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Spiritual growth is a dangerous journey.
Christ called us to follow The Way; his way.
Many do so and find comfort in stepping onto his path
failing to realise
that he has moved onward,
has not stopped where they are.
So we may each be:-
1. Walking the Land
1. Walking the Land (close)
For many the Sea of Faith is out of sight,
irrelevant to their daily lives.
There may be occasional reports about it,
but it has no impact on life nor any reality.
Nor is it of any interest.
If we want spiritual refreshment,
we take a holy bath, run a tap,
buy a bottle at the spiritual supermarket
– maybe visit the local lake.
Water/spirituality is there, on demand.
What need of more?
2. Walking the Beach
2. Walking the Beach (close)
A visit to the beach can bring the Sea of Faith into focus.
The scale. The power.
Many find it too overwhelming, too challenging,
or just nothing to do with their land-locked life.
Those who approach it may well seem crazy, or perverse
– people to be avoided.
Why go near it when I never learnt to swim?
What can be the attraction of salt water
with its corrosive, cleansing properties?
3. The River of Religion
3. The River of Religion (close)
Finding the sea too challenging, we make our own constructs;
ponds, dams, rivers, lakes.
Less awesome yet still overwhelming. Less corrosive.
Controllable, for the most part, by man.
Religion: the channelling of spirituality
into a form acceptable to the community.
The establishment of rules and authorities, authorised liturgies,
ordained hierarchy; sanitised, sanctified, safe.
4. Paddling in the Shallows
4. Paddling in the Shallows (close)
It is still a brave step to enter a Christian community
Many only make this journey at special festivals or events in their lives
Neither understanding nor really partaking in what is going on.
Not really wanting to wet their feet, properly.
Yet, by paddling gently, gradually they can become a part of it;
the community that meets together drawn by the flow of the Spirit.
5. Waist Deep and Further
5. Waist Deep and Further (close)
In time comes a deeper immersion:
praise, worship' giving to others,
selflessness, and care for the homeless.
Loving others. All the good things that God requires.
These are the foundation of the Church, of Christian society.
The “good Christian people” of today.
This is what opens bazaars, maintains the roof,
finances missions, feeds the hungry
– even employs the clergy.
The River-People safely channelled by the banks,
if not always touching the bottom.
Channelled by the comforting stability of ritual and liturgy;
the feel-good factor of good works.
. Washed by gentle, healing waters; safe, stable, controlled.
6. Dipping Under
6. Dipping Under (close)
Yet immersion in the flow of divine love calls us
to submerge body and soul in the river of the Spirit;
Water flowing freely over head and body;
feeling the tug of the current;
Allowing God to take over, for a while.
To draw us down to the sea. The dangerous, corrosive, cleansing sea.
Cradled by the love of God,
yet secure in the knowledge and the traditions of man.
Always conscious of the possibility of retreat to solid ground,
the authorised theology and teaching of the Church.
Outside that lies danger.
7 Feet off the Bottom
7 Feet off the Bottom (close)
Dare we abandon such security;
detach ourselves from solid ground,
the safety of a foot on the bottom -
the constraints, yet support, of orthodoxy
and the good opinions of others ?
Dare we risk being swept away
into the rocks and whirlpools of the lost ?.
Dare we reject safe stability for the danger and wonder of the ocean.
Risking the short journey from the haven of divine spirituality
to the wreck of spiritualism ?
Do we dare to seek the survivor's reward,
the fullness of life in the flood of the free-flowing Spirit?
Many, throughout the ages, have lived and died on this path,
rejected, lonesome and in obscurity.
Some died the martyr’s death.
Some few changed the path of Christendom.
Have all of them been at odds with those who merely paddle
- those who desperately preserve their security?
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SPIRITUAL GROWTH