Introduction to a Practice-Based Faith
One of the most influential spiritual voices in my life is Father Richard Rohr. In a recent interview, he was saying how the vitality of the Christian faith in the future relies on two things; a robust Trinitarian understanding of God and a Practiced-based faith.
The first part of this equation has a lot to do with our understanding of Jesus Christ. When we say “Jesus Christ,” we are really making two important affirmations of faith.
Firstly, we are recognizing the humanity of Jesus who walked alongside us and was one of us. A lot of non-denominational and charismatic churches worship a very “human” Jesus as is made evident by the highly relational and intimately available Jesus being worshiped. This Jesus-centric way of worshiping usually highlights encounter with Christ in very tangible human terms over-and-above any mystical engagement with God.
Secondly, when we say “Jesus Christ” we are recognizing the Cosmic nature of Christ; the eternal Logos who throughout the course of time goes before us, is with us, and comes after us continually revealing the nature of the Godhead. If we profess our faith in Jesus Christ we are holding these truths in tension with one another while proclaiming faith in the united Trinity. God is relationship and movement and life and love.
A picture from Soumela Monastery, Turkey. Photo by Fatih Özdemir on Unsplash
When our concept of God becomes larger and larger over time, it directly affects how we worship. As children, often times we can only process a small Jesus who is our friend; someone who we can trust. This revelation may be wonderfully necessary and life-giving at the time, but at some point that particular notion of Jesus needs to be expanded. If we commit to being life-long learners and experiencers of the faith, this process of understanding and renewal never ceases. It keeps on evolving in a cyclical nature by discarding unhelpful ways of knowing while accumulating new ways of knowing in the process. This evolution necessitates a renewed way of connecting with God on a “soul level”, otherwise the possibility exists where we become stuck in our head, our emotions, or our gut. A Practice-based faith insists on drawing from all three of these centers and allowing these centers to work simultaneously together in harmony.
I have found practices such as mediation, confession, Eucharist, prayer walks, and other forms of contemplative prayer to be cable vessels for my expanding understanding of God. These daily practices allow for nuance, non-cerebral investigation, and experiential and emotional connection to the Divine.
Like Father Richard Rohr, I do believe the future of the Christian tradition (in terms of richness and vitality) relies on the extent to which we don’t box God in with our theology and the extent to which we convert understanding into experience. God does not just reside in our minds. God is everywhere present and finds home in our seeking, our questions, our doubts, our pain, our pleasure, and our rejoicing.
Periodically on this platform I am going to invite you into my daily routine and describe certain practices I have found helpful. Contemplative forms of Christianity have a stigma about being unrealistically demanding to normal people living in the modern world. A contemplative engagement with the faith does require a re-evaluation of schedule and daily behavior, but it is completely possible to seek a transformed way of life regardless of how much free-time is currently in your schedule. But more on this later...
