Meditation is a Universal Tradition

This deeper dimension of the Gospel and Christian discipleship is necessary if we are to hold the active and religious aspects of Christianity in balance. In early Christianity the contemplative life was an integral aspect of Christian identity. Later, it became identified only with a more restricted, celibate and cloistered life and often viewed with suspicion. Yet Jesus called everyone to ‘be perfect’ in love and compassion like his Father, to leave self behind, to shed materialistic stress and anxiety, to find the ‘rest’ of contemplation in accepting his yoke, and to ‘pray without ceasing’.

Contemplation is an essential and universal element of the human person and human life. Martha and Mary are sisters, two complementary dimensions of the person, not just two personality types. Without Mary’s stillness at the center, sitting at the feet of the teacher and listening, we become like Martha, irritable, complaining, discontented, distracted. In the end, we are not even very productive in the work we do. In fact, Mary and Martha are both working, one interiorly, the other exteriorly. Contemplation is not an escape from one’s life’s work. It is a part of our work and helps us to do the other part better.Mary and Martha are like two chambers of one heart. They don’t just complement one another; they need each other to realize fullness of life.

John Main found in the teachings of the first Christian monks of the 4th century a simple, practical and universal approach to meditation. It is one that can be embraced and practiced by people today of all ages and walks of life. In this simple insight, he opened a way for the recovery of the contemplative dimension for Christians of all traditions, East and West, Catholic and Reformed. It also opens the windows on a wider and deeper meeting between the contemplative religions of Asia with Christianity.

From that perspective we can begin to see how a global spiritual consciousness can be developed to help us work for peace, fight for justice, identify with the oppressed, love our environment and heal our social institutions and economy.

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