Distortions And Inhumanities

When you simply state the historical reality of contemplative living and the evidence for a direct relationship with God enough you may be lucky enough for those with no draw to or experience of such to actually grant you the space to be yourself. While rare, it does happen. After all, this aspect of true Christianity has deliberately been kept out of sight and downplayed for millennia within the formal setting of institutional Christianity. But if you expect to actually be given space within the administrative framework of modern religion, watch out! The real danger at this point comes when these administrators turn and say to you that you now need to prove yourself. It is as if they are saying that there now needs to be an exchange. That in their perception of syphoning off time and resources from the efficient machinery that runs the organization that you need to ante up and demonstrate how contemplation can actually benefit the people who are paying the bills and promoting the benefits of the business. But it does not work that way, does it? They want to sit back and see what this is all about. They want you to make it happen. They even presume that you can make something happen. And they want models that can be repeated and passed on. Well hardly. You see, this experience falls into another category of life, expectations, values, and perceptions all together...Gospel life, Gospel expectations, Gospel values, and Gospel perceptions. It is, after all, a way of living that is an actual parable that is uncompromising and that stands the world on its head. Its purpose is to relax and to heal and to smooth out the distortions and inhumanities, which are things that form the very foundations of the organization that are asking you to justify yourself.