Mystic Musings: Lent 3/15

“Every object, every creature, every man, woman and child has a soul and it is the destiny of all,

To see as God sees, to know as God knows, to feel as God feels, to Be as God Is.”

Meister Eckhart, 13th-14th century Catholic monk and mystic

Photo by Marcel Ardivan @worldsofmaru

I remember preaching a sermon about fifteen years ago that I titled, “Moralism or Mysticism”. It was clearly during this period that my faith and my spiritual life was experiencing a transition and transformation. Most of my faith up to that point had been consumed with becoming a moral man (Reinhold Neibuhr reference). It was to do what was right and good.

The truth of the matter is that our spiritual lives are not quite as either/or as my sermon title suggests. But if I were to capture what that transition was about, it was shifting from “doing the right thing” to “embodying the heart of God.” Of course, both can be true at the same time.

I can imagine no better language for the life of the mystic than this line from Meister Eckhart. “To see as God sees, to know as God knows, to feel as God feels, to Be as God Is.” Mystics often describe this as the same ache and yearning that a bride and groom feel for each other on their wedding night. It is an ache felt in the very viscera of the body and can only be satisfied by total communion where the line between God and us evaporates.

Sit quietly. Breathe deeply.

Pray this prayer slowly noticing the feelings in your body. Does this open your heart more or close it down? There is no right answer. Just notice.

“God, give me the eyes to see as you see, the mind to know as you know, the heart to feel as you feel, and the yearning to be as you are.”