Christian Renewal From the Desert - Carthusian Spirituality





"All Christian renewal expresses itself by an exodus into the desert" - A Carthusian.

Several months ago, a young man from the neighborhood named Jeremy stopped into our parish office and told our administrator that he wanted to talk to the pastor.  Because of my day job, I don't spend a lot of time in the office at St. Luke, but I just happened to be there that day.  Over the next 30 minutes or so, Jeremy told me how he was trying to discern his calling, and how he had been reading the Desert Fathers and Thomas Merton. 

We hit it off, and the next time we met, he showed me another book he was reading, "The Call of Silent Love."  The interesting thing about this book is that there was no author listed - the book simply noted that it was by "A Carthusian" and was translated from French to English by "An Anglican Solitary." Jeremy's introduction of this book to me has opened up a new and fascinating world - the world of Carthusian spirituality.

I knew a little about Carthusuan spirituality, mainly through watching the documentary film "Into Great Silence"  

The film does a beautiful job of documenting the contemplative life of the Carthusian monks at their Grande Chartreuse monastery in France, but it does not attempt to explain why the monks live that life.  I ordered a copy of "The Call of Silent Love" and, as beautiful as the film is, the book is perhaps an even greater example of the beauty of the Carthusian life.

The book begins by explaining the beginnings of the Carthusian order, as founded by St. Bruno in the Eleventh Century. Essentially, the Carthusian order represents a radical return to the spirituality of the desert, where the monks live a life marked by prayer, contemplation, and silence. While they follow a similar pattern of daily prayer to Benedictines, they do not follow the Rule of St. Benedict; instead, they follow their own rule called the "Statutes."

In coming blog articles, I will write about some of the details of Carthusian spirituality, but for now, I will begin with a taste of the kind of beauty found within the book. Here is the book's description of their monastic setting:

"The valley is narrow and has something of the clear sightlines of a cathedral nave about it: a vault of light encased within steep walls rising 1000 metres like arms outstretched in prayer.

The first hermitage was built at a spot higher up the valley, in the sanctuary.  Great trees upheld the vault of heaven. Water poured from a crystal fountain. The incense of smoke from wood fires rose slowly. The small sounds of the natural world only enhanced the silence, an attentive listening to all that is. A place of prayer, a place of God. One could not live there without being marked by the One who dwells there." (p. 5).

So, thank you to Jeremy for getting me to read about the beautiful world of the Carthusians.

The Sacramental Quality of Reading Scripture

While the sacramental quality of Scripture had crossed my mind before, I don't think I had ever given much thought to what that effectively meant.  Two quotes I read today on another blog (http://curlewriver.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/the-calendar-and-the-bible-for-us-today/) brilliantly describe how the reading of Scripture is not mere devotional reading, but a real participation in the Biblical story.

The first is from Martin Thornton, quoting Sergius Bulgakov:

During the service of Christmas there is not merely the memory of the birth of Christ, but truly Christ is born in a mysterious manner, just as at Easter he is resurrected. … The life of the Church, in these services, makes actual for us the mystery of the Incarnation. … [I]t is given to the Church to make living these sacred memories so that we should be their new witnesses and participate in them. (Christian Proficiency, p.69)

The second is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's classic book, "Life Together" - even though I've read through the book twice, the importance of this passage did not hit me until now:

Consecutive reading of biblical books forces everyone who wants to hear to put himself, or to allow himself to be found, where God has acted once and for all for the salvation of men. We become part of what once took place for our salvation. Forgetting and losing ourselves, we, too, pass through the Red Sea, through the desert, across the Jordan into the promised land. With Israel we fall into doubt and unbelief and through punishment and repentance experience again God’s help and faithfulness. All this is not mere reverie but holy, godly reality. We are torn out of our own existence and set down in the midst of the holy history of God on earth. There God dealt with us, and there he still deals with us, our needs and our sins, in judgment and grace. It is not that God is the spectator and sharer of our present life, howsoever important that is; but rather that we are the reverent listeners and participants in God’s action in the sacred story, the history of the Christ on earth. And only in so far as we are there, is God with us today also. (Life Together, p.38)

In the Lutheran tradition, we commonly refer to the pastoral office as the office of "Word and Sacrament." Given the sacramental quality of the Word, I'll have to rethink how I describe the office of ministry, as that phrase implies a dichotomy where there is none.  In any event, viewing the reading of Scripture as a sacramental action, where the reader is engaged in a real encounter with God, gives me a greater impetus to focus on the daily office of prayer and Scripture reading.

Luther and the Catholic Church

In the comments responding to my post on "Evangelical Catholic" Lutheranism, there was some discussion pertaining to Luther's relationship to the Catholic Church. I started to write a response in the comments, but thought it might be better to have a separate post on the subject.

To begin, instead of debating whether Luther was "kicked out" of the Catholic Church or not, I think we should simply use the proper term for what happened - he was excommunicated when he did not recant within the sixty day time period set forth in the papal bull Exsurge Domine (1520). 

Whether or not he should have been excommunicated is a subject of sometimes interesting, sometimes banal, debates between religious historians and apologists for both sides.  What I personally find more helpful is the attitude of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, who in their public addresses regarding Luther have acknowledged his genuine zeal for the Gospel, the historical complexity of the Reformation, and the fact that the actions of both sides caused the rift. For example, see the address of Benedict XVI to a group of Lutherans at the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt where Luther was a monk, which can be read here:

 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110923_evangelical-church-erfurt_en.html

In doing so, John Paul II and Benedict XVI honored the way of St. Benedict by seeing Christ in another.

Sometimes when I am scanning through radio stations, I stop and listen to EWTN, and when I periodically hear the apologists there castigate Luther (contrary to the spirit of what John Paul II and Benedict XVI have said), I get a feeling of regret  - specifically, that they are missing an opportunity to enlist Luther as an ally.  Luther's adamant belief in the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, devotion to Mary and the saints, support of infant baptism, etc., are all examples of his defense of the Catholic faith against more radical reformers.

Of course, there were very real disputes which should not be ignored. But, since Vatican II, the Lutheran-Catholic ecumenical dialogues have meticulously analyzed the beliefs of our respective communions, and have found agreement in many areas where it was previously believed there was division. In the spirit of St. Benedict, I hope that we continue to pray together and see Christ in each other.

"Evangelical Catholic" Lutheranism?

As my blog title indicates, I prefer to think of myself as a "Benedictine Lutheran," but  I suppose that I arguably fit into the category of Lutheranism referred to as as "Evangelical Catholicism." I have seen that term used in a variety of ways over the years, and there have been entire threads on the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau forum devoted to the question of how to define an "Evangelical Catholic," but no consensus was reached as far as I could tell.

Generally speaking, I use the term to refer to Lutherans who maintain the emphasis on salvation by grace through faith (the "Evangelical" part), but in doing so, emphasize the importance of the liturgy, and do not view the Lutheran Confessions in a vacuum, but interpret them in light of the faith of the entire Church, particularly the Early Church Fathers (the "Catholic" part).  But, I admit that my somewhat vague definition is simply one among many.

Therefore, I have to admit I was somewhat jealous when I saw this concise explanation of what it means to be a "Catholic" from an Anglican perspective, as demonstrated in a slideshow devoted to the spirituality of the Book of Common Prayer:  

http://akensidepress.com/blog/2013/05/the-liturgical-spirituality-of-the-prayer-book-an-intro/

So, this slideshow made me wonder if such a concise slideshow could ever be made about what it means to be a "Catholic" from an Evangelical Lutheran perspective.  Or are we too fractured into varying groups who express their "Evangelical Catholicism" in disparate ways, such as a strict view of the Confessions, or taking an ultra "high church" view of the liturgy? 

Certainly, many Lutheran theologians (Arthur Carl Piepkorn, Bishop Bo Giertz, Carl Braaten, and Robert W. Jenson to name a few) have written a great deal on the intended catholicity of the Lutheran movement.  But, for me at least, the question of how to describe an "Evangelical Catholic" Lutheran remains unanswered.  One of the reasons I started this blog was that I viewed it as a forum to air my thoughts and invite discussion on this subject, so there will be more on this subject to come.      

Ascension Day

One of the things I hope to do in coming years at my congregation is to have an Ascension Day service, as it us unfortunately one of the least remembered festival days on the church calendar.  An important part of establishing a Benedictine ethos in a parish would be to observe all major festival days, regardless of what day of the week they fall on. 

These words from St. Augustine emphasize the continuing importance of the Ascension event in our lives as Christians:

“Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.”

The Benedictine Parish

A few weeks ago, I saw a reference online to a book called “The Benedictine Parish: A Model to Thrive in a Secular Era,” so I ordered it from the publisher.  I’ve read various books on Benedictine spirituality, but the title intrigued me because it promised something unique – it was not another volume devoted to the application of Benedictine spirituality to an individual or a monastic setting, but instead, to a parish. 

What did I think of it? This little (29 pages) booklet contained exactly what I have been looking for – an example of how to apply the Benedictine ethos in parish life.

The contents of the book are presented in question and answer format, with parishioner Matthew Dallman posing questions to the longtime priest of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Riverside Illinois, Father Thomas Fraser.   The result is that the book is engaging and full of anecdotes about how the Benedictine model was introduced into the parish, and the results from its gradual implementation over a period of thirty years.

St. Paul’s was a dying parish in suburban Chicago when Father Fraser proposed that they get radical and go “back to the roots.” What was causing the parish to die? Like many other congregations, it was desperately trying to hold on to the 1950’s model for churches – the conventional, program based model.   A conventional, program based model worked during Christendom, when the overwhelming majority of people desired to go to church.  Parishes could serve as clinics, offering religious goods and services to parishioners as needed.

But, with the end of Christendom rapidly approaching, that model was no longer working, so it was either time to die gracefully or do something radical.  Father Fraser and St. Paul’s parish chose to do the latter.

What does the Benedictine model involve?  It involves the gradual introduction of praying the daily office among not only clergy, but among the core of the parish.  The liturgy does not revolve around ceremony and performances, but common prayer and chant.  Programs are not offered for the sake of occupying people’s time and entertaining them, but are specifically designed for spiritual formation and preparation for ministry.

Regarding preparation for ministry, the laity are integrally involved in the ministries of a Benedictine parish.  The laity are not consumers of religious goods and services, but are trained and committed to the life and mission of the parish.  The role of the clergy is to serve as an Abbot does in a monastic setting – not as a crisis clinician brought in to solve problems as needed, but someone who has an ongoing relationship with each member of the community.

The book is specifically aimed at parishes in the Episcopal/Anglican tradition, but Lutheran congregations could benefit from the wisdom of the Benedictine model.   In recent years, there has been a resurgence in praying the daily office in Lutheran circles (as evidenced by the publication of prayer books such as “For All the Saints” from the ALPB and “The Daily Prayer of the Church” by Phillip Pfatteicher) so for many congregations, parts of the Benedictine model are already in place. 

For more information, check out the Akenside Press website: 

http://akensidepress.com/  

The Buffalo Synod

I am a member of the Buffalo Synod.

No, I am not talking about the Buffalo Synod that was one of the myriad of Lutheran Synods in the United States during the 1800's.

Instead, I am talking about a ministerium of Lutheran pastors from the Sioux City, Iowa, area, which gathers each Friday afternoon at a tavern called Buffalo Alice, in Sioux City's Historic 4th Street district.

What do we do?  Well, most of us eat pizza.  Some of us drink beer - 99% of the time, I do not, since I normally have to return to the office to work at the day job.

Most importantly, we talk about theology and the church.  Sometimes, we are critical of the church, but our criticism is always based out of our love for the church.  It is a place where we can be open about our thoughts without fear of recrimination, and a place where we can talk about deep theological issues without taking ourselves too seriously.

As a non-traditional seminary student who was trained through distance education, it was crucial for me to have a group to go to near my home where I could find a place with a high level level of discussion, and the Buffalo Synod fit the bill perfectly.  If trends continue and the traditional, residential seminary system will one day no longer be the predominant method of training pastors, then it will be up to groups like the Buffalo Synod to pick up the slack and provide seminarians with an opportunity to engage in theological discussions, as well as build relationships with colleagues.    

Out here on the frontier of Western Iowa, we are far away from any seminaries or universities with notable theology faculty, but I would stack the depth of our theological discussions up against any other group of pastors that meets anywhere else in the country.  Well, some days, maybe not.  On those days, as our Abbot would say, there must have been beer involved.