The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Our Nobility, Our
Godlikeness,
Our Responsibility 11/08/2023 |
We are considering Eckhart’s teaching that every human is “born from the intimate depths of the divine nature and the divine wilderness” and is therefore noble. |
The theme of our “nobility” is very much related to the principal theme of Jesus’s preaching, namely that the “kingdom of God” is within and among us. The theme of our “royal personhood” is very |
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central to the Hebrew Bible. Consider these teachings from the Psalms. Yahweh is king, robed in
majesty
Yahweh is robed in power,
and wears it like a belt. You have made the world firm, unshakeable;
Your throne has stood since then,
You existed from the first.
(Ps 93:1f.) |
13th century Icon of Our Lady of the Sign (the Annunciation and Jesus’ conception) from Yaroslavl (Kiev School, ca. 1114. Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow). Wikiwand. | And this. Royal dignity was yours from the day you were born
on the holy mountains,
royal from the womb, from the dawn of your earliest days.
(Ps 110.3) Again: You have made humans
a little less than God,
and you have crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands,
putting all things under their feet.
(Ps 8:6f) |
Dr. Helen Kenik wrote her doctoral thesis on the theme of “Royal Personhood” under Hebrew Biblical scholar Walter Bruggemann (who rarely oversaw doctoral dissertations). She writes: In a very real sense every Christian is called to be a royal person. Like the kings, every person is created to have dominion in the world; i.e., to be stewards of the world and builders of community within society. In the Hebrew scriptures human beings are described as God’s creatures with a royal status and kingly responsibilities.* |
The first of these responsibilities is justice. Keeping the community together and in balance so “the people may live” (as indigenous teachers put it). Our nobility and godlikeness is not a matter of preening ourselves, but it is a matter of our dignity–“finding |
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the nobility inside”–and of our responsibility. |
*
Helen Kenik, “Toward a Biblical Basis for Creation Theology,” in Matthew Fox, ed., Western Spirituality: Historical Roots, Ecumenical Routes, p. 47.
Adapted from Matthew Fox, “Chapter 7: Our Royal Personhood: Our Dignity as Responsibility for Building the Kingdom/Queendom of God,” in Original Blessing, pp. 93-102.
Banner Image: “Namaste.” Host and guest recognize the divine in one another at a home in Nepal. Photo by Stew and Vee Carrington on Flickr.
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Queries for Contemplation Do you find your nobility and your responsibility named in these teachings from the psalms? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments
field. |
Western Spirituality: Historical Roots, Ecumenical Routes In this book, Fox gathers scholars from various cultures and traditions such as Helen Kenik, Jon Sobrino, Nicolas Berdyaev, Rosemary Ruether, M. D. Chenu, Mary Jose Hobday, Ronald Miller, Monika Hellwig, James Kenney, Justin O’Brien and others to approach creation spirituality from many traditions and many angles.
“An exciting and important book…a pleasant alternative to the oppressive burden of the fall/redemption tradition.” ~ New Review of Books and Religion |
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Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
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): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.”
–Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox as he delivers a Lecture and Q&A: “Towards a New Mythology: New & Ancient Names for God from Mystical Ancestors and Contemporary Science (& Fit for Some Atheists too)” as part of the Unitarian Universalist of Berkeley Lawrence Lecture Series. Friday, November 10, 2023, 7:00pm-8:30pm PT. Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox online as he offers a lecture and Q&A on “Peacemaking and Creation Spirituality Today” hosted by The Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus. November 11, 11:00am PT. Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Hunger for Wholeness: What is Wholeness in the Midst of Crisis with Matthew Fox (Part 1) In the midst
of increased violence between Israel and Palestine, Ilia Delio and theologian Matthew Fox discuss the state of the world today and how to have courage in Part 1 of their conversation. Ilia and Matt discuss his mentor, Marie Dominique Chenu, the influence of liberation theology on social justice in the church today, and what can still be learned.
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