The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic
Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily
Meditations with Matthew Fox
|
Dorothee Soelle on the Revolution
of Jesus 01/10/2023 |
The real purpose of healthy religion is spirituality, namely to inspire and train people to get in touch with their deepest selves in order to serve others through good work and good relationships that are reflections of one’s deepest
values. |
Another name for this deepest self is Christ or Buddha or image of God inside us. The essence of spirituality is about developing the mystic (the lover who says Yes to life) and the prophet (the warrior | Democracy Now! anchor
Amy Goodman and Right Livelihood Foundation Executive Director Ole von Uexkuell discuss the international activist laureates of the 40th Right Livelihood Award. |
who says No to lies and injustice in its many
enactments). When people are looking for spirituality and do not readily find it in organized religion they will of course look elsewhere. In upcoming DMs, let us listen to some of these mystic-prophets who have lived among us in the late
20th and early 21st centuries. Consider this poem from Dorothee Soelle, a teacher of mysticism, feminism and liberation theology at Union Seminary in NYC for 10 years. She grew up in Germany during WWII and ended
up with a very different understanding of life and religion than did her countryman, Cardinal Ratzinger. |
Print of a revolutionary Mary, inspired by the Magnificat, by lithographer Ben Wildflower. Purchase HERE | every day I am afraid that he died in vain because he is buried in our churches because we have betrayed his revolution in our obedience to authority and our fear of it I believe in jesus christ who rises again and again in our
lives so that we will be free from prejudice and arrogance
from fear and hate |
and carry on his revolution and make way for his kingdom Soelle laments what has happened to Jesus’ “revolution.” She is afraid on a daily basis that he might have died “in vain,” for he is “buried” and his life “betrayed.” How? By our obedience to and fear of authority. |
And where is this revolution buried? “In our churches” where too much obedience can kill the soul and the promised kingdom. Perhaps her understanding helps to explain the dive in church attendance among Protestants and Catholics today, especially among younger
adults. But there is also going on a deeper interest in spirituality and mysticism. Or as Carl Jung put is, “only the mystics bring what is creative to religion itself.” | “No one should comply with an immoral law.” Mural of Monseñor Oscar Romero. Photo by Franco Folini is licensed under CC BY-SA
2.0. |
Soelle’s belief is that Jesus’ resurrection is ongoing “in our lives,” or it is not going on at all. It not a past event, and this will one day empty us of fear, hate, arrogance. Thus would the
divine kingdom/queendom be born. |
| To view today's video, please click the image. You will be taken to today's post on the Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox website, where you can see the meditation in a larger version and also view and post your Comments. In the sharing that follows, a kind of community is developing around the DM.
If you can't reach today's post on the website directly, click HERE.
If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try his Vimeo channel HERE. |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Christian Mystics: 365 Readings and Meditations, p. 271. Banner Image: Polish protestors chain themselves to logging machinery to protect the Puszczy Białowieskiej forest during breeding season. Photo by Greenpeace Poland on Flickr. |
Queries for Contemplation Do you fear for Jesus’ revolution that moves us from prejudice and arrogance and fear and hate? How would you describe it at work today? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations
As
Matthew Fox notes, when an aging Albert Einstein was asked if he had any regrets, he replied, “I wish I had read more of the mystics earlier in my life.” The 365 writings in Christian Mystics represent a wide-ranging sampling of these readings for modern-day seekers of all faiths — or no faith. The visionaries quoted range from Julian of Norwich to Martin Luther King, Jr., from Thomas Merton to Dorothee Soelle and Thomas Berry. “Our world is in crisis, and we need road maps that can ground us I wisdom, inspire us to action, and help us gather our talents in service of compassion and justice. This revolutionary book does just that. Matthew Fox takes some of the most profound spiritual teachings of the West and translates them into practical daily mediations. Study and practice these teachings. Take what’s in this
book and teach it to the youth because the new generation cannot afford to suffer the spirit and ethical illiteracy of the past.” — Adam Bucko, spiritual activist and co-founder of the Reciprocity Foundation for Homeless youth | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox at the virtual Our Lady of the Prairie retreat, offering a discussion and Q&A on “Naming the Unnameable: 89 Wonderful and Useful Names for God…Including the Unnameable
God.” Thursday, January 19, 4:00pm-6:00pm PT. Register HERE. Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox at the Center for Contemporary Mysticism discusses “Birthing a New World: Can Creation-Centered Spirituality Help Reclaim the Sacredness of the Earth?" | |
Please share this post! Just click the buttons below.
OR share your insights on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox
|
|
|
|
