Faith and Contemplation: A Journey to Spiritual Maturity

 

Summary

In our journey through spiritual growth, we often encounter the dichotomy between the active and contemplative life. Today, we explored insights from Thomas Merton's "Seeds of Contemplation," which challenges us to rethink our understanding of faith. Merton emphasizes that faith is not merely an emotion or a feeling; it is not a blind urge or a simple conviction. Instead, faith is an intellectual assent that perfects the mind, allowing us to know God by loving Him and accepting His truths on His terms. This understanding of faith invites us to move beyond superficial feelings and into a deeper communion with God.

The contemplative life, often seen as separate from the active life, is not about withdrawing from the world but about experiencing God's presence in our everyday lives. It is about knowing God by loving Him, which can be a transformative experience. This perspective encourages us to embrace both contemplation and action, recognizing that they are not mutually exclusive but complementary paths to spiritual maturity.

Faith, as Merton describes, is an act of the intellect content to know God by loving Him. It is a process of receiving God, not just a static belief. This dynamic relationship with God involves a communion of wills, where we align our desires with His. It is a journey of trust, where we are willing to risk being wrong because we are drawn into the mystery of God's love and presence.

In our daily lives, we may not always feel close to God, but faith allows us to continue believing and committing to our relationship with Him. It is a choice to trust in God's goodness and to receive His love, even in our imperfection. As we grow in faith, we learn to rest in God's presence, knowing that He is with us and loves us unconditionally.

Key Takeaways:

1. Faith as Intellectual Assent: Faith is not merely an emotion or feeling but an intellectual assent that perfects the mind. It allows us to know God by loving Him and accepting His truths on His terms. This understanding invites us to move beyond superficial feelings and into a deeper communion with God. [02:57]

2. Contemplative and Active Life: The contemplative life is not about withdrawing from the world but about experiencing God's presence in our everyday lives. It complements the active life, encouraging us to embrace both contemplation and action as paths to spiritual maturity. [03:38]

3. Receiving God: Faith is a dynamic process of receiving God, not just a static belief. It involves a communion of wills, where we align our desires with His, and trust in His love and presence. This journey of trust draws us into the mystery of God's love. [07:25]

4. Faith Beyond Feelings: We may not always feel close to God, but faith allows us to continue believing and committing to our relationship with Him. It is a choice to trust in God's goodness and to receive His love, even in our imperfection. [08:18]

5. God's Unconditional Love: In our journey of faith, we are reminded of God's unconditional love and presence. He is available to be received by us, and we can rest in His love, knowing that He is with us and loves us unconditionally. [09:41]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:34] - Introduction to Dallas Willard and Thomas Merton
- [01:33] - The Beginning of Contemplation
- [02:16] - Faith: What It Is Not
- [02:57] - Faith as Intellectual Assent
- [03:38] - Contemplative vs. Active Life
- [04:17] - Experiencing God's Presence
- [05:12] - Personal Experiences of Faith
- [06:31] - Faith Beyond Feelings
- [07:25] - Communion of Wills
- [08:18] - Risking Faith
- [09:06] - Receiving God
- [09:41] - God's Unconditional Love
- [10:12] - Closing Reflections

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
2. Luke 10:38-42 - The story of Mary and Martha, illustrating the balance between the contemplative and active life.

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Observation Questions:

1. According to Thomas Merton, what is the beginning of contemplation, and how does it relate to faith? [01:33]
2. How does the story of Mary and Martha illustrate the difference between the active and contemplative life? [02:06]
3. What does Merton mean by saying faith is an "intellectual assent" and not merely an emotion or feeling? [02:57]
4. How does the sermon describe the process of receiving God in faith? [09:06]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the concept of faith as an "intellectual assent" challenge or affirm your current understanding of faith? [02:57]
2. In what ways can the contemplative life complement the active life in one's spiritual journey? [03:38]
3. How does the idea of a "communion of wills" with God deepen the understanding of faith as a dynamic process? [07:25]
4. What does it mean to risk being wrong about faith, and how does this relate to the journey of trust in God? [08:18]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when you felt distant from God. How did you continue to practice faith during that period? [08:29]
2. How can you incorporate both contemplation and action into your daily spiritual practices to achieve a balanced spiritual life? [03:38]
3. Identify an area in your life where you struggle to align your desires with God's will. What steps can you take to work towards a "communion of wills"? [07:25]
4. Think of a situation where you had to trust in God's goodness despite not feeling His presence. How did that experience shape your faith? [08:18]
5. How can you actively receive God's love and presence in your life, even when you feel imperfect or unworthy? [09:41]
6. Consider a person or situation that challenges your faith. What practical steps can you take to maintain your commitment to your relationship with God in this context? [08:42]
7. How can you remind yourself of God's unconditional love in moments of doubt or fear? What specific actions or practices can help reinforce this truth in your daily life? [09:41]

Devotional

Day 1: Faith as Intellectual Assent
Faith is not merely an emotion or feeling but an intellectual assent that perfects the mind. It allows us to know God by loving Him and accepting His truths on His terms. This understanding invites us to move beyond superficial feelings and into a deeper communion with God. Faith is a conscious decision to trust in God's wisdom and to align our understanding with His divine truths. It challenges us to engage our minds actively in our spiritual journey, seeking to comprehend the depth of God's love and His plans for us. [02:57]

"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him." (Ephesians 1:15-17, ESV)

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you rely more on feelings than on a thoughtful understanding of God's truths? How can you begin to engage your mind more deeply in your faith journey today?


Day 2: Contemplative and Active Life
The contemplative life is not about withdrawing from the world but about experiencing God's presence in our everyday lives. It complements the active life, encouraging us to embrace both contemplation and action as paths to spiritual maturity. This dual approach allows us to find God in the midst of our daily activities, transforming ordinary moments into opportunities for divine encounter. By integrating contemplation with action, we cultivate a balanced spiritual life that nurtures both our inner and outer worlds. [03:38]

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (James 3:17-18, ESV)

Reflection: How can you incorporate moments of contemplation into your daily routine, even amidst a busy schedule? What practical steps can you take to ensure that your actions reflect a deep awareness of God's presence?


Day 3: Receiving God
Faith is a dynamic process of receiving God, not just a static belief. It involves a communion of wills, where we align our desires with His, and trust in His love and presence. This journey of trust draws us into the mystery of God's love. As we open ourselves to receive God, we engage in a transformative relationship that reshapes our hearts and minds. This dynamic interaction with the divine invites us to continually seek His presence and align our lives with His purposes. [07:25]

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7, ESV)

Reflection: What desires or plans do you need to surrender to God today to align your will with His? How can you actively receive His presence in your life right now?


Day 4: Faith Beyond Feelings
We may not always feel close to God, but faith allows us to continue believing and committing to our relationship with Him. It is a choice to trust in God's goodness and to receive His love, even in our imperfection. Faith calls us to remain steadfast, even when emotions waver, and to trust in the constancy of God's love and promises. This commitment to faith, despite fluctuating feelings, strengthens our spiritual resilience and deepens our relationship with God. [08:18]

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18, ESV)

Reflection: When have you felt distant from God, and how did you respond? What practices can you adopt to maintain your faith during times when you don't feel His presence?


Day 5: God's Unconditional Love
In our journey of faith, we are reminded of God's unconditional love and presence. He is available to be received by us, and we can rest in His love, knowing that He is with us and loves us unconditionally. This assurance of divine love provides a foundation of peace and security, encouraging us to trust in God's unwavering commitment to us. As we embrace His love, we find the courage to face life's challenges with confidence and hope. [09:41]

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV)

Reflection: How does understanding God's unconditional love change the way you view yourself and others? In what ways can you rest in His love today, allowing it to transform your interactions and decisions?

Quotes

"Faith is not an emotion, not a feeling. It's not a blind subconscious urge towards something vaguely supernatural. It is not simply an elemental need in man's spirit. It is not a feeling that God exists. It is not just a conviction that one is somehow saved or justified for no special reason except one happens to feel that way." [00:02:21]

"It is first of all an intellectual assent. It perfects the mind; it does not destroy it. It puts the intellects in possession of truth which reason cannot grasp by itself. The act of faith is an act in which the intellect is content to know God by loving Him and accepting God's statements about Himself on His own term." [00:02:52]

"Part of what I've liked a lot about Merton is if there is really, you know, kind of historically the contemplative and active divide, which doesn't need to be a divide at all, right? But has been coming from maybe a more active background growing up in a more evangelical church, to get to think now about contemplation and really experiencing God." [00:03:38]

"Receiving God in faith and the ways that we receive God, and they're so mysterious to me. I think how the ways that God speaks to us, and I know so many different people from so many different faith traditions who have had experiences of God really in them or with them or even speaking with them." [00:04:46]

"I think a lot of if we think of faith as, you know, a thing that we have to feel our way into, we probably will wind up in trouble because, as Dallas Willard said, emotions are terrible masters but great servants. When we don't let our feelings guide us but instead we kind of recognize them and also just experience God in whatever way we can." [00:06:27]

"Faith is as Merton says, an intellectual assent. Well, I can do that no matter how I feel. I can say, I'm going to believe even though I don't particularly feel close to God today or this month or this year. But then he also says, which I like, that it's not only an intellectual ascent; it is also a grasp." [00:07:09]

"By faith, one not only ascents to propositions revealed by God but one ascends to God Himself, one receives God. I think a little bit about a friend of mine, Rachel Held Evans, who some of you guys might be familiar with, I know you are, who was just a really good mind about faith before she died at a really young age." [00:07:42]

"I'm not a Christian because I know that I believe all the right things about Jesus. I'm a Christian because it's the story that I am willing to risk being wrong about. And that sense of saying I'm gonna step into faith, not because I feel so overcome with emotion that I'm raising my hands in worship and praying all hours of the night." [00:08:09]

"In the meantime, every day if I get to know Jesus a bit more and experience God a bit more, I'm drawn into this mystery that I can't explain and I don't want it to go away. And I love that phrase that you read towards the end, it's a process through which we receive God." [00:08:48]

"I grew up in a tradition that would often talk about have you received Christ, but we could talk about it was kind of static, and it's really have you believed a certain thing about Jesus, as opposed to thinking, just like I can receive a gift or receive a word, I can be receiving God, His presence, and His love." [00:09:09]

"Take a moment right now and just think about what a good thing it is that there is a God and that He loves Dallas Willard and Thomas Merton equally, and He is available to be received by us, and we do that mostly in our minds and we can do it with our wills. We do it imperfectly, but He's present and with us right now." [00:09:41]

"Take a moment and receive God's love, God's light, receive God's goodness in my imperfection, my imperfect knowing, just receive it by faith." [00:10:00]

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Transcript
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