CAN PRAYER AND MYSTICISM CONTRIBUTE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF JUSTICE AND PEACE?
Kevin Liew
ABSTRACT
This concise article hopes to explore the affirmative notion that prayer and mysticism can and must go hand in hand in the establishment of justice and peace. Oftentimes, the other-worldly aspects of religion are over-emphasized over its social obligations, leaving a skewed development of one’s spiritual progress. The social obligations of Christianity are now trumpeted through the misty haze of expectations of a posthumous reward in the afterlife. If a Christian ignores his/her responsibilities in this life, s/he should expect the same answer when s/he meets his/her Maker (Mt.25:31-46).
At first glance, the supposedly internal nature of prayer and mysticism may be easily dismissed as practically incompatible with the extrovert acts of establishing justice and peace in a world torn and fraught with economic imbalances and socio-political injustices and strife. Cursory skimming of major works on prayer and mysticism make no direct or extensive exhortation to active social activism. However, in sifting through the haystack of the establishment of justice and peace for the needs of prayer and mysticism, one finds that the latter do provide buds for social activity that need to be cultivated and flowered. As these buds are unearthed and scrutinised, we may find that the answers are not as simple as it looks. Perspectives or angles of prayers and mysticism will be delved deeper than their common understanding, and the forgotten strands of their core drawn out in order to better understand the wholesome spirituality towards embracing the establishment of justice and peace.
The common understanding of prayer and mysticism often dwells on personally experiencing an inner transformation with the divine God, thought to reside high up in the heavens or Cosmos, far apart from this earthly realm. To most Christians of the First World, spirituality is taken to mean, or is limited to, a commitment to a set of ecclesiastical rules and lifestyle, be it church attendance, Bible study, frequent prayer, devotion to the cult of saints, works of charity and ascetical disciplines like fasting (Cadorette, 1993,p.221). Apart from charitable works of mercy like social work under the umbrella of the church, there is no overt call for active direct action to transform society and establish justice and peace. Instead, the focus remains mainly on attaining the reward of “the pie in the sky” by living a life according to what the church perceives the Word of God to be. Christians of the Third World of developing countries, however, see prayer and socio-political action working hand-in-hand with one another, each never separated from the other. In here, we thus see that the approach to the subject at hand of not only one of theological perspectives with different lenses, but also witness the diametrically conflicting stances of both fundamentalist and progressive forces within church structures and traditions.
Caught between the past and present, and as a religion encaged in a classical and patristic mentality in a lingo that does not lend ear to the confusions and conflicts of the modern world, Christianity must change or die (Spong, 1998). In the light of liberation theology, it can be said that unless the Church begins realising and starts acting on her massive social duties in bringing about the Reign of God on earth, in earth, she has turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the social Gospel of the historical Jesus, the Jesus of social activism who did not retreat into silence and prayer for their own sake, but courageously opposed the unjust social norms of his day, at the expense of his life (Cadorette,1999; Sobrino & Ellacuría,1996; Hill,2002).
Cox (1983) beams a spotlight on the nature and world of mysticism, and shines light into its buried treasures that ring similarly to the call to praxis in liberation theology. Mysticism does not refer to some nebulous psychical spiritualism that feeds its own egotistical need as opium destroys the mind. Rather, it not only encompasses “direct experience of the presence of God” or the Absolute through intimate conscious union, its “deep aesthetic perceptions” that follows “the feeling of identity between the mind and the thing it perceives” thrusts the total harmony of the mystic and God, and the world surrounding them as God’s creation (pp18-20).
The concept of harmony with God’s creation, that of interconnectedness and interdependency with nature and with fellow human beings, are essential elements of liberation theology which emphasises prayer in action. Despite misconceptions that mysticism entails self-centred, total withdrawal from engagement with the affairs of the world, it nonetheless remains true that genuine mysticism is far from what is commonly perceived to be. It so happens that the tradition of the call to action in the lives of most mystics has often been played down, and only the contemplative aspect trumpeted. Doing so well serves the agents of social control in what Johann Baptist Metz calls the “bourgeois” religion of Christianity in the developed world (Metz & Moltmann,1995,p.17-29).
Probing through the teachings and writings of prominent Catholic mystics reveal that Christian mysticism does not, as Everlyn Underhill pointed out, involve “an existence withdrawn from common duties” in some “rapturous dreamland” (Cox,1983,p.25; Underhill,1961). Cox (1983) lists a host of mystics throughout the Middle Ages till modern times who did more than just personal prayer, citing St. Francis of Assisi (1181/2-1226) as “the supreme example” of authentic mysticism that “moves out of from the individual experience to collective spirituality” (p.25).
It is this pillar of collective spirituality or the concept of collectivism and the Christian social virtue of caring for the common good that liberation theologians like Gustavo Gutíerrez, Leonardo and Clovis Boff never cease to chant. Born out of the massive and widespread suffering of Latin America, liberation theology serves as a model for practical Christianity by drawing out the abstract and theoretical dogmas of the Church into a Christo-centric imitation of the life of the historical Jesus as actively engaging in the establishment of justice and peace with a preferential option for the poor. Applying the tools of social science, even that of Marxist social analysis, liberation theology sees Christian responsibility as helping to “create social changes” and “to help society move in the direction of more justice and societal participation for the masses of the poor” (Cadorette,1993,p.236), and that always boils down to facing the powers that rule the day.
There are those in the world that would prefer to keep prayer and mysticism where they are generally known to hide, that is, in the realm of mere personal and private contemplation as religion is often reduced to in secular and Confucian-oriented states. Mystics who bypass traditional institutional ‘channels of grace’ with their direct pipeline to union with the divine may threaten religious and ecclesiastical authorities as much as secular state authorities that fear the erosion of their supposedly unquestionable might over society.
In totalitarian countries like Singapore, it is not uncommon to hear Christians preach and write statements like “the church itself should never participate in politics” (Sng,1990,p.29). Like many of its branches in dictatorial communist regimes, the Church has been castrated by state law, the lack of authentic leadership and exposure to liberation theology that she finds herself failing to speak out against injustices, even when her own clergy and flock end up dragged into show trials (Robertson,1999,pp.222-240). In the case of Singapore, the church of all denominations must be state-approved in order for her, to exists above-ground, and her teachings have concentrated only on ‘safe topics’ such as inner prayerful communion with God without the balancing social factor of social responsibility to change unjust structures, much less speak out against it. Suffering is still taught as the result of “God’s Will” and one has to bite the bullet for his/her woes, even though one’s plight might be the result of economic mismanagement and the lack of respect for human rights.
With “the Christ of the poor” in mind, liberation theology seeks synthesis between prayer and action-oriented deeds of the abolition of societal structures of sin that create wealth and freedom only for the elite through the establishment of justice through peaceful advocacy (Cadorette,1993,p.237). In a “new way of seeking holiness and mystical union with God”, a renewed understanding of spirituality involves lived and integral liberative practice of “prayer in action, prayer within activity, and prayer with deed” (Cadorette,1993,p.237-238). This is soundly biblical as the Epistle of James resounds: “faith without works is dead” (Jas.2:26).
Prayer and practice must merge and not be polarised or seen as two conflicting evils of a magnet. The renowned Catholic mystic Thomas Merton (d.1968) was known to be “an ardent admirer of Martin Luther King, Jr.” and was “extremely vocal in his support of the civil rights and peace movements” (Bailey,1976,p.16). Mystic and saint, John of the Cross, acknowledges that while “inner change begins with prayer”, “it does not end there”, and that “the life of Christ does not keep prayer in one compartment and the practical business of living in another” (Lyddon,1995,p.980. St. John of the Cross taught that individual crosses are “the raw material pf spiritual growth” and that “nakedness, poverty, selflessness or spiritual purity” are more virtuous than “perseverance in prayer and mortification” (Lyddon,1995,pp.98-99).
Christians who only pray and do not act out in their social responsibilities hope only for the “comfort and consolation received” through ignorance or annihilation of their greater moral duties which John of the Cross concludes as “reduction to nothing; the destruction of the soul as well as body” (Lyddon,1995,p.98). He also speaks of charity as not only extending towards God, but that of our fellow human beings as well, because “through charity, works done in faith are living works and have high value; without it, they are worth nothing” (Lyddon,1995,p.110; 1 Cor.13:13). Likewise, liberation theology sees charity as not mere ‘do-goodery’, but critical prayer materialised in holy political actions and as a self-expression of the liberation community that “opens the praying subject out to others” in need, beyond the “splendid intimacy of the soul with the Alone (ie. God)” (Cadorette,1993,p.241). Theologian Leonardo Boff puts it beautifully: “contemplation is not reserved to the sacred space of prayer or to the sacrosanct enclosure of the church or monastery; it finds its pace also in a social and political practice watered, cultivated, and fertilized by a faith living and true” (Cadorette, 1993, pp.240-241). Catholic mystic St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) did not isolate himself form the world and pretend that God would take care of things and that things would turn out well without human participation. He went out and evangelised, and brought back those who have lost their faith into the Fold of the Church. Thus, prayer and action come together as one, not only in missionary evangelisation, but also that of the oppressors of society.
Prayer and mysticism take on yet another renewed dimension when seen to be more than merely solitary activities with a sole personalistic relationship with God. The cross compels Christians to not to forget the lateral and incarnational relationship of all that dwells in humankind, in our relationships with each other and even the earth itself. Spirituality is more than simply ritualistic church-sanctioned prayers, but also embraces interpersonal and public dimensions as Jesus has shown in his championing of the poor and oppressed in opposition to rhe political structural order of his day, and on top of “patriarchal bias in his religious culture” (Cadorette, 1993, pp.221-222). Like it or not, to be Christian, one has to have a liberation approach to spirituality that is deeply committed to transforming societies through political action (Cadorette,1993, p.223) as Jesus once was, lest one becomes complacent in a “bourgeois” faith that closes eyes and ears to the cries of the downtrodden (Metz & Moltmann,1995, p.17ff).
In conclusion, a renewed understanding needs to be constructed in attempting to formulate a way in how prayer and mysticism can contribute to the establishment of justice and peace. Common reductionist attitudes towards the former will have to change and not focus on the individualistic factor, for to do so without regard for our fellow human beings in their troubles is abominable, and moreover, does not reflect the full teachings of the social lining of prayer and mysticism. Hence, true and pleasing worship and union with God will have to travel hand-in-glove with the establishment of justice and peace for to build just societies is to carry on the mission of Jesus who came to offer hope and redemption to the fallen. As co-redeemers and co-creators with Him who gives us life and hope, direct action, emboldened with a solid inner faith, will spur us on to working towards a just creation for that can fully manifest our ultimate union with Him.
ReferencesBailey, R. (1976). Thomas Merton on mysticism. NY: Image Books.
Boff, L. (1980). Jesus Christ Liberator. London: SPCK.
Cadorette, C. (Ed.). (1993). Liberation theology: an introductory reader. Maryknoll,
NY: Orbis Books.Coleman, J.A. (Ed.) (1991). One hundred years of Catholic social thought.
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.Cox, M. (1983). Mysticism: the divine experience with God. Northamptonshire: The
Aquarian Press.Curran, C.E. (2002). Catholic social teaching: 1891-present: a historical, theological
and ethical analysis. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.Dorr, D. (1992). Option for the poor: Catholic social teachings. Victoria:
HarperCollinsPublishersFlannery, A. (Ed.). Vatican II: the conciliar and post-conciliar documents. Dublin:
Dominican Publications.Hill, B. (2002). Jesus the Christ: contemporary perspectives. Mystic: CT: Twenty-
Third Publications.James, W. (1958). The varieties of religious experience. NY: Mentor Books.
Lyddon, E. (1995). Door through darkness: John of the Cross and mysticism in
everyday life. NY: New City Press.Lydgate, C. (2003). Lee’s Law: how Singapore crushes dissent. Melbourne: Scribe
Publications.McLellan, D. (Ed.). (1997). Political Christianity: a reader. London: SPCK.
Metz, J.B. & Moltmann, J. (1995). Faith and the future: essays on theology, solidarity
and modernity. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.Moltmann, J. (1989). Creating a just future. London: SCM Press.
Robertson, G. (1999). The justice game. London: Vintage Press.
Schall, J.V. (1982). Liberation theology in Latin America. San Francisco: Ignatius
Press.Sng, B.E.K. (Ed.). (1990). Church and society: Singapore context. Singapore:
Graduates’ Christian Fellowship.Sobrino, J. & Ellacuría, I. (Eds.). (1996). Systematic theology: perspectives from
liberation theology. London: SCM Press Ltd.Spong, J.S. (1998). Why Christianity must change or die. San Francisco: HarperSan
Francisco.Underhill, E. (1961). Mysticism. NY: EP Dutton & Co., Inc.
Kevin Liew is a Masters student of Theology and Leadership studies at McAuley Campus, Australian Catholic University. A former human rights activist and student of Apologetics, his interests centre in Christology and Political and Liberation Theologies.
