August 24, 2014
With regard to the spiritual dimension of life, getting it right is not an ego accomplishment of which we can be proud.
Nor does it mean "mission accomplished" and we can now move on to other things. Rather it means we have momentarily allowed the Spirit to have influence.
But this is a beginning, not an ending. Getting it right initiates a process.
Peter's confession that "gets it right" does not solve the riddle of Jesus' identity It opens him to the essential mystery that unites Jesus and himself, an essential mystery that now beckons him further.
Therefore, another phrase for "getting it right" might be "in over your head."
Or, put in another more enigmatic way, "getting it right" lays a firm foundation for a life of "getting it wrong."
The disciples in the Gospels are eloquent testimony to the rhythms of getting it right and getting it wrong. Jesus compliments them and criticizes them in equal measure.
In this story he names Peter the rock upon which he will build his Church. In the next episode Peter will be called Satan and told to get back into Jesus' following (Matt 16:21-23).
"Getting it right," having a spiritual insight, begins a process that requires ongoing correction and adjustment.
We know the bedrock truth of what we have perceived, but we do not know the full scope of what we have said or all of its implications.
Spiritual teachers often make a distinction between realization and integration.
Realization is "getting it right."
We grasp, for a moment, the necessity of Jesus' death on the cross or the meaning of grace or our grounding in eternal life.
A man who had a powerful religious experience exclaimed, "So that's what it is!"
When he was asked, "What?" he said, "God, that's what God is!"
He had always heard about God, but he had no idea what the word referred to.
This religious experience filled the word with meaning.
He realized the truth of a theological concept he had inherited. He got it.
But what will he do with it? How will he integrate the God realization into his life?
Strange to say, the sage advice is to ponder and not to rush.
Jesus does not want Peter and the disciples talking to others about the Messiah because they will get it wrong.
They do not know the full reach of their initial insight.
They have inherited ideas about the Messiah and the Son of God.
What they see in Jesus challenges those ideas.
But it will take time before those false ideas are completely rejected or modified.
They need to understand more fully before they act.
I think this is true for most of us.
Spiritual insight seldom comes with a clear path of action attached.
We need to ponder, to take more inner time to comprehend and see implications.
Any rush to action might be premature.
As a friend of mine is fond of saying, a year of bold action is usually followed by a year of apology.
In spiritual teaching action is ripe fruit that falls from the tree.
We have to wait for the harvest.
When we fully realize our initial spiritual insight, we will see paths of integration.
When the appropriate actions flow, "getting it right" turns into "getting it complete."
The problem is we cannot envision the action ahead of time.
We can give broad categories like compassion, love, justice, mercy, etc.
But this does not disclose the concrete way these values will be enacted.
But, if my experience is any indicator, when it happens, it will come as a surprise.
Denise Levertov, the poet, once described the fig tree that Jesus cursed (Matt 21:18-22) as telling the disciples that they were withholding "gifts unimaginable."
We know we are in the full reaches of "getting it right" when gifts unimaginable are flowing from us.
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