We are considering the role of the mystic in a time of unraveling of order and therefore a time of despair. And how the mystic lays the groundwork for the spiritual warrior or prophet in all of us. “The prophet is the mystic in action,” observed William Hocking.
Yesterday we considered John of the Cross’s poem on the Dark Night. In another poem, “Deep Rapture: Rimes after an ecstasy of profound contemplation,” John offers a refrain at the end of each of nine stanzas. That refrain is: burst the mind’s barrier (toda sciencia tracendiendo).
Mystical love breaks through the rational brain to a bigger one, an intuitive and imaginative one that can imagine what is not yet and whose passion for justice and compassion burns and refuses to surrender or yield to despair.
Jesus and the prophets call that the “kingdom of God”–a field where justice and truth, beauty and love rule. And where lies, injustice, despair, greed and ugliness are banished. Or, like Dr. King’s speech, “I have a dream.” A dream of a beloved community. Thus, hope.
Add to this gift from the mystics the definition of hope from eco- philosopher David Orr: “Hope is a verb with the sleeves rolled up.” Hope and work go together. Our work is hope just as our work is prayer. Hope not just for ourselves but for others as well. For the community.
The word “community” comes from the two Latin words cum and munio which means: To do work together. Sharing a common work.
“Love, it’s all I do,” said John of the Cross. Can we say that too? Is all our work and expression of building common community and a beloved one that can endure because it is founded on truth and justice? And not on lies and greed that feed injustice?
Work or the Via Transformativa comes to the rescue to resist and shout danger and gather allies and speak the truth and do the truth in the name of compassion and justice which are, for the mystics, the very names of Divinity.
Consider how Julian of Norwich, while living through the dreadful and fear-filled bubonic plague, yet wrote from her heart:
God is the goodness in nature.
God is the same thing as nature.
God is the very essence of nature.
Grace and nature are all aspects of a single goodness and where one operates, all are operating with us.
God will refill what is lacking and restore us with the action of mercy and grace, which will abundantly pour into us from Divinity’s own natural goodness.
All things will be well, every manner of thing will be well.
Clearly, mystics do hold medicine in a time of despair, just as Elliot observed. And awaken the “big heart”–courage (coeur large)–and spiritual-warrior energy to do battle with forces of lies and injustice, evil or antichrist.
*The Poems of St. John of the Cross translated by John Frederick Nims, pp. 25-28.
See Matthew Fox, Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic—and Beyond, pp. 22f., 101f., 96-99.
And Fox, Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Times.
And Fox, Trump and The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society.
And Matthew Fox, “Spiritual Warriors” in Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 77-104.
And Fox, “Spiritual Warriorhood,” in Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Faith Traditions, pp. 404-422.
And Fox, Skylar Wilson, Jen Lustig, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action.
Banner Image: “Wells Fargo Defund Keystone XL Line 3” Hundreds gathered to unfurl banners and paint a giant street mural at the Wells Fargo World HQ, San Francisco Financial District, April 2021. Photo by Peg Hunter on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
How has exposure to the mystics helped you move beyond despair and to create communities that lift you up? And that inspires your work for the common good?
Recommended Reading
Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond
Julian of Norwich lived through the dreadful bubonic plague that killed close to 50% of Europeans. Being an anchoress, she ‘sheltered in place’ and developed a deep wisdom that she shared in her book, Showings, which was the first book in English by a woman. A theologian way ahead of her time, Julian develops a feminist understanding of God as mother at the heart of nature’s goodness. Fox shares her teachings in this powerful and timely and inspiring book.
“What an utterly magnificent book. The work of Julian of Norwich, lovingly supported by the genius of Matthew Fox, is a roadmap into the heart of the eco-spiritual truth that all life breathes together.” –Caroline Myss
Now also available as an audiobook HERE.
Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Time
While Matthew Fox recognizes that Meister Eckhart has influenced thinkers throughout history, he also wants to introduce Eckhart to today’s activists addressing contemporary crises. Toward that end, Fox creates dialogues between Eckhart and Carl Jung, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rabbi Heschel, Black Elk, Karl Marx, Rumi, Adrienne Rich, Dorothee Soelle, David Korten, Anita Roddick, Lily Yeh, M.C. Richards, and many others.
“Matthew Fox is perhaps the greatest writer on Meister Eckhart that has ever existed. (He) has successfully bridged a gap between Eckhart as a shamanistic personality and Eckhart as a post-modern mentor to the Inter-faith movement, to reveal just how cosmic Eckhart really is, and how remarkably relevant to today’s religious crisis! ” — Steven Herrmann, Author of Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
By Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jen Listug
In the midst of global fire, earthquake and flood – as species are going extinct every day and national and global economies totter – the planet doesn’t need another church or religion. What it needs is a new Order, grounded in the Wisdom traditions of both East and West, including science and indigenous. An Order of the Sacred Earth united in one sacred vow: “I promise to be the best lover and defender of the Earth that I can be.”
Co-authored by Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Berit Listug, with a forward by David Korten, this collection of essays by 21 spiritual visionaries including Brian Swimme, Mirabai Starr, Theodore Richards, and Kristal Parks marks the founding of the diverse and inclusive Order of the Sacred Earth, a community now evolving around the world.
“The Order of the Sacred Earth not only calls us home to our true nature as Earth, but also offers us invaluable guidance and company on the way.” ~~ Joanna Macy, environmental activist and author of Active Hope.
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4 thoughts on “Mystics, Lovers, Warriors, Community, Work as Love”
Since young adulthood the mystics and mystical/contemplative spiritual traditions from around the world have always inspired my growing Faith, Compassion, and Awareness in the LOVING LIVING CREATIVE Sacred PRESENCE of Our SOURCE~Co-CREATOR with-in and among Us, especially Our Beautiful Sacred Mother Earth/Nature and All Her Living Creatures/Graceful Abundance, and appreciation for the LOVING BEAUTIFULLY DIVERSE ONENESS of Our Evolving Mysterious COSMOS, including All Unique physical and nonphysical Spiritual Dimensions… GOD IS ALL IN ALL….
Alexis Navalny’s last words in his memoir: “You lie in your [prison] bunk looking the one above and ask yourself if you are a Christian in your heart of hearts. It’s not essential for you to believe some old guys in the desert once lived to be 800 years old or that the sea was literally parted for someone. But are you a disciple of the religion whose founder sacrificed himself for others, paying the price for their sins? Do you believe in the immortality of the soul and the rest of that cool stuff? If you can honestly answer yes, what is there left for you to worry about? …. My job is to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and leave the good old Jesus and the rest of his family to deal with everything else. They won’t let me down and will sort out all my headaches. As they say in prison here: they will take my punches for me…..”
I appreciate your Including David Brandt as an example of muscular humility. Brandt’s work teaching no-till and cover-crops is one of the most hopeful things I’ve ever encountered. These farming practices are massively productive in stemming global heating.
This article is saying “We are considering the role of the mystic in a time of unraveling of order and therefore a time of despair.” To do so we must unravel the mystery of “Who We Truly Are” enhabiting human forms. We are not the creatures of any God separate from the rest of Us. We possess the same powers that Jesus utilized. He was not a son of any God, he was a human being like the rest of us. He only relearned and applied what the rest of us had forgotten. To do our unraveling as mystics, this is where we must begin.