praise and honor for Godself? No. Would you want to look to any Reality as God that does not deserve all our praise and honor, our very selves eternally? I would not.
Lucado uses the illustration of a ship captain and drowning passengers. In such an emergency...
You need to hear him say, "I am here. I am strong. I have room for you. I can save you!" Drowning passengers want the pilot to reveal his preeminence.
Divine Self-Promotion is a built-in quality of Nature, not an ego-centered deity needing our congratulations to be fulfilled and find meaning. God is not the cosmic Bully. We need to recognize God, for in such we find meaning and fulfillment. We find ourselves, our small selves, in the Meaning of God only through recognition of that Reality.
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So, Jesus keeps asking Peter about his love for him. Peter says three times, matching the three denials, that he loves Jesus. Jesus does not ask Peter about Peter agreeing with him, adoring him, serving him, but about loving him.
If you truly Love Jesus, you will want to be near him and spend time alone with him. You will want solitude, and your primary motive will be to share with the Divine and grow nearer the Heart of Love.
Finally, yes, there are different degrees of solitude persons are called to. I myself am called to more solitude than most persons. Solitude is one of the vows I live under; but, I am not a recluse. I serve as a pastor and chaplain. I am on call seven days, twenty-four hours. I enjoy getting around people and talking, laughing, and enjoying conversation. I enjoy movies with friends, and just being around noisy people in public (I much enjoy observing the variety of personalities on display). Yet, I try to honor four periods of intentional solitude daily: morning, midday, evening, and late night. I still work at honoring my vow to solitude, while leading at least one-half or more an active life. I do this out of a sense of calling. Still, each one of us will need to discern how to integrate solitude into our lives, providing time for spiritual reading, prayer, song, meditation, sacred dance, chanting, ... - whatever are the ingredients of time alone with the Alone - and this will differ from person to person.
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*This writing ministry is the offering of Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox, of SW Florida, a Pastor in the United Methodist Church, and Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. To contact Brian, write to barukhattah@embarqmail.com .
*The poem of Rabia is from www.islamicedfoundation.com .
*Quotes from St. John of the Cross, The Spirtual Canticle, are from The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross. Trans. K. Kavanaugh, O. Rodriguez.
*Material from St. Bernard of Clairvaux's On Loving God, is from Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works. Trans. G. R. Evans. In "The Classics of Western Spirituality."
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