“… contemplation is very far
from being just one kind of thing that Christians do: it is the key to
prayer, liturgy, art and ethics, the key to the essence of a renewed humanity
that is capable of seeing the world and other subjects in the world with
freedom – freedom from self-oriented, acquisitive habits and the distorted
understanding that comes from them. To put it boldly, contemplation is the only
ultimate answer to the unreal and insane world that our financial systems and
our advertising culture and our chaotic and unexamined emotions encourage us to
inhabit. To learn contemplative practice is to learn what we need so as
to live truthfully and honestly and lovingly. It is a deeply revolutionary
matter.”
I have great respect for Rowan Williams and his writing and preaching. Synchronistically he has been brought to my attention twice today! Someone read me a section of NT Wright's book Virtue Reborn where some years ago Rowan Williams was able to quietly defuse a strident protest group who broke into a crowded Cathedral service. Wright's observation was that Rowan Williams had so honed his character through regular spiritual practices that when a moment of crisis occurred he instinctively knew what to do. I expect that one of Williams's well honed practices was, and is, that of contemplation.
