Contemplation and Action
At the suggestion on a friends blog (http://rabtab.blogspot.com/), I recently read this article: http://www.incommunion.org/mmaria.htm
Reading about Mother Maria Skobtsova has made me think about another of the tensions of the spiritual life, that of action and contemplation. There are an untold number of saints who have dedicated their entire lives to silence and prayer, without us ever knowing of their prayer work. And there are many others, such as Mother Maria, and Mother Theresa, who devote their lives to the poor and oppressed. These two works, prayer and action, are not mutually exclusive, in fact they are rather connected. How could one truly connect to our loving God and Father, without having a heart for the suffering? How could one truly minister to the oppressed, without first knowing God's love?
In Mother Maria's words: "If someone turns with his spiritual world toward the spiritual world of another person," she reflected, "he encounters an awesome and inspiring mystery .... He comes into contact with the true image of God in man, with the very icon of God incarnate in the world, with a reflection of the mystery of God's incarnation and divine manhood. And he needs to accept this awesome revelation of God unconditionally, to venerate the image of God in his brother." In the words of John the Theologian from his first epistle: "Anyone who claims to be in the light, but hates his brother, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light." And also: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
While each true Christian needs a balance between contemplation and action, each may have a call, a gift, or a desire for a specific purpose. Too often the contemplative judges the server as being too busy, too active, and not taking enough time for their own spiritual life. And the servant judges the contemplative as too aloof, too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. I think of the story of Mary and Martha when Jesus came to visit. Mary sat at Jesus feet listening to Him while Martha was busy serving Him. Often the point is made Mary chose the better part. However, Jesus never judged or accused Martha for serving; he only made that point when she interrupted her serving to criticize her more contemplative sister.
While each of us is called both to pray and to serve, it is up to us to find what our gift is, what our purpose and place is in the Kingdom of God. I wonder if by trying to be balanced we often sacrifice our gift? I'm thankful for the saints who dedicated their lives to prayer on behalf of the world. And I'm thankful for those who loved and worked at bringing the gospel to my life. Lord have mercy that you will fulfill your purpose in me.
Reading about Mother Maria Skobtsova has made me think about another of the tensions of the spiritual life, that of action and contemplation. There are an untold number of saints who have dedicated their entire lives to silence and prayer, without us ever knowing of their prayer work. And there are many others, such as Mother Maria, and Mother Theresa, who devote their lives to the poor and oppressed. These two works, prayer and action, are not mutually exclusive, in fact they are rather connected. How could one truly connect to our loving God and Father, without having a heart for the suffering? How could one truly minister to the oppressed, without first knowing God's love?
In Mother Maria's words: "If someone turns with his spiritual world toward the spiritual world of another person," she reflected, "he encounters an awesome and inspiring mystery .... He comes into contact with the true image of God in man, with the very icon of God incarnate in the world, with a reflection of the mystery of God's incarnation and divine manhood. And he needs to accept this awesome revelation of God unconditionally, to venerate the image of God in his brother." In the words of John the Theologian from his first epistle: "Anyone who claims to be in the light, but hates his brother, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light." And also: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
While each true Christian needs a balance between contemplation and action, each may have a call, a gift, or a desire for a specific purpose. Too often the contemplative judges the server as being too busy, too active, and not taking enough time for their own spiritual life. And the servant judges the contemplative as too aloof, too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. I think of the story of Mary and Martha when Jesus came to visit. Mary sat at Jesus feet listening to Him while Martha was busy serving Him. Often the point is made Mary chose the better part. However, Jesus never judged or accused Martha for serving; he only made that point when she interrupted her serving to criticize her more contemplative sister.
While each of us is called both to pray and to serve, it is up to us to find what our gift is, what our purpose and place is in the Kingdom of God. I wonder if by trying to be balanced we often sacrifice our gift? I'm thankful for the saints who dedicated their lives to prayer on behalf of the world. And I'm thankful for those who loved and worked at bringing the gospel to my life. Lord have mercy that you will fulfill your purpose in me.
posted by Jeff at
12:27 PM
