Richard Rohr – The Wisdom Way (Part Nine)

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. This second session of day 3 begins with the Fuller Seminary students reflecting with Fr. Richard Rohr upon their discussions about scripture up to this point. Fr. Richard explains that the ultimate goal of engaging with the scriptures should be to discern their overall trajectory, which leads us toward the “inclusivity, compassion, mercy, nonviolence, [and] forgiveness” of Jesus. Fr. Richard begins his teaching on Tradition noting the importance of distinguishing Tradition from traditionalism: “When I say Tradition, with a big ‘T,’ I’m talking about the Hebrew scriptures, which as I told you already include pagan, pre-Jewish [traditions].” Traditionalism, on the other hand, is the institutionalization of religion that so often “gives Tradition such a bad name.” He goes on to offer a broad timeline of the evolution of nondual consciousness and the traditions that have come out of it, beginning in 2500 B.C. This evolution moves from the world’s oldest religion, Hinduism, and through many of the Old Testament’s prophets; various New Testament teachers; the Desert Fathers and Mothers; Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Church movements; the Sufi mystics; various saints, monks, and hermits throughout European history; and the leaders of 20th-century nonviolent movements. Fr. Richard concludes noting, “By putting people on this list, . . . I’m not saying they were total examples of it; but some aspect of their life, they illustrated what is not just the timeline of mysticism, but the timeline of nondual thinking.” 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