By Richard Reich-Kuykendall
Today we will look at a different kind of God—The Cosmic Christ, Laughter, and Mysticism. And it is my hope that your day will be just a little more rich for having meditated on these gems of truth. (The following are all by Matthew Fox.)
A DIFFERENT KIND OF DEITY
I look for a different kind of deity from that of the modern era in the coming century: a God of justice, of beauty, of celebration, of creativity, of truth, of wonder, of mystery, of nature, of humor, of earth and earthiness. A God of flesh. A God of Jesus, of Buddha, of Buffalo Woman, of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., of Malcolm X and of Mother Jones, of Howard Thurman and of Chief Seattle, of Albert Einstein and of Otto Rank, a God of the many artists who wake us up, of the anawim (those without a voice), of the forgotten ones, of earth, of animals, of supernovas and galaxies, of imagination and of music, of time and of space, of light and of darkness, a God who is author of both passion and compassion—in short, a God of Life. (Matthew Fox)
The Cosmic Christ
is the divine pattern
that connects in the person of Jesus Christ
(but by no means is limited to that person).
I believe the appropriate symbol of the Cosmic Christ
who became incarnate in Jesus
is that of Jesus as Mother Earth
crucified, yet rising daily.
It is God loving God through us loving another.
“Christ” is a generic name.
In that sense
we are all “other Christs.”
(Matthew Fox)
ON LAUGHTER
Every time we laugh we are expressing the dialectical or paradoxical truth of our existence. In fact, so basic is laughter and the dialectical and paradoxical truth it expresses that surely there is no test of sanity that is more accurate than a sense of humor.
The creation tradition understands mysticism primarily
as our entering the fullness of the mystery of existence,
the gift and blessing of creation itself.
Everyone is born a mystic
and a lover who experiences
the unity of things,
and all are called to keep alive
this mystic or lover of life.
(Matthew Fox)
Banner image: “Celestial Creation of Cosmic Completion.” Image by Rainbowlarium on Flickr
Queries for Contemplation
Choose one of the following to reflect on: God, The Cosmic Christ, Laughter, or Mysticism.
Recommended Reading
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
In what may be considered the most comprehensive outline of the Christian paradigm shift of our Age, Matthew Fox eloquently foreshadows the manner in which the spirit of Christ resurrects in terms of the return to an earth-based mysticism, the expression of creativity, mystical sexuality, the respect due the young, the rebirth of effective forms of worship—all of these mirroring the ongoing blessings of Mother Earth and the recovery of Eros, the feminine aspect of the Divine.
“The eighth wonder of the world…convincing proof that our Western religious tradition does indeed have the depth of imagination to reinvent its faith.” — Brian Swimme, author of The Universe Story and Journey of the Universe.
“This book is a classic.” Thomas Berry, author of The Great Work and The Dream of the Earth.
A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality & The Transformation of Christianity
A modern-day theologian’s call for the radical transformation of Christianity that will allow us to move once again from the hollow trappings of organized religion to genuine spirituality. A New Reformation echoes the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther in 1517 and offers a new vision of Christianity that values the Earth, honors the feminine, and respects science and deep ecumenism.
“This is a deep and forceful book….With prophetic insight, Matthew Fox reveals what has corrupted religion in the West and the therapy for its healing.” ~Bruce Chilton, author of Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography
10 thoughts on “On God, the Cosmic Christ, Laughter, and Mysticism.”
We are ‘one’, any one of many or all. Reflect on all, part of all or nothing. As nothing we are whole. As everything we are community.
Like water, we evaporate, rain down again and fill the ocean, the streams. We are formless, shapeless, rise and recede, are seen and unseen.
If we laugh it is like an effervescence that is bubbling over, a release of energy into time and space.
Like a vital inner organ, we cannot see the body or envision that we are part of something greater than the connections directly coming out of us. Christ is the eye, the body, that knows all and sees all.
Our DNA, our presence, our being, are the only eyes we need to see. It is the spiritual that sees all but not all recognize the Spirit that they are. There is a veil that surrounds us. Like the blind we trust that which gives us our sight.
Who are we forever more? Who are we to ever be? Can we maybe be more than we be? Dance then because our joy has arrived, peace sits at our feet, feel love’s embrace, as all together we meet and greet. To be alive is to be alive in all its wonder and glory, awe and humility, in all power and in all we wrongly perceive – for now.
For ‘now’ is swept up in all time and space. We are ‘now’ and ‘now’ is the magnificent experience. Christ suffered so on a cross of pain to lead us, to the ‘love’ which is ‘now, a love not lost or for tomorrow, but ‘now’. Like a Judge without judgement, we are free to be, ‘now’. — BB.
“…we are all Christs…”
This reminds me of the concluding lines of my poem – Kingdom: An Interim Report.
a loving touch brings
heady rapture
lifting me up above my own
dark space so I can see
LIFE
cheering herself on
veering ’round dark corners
steering clear of blank despair
writing sonatas to herself in
sunsets and sundry places
She writes such lilting measures I can
hear resonances of treasures from those
patchy but persistent heavens proliferating
every christ knows where…
The poem was published in Catholic New Times newspaper on the same page as a feature article about Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme’s Creation Spirituality event in Toronto, Canada.
In my quest, my journey, my desire, my need to know, feel, believe, trust, commune with, be with “God”, I get confused almost discouraged when I read or hear about…….
“ a God of justice, of beauty, of celebration, of creativity, of truth, of wonder, of mystery, of nature, of humor, of earth and earthiness. A God of flesh. A God of Jesus, of Buddha, of Buffalo Woman, of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., of MalcolmX and of Mother Jones, of Howard Thurman and of Chief Seattle, of Albert Einstein and of Otto Rank, a God of the many artists who wake us up, of the anawim (those without a voice), of the forgotten ones, of earth, of animals, of supernovas and galaxies, of imagination and of music, of time and of space, of light and of darkness, a God who is author of both passion and compassion—in short, a God of Life.”
I want to know, feel, believe, trust, commune with, be with “God”. The Source. God.
Rather than a God.
This is not a criticism. I’m confused.
Matthew expresses a variety of aspects and people who represent, to him, the best God-ly ideas. and themes. That type of theme-sorting (and deeper contemplation within them) traces back to officially-approved practices of the original Biblical form of mysticism as hinted to by the Gospel of John, i.e., creation through the “Word” (Logos/Son/Christ) and the idea of Christ as holy template of Creation. This was panentheism (Neoplatonism).
The church wrote a very edited/altered interpretation of mysticism and declared only theirs to be official. They extensively used Saint Augustine’s writings as their inspiration, but they censored even his texts to fit their own ideas of what the mystical revelation SHOULD be. They built their interpretation of sacred mysticism (yes, it IS treated as sacred, in both the Old and New Testaments) on their own dualistic, sin-based ideas (world/ matter was trash and completely cut off from God vs. soul-mind was the only part of Creation with any goodness). Eckhart, who truthfully expressed non-dualistic and nature-affirming aspects of the mystical experience, was condemned by the Inquistion.
Matthew celebrates the many people who express the nature-, justice-, and creative- aspects/themes within panentheism.
I’ve written about this mysticism in past posts.
For a Christian mysticism-themed practice, go to Richard Rohr’s website, the Center for Action and Contemplation.
David, First, I would refer you to Matthew’s book, NAMING THE UNAMEABLE: 89 WONDERFUL AND USEFUL NAMES FOR GOD… INCLUDING THE UNNAMEABLE GOD. And then I would like to share this story. I was the Moderator of an Ecclesiastical Council that was to decide whether a certain minister would be ordained or not. When the minister was asked “her” views on the trinity, she simply said: “Why limit God to Three?” Well, that was certainly was not what anyone expected to hear, nor would it have been an acceptable answer in most denominations, but it slid by in this one. And I thought when she said this, “How could we be so spiritually smug in our thinking to say that their are one three “archetypes” for God…
The Mystery is a mystery for a reason. It is not revealed to all or not so right away. It is to be learned and walked through experientially. To be confused about ‘words, words and more words’ is natural because many of the well-meaning and not so well meaning use an overabundance of words, and like to be known for their so many words. So don’t focus on their words. It is best to focus on Jesus Word in the New Testament, which is the New Covenant. All words in the world (if worthy of our attention and most are just needless noise) need to be filtered through the Sacred Heart and Mind of Christ. That is to be our dwelling place in all of prayer, meditation and imitation through our actions. So will ‘fill ourselves’ with Christ even over our own hard won and fought for thoughts and beliefs. We don’t need to live and wrestle with the anxiety that comes from what others say. We can enjoy and be immersed in the simple, quiet and stillness of our being.
Please do not take this as a lecture to yourself. I had to personally get through all of this in my journey and in that regard, it is a self-reflection. — BB.
There is no test for sanity more accurate than a sense of humor—this is so true, and to be able to laugh at oneself is the highest proof, I think. Humor is such a gift, especially in the midst of our so often sorry world and our sorry lives. It lifts us out of ourselves and gives a perspective that integrates and illuminates the paradox of life.
“Cosmic Christ~Divine Creation~Cosmic Consciousness~Divine Feminine-Masculine Energies~
True Heart Selves~Eternal Soul Selves~Evolving Loving Diverse Oneness… “
“… human nature~Divine Nature… “
Cherry picking the Scriptures by ignoring, denying, or selectively inattending to its basic doctrines, particularly its key juridical components (sin, atonement and judgment), in favor of its incarnational (mystical) ones (Christ as embedded everywhere in nature), just because the institutional church one began in abusively emphasized the former over the latter to your detriment, isn’t a cogent justification for same. It merely creates a cult of disenfranchised, retread Catholics who inadvisably throw the doctrinal baby (in balanced form) out with the bathwater. Such is tantamount to teaching basic math by unilaterally deciding that addition, division, and subtraction will be a part of the math syllabus, but not multiplication. Not ever, because your grade school teacher treated you harshly for mistakes in multiplication.