Ps. 116:5, NIRV
In the past we stated our concern that God’s sacred tenderness has often been neglected in Christian tradition. In this post we consider one possible reason for this neglect: the nature of the Western mind. (Discussion of additional reasons for such neglect can be found in earlier posts[1]).
The great writer C. S. Lewis once spoke of a time when the two hemispheres of his brain
were in “sharpest contrast.” On one side
he sensed a “many-islanded sea of poetry and myth”—on the other (as he himself
termed it) he experienced a “glib and shallow ‘rationalism.’” All he loved most (that “many-islanded sea of
poetry and myth”) he believed to be simply imaginary. Meanwhile, all he believed to be solidly real—that
which fit his world of “rationalism”—he thought of as “grim and meaningless.”[2]
Something
similar often happens in regard to sacred tenderness. In this case we are not likely to doubt that tenderness is real, but we may
unconsciously doubt that it is all that
significant. Tenderness cannot be measured, weighed, priced, pushed toward a
goal, verified, or used (unless it is
some sort of distorted, improper use).
And God’s sacred tenderness
certainly cannot be used! Nor, for that matter, can it be put into a
formula or a particularly logical (rational) argument.
Carl Jung (one of the three
great founders of psychology as a science) once said, “[W]e have raised Reason
to a seat above the gods.” Jung also spoke of the cold “skyscraper of rational consciousness” in which
the modern Western mind tends to get trapped.[3] (Perhaps this would be another way
of describing C. S. Lewis’s dilemma above.)
Jung also spoke of the cultural disability or disablement that “one-sided cerebral
thinking has produced.”[4] In
a comment that might explain this disability
he said, “The intellect does indeed do harm to the soul when it dares to
possess itself of [i.e., does a takeover
of] the heritage of the spirit.” Or he
said, “Never before [modern times] has eternal truth been faced with such a
hybris [or hubris] of will and power”--as well as an onslaught of views based almost
exclusively upon “rationalistic materialism.”[5]
If the
strictly rational, “will and power,”
that which can be apprehended by the senses, and verifiable goals and
accomplishments are what we see as of sole importance, much will be left at
the
wayside. Too often that includes tenderness and the soul.
In
regard to “will and power,” Pope Francis suggested: Tenderness is often perceived as a weakness. Not practical. We do not understand the hidden “power of tenderness.”[6]
We saw that C. S. Lewis spoke (above) of
the two hemispheres of the brain causing a dichotomy
of values in his life. Jungian analyst
Eugene Pascal, similarly, writes that in the Western mindset “the [rational] left cerebral
hemisphere [of the brain] has been
deified to the neglect and denigration of the other ninety percent of the
aspects of human psychic [i.e., psychological] life.” Pascal also notes a “rift” in the Western
mind that is related to a shift in that direction.[7] Putting this “rift” in colloquial language,
we might say that there tends to be a certain cool, top-heavy lopsidedness
in the Western mindset.
With deification of only one side of life a culture tends (often unconsciously) toward a dismissive, reductionistic attitude toward much that does not fit the
prevailing or predominant mindset. Tenderness is clearly one of those
elements; it can seem unimportant and inconsequential in those terms. Jung also spoke of a “two-dimensional
conceptual world in which the reality of life is well covered up by so-called
clear concepts.”[8] Tenderness will never be a clear concept
and sacred tenderness—God’s
tenderness—does not fit into a two-dimensional world. Thus, it tends to be a victim of that
phenomenon Jung describes: where the genuine “reality of life is well covered
up by [those] so-called clear concepts.”
And this is true even in the religious realm. Here, too, the Western
mind has a tendency to prefer “clear concepts,” formulas, and getting
things down pat. There is a long, tragic history in Western Christianity
of arguments about formulas and “so-called clear concepts” from the
chilly, top-heavy, attic level of the “skyscraper of rational
consciousness.” Once we are into those chilly arguments, God’s
sacred tenderness (which often enters quietly like the "still small voice"
of the prophet’s encounter[9]) can hardly be heard. Furthermore, all
that we have learned from Christian teaching about love and
compassion and tenderness toward our fellows seems to get pushed
to one side. (E.g., the Apostle Paul writes: “[W]ith all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love . . .
be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as
God in Christ has forgiven you.”[10] For, indeed, we are to become
more like our God, who is a God of “tender mercy,” as the very
opening chapter of Luke's beautiful gospel tells us: "Because of
and through the heart of tender mercy and loving-kindness of
our God, a Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit [us]";
Luke 1:78, AMPC (referring to Jesus and his messenger John).
(Also see James 5:11, NIRV.)
Also, stop to consider the arguments in
American culture today. One media
“talking head” says this and another
says that. We quote one at a family gathering; someone
else quotes the opposite, and off we go. Family gatherings and celebrations that
should be days in which we share heart
and soul turn into days filled with hard feelings because we have batted ego-opinions [11] back and
forth. The deep down love we have for
one another—the deeper than words connection—gets lost. It is a scene that is played out endlessly in
America
The saintly Flemish poet Hadewijch of
Antwerp wrote: “But we must detach ourselves / From the agitation of
reasons . . .” Hadewijch understood that as
long as we live in this “agitation” God’s tender love (and our love for others)
will have a great deal of trouble getting through. (How tragic that in our public discourse in America
God’s sacred tenderness is often “Speechless Love”—it can be known (it can be pictured in stories like Jesus’ parables of the Prodigal Son and faithful Shepherd[13] and consummately in the story of Jesus’ own life), but it cannot be rationalized or entirely captured in words. And therefore, because of prevailing attitudes in the Western mindset, too often such tender love gets short changed. (Note: we are speaking here of prevailing or predominant attitudes. However, less dominant voices also exist--including deep within each one of us!--and those voices must speak up if balance is to be attained. Note the Apostle Paul’s concept of the “body of Christ” [1 Cor. 12]: wholeness is found in balance.)
God’s sacred tenderness is often “Speechless Love”—it can be known (it can be pictured in stories like Jesus’ parables of the Prodigal Son and faithful Shepherd[13] and consummately in the story of Jesus’ own life), but it cannot be rationalized or entirely captured in words. And therefore, because of prevailing attitudes in the Western mindset, too often such tender love gets short changed. (Note: we are speaking here of prevailing or predominant attitudes. However, less dominant voices also exist--including deep within each one of us!--and those voices must speak up if balance is to be attained. Note the Apostle Paul’s concept of the “body of Christ” [1 Cor. 12]: wholeness is found in balance.)
We suggest
that the reader take time to meditate upon the Apostle Paul’s great “Love
Chapter” (1 Cor. 13). It is very well
known—rightfully recited at many weddings—and yet ever and again its larger than life spiritual values get
lost as we are caught up in its opposites: in prevailing Western views--views
that push God’s sacred tenderness and
our tenderness toward one another into an inconsequential corner. (If no Bible is handy, one can Google “1 Corinthians 13.”)
Because of
the prevailing Western mindset our prayer life (by which we draw closer to
God) also tends to suffer: it can seem like a waste of time in our overcrowded mental agendas. Marjorie Thompson has written an article
entitled “Wasting Time with God.” She
speaks of “meaningful one-on-one time with the Lover of our souls.”[14] How often this (the source of our
empowerment) gets short-changed in our jam-packed, driven lives. And then we
wonder why everything else is a bit off-kilter. But what is prayer? One possible definition:
The soft rains of God are something like the
still small voice. Soft
rains fall upon the tender, open (“unfolded”) heart. Such soft
rains
(think of refreshing springtime rains) might include a sense of
healing,
restoration, forgiveness, and revivification; the peace that passes
understanding (Phil.
4:7); a sense of comfort or being upheld in trial;
a gentle sense of guidance
and empowerment; or a quiet sense of joy.
And, in all, a sense of God’s “tender mercy” and the assurance that
we
are Loved and then Loved all over again. (Furthermore, we will
want to pass this on to our sisters and brothers in need of God's
tender Love.)
(Note: Carl Jung--and those who value his thought--do not in the least disparage the intellect or
the proper place of reason. It’s all
about balance! We quote Jung once again:
“The intellect does indeed do harm to the
soul when it dares to possess itself of [i.e., does a takeover—sometimes a hostile
takeover--of] the heritage of the spirit.”
The latter is not balance, nor is it respect for the fullness of the
human being.)
* * *
We close with thoughts for meditation, prayer/poetry/proverbs:
(With reflection upon Gen. 1:27; Col. 2:7; Eph. 3:17-18; Ezek. 36:26.)
***
✮ No Words (a meditation):
Robin, you are busy.
Oh, I am busy too!
Busy: that American
"thing"—
Expanding till it kills the
true.
But you are busy joyfully,
With tender purpose in your wings.
Our purpose? "Things"?
And then more "things"?
But yours? Life's secret to renew! [15]
Speaking in terms that are somewhat
similar to our theme above,
Joan Chittister writes:
"It is so easy to come to believe that what we do
is so much more
important than what we are.
It is so easy to simply get too busy to
grow. It is so easy to commit ourselves to this
century's demand for
product and action until the product consumes us and the
actions
exhaust us and we can no longer even remember why we set out
to do them
in the first place. . . . [T]hen I have
become more of a
thing than a person and life is really passing me by. Or, I am
passing it by."[16]
God’s tender Love is always for “what we
are,” who we are: an
unconditionally
loved child of God (God's "beloved"--a theme soon to be
developed here).[17] But our mind-set and busyness so easily shut out
such Love.
***
“The Heart Knows Things it Cannot Tell”
Violet shadows on the ❆ snow ❅,
Pink above in sunset—
Reflections of a world
unknown
Caught within the heart’s
net.
The heart knows things it
cannot tell—
The mind cannot conceive
them—
So these must spill in mystic lines
The mind can but . . . believe in.
♡ “The heart
has its reasons, which reason does not know.”
– Blaise Pascal
***
Prayer beneath a cloud:
(Quoting some of the "old saints": e.g., the anonymous classic “The Cloud of
Unknowing” and John Arndt, John Tauler, and Julian of Norwich [quotes
in purple and maroon], who speak of the “substance” or “ground” of our being
in God and God’s being [image] in the soul.[18] Also see Mt. 28:20; Gen. 1:27.)
***
And finally, simply in celebration of the season & its lessons:
"Taste and See"
“O taste and see that the Lord is sweet.” – Ps. 34:8 [19]
Dragonflies and cattails
And sweet September sun,
The toad that hops beside me
To see what I’ve begun . . .
Some scribbles on a paper—
Some moments in my mind,
Some messages from nature
If she should be so kind.
The world is a-glitter
On one rare, perfect day,
And I will Taste and Fill my soul
Before I’m called away.
Howard Thurman: "[B]e true to the deepest things in me [you]. ...
If the light that is in you be darkness, nothing outside of you can
turn the light on again. Only you yourself can do that. Even
God can't unless you give him a hand."[20] (At the same time
see the first prayer in this section of meditations above--prayer
is giving God "a hand.")
***
…………………………
Notes:
1. Especially: “Sacred Tenderness—Lost in Translation?”:
1. Especially: “Sacred Tenderness—Lost in Translation?”:
http://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015_02_01_archive.html;
“Missing Sacred Tenderness and Missing Women’s Voices”: http://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015/03/missing-sacred-tenderness-and-missing.html;
“Martin Luther’s Neglected Tenderness”: http://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015/03/martin-luthers-neglected-tenderness.html;
“‘Love First’ or ‘Law First’”: http://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015/04/law-first-or-love-first-and-gods-tender.html;
“The Great 'Divine Romance of Heaven' for us & its Frequent Neglect”: http://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-great-sacred-romance-and-its.html.
St. Benedict Today (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco: 1990) p. 30.
“Missing Sacred Tenderness and Missing Women’s Voices”: http://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015/03/missing-sacred-tenderness-and-missing.html;
“Martin Luther’s Neglected Tenderness”: http://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015/03/martin-luthers-neglected-tenderness.html;
“‘Love First’ or ‘Law First’”: http://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015/04/law-first-or-love-first-and-gods-tender.html;
“The Great 'Divine Romance of Heaven' for us & its Frequent Neglect”: http://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-great-sacred-romance-and-its.html.
2. C. S. Lewis, Surprised By Joy (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1955), p. 170.
3. C. G. Jung Speaking: Interviews and Encounters, eds. William McGuire and
R.F.C. Hull (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977), p. 223 (1952
interview with J. P. Hodin, “The Hell of Initiation”); The Collected Works of
C. G. Jung, eds. Herbert Read, Michael Fordham, Gerhard Adler, William
McGuire, trans. R. F. C. Hull (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
1953-79), Vol. 11, par. 56.
R.F.C. Hull (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977), p. 223 (1952
interview with J. P. Hodin, “The Hell of Initiation”); The Collected Works of
C. G. Jung, eds. Herbert Read, Michael Fordham, Gerhard Adler, William
McGuire, trans. R. F. C. Hull (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
1953-79), Vol. 11, par. 56.
4. C. G. Jung Speaking, p. 45 (Jung’s phrase—from a 1928 press conference in Vienna—is
“the many cultural cripples one-sided cerebral thinking has produced.” We place the comment
in updated language.)
5. The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 9(2), par. 282; Vol. 13, par. 7; Vol. 16, par. 396.
Also see C. G. Jung Letters, ed. Gerhard Adler with Aniela Jaffé, trans. R. F. C. Hull
(Princeton: Princeton University, 1953, 1973), Vol. 2, pp. 600-603 (10/19/1960).
Note that in one form or another Jung's concern about the one-sidedness
and “rationalistic materialism” of modern Western culture pervades his
writing.
6. Love Crucified Community, “Tenderness in Pope Francis’ Evangelium Gaurdium”
(paraphrasing/summarizing his thought first, then quoting from No. 270 of Evangelium
(paraphrasing/summarizing his thought first, then quoting from No. 270 of Evangelium
Gaurdium): http://www.lovecrucified.com/a_other/tenderness.html.
7. Eugene Pascal, Ph.L., Jung to Live By (New York: Time Warner, 1992), pp. 176-177
(emphasis ours).
8. C. G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, ed. and recorded by Aniela Jaffé,
trans. Richard and Clara Winston (New York: Vintage, Random House, 1961),
p. 144.
trans. Richard and Clara Winston (New York: Vintage, Random House, 1961),
p. 144.
9. See 1 Kings 19:12, RSV, KJV, MEV.
10. Eph. 4:2, 32, NRSV, NRSVCE (emphasis ours).
11. By their very nature opinions come from the ego, rather than a deep soul level.
Convictions may come from a deeper level, but opinions are more on the surface.
Convictions may come from a deeper level, but opinions are more on the surface.
12. The Flemish poet Beguine known as Hadewijch II (13th c.); quoted in
Emilie Zum Brunn and Georgette Epiney-Burgard, Women Mystics in Medieval
Europe, trans. Sheila Hughes (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1989), pp. 132, 134.
Emilie Zum Brunn and Georgette Epiney-Burgard, Women Mystics in Medieval
Europe, trans. Sheila Hughes (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1989), pp. 132, 134.
13. Luke 15.
14. Marjorie J. Thompson, “Wasting Time with God,” Weavings, March/April 1989, p. 30.
15. Meditations, prayer/poetry/proverbs by Lorraine B. Eshleman.
16. Joan D. Chittister, O.S.B., Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco: 1990) p. 30.
17. See https://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-tender-love-song-of-god.html
18. Classic writers like Johann Tauler spoke of “the ground of the soul”; John Arndt
spoke of “the ground of the heart”; Julian of Norwich of the “Substance” or “Ground”
of our being in our deepest soul where God is "knit" to us. The idea of the “cloud”
and the “sharp dart of longing love” come from the anonymous classic The Cloud
of Unknowing.
19. Translation of Ps. 34:8 and Martin Luther's translation of it in “The
Magnificat,” ed. Thomas S. Kepler, An Anthology of Devotional
Literature (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977), p. 262. Also see
Luther's sensitivity to nature: Notes 32-33 of "Martin Luther's
Neglected Tenderness"; https://sacred-tenderness-christian-tradition.blogspot.com/2015/03/martin-luthers-neglected-tenderness.html
20. Howard Thurman, The Growing Edge, quoted in Rueben P. Job
and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other
Servants (Nashville, The Upper Room, 1983), p. 403 (emphasis added).
