Dr. Barbara Holmes’ book Joy Unspeakable explores contemplative practices in the Black church. She shows us how contemplation can be practiced through community, music, and movement.
The soloist moves toward the center of the podium. The congregation of about 1,500 breathes with her as she moans, “Oh … oh … oh, Jesus.” Those are the only words to the song. Unless you are sitting within the sound of her voice, it is difficult to imagine how a song of two words can be a cry of anguish, balm, and celebration. In each soaring note, we participate in the unutterable spectrum of human striving. In this world, you will have trouble, but “oh, oh, oh, Jesus.” The shouts of exaltation give no indication of what is happening. Although it appears to be the usual charismatic congregational fare, in fact we are riding the stanzas through time to the hush arbors and swamp meetings, over the dangerous waters to safety. In this ordinary Sunday service, something has happened and we are changed. The worldly resistance to transcendence that we wore into the sanctuary has cracked open, and the contemplative moment carries us toward the very source of our being.
Moments like this occur regularly in the black church, yet if you ask congregants about their “contemplative practices,” they would be confounded…. Despite numerous exceptions, black church worship is known for its heartfelt, rhythmic, and charismatic character. This depiction has become such an accepted view that contemplative practices remain a subliminal and unexamined aspect of black religious life. As a consequence, the practices are not nurtured, encouraged, or passed on to future generations. Yet, when contemplative moments occur, worship experiences seem to deepen….
In the midst of worship, an imperceptible shift occurred that moved the worshipping community from intentional liturgical action to transcendent indwelling. There is no way to describe this shift other than to say that “something happened.” During this sacred time, the perpetual restlessness of the human heart was stilled and transformed into abiding presence. Time shimmered and paused, slowing its relentless pace, and the order of worship no longer took precedence for those enthralled by a joy unspeakable. [1]
Holmes considers the transcendent nature of “ecstatic singing”:
It is anointed singing from consecrated singers … that allows access to the holy, but more specifically it is the repetition of verses that shifts perception … [and] allows individuals to fill in their own story, silently or through the cries of recognition and affirmation. This is the contemplative moment, the recognition that each and every member of the congregation shares the same angst over the troubles of the world and the need for reunion…. The “ohs” are repeated over and over again until every person remembers a time when they cried out for God’s intervention. A deep listening abides between every note and stanza. Those who listen know that the Holy Spirit is in control. [2]
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Quote of the Week: from Learning from the Mystics…. John Chaffee
“To reach satisfaction in all
desire satisfaction in nothing.
To come to possess all
desire the possession of nothing.
To arrive at being all
desire to be nothing.
To come to the knowledge of all
desire the knowledge of nothing.
To come to enjoy what you have not
you must go by a way in which you enjoy not.
To come to the knowledge you have not
you must go by a way in which you know not.
To come to the possession you have not
you must go by a way in which you possess not.
To come to be what you are not
you must go by a way in which you are not.”
– The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Book One, Chapter 13
Reflection:
Todos y nadas. This is understood as the summation of St. John of the Cross’ teachings. You may know him through The Dark Night of the Soul, but even that falls under the umbrella of his primary thought: todos y nadas (or, “everything and nothing”).
Looking at the quote, you may see the words “everything” and “nothing” are repeated both in vocabulary as well as theme. One could say that St. John of the Cross had a healthy and holy understanding of “all or nothing” thinking!
For St. John of the Cross, the architecture or motivations of our lives have become inverted or distorted and it has become our ruin.
By seeking everything, we become nothing. By seeking satisfaction, desire, being whole, and knowing we make ourselves dissatisfied, empty, fractured, and ignorant. By seeking to enjoy, know, and possess all things, we end up not enjoying, knowing, or possessing anything. This is such a brilliant analysis of the disordered loves of the heart and soul that it still rings true in our society today.
Everything and nothing. Todos y nadas.
Do not look for satisfaction in anything, do not look to possess anything, do not look to be anything, do not look to learn everything. Go the difficult way, find the path you did not know about, the one you do not already own as familiar territory, and go in a direction you are not already.
For St. John of the Cross, to seek nothing is to gain everything.
And, if we are being honest, that is rather close to the teaching of Christ… “If you lose your life you will save it. If you try to save your life you will lose it.”
Prayer
Heavenly Father, grant us the courage to follow the way that you have laid our for us. Reorder the loves of our hearts so that we might be able to walk in the way that is everlasting. Enable us to give up our pursuits of everything, that we might settle into our nothingness, and find that by your grace we are given everything. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen and amen.
