I’m interested in Christian mysticism.
There are many people throughout church history who are both influential in the way the church evolved, end even central to its development - such as Paul - but who are also what you would consider a Christian mystic.
The word mysticism simply refers to the mystery of something. It originated with Christianity. So, the term Christian mysticism is the original way in which the word mysticism was used. And then the word mysticism was adopted by other religions and traditions and used for their purposes. So it’s not far fetched to use it in the Christian context because that’s how it was originally used.
Christian mysticism simply refers to the mystery of God.
There’s St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, and all the way back even to Paul. They are all in some way considered Christian mystics, and they all have come to be revered throughout history as pillars of the church.
I was thinking about Jesus, and Jesus’s life. And there’s nothing about Jesus’ life that’s not mystical or mysterious.
- He had a virgin birth
- When He was 12 they found Him in the temple and even the teachers in the temple were amazed at His wisdom. So, even as a child He had this mysterious level of wisdom about Him.
- As a man, His teachings, His parables, everything He said is beyond human wisdom; it’s beyond anything that anyone else could even come up with.
- How He responded to situations, and how He responded to people trying to attack Him…
- When He was asked if it was right to pay taxes, He asked whose image was on the coin and said to give it back to its owner
- When He was asked if they should stone the woman caught in adultery, He said let the one who is without sin throw the first stone
His wisdom is beyond anything that a human would come up with.
And then there’s the Beatitudes, and His outpourings of teaching and wisdom that are at a mysteriously excellent level. No other person has been able to pour out that much wisdom in as concentrated, or as beautiful, a form throughout history. There’s no other teacher in history that has been able to distill so much wisdom into writings as concise as the gospels.
And then there’s His compassion. He showed compassion to people in a way that defied human understanding. No one else was willing to touch lepers, or eat with tax collectors. His compassion was even beyond the understanding of His own disciples.
He also cast out demons. You don’t hear of any other teachers walking around casting out demons. And many people try to completely avoid the subject these days because they can’t wrap their minds around it. They don’t want to even deal with it or think about it. And yet it’s a central part of Jesus’ ministry.
Then there’s the way He handled being persecuted and put to death. That’s mysterious. He went like a lamb to the slaughter. Not many people could do that. There have been martyrs that have imitated Him in being put to death, but that’s not a normal human reaction, and the way that Jesus did it is exemplary.
Then He came back to life after being dead for 3 days - which is a complete mystery.
Then He ascended into heaven while His disciples stood and watched - and that’s a completely mysterious thing.
There’s really nothing about Jesus’ life that’s not a mystery, or mystical. Everything about Him, from a human perspective, is mysterious. And so, my study and my interest in Christian mysticism is rooted in wanting to know Jesus for who He really is.
And the people who came after Jesus - those pillars of the church, or mothers and fathers of the church, if you want to call them that - their mysticism is rooted in the pursuit of knowing Jesus. It’s not like they’re trying to invent a new religion, or some new way of believing. They are simply trying to commune with their Lord and God. And to do that you can’t just sit down and have a normal conversation with Jesus or with God because it’s not normal, it’s mystical. Prayer is - by human understanding - a mysterious, or mystical, interaction. And the one you are praying to is beyond normal. He is beyond human normality. And so, He’s mysterious. If you really want to know Jesus, if you really want to know God, you have to go into the realm of the mysterious willingly. Because that’s where He is.
So, that’s why I’m interested in Christian mysticism, why I want to explore it, and develop my thinking around it.