Dear friends,
Recently, I came across two books that I’d like to suggest to you. One is part of my PhD research journey, titled Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli (Zondervan Books, 2007 edition). Here are some excerpts from it that may prompt you to reflect on what spirituality is and what Christian spirituality is about.
“Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. Spirituality is not about being fixed; it is about God’s being present in the mess of our unfixedness” (page 22).
“Why should I be surprised? Turns out all of the biblical characters were a complex mix of strengths and weaknesses. David, Abraham, Lot, Saul, Solomon, Rahab, and Sarah were God-loving, courageous, brilliant, fearless, loyal, passionate, committed holy men and women who were also murderers, adulterers, and manic depressives. They were men and women who could be gentle, holy, defenders of the faith one minute, and insecure, mentally unstable, unbelieving, shrewd, lying, grudge-holding tyrants the next.
The New Testament characters weren’t much better. Look who Jesus hung out with: prostitutes, tax collectors, adulterers, mental cases, penniless riffraff, and losers of all kinds. His disciples were hardly models of saintliness. They were committed to Jesus, were ready to follow him anywhere (with one notable exception), but they were also troubled by infighting, always jockeying for position, suspicious of each other, accusatory, impulsive, selfish, lazy, and disloyal. Most of the time, they did not understand what Jesus was talking about, and when he died, they had no clue what to do next” (page 22-3).
The second book was recommended to me by its author, Judith Scully, a former student at Heart of Life back in 1997. Her book is titled Everyday Mystics – Spirituality for People Who Don’t Read Spirituality.
“For me, mysticism has meant slipping behind the theology and spirituality that formed my religious background and beginning to recognise God’s presence in the ordinary. A mystical approach doesn’t come from book knowledge, or even church knowledge. Richard Rohr says, ‘A mystic is one who has moved from belief systems or belonging systems to actual inner experience’. Moving into inner space involves more than finding the time, space and silence to begin recognising and trusting that innerness. That’s not easy if the authority of an organised religious background would seem to warn against it.
Writing about spirituality has pushed me to look beyond the everyday and ordinary that once was and into the wide spiritual dimensions of life as it is today. For the last twenty years, I’ve braided Gospel reflections, posts and other spiritual writing, with slices of memoir, inviting readers to recognise and acknowledge the messiness of life and its inevitable contradictions. Looking for the sacred hidden in the everyday has taught me to trust the value of my own, and others’ God experience” (from the Preface).”
I think you can see the emerging theme between the two writings in the area of spirituality of everyday life. Life is messy, ordinary and unattractive. But it is also precious, valuable, and mystical only if we have eyes to see and hearts to embrace what it offers, with the grace of God.
Every blessing on our ongoing journey of life, finding the divine presence and love for us.
Khoi Nguyen msc
Heart of Life Spirituality and Pastoral Centre
Alumni Coordinator