In speaking with a friend this week, I wished her a great Advent as we trek towards Bethlehem yet again. “O” she said, “I am not religious, but I am spiritual!” Once again, I was lost for words at this now common “catch phrase”. I had an “I should have said” moment.
As we approach the first week of Advent and the lighting of the candle for Hope, I had every intention of speaking about the journey to the stable door. That journey of Hope, found in the birth of a child who would change the world forever. But I got side-tracked. I went home and searched frantically through my blue bin of “stuff I might need one day+” and I found it! The words are from Kurt Struckmeyer, and were published in A Conspiracy of Love. I can think of no better way to speak about Spirit and Advent than to quote his words:
Authentic Spirituality. The Gospel accounts provide us with an image of what a life lived in the Spirit of God looks like.
It is a life transformed by the spirit of love, the spirit of compassion, the spirit of generosity, the spirit of forgiveness, the spirit of hospitality, the spirit of Justice, the spirit of peace.
When the spirit of God fills our lives, it drives out selfishness, greed, indifference, hatred, exclusivity and the need for domination. These base human conditions represent the normalcy of the world.
Spirituality is much more than an internal quest to discover some kind of personal peace and wholeness.
Spirituality is the shaking of the foundations of the status quo, upsetting the normalcy of the world and transforming the darkness of the human soul into new possibilities for authentic humanity.
Yes, all the qualities found in the person of Jesus Christ. The one who changed the world forever. The one whose birth we are walking towards - as people have walked for so many centuries.
“I am not religious but I am spiritual”. I for one have great difficulty in separating the two. For me, authentic spirituality is found in the life of Jesus and his ministry here on earth - a ministry of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love for all people and all creation.
Let’s travel this road together, embracing any detours which may occur, until we arrive at the end of our Advent journey.
-Beryl