The mind of Christ - on conformity with Christ

I am always intrigued by the practical nature of mysticism. Throughout the ages mystical texts display a pastoral concern and care. This concern is evident in the simple and direct manner in which it supports people on their spiritual journey. It is also seen in mystagogy, which represents the spiritual direction of believers and which is of great signficance in the mystical tradition. Mystagogy is not about theological training, but about the art of life. It is not about cerebral scoring of points, but about wisdom. In texts, especially those with a strong Christ mysticism, the concrete focus is developed though the many references in mystical texts to “conformity” in Christ.

I found this also in Shusako Endo’s book, Silence, about the cruel persecution of Christians in fifteenth century Japan (see the previous blogs) which ends tragically with the denial of Christ by the main character, Rodrigues. The aweful martyrdom of Christians brings him to the point where he too is forced to trample on a fumie, a picture of Christ’s face.

Endo refers repeatedly throughout the book to Rodrigues’ medititation on the face of Christ. In his most difficult times, he sees the loving face of Christ before him. It sustains him and keeps him from denying Christ.

It is therefore unthinkable when Rodrigues who relates so deeply in his inner being to the face of Christ, symbolising his loving relationship with humanity, finally steps on that very face and tramples it under foot. Endo describes this moment as follows, “The priest raises his foot. In it he feels a dull, heavy pain. This is no mere formality. He will now trample on what he has considered the most beautiful thing in his life, on what he has believed most pure, on what is filled with the ideals and the dreams of man.” To see Christ, is to see the deeper things, the profound truth of God. To look at Christ, is to look into the divine heart and at the same time to catch a glimps of one’s own heart as well. Christ is the face of the divine outreach to and the divine longing for humanity.

In mysticism meditation plays a seminal role. Meditation of Scripture, of characters in the Bible, of Jesus and of death (momenti mori) is well known. Thomas A Kempis writes in the first chapter of his Imitation of Christ that our chief endeavour should be to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ. By doing this, we have the Spirit of Christ. One must “conform” one’s life wholly to the life of Christ.

I can understand why Endo is so fascinated by the face of Christ – especially in the light of Levinas’ thoughts on the face. A face reveals who you are. Your life can be read from your face. To see the countenance of Jesus is, for Endo and for believers, to see absolute beauty, complete purity. We recognize in the look of Christ his heart of love. In his quiet appearance we meet a vulnerable saviour. We see God’s “ideals” and “dreams” for us, in the words of Endo.

When we live in conformity to Christ, we are tuned in on who Christ is, what he said and how he lived. We live the mind of Christ (Rom.8:6). In our spirituality we seek an intimate relationship with Christ when we allow everything we read about Christ to permeate our inner being, to follow Christ and to love him. This is God’s grace then – that we are given Christ to follow, to imitate. We remain close to him, we live in conformity with him, we give up all the vanities of the world, as Thomas writes, so that God’s grace kan enter our life, became part of us and sanctify us. It has nothing to do with pride and merit that we have this as our “chief endeavour.” It is, rather, amazing grace. We can read the Bible endlessly, speak about it, think about it, but if the Bible does not bring us in the mind of Christ, we have read it in vain.

What I have learned from Endo’s book is how concrete this conformity to Christ could become. One sees Christ’s face, look him in the eyes, stand before him in complete trust and love. The incarnation has obtained new meaning for me through Endo’s book. God granted us the word in the flesh, so that we can see God’s love in the face of Christ.