I seldom read books more than once. The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity by Martin Palmer is an exception. I have read it three times in the past several months. http://www.brogilbert.org/christ-culture/5christ_tao.HTM The beauty of the progression of the Christian experience in the earliest centuries, moving from it’s roots in Palestine to the hills of China, challenges and enriches my own experience. An example of two liturgies (i.e.prayers said in group worship) from this ancient and oriental understanding of the Trinity follows.
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I was at my sixth silent retreat in four years. Three days of not speaking and only deep listening in prayer. This is the first time I have been able to keep the silence – no calls on my cell phone to the outside world. No attempts at conversation. No taking notes. I got a peek at the depths of God’s love
An older gentleman sat down across from me at luncheon. We acknowledged each others presence with a nod. Small sayings from the lecture portion of the retreat were scattered around the table. We took turns looking at each one.
He began to weep in silence as he read one contrasting the experience of self-acceptance in the light of God’s grace versus the experience of inadequacy, fear, greed and control in the spaces of life called our ego. I watched him weep and wanted to comfort him. The silence required me to only silently expand my heart to him.
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From The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church by Vladimir Lossky “The mystery of the divine Being, which is the distinction between the one nature and the persons, is graven upon humanity, called to participate in the life of the Holy Trinity. The two poles of human being – nature and persons – find their fullness the one in unity with the other in absolute diversity; for each person is united to God according to the mode which is proper to him alone.”
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About a month ago I met a lovely lady in church. I remarked to her that she looked very nice that day. She told me she was 92. I said she didn’t look a day over 75. I spoke the truth. I asked her what her secret was – Oil of Olay perhaps? She proceeded to tell me that she did facial exercises to keep her face looking young and promised to teach them to me. So there we were in the ladies room after church yesterday and she teaches me two exercises. The first one involves thrusting ones bottom chin out and holding for a count of 10. As I practiced she advised me to notice how this lifted the bosom and built muscles to support the breasts. I kept a straight face…for about 10 seconds. The next exercise involved holding the upper lip down and grimacing to build up the face muscles. Equally amusing but no bosom lifting on that one. As my mother would say, “I met the most interesting woman…” May I look so good at 92.
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One of the most frequent things I heard my mother say was “I met the most interesting person.” I seem to have inherited both her curiosity and ability. On Saturday night, we went to a free concert in a former church in the middle of Pennsylvania. The call it the Old Lynn church. No longer used for worship, it has become a place for free folk concerts. The group Four Shillings Short was wonderful but even more interesting was the couple next to us. They looked to be about 70 and were RV’ers from Virginia. They met each other just after WWII when she was hitch-hiking in NYC in a snow storm. She was a city person and he was a German-born US soldier who learned to speak English from his Louisiana Army unit. I never head anyone speak Cajun with a German accent. He gratefulness for our country and his patriotism to it was heartwarming. He didn’t appreciate the anti-war lyrics of the singers but his Democratic NYC wife did!
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I do know that Albert Einstein had some theory about the relativity of time. Not having a scientifically oriented mind, I really don’t know what he meant by that. However, as I am getting older and watching my parents get older, time does seem to be moving far more quickly than pleases me. I’m over half a century old myself and only just now really understand that I won’t get everything done in life that I once set out to do. My parents are close to 80 but more active than me. It is quite certain that they will be in the midst of some project or plans when their time comes to leave this earth.
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What do I mean by “practical mystic?” It is a term that came to me over the past few years as I have explored many spiritual paths in order to learn what is in concert with the teachings of Christ and with the experience of the early mystics of the Christian faith. Practical because for me (some would say because of my astrological sign of Cancer) if something of faith has no practical use then it has little intrest for me. Mystic because my mind and heart sing in the realm of the Holy Oneness of Being. The Jesus prayer (Om Jesu Christi Misereri Nobis) is the backround music of my waking and sleeping hours. Silence is the place I feel least alone and most at home.
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