Father Richard points to the witness of the prophets to demonstrate how the Holy Spirit works within to wake us up to who we are:
What we see in the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible is the clear emergence of critical consciousness and interior struggle in Israel. We see them allowing an objective, outer witness, which is the death knell for both the ego and the group ego. They have to leave their false innocence and naïve superiority behind and admit that they do not always live as they say they do at the level of “law” or inside their idealized self-image.
In a sense, we can call the prophets the fathers and mothers of consciousness, because until we move to self-reflective, self-critical thinking, we don’t move to any deep level of consciousness at all. In fact, we largely remain unconscious, falsely innocent, and unaware. Thus, most people choose to remain in that first stage of consciousness, secure and consoled. It’s great to think we’re the best and the center of the world. It even passes for holiness, but it isn’t holy at all.
Until an objective inner witness (the Holy Spirit; see Romans 8:16) emerges that looks back at us with utter honesty, we cannot speak of being awake or conscious. That is at the heart of what we mean by “waking up.” Until then, most of us are on cruise control and cannot see our egocentricity at work.
Unfortunately, people so fear a negative and judgmental critic that they never seem to access the “Compassionate Witness” promised us in the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:16–26). How wonderful that John calls the Holy Spirit parakletos (Greek for “defense attorney”). It is painful but necessary to be critical of your own system, whatever it is. But do know it will never make you popular. [1]
Theologian Grace Ji Sun-Kim describes how the Holy Spirit seeks transformation for all:
In the Hebrew Bible, the Spirit empowers the Servant of God to work for justice and peace and to create a community of liberated life (Isaiah 11). In the New Testament, at Pentecost, there is a powerful outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2:1–3). The communities of followers of Jesus received the Spirit, which was understood to be the source of an extraordinary power. It is power beyond our worldly comprehension and beyond our worldly expectations. The Spirit empowered and directed the early church. The Spirit that created life, transformed the people, and moved the early church is not gone. Enter now that life of the Spirit.
Christ is portrayed as a “life-giving Spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). The believer has a responsibility to live her life in the power of the Spirit (Romans 8:4–6, 14). This responsibility should not be taken lightly, as one should not ignore the depth of the Spirit’s power. Walking in the power of the Spirit is life-changing, as the Spirit becomes an agent through which transformations can occur. [2]
References:
[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2008, 2022), 76–77.
[2] Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Reimagining Spirit: Wind, Breath, and Vibration (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2019), 130.
Image credit: A path from one week to the next—Exercise in Grief and Lamentation credits from left to right: Jenna Keiper, Jenna Keiper, Izzy Spitz. Used with permission. Click here to enlarge image.
On retreat, the CAC staff used watercolors to connect to our collective grief. This is one of the watercolor paintings that came from that exercise.
Story from Our Community:
Richard’s Daily Meditations are a way for me to stay centered in my journey. As a spiritual guide, I am aware of the importance of being grounded by the Holy Spirit. I look forward to each morning as I set my internal movement by the hopeful words shared in the Daily Meditations. I am just as grateful for the challenges that sometimes arise as I ponder the weekly topics. The meditations are lessons in re-examining my moral compass as I continue to tread the sometimes turbulent waters of life. —Tanya H.
