Friday 12 October 2007

Let's end the week by hearing more about the need to listen and open our eyes and see...again. From Richard Rohr's "The Enneagram."



According to the chemist-turned-philosopher Michael Polanyi, all knowing of truth can happen only inside a previous "tacit knowing" that is silent, unconscious, and unspoken - even to us. Text is always untrue or at least incomplete outside of context... We are all partial knowers; all verbalizations are filled with biography, preference, genius, and past hurts. We are always invested in our knowing. We are all wading in Heraclitus's ever-moving stream. This leads us to a necessary humility and to a very unsettling sense of certitude that we all want and need. It seems we must somehow "kneel" to hear and see correctly. Polanyi said to his fellow scientists that the great geniuses had something more than detached, cold objectivity. They also had an ability "to dwell inside of things" that was more art than science, more poetry than prose, more spirit than rational control of the data. And more letting go than holding on.



Again, it sounds a bit like the "indwelling" that we used in the past weeks to speak of the Christ in us all. No longer something objective "out there" but something really quite close - quite a part of each of us. Sometimes we really do need to "kneel" to hear and see correctly. Often times, that means we must be willing to do that even as we look at ourselves and the relationship we say we have entered as people within the church. This is not always easy to do. There can be so many distractions....so many things that must be done immediately, that we do not take the time to "kneel" an look and contemplate and dream and wonder and imagine how the holy is present and how we are in the midst of it all. It is good to hear a scientist speak in such "mystical" sounding terms. Then again, I'm sure this kind of talk from an "objective" scientist is not so comforting to some others. Personally, I like the blended picture - it seems a bit organic...and the only way to see how it all goes together is to stop and listen and look again...and breath.



Connection: Maybe even the 'science' of relationships would benefit from the importance of an "indwelling" that means we take the time today to wonder a bit more about who we are and who we are with each other...and how it works and breaks down and is constantly becoming a part of a discovery taking place all around us.



By your gracious love, O God, you throw us all together and in the mix of things we are given the opportunity to see you face - shining on us. Without that context of community, we might be so consumed by ourselves that we do not pause for long enough to see you living within this great gathering of your beloved. Praise to you, O God. Amen.