What is Creation Spirituality: People
Essential Four:
Every one of us carries within the capacity to be a mystic, to be an artist, to be a visionary, and to be a prophet.
Our society has a tendency to project our greatest expectations or capabilities onto others, making them into heroes or celebrities. Doing so creates an excuse for us to opt out of responsibility and also assumes that we don’t possess these same qualities.
One my favorite Zen Buddhist Koans is the phrase, “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him,” an often misunderstood adage. Of course, this is really not about killing the Buddha; it is saying through the use of hyperbole and shock, that it would be better to kill the Buddha than to worship or make the Buddha into a guru.
Humans have a tendency to make enlightenment into a thing, a celebrity, a hero, a messiah, but the Buddha encouraged his disciples to be their own heroes, not rely on him.
When a ruler comes to Jesus and says, “Good teacher, how do we inherit eternal life?” instead of answering him directly, Jesus does what an effective leader will always do—he redirects his language. Jesus says, “Don’t call me good. Only our father in heaven is good.” In other words, Jesus said, “Oh no you don’t. Don’t set me up as the hero because then you get to opt out!” If you make it all about Jesus, where does your responsibility lie? Unfortunately, this is exactly what the early church eventually did, but like the Buddha, I believe Jesus’s original intent was to empower his followers to embody his teaching and ethics, to become “the body of Christ” themselves, not worship a zombie Jesus that allowed them to opt out of responsibility. We love our celebrities, our heroes, our leaders (until we don’t). Creation Spirituality recognizes that we are all potential mystics, artist, visionaries, and social justice activists. The age of celebrity needs to end. Now is the time for self-empowerment and responsibility.
A theology of Original Blessing recognizes that the possibility to experience the connection with the Divine, to be creative, to be a visionary, and to be an agent for positive change lies within each of us. It is our responsibility to cultivate these gifts for the benefit of Earth and all its creatures. We are each called to be instruments of liberation, love, and hope. Creation Spirituality allows us to reawaken mysticism, reclaim creativity, redeem the visionary wisdom, and reignite prophetic action. Upon awaking, it is time to get off our butts.
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Read Essential Five: We rejoice in, and celebrate, the rich diversity within the Cosmos.
Read An Introduction to Creation Spirituality.
By special guest contributor, Rev. Dr. Sid Hall.
