Gregory Fruehwirth writes an article, also in this month's Century, about the inner and outer movement in the spiritual journey.
The article begins, "We need nothing more urgently than people engaged in transformative protest and action from a heart transformed by contemplantion."
Fruehwirth goes on to create a verbal cartography of the spiritual journey: outward action; inward reflection that makes our previous actions the product of "anxiety and grasping, self-centered desire"; back to outward action in the form of "divine love for the world..., a burning urgency in us" which is really "a surrender, letting go, and the newfound intimacy with God." I get the sense that this inner and outer movement keeps going throughout one's life--that it's essential to the vitality of a life in Christ.
Unfortunately, the article is not reprinted anywhere online that I can find. It's worth reading.
This movement, in and out, certainly is part of my journey. First outward in volunteering and in Urban Solutions, inward to seminary, outward in parish ministry, now back inward in deeper contemplation and the giving up of my formerly beloved ideologies in favor of Christ alone. I feel like I'm trading my grasping at justice for the vision of justice that grows out of divine intimacy. But it's taking time. And how do I translate that into ministry? What mechanism in a parish can incubate this movement in others?
I'm going to try and get my hands on his book, Words for Silence. In the meantime, I'd be curious to hear of any readers' experiences with the deepening of faith as a movement between outward action and inward reflection. How long do these cycles last for you? How do you discern when it's time to shift?
Yes, the movement inward and outward has been a part of my faith journey as well. It started as an academic and theoretical pursuit, something that I could "do" in my head, it exploded outward on the Equality Ride, and in the year after took a turn inward as I soaked in books, articles, and letters wherever I could find them. As I boil inward, it seems as if it's only a matter of time before that faith erupts outward. A year ago I was considering seminary as part of my turn inward, but now I think that will wait for another period of inward reflection. It feels, for me, as if I need to turn outward again.
ReplyDeleteDiscerning isn't always easy, is it? Something I've found helpful is imagining that whatever I'm stewing on has already come to pass--what does that look like? how do I feel? is God present in that future vision of reality? am I?