Ascetics draw near to God through solitude and simplicity
As expected I missed a couple of posts, so I am having to back track slightly to catch up with our class schedule.
"Our culture has a difficult time understanding the ascetic temperament. We admire these people, but we often suspect them of religious fanaticism, which we see as a cousin to mental illness." (Sacred Pathways; 96) The ascetic temperament is the practice of self-denial in an attempt to draw closer to God. It is a highly disciplined temperament that makes use of the spiritual practices such as fasting and simplicity.
If could be said that the ascetic temperament is the "monastic" temperament of the group. It leans towards "solitude...simplicity, and deep commitment." Ascetics are a group of people that I think we all highly respect, but more often than not we think are a little "odd-ball."
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Out of all of the temperaments we will be discussing, I think that asceticism is probably the most foreign to us. We live in a world that is deeply connected and is constantly flowing with information. It is a culture that plays "fast and loose" with that information. It is deeply complex and rarely provides us with clear black and white distinctions. If we are honest with ourselves, I think that we rather enjoy being connected to others and to this information. However in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life, I think all of us have desired times of quiet and simplicity to be a part of our regular spiritual practice. There have been numerous times when I would love to get away from all the emails, phone calls, and news feeds but I'm just sucked back in.
And so, God fights all the noise in our world, trying to get our attention. What would happen if we slowed down, separated ourselves from the constant pipeline of activity in our lives, and committed ourselves to simplicity and solitude.
What kind of things would we hear then from God if we put away the distractors and really listened?
As with a number of the other temperaments, the Bible provides us some very clear examples of this type of spiritual practice.
The Nazirite Vow - Numbers 6:1-9
The basic definition of this vow is no wine ( or grapes), no cutting of hair, to keep their distance from corpses or grave (even those of their relatives). It was a time of extreme devotion to God for approximately 30 days, although there are those who chose to become permanent Nazirites. You might recall two of the most popular Nazirites in the Bible: Samson and Samuel. Both lived consecrated and dedicated lives to God within the guidelines of this vow. In return for their extreme devotion, they received extraordinary gifts from God.
John the Baptist
Many interpreters think John the Baptist identified himself as a Nazirite, but the evidence is far from conclusive. From the Gospel of Luke we know that the angel prophesied that he would not take any wine or drink. We also know that he lived a life of extreme devotion to God. Regardless of if John the Baptist was actually a Nazirite, we can conclude that he was deeply devoted to his calling and clearly fits within the ascetic temperament.
Jesus
Jesus displayed many ascetic tendencies as well through out his ministry. We know that he went through 40 days of fasting in the desert (Lk 4:1-13; Matt 4:1-11). We also have examples of Jesus retreating to solitary places to pray, such is the case in Mark 1:35-39, however the most intense example of that would be the prayer given at Gethsemane. As we have mentioned several times, Jesus is the supreme example of holistic living, because he exhibited all of these temperaments.
Paul
We know that after his conversion, Paul was a deeply devoted follower of Christ. In addition to what we know about his already deep devotion to the Gospel, there is evidence in Acts 18:18 that Paul had taken what seems to be a Nazirite vow. The text here says that before he shipped off for Syria he cut his hair to "fulfill a vow he had taken." Also, we see in Acts 21:26 that he and several of his colleagues went to the temple to "give notice of the date when the days of purification would end." Again, it appears that Paul had consecrated himself for a period of time to intensely devote himself to God's work.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul makes a case that the physical body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and should be consecrated to the work of God. (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
In his book, Sacred Pathways, which has been the guide for us in this study, Gary Thomas talks about the "Three Worlds" of the ascetic.
Solitude
There are things that in our world that fill us up and there are those things that deplete and empty us. That is true for us spiritually as well. For me, on a Sunday morning that I lead worship or preach, I have completely emptied myself spiritually, emotionally, and physically. By the time I get home on Sunday afternoon I am completely wiped out. Those are spiritually "emptying" practices. So when I empty myself I need to be refilled. I have found that times of quiet and solitude are the ways I can refill, especially in terms of my introversion. When I slow myself down enough to be aware of God's presence in my life I find myself being filled by the Spirit, kind of like a battery recharge. For me that may be 30 minutes of just being alone, or using my day off to just be still and unplugged. But Asceticism is more than just trying to add stillness and solitude, it is purposeful and structured stillness.
Just like if you were lost in the forest, you wouldn't run around as fast as you can trying to find a way out. Survivalist tell us that we need to slow ourselves and reorient ourselves to True North and gain our bearings. This time of solitude can help us reorient ourselves back to the way of Christ.
Simplicity
In our last post, we discussed how sensates use their God-given senses to awaken themselves to deeper, more meaningful experiences in worship. For the ascetic, the opposite is true. The ascetic is trying to remove themselves from their senses because they know that those things around us can often distract us from our true focus in worship. I will be really honest with you, I have created collective worship gatherings that have caused more distracting than they have focused our hearts on God. Even in an a cappella tradition, the music can often get in the way of worship. There are a number of experiences I have had where the simplest song was the most profound.
There is just something about getting away from all the noise and clutter that is in our lives. In our personal lives maybe that means giving up some of the time we spend in front of a screen, or spend on extra work. Maybe it's eating simpler foods, or wearing less elaborate clothing.
We are living in a culture that is consumed with consuming. I have often wondered what my life would be like without the many amenities that I have at my disposal. I try to make conscious decisions on a regular basis to get away from the technology that I am so consumed with. I love technology, but at some point it begins to take you over. A couple of practices I've been led to the past several years are the practices of slowing and unplugging. Slowing is simply a practice of valuing time and trying to be present in life's moments. Unplugging is just what is says, that is removing oneself from the burden of technology for a given period of time. For some people, simplistic living may look a simple as cutting the cable at your house, for others it could be moving to an different house entirely!
One book I highly recommend is a fun and challenging book by the name of 7:An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker (co -pastor at Austin New Church). It's a humorous and enlightening look at her journey to a more simplistic lifestyle by take 7 months focused on doing 7 things per month...such as only eating 7 foods, only wearing 7 pieces of clothing, etc...It was an incredibly challenging book for my wife and I and we suggest it as you look at ways to implement more ascetic-esque practices in your life.
Discipline/Strictness
The element that really sets asceticism a part from it's cousin temperaments is the amount of discipline and strictness that comes with it. When we hear those words we often cringe, but what if we reclaimed those words as a means to love God through obedience and self-denial.
The ascetic practices harsher discipline and stricter living in order to cut down on the consumption the world is trying to sell us to create space for love of God. Historically speaking "Ascetics lived strict lives of self-denial so that they would be free to contemplate God. Without self-denial, sins of the flesh arose and made it impossible for the Christian to focus on communion with God." [SP 102]
The spiritual disciple of fasting is probably the most recognized of the ascetic practices. Fasting can take on a number of different forms from food to technology to physical activities such as silence. "Fasting reveals to us how much time and thought is taken up by transitory matters." Last week we discussed the use and value of observing the Christian Calendar and one of the main events of that calendar is the season of Lent (begins March 6th this year) in which many choose to give up something to better devote themselves to holy living. The past couple of years I have taken up the practice, and I have to tell you that it certainly helps keep you focused. The caffeine headaches, growling stomachs, and times of quiet are very physical reminders of your devotion to God. So as you consider experiencing God on new levels, maybe consider fasting during the Lenten season this year.
One Important Note
Because it will be a little bit repetitive, I won't speak much to the dangers Gary Thomas speaks to in the book. However there is one that I want to make special mention of in terms of asceticism. In the movie, The Da Vinci Code there is a scene where we see one of the characters whipping himself in imitation of the floggings of Christ. We should mention that this is a sickness, not a spiritual practice. Another cultural example comes from the X-Men 2 movie, where we are introduced to a mutant named Nightcrawler that has given himself tattoos as a reminder of the many sins he has committed. I firmly believe that inflicting unnecessary pain on oneself is not within the love and grace of God. It's at this point that we move well beyond the Circle of Sensibility and into unhealthy, un-Christ-like practices. Healthy ascetics seek to restrain natural desires that take our minds away from the work of God, but do not do so in ways that are harmful to themselves or others.
So to recap, asceticism removes all of those things that are unnecessary in our lives and create space for the movement of the Holy Spirit. If you are a dominant ascetic, I hope you are taking time to practice some of these things. I would love to introduce you to more practices that might be helpful for you. If you are not a dominant ascetic, consider starting small. Maybe consider fasting during the season of Lent, or trying to do without some of your daily amenities. Above all, use these practices to allow God to speak to you through the noise and busyness of life.
Resources:
Living Jesus - Randy Harris (especially the sample rule in the back of the book)
The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical - Shane Claiborne
Through Painted Deserts - Donald Miller (not really an ascetic book, but they do take a cross country trip in a Volkswagen Van...so it kind of counts.)
"Creating a Rule of Life" - Wil Ramsey (Wil is a good friend of mine from college who writes an excellent blog about spiritual formation. Please go and check out his other work!)
"Creating a Rule of Life" - Wil Ramsey (Wil is a good friend of mine from college who writes an excellent blog about spiritual formation. Please go and check out his other work!)
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