Giving ritual such a place of honor as both Matthew Fox and the present writer have done in our last few DMs raises a number of questions. One of the most pressing of them, for me, regards my own definition of myself as a Christian. Everything that I said and believe about ritual and its being central to the human experience and spirituality is indeed not specifically Christian. If anything, it is connected to the ancestral roots of our species and to the Earth-based/shamanic spirituality of our ancestors.
I was lucky enough to be trained originally in Catholic theology, which understands beliefs and practices that predate Christianity as valid forms of religion. Until they are superseded by Christianity in its Catholic form, that is. Limited as this acceptance is, it is still much healthier than the general Protestant conviction that everything that predates Christianity in its Protestant form was and is simply wrong. Catholic ritual, in particular, was a target of the Reformers, who understood it as a remnant of either the Pagan past or the Jewish past. In any case, not to be trusted at all.
In any case, for me as a Catholic, approaching ritual as a living experience was not precluded either experientially or intellectually. The fact that people process ceremonially, or in circles, or repeat the same mantra many times, or are blessed with water, or are anointed with oil, and so on and so forth, is what people have done since the beginning of time. For a Catholic, that is completely fine, except that Jesus Christ sanctifies such human rituals and transforms them into a channel of divine supernatural grace.
I am, of course, simplifying the issue very much, but my point is this: In what meaningful sense can I still call myself a Christian after I have experienced and I believe that the divine is very much alive and operative in healthy rituals, independently of them being Christian rituals? What has Jesus Christ to do with my spirituality, if ritual as such has become so central to me, and I believe it should be central to the renewal of spirituality and the human species (see the DM of June 5)?
There are, of course, many ways of being a Christian, some of which — like White Christian Nationalism — are almost unrecognizable to me, or I consider a grievous sin. As a theologian, I must take responsibility for whatever it is within the Christian doctrines that has morphed to become such a horror. But I can also state that such a kind of Christianity has nothing to do with what Jesus lived and died for, and not even with the standards of faith preached by the Church for centuries.
Granted, however, that there are many ways of being a Christian, some of them may be new to our era, and should not be considered less valid than the ones handed down to us.
One of the retreats that I offer periodically is titled Historical Jesus, Cosmic Christ: An Immersive Seminar for Believers, Non-believers, Atheists, and Agnostics. Obviously, the point of the retreat is not to convert anyone, but to help all deepen their knowledge of Jesus and the Cosmic Christ, and to develop their spirituality in whatever direction it may take them.
Some people come out of this retreat having discovered what kind of feisty individual Jesus really was, and therefore may call themselves “Jesus followers” even though they don’t sign up for any Church or any doctrine about God.
Others learn for the first time how the early Christians perceived God’s Wisdom embodied in each living creature, thus especially but not exclusively in Jesus Christ. They often come out challenged in their exclusionary Christian beliefs or in their atheist/agnostic convictions. Some even accept that doctrines can be living tools for spirituality, as long as they are understood as human constructions and thus are used properly.
In other words, there is a variety of healthy new ways of being a Christian today. I hope to embody in myself all of them because I find them very convincing, while letting go more and more of the residual elements of superiority that I absorbed from my Christian context.
I have established myself as a Christian, therefore, but I have done so independently of the issue of ritual. Can I be somebody whose spirituality is based on ritual and Jesus Christ as two separate yet both important halves of a whole? I can.
But there is a central ritual action of Christianity which, in my view, can accommodate many different ways of being a Christian, and may even become welcoming to non-Christians. And that is the Eucharist — popularly called the Mass.
Throughout its history, it has been celebrated in many ways, yet it has remarkably kept a shape that has — in my view — an enormous spiritual potential, mostly untapped today. I don’t need to keep my love for ritual and my identity as a Christian separate! I can unite them very deeply through the Eucharist.
And I can do so without claiming that others should join my Christian faith, and without belittling or in any way demeaning the divine value of rituals within other religious groups or traditions.
Banner Image: “Christ in the Wilderness” Painting by Ivan Kramskoi, Russian artist of Ukrainian descent, 1872. Wikimedia Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
What is your stance concerning the historical Jesus? And what about the Cosmic Christ (i.e., the divine presence in each creature)? And what about the union of Christian faith and ritual in your life experience?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
A Way to God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey
The Lotus and The Rose: A Conversation Between Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Christianity
Passion for Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart
7 thoughts on “Why Jesus Christ?”
The slogan “Not in my name” was printed on T-shirts worn by many in the Jewish diaspora to show their disapproval of the Israeli genocidal crimes in Gaza. If Jesus came back and saw what has been and is still being done and said worldwide in his name, he would surely wear one of these T-shirts on his way to another execution.
the historical Jesus? Hard to actually know the “facts”, beliefs are not facts yet beliefs -aka: creeds, doctrines, etc have been the impetus for wars, hatred, and so forth.
Cosmic Christ ? “I am”, the divine name can apply to Jesus. ” I am the way…” and to all who allow the divinity (Grace) to manifest itself in one’s behavior.
the union of Christian faith and ritual in your life experience? Ritual is what I find to be important to me or to the “group”. Personally,I find most Catholic rituals, including the “Mass”, a distraction from the rituals that Jesus used: washing feet, touching, hugging, breaking bread at a meal on a table or hillside not at an altar
What is not understood well by many is WHY the Eucharist is the source and summit. It is sold by superstition and by expecting blind allegiance. It is described as a mystery to deep to understand. But I think it’s true power can only be released by making it well understood and I think this is pretty easily done. Go for it GG
I grew up with two rituals in the church, baptism and communion. I heard many stories of other rituals like the perfume poured on the feet of Jesus. I also did my own rituals at home and still do. I believe the Cosmic nature of Christ infiltrates everything so too do our rituals whether in a sanctuary or in the sanctuary of our homes and ourselves.
I used to be confused about the difference between Jesus and Christ, and especially when they were used together in the name Jesus Christ. In the last several years of my spiritual journey, I’ve come to understand for myself that Jesus is the name for the historical person and spiritual teacher along with other mystic ancestors who have taught us and experienced the Divine Beautiful Cosmic Christ Present and Lovingly Flowing within All of Us —All creation and beings, All physical and nonphysical spiritual dimensions — in Our Sacred Evolving Diverse Oneness Cosmos in the Sacred Process of the Eternal Present Moment….
I believe the historical Jesus came from Venus (“the bright and morning star”) albeit upon a higher frequency to the physical realm we recognize here on Earth. It ties in with the Cosmic Christ and his Ascension, and the “Star of Bethlehem”. I believe life goes on, not just beyond death – awaiting reincarnation – but beyond this Earth and the physical dimension. The ritual I have practiced for over 40 years, almost daily, is “The Twelve Blessings”, a metaphysical and spiritual account of the Living Universe within which all life exists. I recommend it.
First of all, I loved the meditation today, thank-you. Second, although I don’t think I can clearly articulate the difference between the historical Christ and the cosmic Christ, I just know that focusing on his teachings makes one fall in love with him) two quotes that summarize what I believe and try to live, are:
Black Elk: ” We should understand well that all things are the work of the Great Spirit. We should know that he is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and all the four-legged animals and the winged peoples; and even more important we should understand that he is also above all these things and peoples. When we do understand all this deeply in our hearts, then we will fear, and love, and know the Great Spirit, and then we will be, and act, and live as he intends.”
Alberta Einstein: ” Our task must be, to widen our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature.”
Ritual is clearly important, not totally clear why. I guess I call myself a Christian, Yogist, Buddhist, Tai Chi Creationist, lol.