The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic
Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily
Meditations with Matthew Fox
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Nolan on the Jesus Story, Politics and Religion |
In a chapter on “Politics and Religion,” Albert Nolan, as for many theologians who followed him, reminds us that the fact that Jesus was executed on a charge of high treason does not make him unique. Many thousands of Jewish
rebels and revolutionaries were crucified by the Roman rulers of Palestine during this period. |
Furthermore, Jesus did not found an organization; he inspired a movement. It was inevitable that
the movement would quite soon become an organization but in the beginning there were simply people, scattered individuals and groups, who has been inspired by Jesus..... | Correction to the Beatitudes. Anonymous meme on Starecat.com |
Each remembered Jesus in his own way or had been struck by a particular aspect of what they had heard about
him. There were at first no doctrines and no dogmas, no universally accepted way of following him or believing in him. This is Jesus and church or gathering before the Christian empire. Jesus had no successor...Jesus was obviously
felt to be irreplaceable. If he died the movement died. But if the movement continued to live, then it could only be because in some sense or another Jesus continued to live. This seems to be the basic meaning of the “Resurrection.” |
"Jesus 2020" flag at the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Photo to Flickr by Brett Davis | The early Christians were those who continued to experience or began to experience, in one way or another, the power of Jesus’ presence among them after his death. This is the primacy of spirituality over religion—experience over structures. |
Many also experienced the continued leadership and inspiration of Jesus as the inheriting of his Spirit—the Spirit of God....The prophecy of Joel was being
fulfilled in them through Jesus: the Spirit had been poured out among them, making them all prophets who see visions and dream dreams (see Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-41). Jesus remained present and active through the presence and activity of his Spirit. Here lies the promise that we are all prophets, as Rabbi Heschel reminds us, that “in the recesses of every human existence there lies a prophet.” |
Getting to those recesses is what matters. Going deep. What are the signs that we are going deep? Undergoing the via positiva, being struck by the awe and wonder,
joy and delight in life; the via negativa, both silence and suffering and heartbreak; the via creativa, our creativity; and the via transformative, our passion for justice and healing, celebration and compassion. Here lie the recesses of our existence. |
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If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try his Vimeo channel HERE. |
See Albert Nolan, Jesus before Christianity, pp. 92, 134f. Adapted also from Matthew Fox, Original Blessing. And Fox, A Spirituality
Named Compassion. Banner Image: “Christ of the Breadlines” by Fritz Eichenberg for The Catholic Worker. Uploaded
to Flickr by Jim Forest |
Queries for Contemplation How important is it that we recognize the Jesus who came before Christianity itself? And before the church? And before the time when the church took over the dying Roman empire? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality In this book Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology). Fox believes that the teaching of original sin—which Jesus never heard of (no Jew has) has served empire-builders very well but that original blessing—the awareness of the goodness of
creation—must take precedence. The implications are profound for psychological as well as sociological and ecological transformation. Oppressed people everywhere will recognize the difference. Fox lays out the ancient but often neglected (and sometimes condemned) creation spiritual tradition in Original Blessing. | |
A Spirituality Named Compassion:
Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. He establishes a spirituality for the future that promises
personal, social, and global healing. Using his own experiences with the pain and lifestyle changes that resulted from an accident, Fox has written a challenging book on that promise that Jesus and Isaiah, Buddha and Mohammad all teach: Our capacity for compassion. Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity. He treats the topics of
the Meaning of Compassion, Science, Nature and Compassion, Sexuality and Compassion, Psychology and Compassion, Creativity and Compassion, Economics and Compassion, Politics and Compassion. A road map to fulfillment for the coming century. Fox defines compassion as the working out of our shared interdependence and he calls for creativity put to the service of justice. He argues that we can achieve compassion for both humanity and the environment as we recognize the interconnectedness
of all things. Working toward the creation of a gentler, ecological, and feminist Christianity, Fox marries mysticism and social justice, emphasizing that as we enter a new millennium society needs to realize that spirituality's purpose is to guide us on a path that leads to a genuine love of all our relations and a love for our shared interdependence “Important, well-written, and disturbing.” --Milwaukee Journal; “Well worth our deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus
after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE Join Matthew Fox for the monthly online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, discussing Original Blessing. Thursday, October 20, 4:00pm-6:00pm PT. Register
HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox for the monthly Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, discussing Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality. Thursday, November 17,
4:00pm-6:00pm PT. Register HERE. Creation Spirituality in Conversation |
| Join Matthew Fox and other prominent leaders for The grieving, Healing & Hope Retreat project Fall 2022 to shift from the hurt and anger making us more susceptible to violence and trauma, to one of comfort, connection and healing. Tuesdays
Oct 25 - Nov 15, 2022 Note: This is a FREE event! Register HERE |
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