Last Sunday, April 28, 2024, I preached on what I have learned on this remarkable path of a mystic. Here is the YouTube link to a video of the service. My talk begins at minute 29 and ends at minute 45. Below it, you will find the full text. As some of you might know, I’ve struggled with posting the video. My fingers are crossed that it will work. Thanks so very much for your patience!
Mysticism 101
April 28, 2024
Pastor Charlotte urged us, in her deeply moving sermon several weeks ago, to support folks emerging from a closet. And then, she added, most of us must do this about some aspect of our lives, and it takes great courage. I took heart, and decided, I would try to emerge from a lifetime hidden in a particular closet - and probably not the closet you would have predicted! I will try now to speak of what I have learned, a first report.
Today's lectionary reading about Jesus' parable of the vine and its branches is my favorite of the whole New Testament. It is a profound teaching about the nature of a deeply rich spiritual path, and I've found it to be true.
As I read a few commentaries, I realized the Protestant interpretive tradition seems to focus on being pruned by the gardener, on one hand, and bearing fruit, on the other. We know about being pruned - suffering, illness, defeat, disappointment, and heart break. And our beloved UCC tradition speaks constantly of the fruits we can offer - doing good in the world, both as individuals and as church.
I want to speak about what lies before pruning and fruiting, how the branches are rooted in the vine. I need its assurance and clarity about my fundamental relationship to the Sacred and the very "nature of things."
Of all the writers in the New Testament, John stands out as the mystic. Consider his first sentence: no stable, no shepherds, no wise men, no endless list of who begat whom. No. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." That should alert us his Gospel will refer to our spiritual lives, and how we might access that realm of Reality beyond the reach of our five senses.
I've often spoken of healing our hearts, clearing out obstacles to becoming whole, and how we too, like Jesus, can recognize who we really are. John gives us Jesus' answer: we are each a branch, rooted in the vine of a great Teacher. For John and many of us here, that is Jesus. Jesus, likewise, is a branch, rooted in the ultimate Vine, his Abba, God, our very Source.
Recognizing this, experiencing this, and aligning with it is a long and challenging process, I have discovered. On the way, it seems to cost everything. The path of the mystic does not end with cognitive knowing. What is encountered must be taken in and integrated into your whole being. Even your body must know, we are rooted in the Vine and drenched in Love. As this morning's reading from the first Letter of John says so beautifully, "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." (4:16) This, I believe, is the very essence of Christian spirituality. It is our birthright, the stunning gift of the mystical path.
Let's pause for a moment, to touch on four critical words: Love, Abba, Mysticism, and Abide.
Love. The word is a mess in the western world, its core meaning diluted beyond recognition. I rarely use it. I prefer to define love as the intention and desire, that all people, indeed, all beings flourish.
Abba. In Aramaic, it means something like "Daddy," Jesus' name for God. I often use Source, from which we emerge and to which we return.
Mystic. A mystic is someone who experiences her relationship with Source, with God, with Abba, with the Holy, as a branch rooted in the vine and embedded in Love.
And last, the beautiful, tender word, Abide. We abide in God, and God abides in us. The Sacred, the Unnamable, the Creator, Source of All abides in you, as you abide in that mysterious Presence. Let me say it again. I and you abide in Source, and Source abides in each of us, you and me. Resting there, abiding in it, even for just a few moments, will change your life. It continues to change mine.
Historically, monasteries welcomed people intent on following this path. But there are other ways. Longing to recognize this deepest truth of our being is lodged in each of us, I'm sure. Many of you listening now can recognize hints of this in your own hearts. We are spiritual beings, beings of spirit. It is our birthright and nature.
It may begin with a glimpse, a shiver, or a startling opening, which might gather and intensify. It may dissolve an ancient fear or habit of self-hiding. It unfolds in countless ways. The adventuring mystic deepens her understanding of being a branch profoundly rooted in the Vine. She abides in that love which flows through her and out into the world. She becomes an embodiment of the Sacred, shaped by infinite Love, and so, is able to share it with others. As the letter writer John says, "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.". (4:7) There are a thousand ways to express this truth, as you will discover. The words matter little. It is the mystic's life that speaks.
It is really very simple: Know who you are, and surrender to its depth and fullness. Still, I must say, it can also be difficult and oh so painful. Look at the stories of Peter for example, and consider as well the stories about the Pharisees, for another.
It takes more than brute courage. It takes healing the ancient traumas and woundedness of your life. It requires wrestling with fears, down to the ultimate fear, our fear of death and the many forms of loss. The self-important ego must be disarmed. Greed, arrogance, and self-entitlement must be addressed. We seek to be whole and spacious in heart and mind and spirit. Only then can the Love which has no name pour through your heart and out into the world.
Sometimes deep healing requires seclusion and silence. Jesus heads into the desert or the wilderness, to tend to his inner life. Some people, even without knowing it, move to a remote island, on behalf of their healing and waking up.
Just remember: The gift you seek is to know deeply, you are loved and cherished, as you are, by the unimaginable Sacred Source of Love. It is an astonishing process, difficult to name and difficult to take in. But you will rejoice in more and more freedom and joy.
I will close now with the sermon title I really wanted to use. You can understand why it seemed a bit too cheeky, even for me. But now, I hope it will make sense.
What? You aren't a mystic yet? I'd bet you are or certainly could be, dear friends. Hide no more!
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I hope you are drenched in the wonders of spring! Here, we await the first tiny green leaves. May it happen soon!
Hide no more from the sound of silence that stills your fear..Love you Dear Penny
...the gift you seek is to know deeply, you are loved and cherished, as you are...
oh yes.
thank you always, dear friend.
holly