Posted on by Kurt Bodling

the statements are important, but don’t forget the rest

"Christianity begins with revelation. Though it would be misleading to classify this revelation simply as a ‘doctrine’ and an ‘explanation’ (it is far more than that–the revelation of God Himself in the mystery of Christ) it is nevertheless communicated to us in words, in statements, and everything depends on the believer’s accepting the truth of these statements.

"Therefore Christianity has always been profoundly concerned with these statements: with the accuracy of their transmission from the original sources, with the precise understanding of their exact meaning, with the elimination and indeed the condemnation of false interpretations. At times this concern has been exaggerated almost to the point of an obsession, accompanied by arbitrary and fanatical insistence on hairsplitting distinctions and the purest niceties of theological detail.

“This obsession with doctrinal formulas, juridical order, and ritual exactitude has often made people forget that the heart of Catholicism, too, is a living experience of unity in Christ which far transcends all conceptual formulations.”

Merton, Thomas. “A Christian Looks at Zen.” (1967) in Selected Essays. Edited with an introduction by Patrick F. O’Connell. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2013, p. 347.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

the voice of the stranger

“God speaks, and God is to be heard, not only on Sinai, not only in my own heart, but in the voice of the stranger. That is why the peoples of the Orient, and all primitive peoples in general, make so much of the mystery of hospitality. God must be allowed to speak unpredictably. The Holy Spirit, the very voice of Divine Liberty, must always be like the wind in ‘blowing where he pleases’ (John 3:8).”

Merton, Thomas. “A Letter to Pablo Antonio Cuadra concerning Giants.” (1961) in Selected Essays. Edited with an introduction by Patrick F. O’Connell. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2013 (p. 121).

Someone dear to me regularly reminds us to ‘Pay attention.’ Because you never know, do you, when God will speak to you through another person (stranger or friend), through the call of a bird or the colors of flowers and sunsets, through something you read (particularly even some non-religious thing), through dreams (that happens, at least, in the Scriptures), and so on. It makes sense that God would.

We say God is everywhere, and one thing that must mean is that God can speak to us everywhere. We expect, of course, to hear God in our place of worship, in our private devotional time, in the Scriptures and spiritual classics. But we also should be open to hear God, as Merton writes, “speak unpredictably.” So pay attention.