Friends of St. John’s, I have a friend who is writing a book on a balanced life, and he asked me to read it and give my critique. He is framing the whole book around the concept of masculine/feminine, or Yin Yang, primarily from Taoism and psychologist Carl Jung. From this point of view as he interprets it feminine is feeling and processing, while masculine is action. I’m not sure that is exactly how I would divide it, but I am trying to stay within his framework, not write my own book. As many do today, he revolts against the hyper masculine, patriarchal structure, doctrine, and judgement of religion, to favor the personal contemplative. So I responded by suggesting that he include justice in his spirituality chapter. He then asked me what I meant by that. This is my response:
Two trends are relevant to this conversation. To adjust to the overly masculine structure and doctrine of the three abrahamic religions, and masculine reason of Enlightenment which thought we could do away with religion and just deal with the material world, there is a “New Age” or “Mystical” lean from the progressive spiritual left. So a feminine leaning in the form of Yoga, mixed with some deeper Hindu ideas and Buddhism, and a little bit of “Indigenous” or “Pagan” Mother Earth/ Goddess stuff. Mix in the individualistic medical approach of the new religion of Psychology, a few new terms like “Wellness” and “Self-Care” and we start to see this is an extension of American Capitalist individualism trying to tap into personal angst, alienation and loneliness, and the desire for more feminine, emotional, feeling experience. For all the talk about community in yoga classes and retreats I have been to, most of us just show up and leave back to our individual lives. There are some real positives: a return to experiential, the affirmation of the feminine in the divine and the divine in the feminine, the powerful concept of present mindfulness, a connection with the spirit and body. Another strong positive about this change is a re-connection to the mystical traditions with deep personal experience.
But it remains, as almost every aspect of our culture, individualistic. Self focused. A well balanced spirituality will be a balance between mind and body, experience and reflection, reason and feeling, mystery and reasoned articulation, order and freedom, freedom and responsibility, personal peace and social peace, grace, freedom and justice.
I know New Age is now an old term. I’m not sure what we call the progressive liberal spirituality these days. But in its individualistic perspective, it is not much different from the capitalist notion that if we all just take care of ourselves that will profit society, or the right wing evangelical idea that once we accept Jesus as our own PERSONAL savior then, we need not worry about all the rest.
But the biblical prophets, Jesus, Archbishop Romero, Cesar Chavez, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and all the other civil rights workers, and most of the founders of the US all understood that God calls us not only to personal peace but also social peace. And social peace in the long run means justice, and justice means fairness. “Do unto others as you would have them do to you,” to quote Jesus.
In Buddhism, this notion is expressed in the idea of the Bodhisattva, the enlightened one who doesn’t just go off by themself to enjoy enlightenment, but comes back down to earth to help improve human life, to live enlightened in the flesh, in community, making peace. The first principle in the Judeo Christian tradition is that we are all made in the image of God, precious and beautiful. So if we mistreat our neighbor, we are mistreating God’s creation, God’s child.
After Jesus is baptized by John, he goes out on an individual vision quest in the wilderness. Individual retreats and Sabbath rest are good. But he doesn’t stop there. When he comes back from his retreat, he goes into the temple and opens the scroll to the book of Isiah and reads:
4[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
[19] to proclaim the Jubilee year.”
The Jubilee year is the fiftieth year, when in Sabbath law (one of the first labor laws in all history, a day of rest every seven, rest land every seven years) every 7 x 7 years all debts are cancelled, and slaves freed. It is a balancing, a redistribution of wealth after capital accumulates at the top. First words out of Jesus mouth to begin his ministry. Badass!
Then at the end he tells this parable: Matthew 25
[31] “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.[32] Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
[33] and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.
[34] Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
[35] for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
[36] I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
[37] Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?
[38] And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee?
[39] And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’
[40] And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’
I could go on and on, but lets say that a healthy, full spirituality will include both internal contemplation and relationship with the divine, the mystical, and the outward engagement and contribution to equality, peace and justice. Feminine mystical internal experience and masculine action. But again, the inclination for justice is love expanded, mothering inclusiveness. But I suppose the fight and the building is masculine.
https://www.csuchico.edu/iege/_assets/documents/susi-letter-from-birmingham-jail.pdf
I feel this link, the Letter from Birmingham Jail, is the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s greatest piece of writing, not speech but writing. It has Biblical power. His conversation about justice here is awesome.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=mlk+three+dimensions+of+a+complete+life#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:5342dd69,vid:GU3AnO_PJGU,st:0
“The Three Dimensions of of a Complete Life:”
This one is King talking about a complete and balanced life. Another place this shows up is in his sermon at the National Cathedral. But this one is a sermon in African American context so you get the full range of tone and emotion and the help of the congregation.