The Dialectic of Transcendence & Participation: Toward a Holistic Spirituality and Life-style |
Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Solitude and Life Together III. Prayer and Solidarity IV. Meditation and Praxis V. Conclusion 국문 초록(抄錄) 초월과 참여의 변증법: 온전한 영성과 삶을 향한 모색 이 글은 건강한 기독교 영성과 생활양식의 방향을 탐색하는 것을 그 과제로
삼는다. 우리는 쉽게 떠밀리기 쉬운 세상의 한 복판에서 살고 있다. 현대 문명은
오늘날 우리에게 삶의 방향을 진지하게 숙고할 만한 여유를 허락하지 않는다.
현대 세계는 모든 것의 변화를 야기하는데, 이러한 변화의 상황은 물질과
기술의 변화뿐만 아니라 이념과 가치관의 변화를 포함한다. 이러한 혼돈과
변화의 상황 가운데 그리스도인으로 산다는 것은 무엇을 의미하는가?
그리스도인의 참된 영성은 무엇인가? 어떻게 사는 것이 그리스도인의 삶의
양식에 합당한 삶인가? 이러한 질문에 대해서 우리는 두 가지 서로 다른
답변들에 마주친다. 한 부류의 사람들은 전통적인 기독교 신앙에 기초한 영성과
삶에 대해서 도전한다. 이제 세계는 너무나 변했기에, 그저 전통적인 교리와
생활에 기초한 삶의 모습은 너무나 고루하며 시대착오적이라고 주장한다.
그들은 이제 변하는 세계에 합당한 삶의 모습을 보여야 한다고 말한다. 세계의
한 복판에 들어가서 사람들과 함께 하는 가운데 잃어버린 적합성(relevance)을
찾아 나서는 삶의 모습이 요구된다는 것이 그들의 주장이다. 이에 대해서, 다른
부류의 사람들은 보다 전통적인 기독교의 자기 이해를 요구한다. 오늘날
기독교의 문제는 기독교 신앙이 너무나 세속화된 것에 있다는 것이 그들의
진단이다. 이제 우리에게 요구되는 것은 이 세상으로부터 초연한 삶의 윤리라고
그들은 역설한다. 기독교의 자기 정체성(self-identity)을 되찾아야 한다는
것이다. 이러한 두 가지 대안에 대해서 우리는 어떤 입장을 취해야 하는가? 이
글에서 우리는 온전한 영성과 삶을 향한 모델로서 고독과 공동생활의 긴장,
기도와 연대(連帶)의 긴장, 그리고 묵상과 실천의 긴장을 제시한다.
그리스도인으로서 우리는 삶의 수직적 차원과 수평적 차원의 균형을
유지해야만 한다. 우리는 고독, 기도, 묵상의 훈련을 통하여 삶의 수직적 차원의
초월성을 확보하며, 동시에 우리는 공동생활, 연대, 실천(praxis)을 통하여 삶의
수평적 차원의 참여를 확보한다. 삶의 수직적 차원과 수평적 차원은 거짓된
양자택일의 하나로서 제시될 수 없다. 오히려 참된 수직적 초월은 건강한
수평적 참여 속에서 그 진가를 드러내며, 건강한 수평적 참여는 언제나 진정한
수직적 초월 속에 그 기초를 가진다. 수직적 차원과 수평적 차원의 삶의 양식
사이에는 불필요한 경쟁이 있는 것이 아니라 창조적인 긴장이 살아서 숨쉬고
있기에, 그리스도인의 참된 영성과 생활 양식은 이러한 건강한 긴장을 반영하는
삶이어야 한다. I. Introduction We live in the midst of the world where we can easily get trapped and lose our souls. No matter who we are, we are surrounded by the compulsions of the world. It is dangerous to accept passively the values and spirits of the world. So the apostle Paul declares, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Rom. 12:2) Negatively, we need a spirituality and life-style that refuses to conform to the spirit of the world. Positively, what kind of spirituality and life-style should we follow? The Christian
spirituality and life-style is characterized by the gospel of Christ. The apostle
says, "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel
of Christ." (Phil. 1:27) Thus, we need a spirituality and life-style worthy of the
gospel of Christ. A life worthy of the gospel liberates us to be true to ourselves
and fills us with the Spirit who gives the power to overcome `the pattern of this
world'. The life worthy of the gospel also has its tensions, and this paper will
examine the creative tensions into which a life worthy of the gospel is led. We will
discuss three kinds of creative tensions between solitude and life together,
between prayer and solidarity, and between meditation and praxis. II. Solitude and Life Together Blessed is he who is alone in the strength of the fellowship and blessed is he who
keeps the fellowship in the strength of aloneness. For the Christian there should be a time of solitude and a time of life together. Our distrust of fellowship may drive us to loneliness. But for the Christian, solitude begins with the call of Jesus Christ. Christ himself lived and experienced solitude. The life of solitude was not strange to Jesus. Christ instructed his disciples, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place." (Mk. 6:31) We need a time of solitude. Without solitude we are in danger of remaining helpless victims of our society. Our society is not a community filled with the love of Christ. It is a dangerous place of domination and manipulation. It is a spiritual disaster to accept passively the values of the society. In a society which victimizes us by the spirit of the world, we need to be called to solitude, in order not to be away from people, but in order to let our helpless being be transformed into the being of Christ. Solitude is the furnace of transformation. In solitude, we can experience the inner transformation of our lives. Usually we think that the problems are out there, and that we should correct them right away. As Tolstoy once said, "everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself." In solitude we come to realize that the roots of all evils are not alien to us. Solitude leads us to the awareness of the death in our selves and to the realization of our false selves. Solitude is the place of the struggle --- the struggle against the false self. Solitude is the place of the encounter --- the encounter with the loving God. In deep solitude, we feel that we are loved in spite of the fact that we are unacceptable. In solitude we come to know who we are and who God is. Solitude is the place where Christ makes us in his image and where the Spirit frees us from the bondage of the world. As H. Nouwen said, "solitude is the place of our salvation." Solitude makes us compassionate persons. Compassion comes from the solitude, and leads to life together. The transformation of our lives in solitude leads us into compassion. Because solitude makes us die to our neighbors, we can be compassionate to others. To die to our neighbors means to stop judging them. Solitude changes self-righteous people into considerate persons. Thus, in solitude we do not escape from people. On the contrary, we move closer to others in solitude, through compassion. Merton says, It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am the more affection I have for them. ... Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say. Solitude and life together are not contradictory or mutually exclusive. The transformation of self which takes place in solitude manifests itself in life together. As Christians, we need a time of life together. Life together also begins with the call of Jesus Christ. Life together with Christian brothers/sisters is not something that can be taken for granted. It must be recognized as the pure grace of God. Christian life together is not an ideal but a divine reality which comes from the divine call. Therefore, we are called ekklesia, i.e. the community called out. Christian life together is not a fellowship of devout and pious souls, but a fellowship of those who are called by Christ. Christianity means life together through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. The Christian needs life together because of Jesus Christ and comes to life together through Jesus Christ. The key here is Jesus Christ. Christian life together is not "a narrowly compulsive, desperate, or duty-bound entry into others' lives", but "an actual search for Jesus amidst the turmoil and joy of other people." As R. Wicks said, "The most basic question is: How am I being Jesus to others and where is the Lord present in others." In life together with others, we can reveal Jesus Christ to others and encounter Jesus Christ through others. As Christians, we need the spirituality and life-style of solitude and life together
in order to witness to the saving power of Jesus Christ. The creative tension
between solitude and life together is the first mark of the Christian spirituality
and life-style. III. Prayer and Solidarity Prayer is above all waiting, expecting. It means to let rise day by day in oneself
the `Come, Lord' of the Book of Revelation: Come for humanity! Come for us
all! Come for me! As solitude is not just being alone but being alone with God, so prayer is not just speaking by oneself, but speaking with and listening to God. Prayer is standing in the presence of God. According to the words of Theophan the Recluse, "To pray is ... to stand before the face of the Lord, ever present, all-seeing, within you." In prayer, we begin to think the things God thinks, to love the things God loves, and to hope the things God hopes. In prayer the Spirit of God dwells, and there the encounter takes place. Prayer directs us to God from the center of the person and thus affects the whole of our lives. To pray is to change. First, prayer opens the eyes of our souls to the truth of ourselves. In prayer we come to see ourselves as sinners accepted by the grace of God. Prayer reveals who we are before God and who God is for us. Prayer leads us into the true relationship with God. We come to the true selves through prayer in God. But prayer should not just to be considered in a privatistic sense. There is more in prayer. Secondly, prayer leads us to a new way of life in solidarity with God and with all humankind. To listen to the voice of the Spirit of God in prayer is to experience the presence of the compassionate God. We tend to associate prayer with separation from others, but real prayer brings us closer to our fellow human beings. Prayer is the discipline of compassion because the Spirit who prays with/in/for us is the God who loves all the human beings as brothers/sisters of Christ. To prevent ourselves from falling into pious isolation, we must pay attention to the compassionate presence of God. Praying to God deepens our responsibility for others. Prayer leads us into solidarity. Praying for others means allowing their pains and sufferings to resound in our innermost selves. In prayer we enter into solidarity with our fellow human beings. In this way prayer is not narrowly focused on the wish of the solitary soul. It is
rather focused on the hope of the coming of God's kingdom. Our prayers are not
divorced from the struggles for freedom, justice, and peace in our society and
around the world. Prayer is a form of resistance in a world marked by the
idolatry of power and wealth. The more passionately we pray, the deeper we will
be drawn into the suffering of people and into solidarity with humanity. In prayer
we look to the compassionate God, and in prayer we enter into solidarity with
suffering humanity. Solidarity does not do away with prayer, but strengthens the
passionate prayer in the Spirit. Therefore, the creative tension between prayer
and solidarity is the second mark of the Christian spirituality and life-style. IV. Meditation and Praxis Christian meditation is ... at the core always meditation on the crucified Christ in
light of his resurrection. If we want to move beyond the superficialities of our world, we need to go into the inner life of meditation. Meditation is one of the powerful ways of preventing the world from shaping us in its image. Meditation is not foreign to the Christian spirituality and life-style. The Psalmist says, "As for me, I will meditate on thy precepts." (Ps. 119:78) As T. Merton said, "True contemplation is not a psychological trick but a theological grace." Christian meditation in the grace of God leads us to inner wholeness and spiritual sensitivity to the social evils. There are those who tend to consider meditation impractical, but such judgement comes from a misunderstanding of both meditation and praxis. In meditation we turn to the compassionate God whom we believe in. In meditation we open ourselves to the reality of God which K. Barth called `the fact which transforms everything'. The closer we come to the divine reality, the more deeply we are influenced by the compassionate God. Christian meditation is meditatio crucis, i.e., meditation on the cross of Christ. In meditation Christ changes us into compassionate human beings. Our meditation on the cross of Christ can change our praxis more fundamentally than all other alternatives which the `active' person can think of. Meditation on the crucified Christ and on the coming God ---"Behold, I make all things new."(Rev. 21:5) --- is a "dangerous and liberating memory." It is a dangerous memory to any kind of status quo, and a liberating memory for suffering humanity (whether from sin, meaninglessness, exploitation, or oppression). Therefore, we can say that meditation and praxis are related to one another.
Meditation is not an escape from liberating praxis, because it is meditation on the
crucified Christ. Liberating praxis does not cause one to flee from meditation
because it is connected with the discipleship of Christ. Meditation without praxis
grows into powerless quietism, and praxis without meditation falls into blind
activism. We meditate on the cross of Christ in order to participate in the
salvation of the world. We act for the liberation of the world in order to
encounter the compassionate Christ. Meditation on the cross of Christ and
liberating praxis for the humanity complete each other. The creative tension
between meditation and praxis is the third mark of the Christian spirituality and
life-style. V. Conclusion We have discussed three kinds of creative tensions of the Christian spirituality and life-style. The first groups --- solitude, prayer, and meditation --- can be called the spirituality of transcendence, and the second ones --- life together, solidarity, and praxis --- can be named the spirituality of solidarity. For the Christian, the spirituality of transcendence and the spirituality of solidarity are two sides of a life worthy of the gospel. If they are separated, the spirituality and life-style worthy of the gospel will be destroyed. Thus, we must pursue the holistic spirituality and life-style which breaks through the false alternatives so familiar in our churches: prayer or action, transformation of individuals or transformation of social conditions, personal salvation or social gospel, a vertical dimension of transcendence or a horizontal dimension of solidarity. In D. Bonhoeffer's spirituality and life-style, we see an example of the creative tension and unity between solitude and life together, between prayer and solidarity, and between meditation and praxis. Bonhoeffer's life, his hope, his resistance, and his death are an example of the spirituality and life-style worthy of the gospel of Christ. Bonhoeffer passionately fought against the world-denying piety of those who lived without compassion for the humanity. But just as passionately he also resisted the banal world-accepting secularism of those who lived without faith in compassionate God. Instead Bonhoeffer pursued the world-transforming spirituality and life-style worthy of the gospel of Christ. The gospel of Christ does not lead us into remote places of religious world-flight
but places us back into the world as Christ's true brothers/sisters. We are called
to the Christian spirituality and life-style which is shown in Bonhoeffer's life,
hope, resistance, and death. Finally, we should remember that we cannot make
the Christian spirituality and life-style. It is created by the Spirit, when we follow
the life of Christ and when, as Bonhoeffer said, we "throw ourselves completely
into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own suffering, but those of God
in the world --- watching with Christ in Gethsemane." SELF-DISCIPLINE If you set out to seek freedom, you must learn before all things Mastery over sense and soul, lest your wayward desirings, Lest your undisciplined members lead you now this way, now that way Chaste be your mind and your body, and subject to you and obedient, Serving solely to seek their appointed goal and objective. None learns the secret of freedom save only by way of control. ACTION Do and dare what is right, not swayed by the whim of the moment. Bravely take hold of the real, not dallying now with what might be. Not in the flight of ideas but only in action is freedom. Make up your mind and come out into the tempest of living. God's command is enough and your faith in him to sustain you. Then at last freedom will welcome your spirit amid great rejoicing. from `Stations on the Road to Freedom' Bibliography Bonhoeffer, D. Ethics. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1965. Bonhoeffer, D. Letters & Papers from Prison. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1971. Bonhoeffer, D. Life Together. San Francisco, Harper & Row, 1954. Foster, R. Celebration of Discipline. New York: Harper & Row. McNeill, D. Morrison, D. and Nouwen, H. Compassion. New York: Doubleday, 1982. Mead, F. ed., Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations. London: Peter Davis Ltd., 1965. Merton, T. The Sign of Jonas. London: Sheldon Press, 1953. Migliore, D. Called to Freedom. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1980. Moltmann, J. Kirche in der Kraft des Geistes. München: Chr. Kaiser, 1977. Moltmann, J. The Open Church. London: SCM Press, 1978. Moltmann, J. Zukunft der Schöpfung. München: Chr. Kaiser, 1977. Nouwen, H. The Way of the Heart. New York: Ballantine Books, 1981. Wicks, R. Availability. New York: Paulist Press, 1986. |
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