
Just finished The Naked Now by Father Richard Rohr, one of the best books I have read in a long time. Father Rohr is a Fransciscan friar who founded the Center for Action and Contemplation. He has a way of explaining Christian spirituality that just clicks with me. Here are a couple excerpts from the book:
Two universal and prime paths of transformation have been available to every human being God has created since Adam and Eve and the Stone Age: great love and great suffering. These are offered to all; they level the playing fields of all the world religions. Only love and suffering are strong enough to break down our usual ego defenses, crush our dual thinking, and open us up to Mystery. In my experience, they like nothing else exert the mysterious chemistry that can transmute us from a fear-based life into a love-based life. None of us are exactly sure why. We do know that words, even good words or totally orthodox theology, cannot achieve that by itself. No surprise that the Christian icon of redemption is a man offering love from a crucified position.
That rings 100% true, like something so blindingly obvious I can’t imagine I haven’t heard it before … but I haven’t heard it before. Kind of puts a new perspective on what is important. A few pages later he continues:
Authentic love is of one piece. How you love anything is how you love everything. Jesus commands us to “Love our neighbors as we love ourselves,” and he connects the two great commandments of love of God and love of neighbor, saying they are “like” one another (Matthew 22:40). So often, we think this means to love our neighbor with the same amount of love — as much as we love ourselves — when it really means that it is the same Source and the same Love that allows me to love myself, and others, and God — at the same time! That is unfortunately not the way most people understand love, compassion, and forgiveness, but it is the only way they ever work. How you love is how you have accessed love ….
In and with God, I can love everything and everyone — even my enemies. Alone and by myself, will power and intellect will seldom be able to love in difficult situations over time. Many sophisticated folks try to love by themselves. They try to obey the second commandment without the first. It usually does not work long-term, and there is no one more cynical than a disillusioned idealist.
The simple theology that is the subtitle of this blog, ”Love God, love people, nothing else matters” is incomplete without an understanding of why trying to obey the second commandment without the first is ultimately hopeless. I think Father Rohr explains this very well.