Posting themes for certain days of the week are fun, but I’m just not a “What I Wore Wednesday” kind of guy. Instead, every hump-day I’m going to take the opportunity to introduce you to some of my favorite writers. I won’t spend a lot of time gushing, lest I come across like a thirteen-year old getting her copy of Breaking Dawn signed by Stephanie Meyer. Instead, I’ll just serve as the intermediary that gets the two of you acquainted, and I’ll leave you with a little taste from the feast of words he or she cooks up (there I go with the food metaphors again…)
Some of you will have heard of these people, but others may have not. Either way, my hope is that their words will captivate you as much as they do me.
Today’s Wordsmith
Richard Rohr
He’s a Franciscan priest and an inspirational speaker and author. He’s the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and also a contributing editor to Sojourners magazine. Many of his writings focus on the liberating reality of Scripture, contemplative prayer, and the Christian’s call to actively engage in issues of social justice.
If you’re interested in checking him out, I suggest Everything Belongs, an amazing little book about the freedom of contemplative prayer. Here’s a sample:
Many others give up their boundaries before they have them, always seeking their identity in another group, experience, possession or person. Beliefs like “She will make me happy,” or “He will take away my loneliness,” or “This group will make me feel like I belong” become a substitute for doing the hard work of growing up. It is much easier to belong to a group than it is to know that you belong to God. Those who firm up their own edges too quickly without finding their center in God and in themselves will normally be the enemies of ecumenism, forgiveness, vulnerability, and basic human dialogue. Their identity is too insecure to allow any movement in or out and their “Christ” tends to be very small, tribal, and “just like them.” If your prayer is not enticing you outside your comfort zones, if your Christ is not an occasional “threat,” you probably need to do some growing up and learning to love. You have to develop an ego before you can let go of it.
