[This essay inspired by James Finley’s talk during the 2024 Contemplative Summit hosted by Spiritual Wanderlust; quotes within are by James Finley]
The contemplative Christian tradition offers a profound understanding of salvation that invites us to explore the depths of our spiritual nature and our inherent connection to the divine. This perspective sees salvation not as a future event, but as an ongoing process of awakening to our true reality.
The Nature of Salvation
At its core, this understanding of salvation revolves around the concept of "re-binding" ourselves to our divine origin. The word "religion" etymologically means "to bind again," suggesting that we need to reconnect with a source that we've never truly been separated from, but have lost touch with experientially.
This reconnection is not about gaining something new, but rather about recognizing what has always been present. It's described as a "curtain parting," allowing us to taste the divinity inherent in every moment of our existence."The world is God's body, and it's bodied forth in the love that's uttering it into being."
The Divine Nature of Reality
This contemplative view emphasizes the continuous nature of creation. It explains that God is perpetually creating, pouring out divine presence into every aspect of existence. In this view, we are not separate from God but are, in fact, manifestations of God's self-donating act.
"We are like God; God is the infinity of this moment and every moment, but our experiential consciousness is estranged from it."
"We are real; we're just not real the way we think that we're real."
The Fall and Our Estrangement
Despite this inherent connection to the divine, we often fail to recognize our true nature. This relates to the biblical concept of the Fall, explaining that our current state is one of trying to be like God without God.
This estrangement from our true nature is seen as the root of our suffering and confusion. Salvation, in this context, becomes the process of healing from this estrangement and rediscovering our God-given, Godly nature.
"You're a capacity, an infinite capacity for God. And then God gives you the nature to realize it."
Moments of Awakening
The contemplative tradition teaches that we experience fleeting touches of our divine nature throughout our lives. These moments of awakening can occur in various contexts:
"We live in incremental realizations of infinite generosity, and generosity is the immediacy of what it is to be. What's incremental is the degrees of our consciousness of it."
In nature: Witnessing a flock of birds descending on a grove of junipers might suddenly reveal the divine infinity present in that simple act.
In love: The experience of deep love can be a window into the infinite love of God, with human love serving as an incarnate expression of divine love.
In the presence of children: Reading a bedtime story to a child can become a moment of recognizing the divine presence manifested in the child's being.
These experiences, often subtle and easily overlooked, are invitations to a deeper awareness of our true nature and our connection to the divine.
The Path to Healing
The journey of salvation is seen as one of healing—healing from our misperception of reality and our estrangement from our true nature. This healing involves:
Recognizing the divine nature of every moment
Cultivating awareness of our inherent connection to God
Embracing our role as "a capacity for God"
Allowing grace to illuminate our true nature
"We are what we invincibly are in God, but we're trying to become in our conscious awareness through this perpetual awakening and this conversion."
Ultimately, this contemplative understanding invites us to see salvation not as a future event, but as an ongoing process of awakening to the reality that "we are already one; we only imagine we are different".
In this light, salvation becomes a journey of becoming what we already are—divine manifestations of God's infinite love and generosity.
"God's the infinity of their descent. Yeah, and their descent is the incarnate immediacy of God, and God, the infinity of your awareness of the descent, and your awareness is the incarnate of God."
"The infinite love of God is the infinity of your love for each other. Your love for each other is the incarnate immediacy of God."