Ressourcement of the Mystical Tradition

I have been reading Thomas Torrance and the Church Fathers by Jason Robert Radcliff (Pickwick, 2014).  Radcliff looks at Thomas Torrance ressourcement and reconstruction of his Reformed Evangelical theology by his dialogue with the Eastern Orthodox.  Evangelical theology needs to be more historically rooted in the church fathers and therefore be more Patristic, Catholic, and Orthodox.  There has been a "return to the sources" by many Christians in all three strands of Christianity from Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox have typically simply followed this way as what it means to be Orthodox.  This is not just a reciting the church fathers or knowing their teachings but a kind of mindset where one takes what they did and apply it to our new situations today.

I believe this "return" or going back to move forward in resourcing the early church fathers and Patristic teachings is certainly a right move in taking the church to a better future.  What I am not sure anybody is doing is resourcing the great mystical tradition, its asceticism and monastic habits?  As someone who is studying this great tradition, it is either largely ignored or rejected by many contemporary Christian teachers of the church and academy today.  Maybe this is difficult because there is more diversity between the different strands of mysticism as well as whole divergent developments between monastic movements from Benedictine, Franciscan, Dominican, Jesuit, Cistercian, and Eastern Orthodox to name some of the major ones.

What one sees in these different strands or movements are similarity as well as complementary differences.  Ressourcement of the mystical tradition would be invaluable to fellow pilgrims and travelers who are on this mystical journey of faith.  I know there is a strong tendency towards mixing eastern mysticism with Christian mysticism as well as a convergence of all religions in an inclusive and syncretistic fashion.  I believe an in depth ressourcement of the Christian mystical tradition would be very fruitful start in helping struggling Christians deal with the secularization and apathy among so many people who make up the ranks of the church today.

Books Outside the Borders

Almost everything I have been reading lately is between four hundred to six hundred years old.  I am a mystical lover of God and these great works were written by Christian mystics centuries ago.  I have been reading a few recent books that are typically outside the borders of what many Christians usually read.  Here is a short reading list I have been reading for this year.

1.  Evelyn Underhill Mysticism is a classic work on the study and deep theological reflections on mystical writers throughout the centuries.  She is known as a Christian mystic herself and writes with a depth and scholarship and one of the leading authorities on Christian mysticism even though she wrote this at the beginning of the twentieth century.

2.  Carter J. Gregory wrote a book on the mystical view of scripture called The Fourth Watch of the Night.  Carter deals with the mystical numbers in the Bible from Daniel through the Gospels and Paul's writings.  He shows patterns and an intentional form of biblical numerology that is often overlooked or dismissed by the Christian academy today.

3.  The Rev. Dr. Donna Fletcher is a contemporary Christian theologian and mystical writer.  In her book Reflection of the Heart, she writes devotional thoughts about a Christ centered love for God in understanding oneself as well as understanding God.  She interweaves beautiful prose, poetry, and reflections throughout her book.

4.  Deana Deering is a charismatic mystic writer who writes inspirational and spirit-filled thoughts in her The Masterpiece of the Wilderness: Journeys of a Warrior Poet.  Her book connects scripture, prophetic insights, and spiritual words that comfort and challenge the reader. 

5.  Abraham Heschel is an orthodox Jewish writer and one of the most prolific writers of our day.  He writes with such beautiful prose that one is lifted into the heavenly places just reading some of his poetic theology.  A wonderful anthology of his best thoughts is called I Asked for Wonder.

6.  Travis Scholl is a creative and engaging writer and speaks of the mystical journey through a book he wrote on a forty day Lenten journey.  The book is called Walking the Labyrinth which deals with see God in creation, life, family, work, and play.  Scholl powerfully brings the mystical image of labyrinth to life by literally walking through one on a forty day spiritual journey through the gospel of Mark.

7.  Lastly, I have been reading Archimandrite Zacharias book called The Enlargement of the Heart.  This work is about the Eastern Orthodox saint Silouan whose famous saying is "Keep the mind in hell but despair not."  There are always two opposite poles or polar opposite edges we sometimes forget to explore.  We read a scripture about love and say nothing about hate or fear that is its opposite.  We read a verse about double mindedness but don't pay attention to single mindedness as its opposite.  We are told to look up in the Bible but what if God tells us to look down and see how desperate and lost we without God in hell?  St. Silouan powerfully reveals how this spiritual exercise can help us not be attached to this world while at the same time drawing closer to God with Christ-like humility.

The Mystics Third Eye

"The Truth must dazzle gradually or every man be blind"  -  Emily Dickinson
"The eye which we look back at God will be the same eye that first looked at us" 
 -  Meister Eckhart

The ego is what keeps us blind.  It is the unobserved self.  It's many defense mechanisms and illusions keeps us in the dark.  The opposite of ego is surrender.  The Christian life is about joyful surrender to God.   It's the place where we discover who we are and that through contemplative prayer centered on Jesus Christ, we can practice entering heaven now. 

Christian mystics sometimes speak about what they call "the third eye."  This is not just a spiritual happening or "God thing" or simply awareness of God's presence although all these things happen in mystic gazing.  The third eye is where God gives new gifts and abilities like prophesy, writing poetry, and praying in the Spirit. 

The three ways of seeing could be described as follows: (1) The first eye is natural seeing (our thoughts at the moment and natural sight); (2) the second eye is reason (reflection, logic, meditation); and (3) the third eye is spiritual seeing (contemplation and spiritual intuitions).  This third way of seeing goes beyond both reason and our natural ways of seeing the world.  We enter heavenly realms and portals that show us things beyond normal sight and perception.

Sometimes we call these "third eye" people saints, seers, mystics, and poets.  This is the person humbled by the grace of God and energized by the Spirit of God.  Third eye people are comfortable with mystery, paradox, and gut intuitive ways of knowing.  This is a movement away from dualistic and dichotomous ways of thinking (either/or) toward holistic both/and ways of thinking.  This is a movement away from Christian beliefs being merely a system of doctrine to poetic moves of the Spirit that shapes our vision and lifestyle.  This is a movement away from religious rules and codes of proper behavior to liturgical moves of worship and love relationships being a key to everything.

We learn this mystic way through the Spirit of Jesus and his teachings.  His life and mystic path has been kept hidden through the ages by philosophers, scholars, and biblical professors who want to keep the Jesus way tame, accessible for modern people, and under the management of competent professionals with high academic degrees.  But the way forward is really going back first.  We need to learn the path of the early desert fathers and mothers, monastics and catholic reformers, the Hesychastic and Celtic Christians as well as the many monks, mystics, recluses, and saints who shaped Christ centered communities.  For in doing so, then we may really see that unseen reality that's been before us the whole time.