Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling: The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice (John Wiley & Sons), 2007.

 ¢â‚¬ËœThe leper stood motionless in front of Francis. Not knowing what else to do, Francis closed his eyes, braced himself, and then kissed the leper on his decayed lips… When he opened his eyes, Francis was stunned to discover that the leper had vanished… It was then that he understood that the leper had been none other than Jesus in disguise. From that day forward, Francis resolved to treat every leper as though he were Christ… I am convinced that far too many Christians today react to homosexuals with AIDs in much the same way. Francis, on the other hand, would embrace these modern-day lepers and treat them sacramentally. ¢â‚¬â„¢ [Tony Campolo, pp. 37-38].

For non-Catholics, Frank Laubach (the Philippines), W E Sangster (England), and A W Tozer (the US) in the decades leading up to the 1960s began the modern  ¢â‚¬Ëœspiritual journey backwards ¢â‚¬â„¢. Then Richard Foster, Kenneth Leach, Morton Kelsey et. al.   in the 1970s/80s and onwards built more bridges back to the Catholic spiritual disciplines. Today we non-Catholics have been immeasurably enriched by the efforts of these modern Anglican/ Protestant/Evangelical pioneers. And who would have thought that in our time Catholic writers like Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and Richard Rohr would be just as popular with spiritual seekers on both sides of the Catholic/ Protestant divide?

This readable book – by Tony Campolo, a Baptist preacher/professor of sociology, and Protestant Mary Albert Darling, a professor of communications trained in spiritual direction in the Jesuit tradition – sneaked into print in 2007 and I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve only just come across it. [1] It ¢â‚¬â„¢s an excellent addition to this broad genre: a basic introduction to the spiritual disciplines  ¢â‚¬“ especially centring prayer (including the prayer of examen), the lectio divina, and spiritual direction: how we best relate to the living God and the living Word, with the help of another who is also on the journey with us towards spiritual wholeness. We are invited to practise inward, outward, and corporate disciplines (as Richard Foster puts it). It ¢â‚¬â„¢s  ¢â‚¬Ëœbroad brush ¢â‚¬â„¢, citing quotes, insights and stories from mystics and spiritual writers across the mid-range theological spectrum (mid-range because you won ¢â‚¬â„¢t find either Christian Fundamentalists or those theological Liberals who eschew the idea of an interventionist Deity mentioned anywhere) and from many church traditions.

Richard Foster again:  ¢â‚¬ËœIn practising the Spiritual Disciplines we are simply learning to fall in love with Jesus over and over and over again ¢â‚¬â„¢. Jesus is also our model for the spiritual journey:  ¢â‚¬ËœJesus did not all of a sudden one day start spouting nice sayings about God… from early childhood he  ¢â‚¬Å“increased in wisdom… and in divine and human favour ¢â‚¬ . ¢â‚¬â„¢

The thesis (expressed negatively):  ¢â‚¬ËœThere is more in Christian living than right beliefs and right behavior ¢â‚¬â„¢: mystical Christianity is a purer alternative to dry theological propositions or destructive legalism. A dedicated Christian mysticism is also an antidote to religious nominalism. (Soren Kierkegaard:  ¢â‚¬ËœIn a society where everyone is a Christian, no one is a Christian ¢â‚¬â„¢).

With Brother Lawrence we worship God in daily chores as also in our times of prayer. (There is an ancient saying:  ¢â‚¬ËœBefore enlightenment  ¢â‚¬“ chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment  ¢â‚¬“ chop wood, carry water. ¢â‚¬â„¢) The aim of the spiritual life is sustained intimacy with a loving God. With Saint Benedict we  ¢â‚¬Ëœprefer nothing to Christ ¢â‚¬â„¢. It ¢â‚¬â„¢s a life beyond rationalism. (Blaise Pascal:  ¢â‚¬ËœThe heart has reasons which reason can not know ¢â‚¬â„¢). Jesus is our model here: he was  ¢â‚¬Ëœcommitted to maintaining a deep mystical connection to God that empowered him to be compassionately connected to others. ¢â‚¬â„¢

The biblical prophets were mystics. Because they had better access to the  ¢â‚¬ËœDivine mind ¢â‚¬â„¢ they collided with the biases of religious establishments calling for passive submission to the ruling socio-economic order. Like modern prophets (Martin Luther King etc.) they connected with the suffering of the poor and marginalized.

Our stance as we submit to mystical wisdom is one of humility:  ¢â‚¬ËœWe don ¢â‚¬â„¢t know what we don ¢â‚¬â„¢t know ¢â‚¬â„¢. Our motto-for-life can ¢â‚¬â„¢t be better than that of Ignatius: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,  ¢â‚¬Ëœfor the greater glory of God ¢â‚¬â„¢. Ignatius ¢â‚¬â„¢ Spiritual Exercises focus on four themes ( ¢â‚¬Ëœweeks ¢â‚¬â„¢): Experiencing the unconditional love of God, along with the sin in the world, including our personal sin; identifying with Jesus ¢â‚¬â„¢ life, putting on the mind of Christ; sharing in the suffering of Jesus ¢â‚¬â„¢ last week before his crucifixion; and sharing Christ ¢â‚¬â„¢s resurrection and mission to the world.

Centering prayer is the habit of sitting in God ¢â‚¬â„¢s presence in intentional inward and outward silence.  ¢â‚¬ËœFor God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him ¢â‚¬â„¢ (Psalm 62:5). Henri Nouwen and Richard Rohr talk about  ¢â‚¬Ëœstilling the monkey mind ¢â‚¬â„¢ at these times. Most masters of centering prayer suggest a word or phrase (mantra) to help them focus in silence and stillness (maranatha  ¢â‚¬“  ¢â‚¬ËœCome Lord, come! ¢â‚¬â„¢ – is a popular one). Another suggestion is to dedicate a place ( ¢â‚¬Ëœoratory ¢â‚¬â„¢) where there are no distractions – as there are if we pray near correspondence to be answered or a computer or phone to interrupt our prayer.

Another helpful discipline is the five-day silent retreat, perhaps with a  ¢â‚¬Ëœspiritual guide ¢â‚¬â„¢. William Barry and William Connolly (The Practice of Spiritual Direction) suggest that Christian Spiritual Direction is the  ¢â‚¬Ëœhelp given by one Christian to another   which enables the person to pay attention to God ¢â‚¬â„¢s personal communication to him or her… personally communicating to God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship ¢â‚¬â„¢.

In the prayer of examen we reflect on our day, remembering and thanking God for blessings given and received, and also recalling the good we might have done but did not, and repenting of those  ¢â‚¬Ëœsins of omission ¢â‚¬â„¢. We repent of each harsh word and unloving action and pray for the will to act in more loving ways. We are alert to the dangers of self-deception regarding false needs and desires. Thomas Merton somewhere writes that our deepest desires  ¢â‚¬“ for joy, harmony, peace, order and meaning  ¢â‚¬“ have been coopted by our culture ¢â‚¬â„¢s lie that we can search for and find meaning in temporal things.

Mary Darling also finds the  ¢â‚¬ËœWesleyan quadrilateral ¢â‚¬â„¢ (scripture, reason, church tradition, and experience) helpful in guiding her life and discerning God ¢â‚¬â„¢s will.

Corporate worship? Our (non-clergy) authors are somewhat negative:  ¢â‚¬ËœSo many of us just got tired of the stuff that goes on in contemporary worship: a lot of it is bad music, and the singing, while focussed on God, does little in the way of deepening our spirituality or making us conscious of the needs of others. ¢â‚¬â„¢

I marked these for further meditation:

* Wesley:  ¢â‚¬ËœLove ¢â‚¬â„¢s place is over everything else  ¢â‚¬“ including truth ¢â‚¬â„¢.

* Catherine of Genoa prayed earnestly for God to save her husband  ¢â‚¬Ëœwho was full of evil and utterly void of good ¢â‚¬â„¢. She also strove to love, and  ¢â‚¬Ëœprayed for the souls of all the women with whom her husband had had affairs. ¢â‚¬â„¢

* Saint John of the Cross:  ¢â‚¬ËœIn general the soul makes greater progress when it least thinks so, yea, most frequently when it imagines it is losing ¢â‚¬â„¢.

In general, a good book summarizing in simple language the heart of Christian spirituality/mysticism. It ¢â‚¬â„¢s been around for a while, so you might pick up a copy cheaply. (I just bought three of them from ABE books for less than $10 each posted to give away).   

[1] Most masters of the spiritual life tend not to collect authors, but rather disciplined habits. I remember being astonished when Richard Foster told me he ¢â‚¬â„¢d never heard of Dr. W E Sangster. I remedied that by giving him Sangster ¢â‚¬â„¢s magnum opus, The Pure in Heart.

Rowland Croucher

jmm.org.au

December 2012