Fr Ronald Rolheiser
I recently finished reading John Mark Comer’s new book Practicing the Way – Be with Jesus; Become like him; Do as he did. By way of a recommendation, I offer a series of sound bytes from the book which I hope will give you a nice taste of both the language and substance of the book.
Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning. Sadly, this tragic misunderstanding tends to produce consumers of Jesus’ merit rather than disciples of Jesus’ way.
Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not. And, as Thomas Keating says, the chief act of the will is not effort but consent.
The great enemy of the spiritual life is hurry. We must eliminate hurry from our lives. Most of us are just too busy to live emotionally healthy and spiritually vibrant lives. (In an attempt to slow down, Comer twice quit his job. His only regret is that he didn’t do it sooner.)
Salvation
Salvation is a communal experience. Jesus called disciples, not a disciple. Living in community is not easy but worth it. We can all tell horror stories of living in community when things go terribly wrong but when it goes right, it’s a glimpse of eternity.
What do you want as the substance of your eulogy at your funeral?
Are you growing in love not just for your friends and family but also for your enemies? When you are hurt, wounded, and treated unjustly (as we all are), are you finding yourself increasingly able to emotionally release the bitterness, to absorb the pain and not give back in kind? Can you pray for and even bless those who curse you?
When the devil came to Adam and Eve in the garden, he didn’t come with a stick, he came with an idea”
The genius of Jesus’ ethical teaching was that you cannot keep the law by trying not to break the law. Don’t weigh a possible behaviour with ‘Is this sinful or not?’ but rather with the question, ‘does this move me toward Jesus or away?’
On healing: only one thing is required, open your pain to God. The beginning of salvation is to honestly face your own weaknesses. The more we hide, the less we heal. Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced. Generally, we sin alone, but we heal together.
Stuggle
Why do you struggle? Because Jesus may be in your heart, but grandpa is in your bones! When the devil came to Adam and Eve in the garden, he didn’t come with a stick, he came with an idea. Pay attention to your jealousy. Push back on the forces that deform you.
Our generation is witnessing a cosmic shift in human history, the shift from the industrial revolution to the digital world. The digital age has us more connected than ever before. But sociologists tell us that we are the loneliest generation ever. Could the way forward be as simple as meeting people in the place of pain? Regarding the use of electronic media: Choose your own constraints or they will be chosen for you.
Our great cultural illusion is that our growth can be: easy, fast, and controllable.
In fasting you are literally praying with your body.
You can’t think your way to Christlikeness.
You don’t run a marathon by trying hard, you do it through training. Training, not trying, is the secret to becoming more like Jesus”
You cannot apprentice under Jesus and not have it interfere with your life. To follow Jesus requires that you leave something behind. For Peter it was fishing nets. What is it for you? Following Jesus will cost you, but not following him will cost you more, that is, it will cost you happiness and peace. Quoting missionary/martyr, Jim Eliot: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
Most people think they will grow to be more like Jesus through trying hard rather than through training hard when the exact opposite is true. You don’t run a marathon by trying hard, you do it through training. Training, not trying, is the secret to becoming more like Jesus. What do monks do in a monastery? They fall and get up again, fall and get up again.
There are four levels to prayer: Talking to God, talking with God, listening to God, being with God.
If you want more of God, give him away.
We cannot die on every cross, nor are we expected to.
Quoting Isaac the Syrian: “Speech is the organ of the present world. Silence is the mystery of the world to come.”
His nine rules of life for practicing the Way:
- Practice Sabbath in a culture of hurry and exhaustion.
- Practice solitude in a culture of anxiety and noise.
- Practice prayer in a culture of distraction and escapism.
- Practice community in a culture of individuality and superficiality.
- Practice scripture in a culture of ideological infection and compromise.
- Practice fasting in a culture of indulgence.
- Practice generosity in a culture of consumerism.
- Practice service in a culture of injustice and division.
- Practice hospitality in a culture of hostility.
But this series of sound bytes is no substitute for reading the book!