Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
"Sin:
Symptom of Separation"
Summary: Sunday, August 20-Friday, August 25, 2017
It is not that if I am moral, then I will be loved by God; rather, I must first come to experience God’s love, and then I will—almost naturally—be moral. (Monday)
Unfortunately, the word “sin” in our vocabulary implies culpability or personal fault. In fact, the precise meaning of original sin is that we are not personallyculpable for it, but it was somehow passed on to us and all people share in it. (Tuesday)
We are not punished for our sins; we are punished by our sins. (Wednesday)It is our mistakes that lead us to God. We come to divine union not by doing it right but by doing it wrong. (Thursday)
Both Jesus and Paul believed that necessary and predictable transgression—and the need for mercy that follows—is the pattern of transformation. (Friday)
Practice: Remembering Our Covenant
Today I’d like to share a perspective on sin or transgression—and practices that remind us of our union with God—from the Muslim tradition. Persian author and activist Avideh Shashaani writes:
My understanding of Islam has come through Sufism—the interior life of Islam. Islam, like any religion, may be viewed as a spectrum of light—ranging from the fundamentalists to the mystics. Our place on this spectrum depends on our level of spiritual expansion and knowledge. In the Islamic tradition, we are considered to be an amazing weave of heaven and earth. Islam does not see us as sinful beings to be redeemed, but as neglectful and forgetful beings endowed with the primordial light. When we “step” across the boundary of the divine realm into the world and become forgetful of our reality, we are in a state of transgression. Forgetfulness is what we must constantly struggle against. The message of Islam is meant to guide us to uncover our true identity deeply buried under the layers of our neglectful nature. The Qur’an says “[God] created man in the best of stature” (95:4), and says that “We are closer to him than his jugular vein” (50:16).
The duties prescribed for the Muslim are directed toward uncovering our primordial nature and remembering our covenant with God, “‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yes, we bear witness’” (7:172). . . . The duties of Muslims that pave the way for the remembrance of this covenant include prayer, fasting, and charity. . . .
Praying in Islam requires a state of presence. It begins with the ablutions. By washing the face with water we put aside the five senses that are engaged with the world; the washing of the hands signifies giving to the world what belongs to the world; wetting the head means putting all thoughts aside; and wetting the feet means redirecting our steps from the world to God. It is after we have cleansed ourselves of our interactions with the world that we are able to stand before God and declare our intention to enter the heart and walk on the straight path that leads to the Divine presence.
Fasting is another requirement for Muslims [which] has an outer form and an inner meaning. Fasting is another means for us to relinquish attachments and to be in the remembrance of God. It is a time of purification in which we fast from the world. Through prayer, sacrifice, and charity, the gates of heaven are cast open and we feast at the heavenly banquet of God. . . .
The ultimate purpose of all acts of devotion and sacrifice in Islam is to renew our relationship with God.
Gateway to Silence: I am hidden in the love and mercy of God.Reference:
Avideh Shashaani, “An Islamic Perspective on Transgression: Oneness,” Oneing, vol. 2, no. 1 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2014), 24-27.
For Further Study:
Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (Franciscan Media: 2008)
“Transgression,” Oneing, vol. 2, no. 1 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2014)
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If you’re ready to deepen your understanding of the Christian mystical tradition and wisdom from other spiritual paths. . .
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Applications are available through September 15; completed applications are due September 29, 2017.
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The Center for Action and Contemplation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States for Friday, 25 August 2017 - Richard Rohr Meditation: Love and Mercy"
Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
"Sin:
Symptom of Separation"
"Love and Mercy"
Friday, August 25, 2017
The law was given to multiply our opportunities for falling. [Romans 5:20]The pattern of necessary falling or the “myth of transgression” made less and less sense to Western Christianity as it came to think that religion’s purpose was to teach and maintain social and imperial order. The Christian mind eventually had little respect for the ubiquitous disorder in the universe, unlike most native religions—for example, as here in New Mexico where the Puebloan clown deliberately breaks the perfect symmetry and seriousness of the sacred dance or the intentional imperfection that must be woven into the authentic Navajo rug (this imperfection is wisely called “the spirit line”).
After almost 50 years as a priest teaching in many countries, I believe that many if not most people are attracted to religion because they want order in their own lives and in the world. This is not bad; it is a first-half-of-life need and task. But it is simply the warm-up for the real Gospel (see Galatians 3:24). Today even science demonstrates rather convincingly that asymmetry is what breaks the dead patterns and moves all elements, species, and ages forward. Life itself proceeds by the radical asymmetry of life and death: no new forms will form unless the old ones die out.
This is how the transgression myth was revealed through the Gospel: Jesus, who is judged—by objective criteria—to be a sinner/offender/failure/transgressor by both high priest and Roman Empire is, in fact, the one who “redeems the world”! Paul repeats this message and calls it the “mystery of the crucified,” which forever discounts both “the Law” (his Jewish religion) and “reason” (Greek philosophy) which at that point were the two great ways to achieve order in their world. Yet these are so deep in our psyche that Christianity went right back to both of them—with a vengeance!
The Gospel and the cross say that the only honest and healing order is the acceptance of disorder. This is God’s surprising and scandalous plan. It is much of the import of Paul’s letters to the Romans and the Galatians.
Both Jesus and Paul believed that necessary and predictable transgression—and the need for mercy that follows—is the pattern of transformation. This is the way God “justifies,” or executes divine justice. This is how God realigns reality inside the only absolute there is: the eternal love of God. Pope Francis is the first pope I am aware of who has had the insight and courage to say that Divine Love is the only absolute, not law, Scripture, church, or moral behavior. Law and reason can never achieve their own goals perfectly, but love and mercy can and do. “Where are your philosophers now? Where are the scribes?” Paul shouts (1 Corinthians 1:20). Love alone, he says, is the “fulfillment” of the law (Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14), which of course is what Jesus said (see Matthew 22:40).
Gateway to Silence: I am hidden in the love and mercy of God.
Reference:
Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Introduction,” Oneing, vol. 2, no. 1 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2014), 13-14.
There’s still time to apply for the
2018–2020 Living School program!
If you long to create a more whole and peaceful world. . .If you are committed to contemplative practice and letting go of ego. . .
If you’re ready to deepen your understanding of the Christian mystical tradition and wisdom from other spiritual paths. . .
Apply to join Richard Rohr, Cynthia Bourgeault, and James Finley in a two-year course of study, online and in New Mexico!
Learn more and purchase an application today at cac.org/living-school.
Applications are available through September 15; completed applications are due September 29, 2017.
Copyright © 2017
The Center for Action and Contemplation
1823 Five Points Road South West (physical)
PO Box 12464 (mailing)
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87195, United States
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