-Fr. Thomas Keating
Somehow I knew I wasn't done with blogging about mercy. It's following me around apparently.
Keating seems to be suggesting that one way in which God expresses mercy is by making himself equal with us. I suspect some will read that and consider it blasphemy. The idea of God lowering herself to the status of created humans is understandably insulting, and is likely one reason why other religions and sects have rejected this Christian doctrine. But if you think about it, the incarnation is sort of a blasphemous idea if we try to wrap our heads around the idea of Jesus being fully human and fully divine. Even if we consider it a part of our orthodox Christian faith, I think it's still an idea that we resist.
But if we can tolerate the perceived blasphemy of a God who becomes equal with his own creation, there is perhaps a deeper understanding of mercy to be found. If one way God expresses mercy is by becoming equal with us, perhaps we too must express mercy by becoming equal with others. Maybe one of the biggest barriers we face in extending true mercy (not condescending "help" or pity), is that elevation of our selves above others. Maybe we can distinguish mercy from pity, in recognizing that in mercy we become equals rather than superiors who are nobly refraining from executing our version of justice.
I think I was stumbling around with this idea earlier in blog posts when I was bringing out Father Greg Boyle's idea of embracing kinship. In kinship we are reminding ourselves that not only do we belong to each other, but that we are equals in the human family.
So mercy requires us to humble ourselves. It requires a certain "humiliation" of our egos if you will.
Developing this concept, Fr. Keating says:
"The most productive effort is to accept the endless humiliations of the false self. The spiritual journey is not a career, but a succession of “diminutions of self,” as Teilhard de Chardin put it. This has nothing to do with the neurosis of a low self-image. It is simply the fact that we are completely dependent on the love of God. We are always in the arms of the beloved, whatever we may feel or think." (Contemplative Outreach, December 2015)
It seems to me that unlike God we don't become equals, we actually just learn to recognize that we already are equals with the rest of humanity. After our false and elevated selves have been broken down, we recognize ourselves as being just like everyone else - completely dependent on the love of God.
So today I'm confronted with this profound mystery that God, and the people I look down on, and the people I think are better than me, are all in some respect equal to me through our shared humanity. I'm not suggesting the equality means we are all identical or even the same. I recognize that God maintains a superiority over me in some certain aspects because she is also divine. And just because I'm equal in my dependence on God's love doesn't mean I'm the exact same as ISIS or Desmond Tutu. But in so far as I am equal to all of these, I become more capable of mercy.
As a person in a helping role this seems rather crucial to me. Professional health care can easily take on a dynamic of the helper being elevated and/or looking down on those seeking help. But as we tap into the flow of mercy we are changed into people who care for others out of equality rather than responding to weakness from a place of superiority.
God, help us all to see who we really are. Give us the courage to consent to having our false selves stripped away so we can recognize our equality with you and all humanity. Help us to receive your mercy and be changed by it so that we can extend mercy to others.
Somehow I knew I wasn't done with blogging about mercy. It's following me around apparently.
Keating seems to be suggesting that one way in which God expresses mercy is by making himself equal with us. I suspect some will read that and consider it blasphemy. The idea of God lowering herself to the status of created humans is understandably insulting, and is likely one reason why other religions and sects have rejected this Christian doctrine. But if you think about it, the incarnation is sort of a blasphemous idea if we try to wrap our heads around the idea of Jesus being fully human and fully divine. Even if we consider it a part of our orthodox Christian faith, I think it's still an idea that we resist.
But if we can tolerate the perceived blasphemy of a God who becomes equal with his own creation, there is perhaps a deeper understanding of mercy to be found. If one way God expresses mercy is by becoming equal with us, perhaps we too must express mercy by becoming equal with others. Maybe one of the biggest barriers we face in extending true mercy (not condescending "help" or pity), is that elevation of our selves above others. Maybe we can distinguish mercy from pity, in recognizing that in mercy we become equals rather than superiors who are nobly refraining from executing our version of justice.
I think I was stumbling around with this idea earlier in blog posts when I was bringing out Father Greg Boyle's idea of embracing kinship. In kinship we are reminding ourselves that not only do we belong to each other, but that we are equals in the human family.
So mercy requires us to humble ourselves. It requires a certain "humiliation" of our egos if you will.
Developing this concept, Fr. Keating says:
"The most productive effort is to accept the endless humiliations of the false self. The spiritual journey is not a career, but a succession of “diminutions of self,” as Teilhard de Chardin put it. This has nothing to do with the neurosis of a low self-image. It is simply the fact that we are completely dependent on the love of God. We are always in the arms of the beloved, whatever we may feel or think." (Contemplative Outreach, December 2015)
It seems to me that unlike God we don't become equals, we actually just learn to recognize that we already are equals with the rest of humanity. After our false and elevated selves have been broken down, we recognize ourselves as being just like everyone else - completely dependent on the love of God.
So today I'm confronted with this profound mystery that God, and the people I look down on, and the people I think are better than me, are all in some respect equal to me through our shared humanity. I'm not suggesting the equality means we are all identical or even the same. I recognize that God maintains a superiority over me in some certain aspects because she is also divine. And just because I'm equal in my dependence on God's love doesn't mean I'm the exact same as ISIS or Desmond Tutu. But in so far as I am equal to all of these, I become more capable of mercy.
As a person in a helping role this seems rather crucial to me. Professional health care can easily take on a dynamic of the helper being elevated and/or looking down on those seeking help. But as we tap into the flow of mercy we are changed into people who care for others out of equality rather than responding to weakness from a place of superiority.
God, help us all to see who we really are. Give us the courage to consent to having our false selves stripped away so we can recognize our equality with you and all humanity. Help us to receive your mercy and be changed by it so that we can extend mercy to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment