The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Watch for Matthew Fox's video meditation -- now appearing every Monday! |
Sport as Prayer & St.
Paul on Athletics
& Spirituality 08/14/2024 |
Sport can be prayer because it can be a radical response to life. |
Sport can be art as meditation. Sport and art often overlap. The Paris Olympics excelled at mixing the two, surely in the opening and closing ceremonies. French philosopher Gabriel Marcel insists that the artist |
The Chinese artistic swimming team and their gold-medal technical routine at the Paris Olympics. World Aquatics. |
is not just one who sings a song or paints a painting or acts on stage. The artist is also one who receives the music, appreciates the painting, or enjoys the theater. Is the same benefit gained in sports too? Are the fans who participate in some way receivers of the beauty and excellence and craft
of the athletes? Sport unites people. All peoples, nations and tribes have sport, just as all peoples have art. It is part of our humanity, a positive part. It unites generations—most athletes are in the prime of their physical lives, late teens to early thirties and this is wonderful for athletes who can
train and develop their bodies to a kind of perfection. |
The flame of the 2024 Summer Olympics is ceremonially lit in Greece’s ancient Olympia, where the first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC.
BBC News | For those who are younger, sport offers motivation and aspiration—“I can do that
someday.” And for those who are older it’s a reminder of how mystical it was to play physical sports in the past. Sport is also a uniter of generations, therefore. Sport is a uniter of generations as well as of nations. |
It is interesting how St. Paul went to Corinth at the time of the Isthmian Games in the spring of AD 51. Held every two years, they included footraces, wrestling, boxing, discus, javelin, the long jump, chariot racing, poetry reading and singing. Women competed as well as men.* One Biblical scholar has
said that St. Paul’s epistles are “peppered with athletic terminology”** and of course sports were a big part of Hellenistic culture, as the French reminded us at the recent Games in Paris. |
Paul’s final words to his friend Timothy written from jail before his execution were these: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will |
Music video by Vangelis performing Chariots Of Fire. (C) 1981 Universal Music International BV / Polydor (UK) Ltd. VangelisVEVO |
give me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who love his appearing. (2 Tim. 4:6-8) It is significant that near the very end of his life, Paul called on the metaphor of sport to name his life’s spiritual journey. |
* Gordon Franz M.A., “Going for the Gold: The Apostle Paul and the Isthmian Games.” BibleArchaeology.org.
** See Phil. 3:12-14; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Acts 18; 2 Tim. 3:12; 1 Tim 4:7f.; 2 Tim. 2:5; 2 Tim. 4:6-8.
See Matthew Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Postdenominational Priest, pp. 19f., 26f, 49-52, 60.
Also see Fox, Prayer: A Radical Response to
Life.
Also see Fox, Whee! We, wee All the Way Home: Toward a Sensual, Prophetic Spirituality. |
|
Also see Fox, Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet.
Banner Image: Early in the 1956 championship race before the Melbourne Olympic Games, John Landy doubled back to help fallen competitor Ron Clarke. Clarke got back to his feet and started running again; Landy followed, incredibly making up a large deficit to win the race. The commemorative statue stands in
Olympic Park, Melbourne. Photo by Ben Terret on Flickr. |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Queries for Contemplation |
What do you see in Paul’s frequent employment of the metaphor of athletics to name the spiritual journey—and especially in his last letter to his companion Timothy knowing that he was very near death? |
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s stirring
autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of
this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self |
|
Prayer: A Radical Response to Life
How do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? Fox defines prayer as a radical response to life that includes our “Yes” to life (mysticism) and our “No” to forces that
combat life (prophecy). How do we define adult prayer? And how—if at all—do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? One of Matthew Fox’s earliest books, originally published under the title On Becoming a Musical, Mystical Bear: Spirituality American Style, Prayer introduces a mystical/prophetic spirituality and a mature conception of how to pray. Called a “classic” when it first appeared, it lays out the difference between the
creation spirituality tradition and the fall/redemption tradition that has so dominated Western theology since Augustine. A practical and theoretical book, it lays the groundwork for Fox’s later works.
“One of the finest books I have read on contemporary spirituality.” – Rabbi Sholom A. Singer |
|
Whee! We, Wee All the Way Home: A Guide to Sensual Prophetic Spirituality Years ahead of its time when first published in 1976, this book
is still bold and relevant today. Perfect for anyone who thinks mysticism needs to get out of the head and into the body. Matthew Fox begins the Preface to this book by stating, “This is a practical book about waking up and returning to a biblical, justice-oriented spirituality. Such a spirituality is a way of passion that leads to compassion. Such a way is necessarily one of coming to our senses in every meaning of that phrase.” One of Matthew Fox’s earliest books, this title explores the
importance of ecstasy in the spiritual life. Fox considers the distinction between “natural” ecstasies (including nature, sex, friendship, music, art) and “tactical” ecstasies (like meditation, fasting, chanting); he goes on to consider that a truly authentic mysticism must be sensuous in its orientation, so to cultivate the maximum amount of ecstasy for the maximum amount of people.
|
|
Creativity: Where the Divine and Human Meet
Because creativity is the key to both our genius and beauty as a species but also to our capacity for evil, we need to teach creativity and to teach ways of steering this God-like power in
directions that promote love of life (biophilia) and not love of death (necrophilia). Pushing well beyond the bounds of conventional Christian doctrine, Fox’s focus on creativity attempts nothing less than to shape a new ethic.
“Matt Fox is a pilgrim who seeks a path into the church of tomorrow. Countless numbers will be happy to follow his lead.” –Bishop John Shelby Spong, author, Rescuing
the Bible from Fundamentalism, Living in Sin |
|
In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "Matthew Fox has created a narrative, for every parent, grandparent, both spiritual and
scientific, that is a gift for all elders who recognize their responsibility in initiating the young ones into the grandeur of existence." Cosmologist Brian Swimme, Author of Cosmogenesis and The Universe Story "Matthew Fox has given all of us, children included, a wondrous and enchanting view of creation
and all that humanity should aspire to." - Caroline Myss, Author of Anatomy of the Spirit and A Time for Grace |
|
UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox, Mariko Middleton, and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478
Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, August 15, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, September 19, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox speaks on "Preserving Things in the Good" at the Unity of Walnut Creek Earth Day worship service held on April 21, 2024. |
|
Inspired by this post? Share your insights on Universeodon, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
|
|
|
