Richard Rohr – The Wisdom Way (Part Seven)

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. n this afternoon session on the second day of the retreat, Fr. Richard Rohr engages in dialogue with the Fuller Seminary students on the differences between conventional wisdom and alternative wisdom. Conventional wisdom, he teaches, is “cultural folk knowledge [and] common, good sense: what most people want and expect from religion.” He warns that conventional wisdom can trap us within our groups and within the dominant consciousness. Its danger is that “it confuses law, custom, and good advice with morality and God.” While we all must begin life in conventional wisdom, we can’t stay in it. Alternative wisdom, Fr. Richard teaches, is the wisdom of the prophets. He argues that the “container” of institutional religion cannot ultimately model the mercy and compassion of alternative wisdom: “It can raise up individuals, and support and protect individuals who are merciful and compassionate. And it can write documents that are merciful and compassionate. But to survive, it has to keep moving back to conventional wisdom.” The alternative wisdom of Jesus and the prophets emphasizes an end to the religious practices of sacrifice in favor of the image of a forgiving God: Jesus even became the ultimate sacrifice to end all other bloodshed. The Franciscan Tradition, Fr. Richard teaches, views the incarnation of the Cosmic Christ as unconditional redemption from the very beginning. St. Francis modeled this gospel worldview of compassion by living in solidarity with human suffering and those at the bottom. 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