I think that in any religion there are those who embrace their faith with authenticity and with what we might characterize as curiosity, courage and compassion. In other words, they hold to their faith with open minds and hearts. There are also plenty of folks in various religions who have embraced a version of their faith that makes them feel that an open mind and heart are not required. Faith becomes a settled issue.
As tempting as a settled faith might be,it is in that tension between embracing what religious faith offers us and keeping our minds and hearts open that we are likely to have encounters with mystery.
When I listen to open minded, open hearted people talk about their faith–whatever faith tradition it is–somewhere along the way I hear them giving witness to their encounters with mystery. That witness may come with varying metaphors and stories, but we can hear the common themes.
Encounters with mystery produce peace, both inner and relational.
Encounters with mystery give new sight to them where they were once unable to see things like injustice and inequity, oppression and cruelty.
Encounters with mystery tenderize those open hearts so that people of faith are moved toward those who suffer with help and aid.
Encounters with faith produce moments of transcendence that lift us above the mundane.
Almost always, encounters with mystery, the mystery that lurks in the tension between the embrace of religious faith and the open mind and heart, create love. Always love. In so many ways, love.
These are precious expressions of mystery: peace, insight, compassion, transcendence, and love. They are powerful, life changing experiences.
The danger that threatens the very real expressions of mystery that truly transform us and the world is the creeping temptation to think that one’s particular expressions of mystery are the only true and divine ones. When we fall prey to that temptation, we collapse that beautiful tension between what first drew us to our faith and holding our hearts and minds open.
~Bob Patrick
I imagine this essay is a litmus test for those both aligned with a definitive faith and those that hold faith close to an open heart. As I was reading this I wondered where I am on this continuum. Am I liberated enough to see mystery? Are my thoughts fluid enough to accept the mystery that would naturally manifest to a curious mind or am I still bound to my childhood conditioning and sensory input of the moment in front of me? Age has taught me how little I know and how powerful faith can be in delivering answers that keep us safe from mystery. Scary thing, facing Mystery. They say, “God loves an honest doubter”. I guess one needs to be somewhat comfortable with doubt, mystery and the life long journey for truth, without the GPS directions for finding dogma .