Richard Rohr identifies mysticism as a way of knowing accessible to all: 

While most Christians consider themselves disciples of Jesus and try to follow his teachings, a smaller number move toward practical acts of service or solidarity. But I’m afraid even fewer Christians have the courage to go on the much deeper mystical path. The most unfortunate thing about the concept of mysticism is that the word itself has become mystified—relegated to a “misty” and distant realm that implies it is only available to a very few. For me, the word “mysticism” simply means experiential knowledge of spiritual things, in contrast to book knowledge, secondhand knowledge, or even church knowledge.  

Much of organized religion, without meaning to, has actually discouraged us from taking the mystical path by telling us almost exclusively to trust outer authority, Scripture, various kinds of experts, or tradition (what I call the “containers”), instead of telling us the value and importance of inner experience itself (which is the “content”). In fact, most of us were strongly warned against ever trusting ourselves. Roman Catholics were told to trust the church hierarchy implicitly, while mainline Protestants were often warned that inner experience was dangerous, unscriptural, or even unnecessary.  

Both were ways of discouraging actual experience of God and often created passive (and passive aggressive) people and, more sadly, a lot of people who concluded there was no God to be experienced. We were taught to mistrust our own souls—and thus the Holy Spirit! Contrast that with Jesus’ common phrase, “Go in peace, your faith has made you whole” (see Matthew 8:13; Mark 5:34; Luke 17:19). He said this to people who had made no dogmatic affirmations, did not think he was “God,” and often did not belong to the “correct” group! They were people who affirmed, with open hearts, the grace of their own hungry experience—in that moment—and that God could care about it! 

Pentecostals and charismatics are significant modern-era exceptions to this avoidance of experience; I believe their “baptism in the Spirit” is a true and valid example of initial mystical encounter. 

Richard praises the Franciscan approach to mysticism:  

In my experience, Franciscan mysticism is a trustworthy and simple path precisely because it refuses to be “mystified” by, or beholden to, doctrinal abstractions, moralism, or false asceticism (although some Franciscans have gone this route). The Franciscan way is truly a sidewalk spirituality for the streets of the world, a path highly possible and attractive for all would-be seekers. It doesn’t insist every person must be celibate, isolated from others, highly educated, or in any way superior to our neighbors. In fact, those kinds of paths might well get in the way of the experience itself. A celibate monk or nun may have a totally dualistic mind and live a tortured inner life—and thus torture others too. Everyday workers and caregivers with mystical hearts and minds can enlighten other individuals, their families, and all they touch, without talking “religiously” at all.  

A Life Steeped in Mystery

CAC teacher Barbara Holmes shares her experience with everyday mysticism. 

Every person has had some mystical experience. Maybe the seas have not parted, and maybe they haven’t walked on water, but there have nevertheless been amazing miracles in our lives. We just haven’t shared them in community, so we don’t feel comfortable sharing them as individuals. I will tell you the basis of my personal mysticism so that you will consider yours…. 

I’m an ordinary, everyday mystic. I’m not claiming special powers, just a life steeped in mystery. My family was comfortable with mysticism, spiritual discernment, and the use of spiritual gifts such as healing and words of knowledge. My Aunt Lee, a Gullah shaman Catholic, was my biggest influence. She saw dead people and mediated mystery for our family. She could tell you who was coming and going and how they were when they got to the other side!… She relayed messages from ancestors on the other side back to us. Once a relative transitioned to the other side, she would tell us the age they had chosen to represent their physicality.  

It seems that at least in her understanding, you could choose your age in the life after life. So when you saw people in dreams, you would see them embodied as the age that best reflected their spiritual joy. My dad chose his 50s, and when I see him in dreams, that’s what he looks like. My mom chose her late 30s. I’m not familiar with that look for my mom, so I always hesitate, because at this point on the spiritual side, she’s younger than I am. There were all kinds of rules about dreams and encounters. My aunt’s messages always included what they called “verification.” She would seal the deal with the information that no one would know except the loved ones who had gone on. She’d tell you where a piece of lost jewelry could be found, or the content of a few last words spoken in private.  

Those were the mystics of my dad’s side of the family. And wouldn’t you know it, we have a bunch of them on my mom’s side too.… We’ve traced our DNA linkages, and my mom is from the Tikar people of Cameroon with surprising interconnections with China. As an everyday mystic, DNA testing helped me with the spiritual healing of cultural and historical loss.  

The weird part is that all of this seemed normal to me. Despite the fact that schooling and further education tried to invalidate my experience, I knew that everyday mysticism was real. I could not be persuaded or taught otherwise. I’m describing mysticism as a natural part of everyday life and all of the things that I’m describing happened in ordinary time. There was no weird music, sweeping cloaks, or spooky incantations … just a deep understanding of the sacred and a willingness to allow the gifts to lead.  

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Tipping has long been customary at full-service restaurants and bars, for taxis, and in hotels. Coffee or ice cream shops often had a tip jar where a customer might drop their change, but most fast food and counter-service restaurants never asked for a gratuity. When Starbucks added a tip screen to their credit card transactions in 2022, however, it signaled a change. Suddenly it seemed like every business in America started asking for tips.A few weeks ago, while purchasing a protein bar and bottled water from one of those airport terminal snack shops, the self-checkout screen asked me if I wanted to add a 20 percent tip. For who? I thought. That’s when I realized our tipping culture is getting out of control. It also provoked me to research the trend.When traveling in Europe, some Americans are surprised to discover that other Western democracies do not share our habit of tipping. That’s because America’s gratuity culture germinated from its unique history. Following the Civil War, when millions of formerly enslaved African Americans were seeking jobs, few white business owners were inclined to hire them. Eventually, some were allowed to work in service positions without pay. Instead, they relied entirely on tips from customers. Most famously, black workers on Pullman train cars “shined shoes, made beds, woke up passengers and so on. They worked long hours and relied heavily on tips for pay.” In time, African Americans filled more gratuity-funded service jobs as doormen, elevator operators, and drivers.Eventually, as more business owners realized tips were an easy way to reduce their expenses and shift labor costs directly to customers, the practice expanded throughout the country. So, what began as a racist policy to avoid paying African Americans a fair wage became a widespread, and uniquely American practice. Even today, 160 years after the Civil War, more businesses are adopting the custom—even ones that have replaced their employees with a self-checkout screen! Why am I sharing this history lesson? Because it illustrates that gratuity isn’t necessarily about gratitude. Strictly speaking, a tip or gratuity is supposed to be a gift offered in thankfulness. It is neither expected nor demanded. But in reality that’s not how it’s practiced. In many places, failing to leave a tip is deeply offensive and the moral equivalent of stealing. The worker feels cheated out of their well-earned pay. I know this snub well having worked for tips at a car wash in high school. At least as it’s done in America, tipping is not a free act of appreciation; it’s an obligatory act to finalize a transaction.Which finally brings us back to Naaman’s story. After following Elisha’s instructions and bathing in the Jordan River, Naaman’s leprosy disappears. After this miraculous healing, Naaman returns to Elisha and presents him with “a gift.” Remember, he had traveled from Syria with an astronomical amount of wealth—approximately 750 pounds of silver and 6,000 pieces of gold. To the casual reader, this looks like a very generous tip—an act of gratuity flowing from Naaman’s thankfulness.But despite urging him to accept the money, Elisha refused. “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” Why did the prophet reject Naaman’s gift? Because Elisha recognized when a gift was not a gift. He understood that not all gratuities are about gratitude. In the coming days, we will examine what was really behind Naaman’s gift, and why Elisha’s refusal to accept it is what ultimately caused Naaman to give his allegiance to Israel’s God. DAILY SCRIPTURE PSALM 50:7-13  2 KINGS 5:1-27 WEEKLY PRAYERIgnatius of Loyola (1491 – 1556) Take, Lord, and receive all my freedom, my memory, my intelligence and my will—all that i have and possess. You, Lord, have given those things to me. I now give them back to you, Lord. All belongs to you. Dispose of these gifts according to your will. I ask only for your love and your grace, for they are enough for me. Amen.

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