Spirituality - here's mine, what's yours?

I added several links today to some sites about contemplative prayer. There is a lot more available on the internet, just google "contemplative prayer." Contemplative prayer is something I have mentioned at least once in sermons here in Parrottsville, though I first encountered it about eleven years ago in the Hudson valley of New York. Anyone interested in deepening their spirituality may be interested in this form of prayer, although there are other forms of prayer that may be better suited to one's own spirituality.

Let's talk spirituality.

Lutherans are notorious for lacking spirituality. I'm not sure why that is. Perhaps we have substituted other things for spirituality, such as liturgy or confessional theology. And yet liturgical worship has a spiritual dimension, and the confessional theology of the Lutheran church, for my money - speaking as a former Southern Baptist, beats anything else hands down.

Or perhaps it is just another aspect of the same problem we have as modern American Christians who would prefer to be like Jonah, and run from God, rather than be like Simon and Andrew who left their nets when they were given the call to follow by Jesus.

Lutherans (and Christians in general) should develop their spirituality. I find contemplative prayer helps me with mine. (Alas - there is no contemplative prayer group that I can find so far in eastern Tennessee.)

Members of the Lutheran churches of Parrottsville, what's your spirituality? Corinne Ware is a professor of Ascetical Theology at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest at Austin, Texas. She has a book out called Discover Your Spiritual Type. (You can find it at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Discover-Your-Spiritual-Type-Corinne/dp/1566991498).

Dr. Ware describes four spiritual types in her book:

Type 1: God is revealed and we seek to understand him.

Type 2: God is revealed and we seek to emotionally feel him.

Type 3: God is a mystery and we seek to emotionally feel him.

Type 4: God is a mystery and we seek to understand him.

Which type are you? Do you see God as revealed or as a mystery? Do you seek to understand God rationally or feel God emotionally? Are you some cross between different types, and if so, can you say which types?

I am a hybrid Type 1 (the Theologian) and its direct opposite, Type 3 (the Mystic). About 2/3 rational theologian-historian, 1/3 non-rational mystic. (You mean to say you never knew this about your pastor? As my late friend Big Old Bill used to say, "Why, even the most casual observer off the street could see this!") How else could I come up with some of the things I say, anyway? Once someone understands another's spirituality then they can see how another understands God, Jesus, the Bible, the call to discipleship, mission, and a whole host of other things. Once someone understands THEIR OWN spirituality, then they begin to understand their own relationship to God better, their own uniqueness as a spiritual being, their own place as a contributing and constructive member of the faith community.

I think many people do have some sort of spirituality, but that it is not very developed and may be very neglected. Part of our call to mission in Parrottsville is to develop our spirituality. Take the time to acknowledge your own spirituality. Take the time to develop it. Be flexible enough to accept that other people have different, sometimes exactly the opposite spirituality that you have, be willing to celebrate this incredible gift of God and know that this is how God relates directly to you and to others.

Thanks be to God.

Pr. J