Continuing from Mystical Christianity: A Critique from Within
Throughout history, contemplative seeing appears to be the minority position, which is probably what Jesus is so disappointed with in the Judaism of his time. Many of the folks in Jesus’ time, particularly the leaders, simply cannot see what he sees (e.g., Matthew 13:13ff.). It has nothing to do with his being the “Son of God” or having special access to truth, or he would not be able to find the religious leaders capable. He keeps saying, in effect, “You all should know better. You do not know your own wonderful Jewish tradition.”
Like any true reformer or prophet, Jesus critiques Judaism from within, by its own criteria and its own documents. This is what I hope to do here for Christianity or any religion. Too often, religion offers more doctrinal conclusions, more competing truth claims in the increasingly large marketplace of religious claims, but seldom does it give people a vision, process, and practices whereby they can legitimate those truth claims for themselves – by inner experience and actual practices.
Richard Rohr
from The Naked Now; Learning to See as the Mystics See
To be continued . . .