Richard Rohr – The Wisdom Way (Part Five)

About this sermon

“The Wisdom Way: Scripture, Tradition, and Experience” was a week-long retreat held at the Center for Action and Contemplation for students from Fuller Seminary in April and May 2013. The week of teaching was designed with the goal of “understand[ing] scripture and tradition and experience in a critical way.” Ultimately, Father Richard Rohr and the Fuller students sought to develop a working definition of wisdom for those seeking contemplative spirituality. In this first session of day 2, Fr. Richard Rohr teaches on scripture. He begins with a reading of Mary Oliver’s poem “Snow Geese” and discusses John Duns Scotus’ concept of Haecceity—“thisness”—which holds that everything exists by “a conscious, deliberate, intentional, loving choice of God.” He then reads Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem “As Kingfishers Catch Fire.” Teaching on scripture, Fr. Richard says that reading through a contemplative lens reveals that despite all of their contradictions, the Judeo-Christian scriptures follow a trajectory toward greater nonviolence, mercy, inclusivity, and freedom. Referencing the scholarship of Walter Brueggemann, Fr. Richard teaches that the three major sections of the Jewish scriptures—Torah, prophetic literature, and wisdom literature—reflect three stages of consciousness: “first naïveté,” critical consciousness, and “second naïveté.” The wisdom literature is ultimately able to synthesize and reconcile the conservative literalism of first naïveté with the rebelliousness of critical consciousness. Using Ken Wilber’s phrase, Fr. Richard teaches that the scriptures “transcend and include” everything that came before. This principle of “transcend and include” is mirrored in Owen Barfield’s concept of “second axial consciousness” which holds that God is ultimately in all things: we can honor Jesus and his teachings, the earlier teachings of Judaism, and the “original participation” of creation before organized religion. This is the goal of contemplation: “to see God in all things.” After taking a break, the group reconvenes and Fr. Richard teaches on the alternative orthodoxy of the Franciscan tradition, which holds that “the first Bible is creation.” He then emphasizes the importance of tradition as an essential authority through which we can access a common language in religion; however, we also need the balance of the prophets who are able to critique tradition. The prophets are largely led by inner authority, revealing the important union of both the cataphatic--knowing—and the apophatic—unknowing. “The best training ground for apophatic spirituality,” he teaches, “is contemplation because it isn’t the prayer of words or ideas or concepts or ritualization; it’s moving to the prayer of quiet where I know that I don’t know.” Fr. Richard concludes noting two core principles: (1) “knowing must be balanced by unknowing,” and (2) the Alpha and the Omega—“knowing where it all started and where is it all going.” CENTER FOR ACTION AND CONTEMPLATION The Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) is an educational nonprofit introducing seekers to the contemplative Christian path of transformation. Founded by Richard Rohr in 1987, our programs and resources are designed to help deepen prayer practice and strengthen compassionate engagement in the world. https://cac.org Subscribe: https://bit.ly/3QypRgu Learn more about Who We Are: https://bit.ly/3D8TtdU Learn more about What We Do: https://bit.ly/3qrYFGc Learn more about Richard Rohr: https://bit.ly/3ozYdmP Learn more about Contemplation: https://bit.ly/3wNojGF

Topics

• Wisdom