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Spirituality

Descriptions of Spirituality

I describe spirituality as raised awareness of the Sacred Presence in one’s life. That Sacred Presence is none other than the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit. Spirituality is giving attention to the movement of the Spirit in our life and relationships. Attention is first centered inward, in the mind, heart, soul, and consciousness. It then is expressed outwardly and corporately in right relationships.

Author Howard L. Rice calls spirituality: ‘the pattern by which we shape our lives in response to our experience of God as a very real presence in and around us’ (Reformed Spirituality, p. 45).

Author Don Saliers writes “To be a living reminder of Jesus Christ in all that we do is the central task of Christian spirituality … This is the heart of all Christian worship and spirituality: our participation in the mystery of his dying and rising” (Worship and Spirituality, p. 13).

The late author Henri J. M. Nouwen, quoted in ‘A Guide to Prayer’ (Abingdon), writes: “Spirituality is attention to the life of the spirit in us; it is going out to the desert or up to the mountain to pray; it is standing before the Lord with open heart and open mind; it is crying out, ‘Abba, Father’; it is contemplating the unspeakable beauty of our loving God’ (p. 107).

Metaphors for Spirituality

Spirituality can be described through metaphor.

· A field (turned soil, planted seeds, watering and growing)

· Growing a tree (rooted in God, branching out in spiritual growth)

· A pilgrimage to a Holy City

· A darkened pathway being illuminated by God

· A voyage through uncharted waters toward safe harbor

A canvas (of your life) being painted in many colors by the Sacred Artist

What metaphor would you use to describe the movement of the Spirit in your life and relationship?

Biblical Lessons on Spirituality

The Bible gives examples of attending to the movement of Christ and the Spirit in one’s life and relationships.

· There are spiritual gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues and their interpretation (1 Corinthians 13) and apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4). The Spirit’s presence is partially made evident through spiritual gifts.

· There are spiritual fruits. The Spirit’s fruits are evident in one’s life through love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, patience, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5).

· John wrote that believers should “test the spirits” (1 John 4).

· Jesus warned of those who could discern the weather by observing the sky, but who couldn’t discern the times (Luke 12).

· The Apostle Paul spoke often of being “in Christ” and growing more and more in the likeness of Christ.

In the home of Mary and Martha, Jesus affirmed Mary’s choice to sit quietly at Jesus’ feet and learn, rather than Martha’s non-stop busy-ness (Luke 10:38).

Reformed Spirituality

Reformed spirituality is framed by the lessons and history gained from the Protestant Reformation of the 16^th and 17^th Centuries in Europe. Reformers John Calvin in Geneva, Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich, and Martin Luther in Germany instituted reforms to counter what they saw as excesses in church life. The Reformation’s imprint included an emphasis on scripture alone (not on what someone says about scripture), on salvation by faith in Christ alone (not works), and on grace alone (apart from grace mediated through the sacraments of the Church). It emphasized the priesthood of all believers (not the priesthood found in the hierarchical system of clergy separated from laity). Churches were stripped of relics, images, mysticism, and anything else detracting from the centrality of faith in Christ and the Word of God, the Bible. The ethos of the reformation carries over today in church life and, now, in spirituality. There continues to be something of a distrust of mysticism, works and high liturgy.

Reformed spirituality is Christ-centered and grounded in scripture (the Word of God), while leaving room for the free movement of the Holy Spirit to move us and change us. It embraces the Mystery Who is the triune God. It draws us again and again to Christ, to scripture, to the will and work of God, and to the role of the Holy Spirit. It tends to steer clear of eastern / oriental religious influences. It places our spirituality first in the Body of Christ, the Church. It maintains that our spirituality is directed toward wholeness in one’s relationship with God and with one another, with attention to social justice and right human relationships.