Spiritual teachers teach in the
language of paradox and mystery and what seems like contradiction, but then
they show us that it is not contradiction at all. I know paradox is not a word
that we use much in our everyday life. Let me define a paradox very simply: A
paradox is seeming contradiction which is not really contradictory at all if
looked at from another angle or through a larger frame. A paradox always
demands a change on the side of the observer. If we look at almost all things
honestly we see everything has a character of paradox to it. Everything,
including ourselves, and most especially God, has some seeming contradictions,
some mysterious parts that we cannot understand or explain. Can you think of an
exception?
Institutions, countries, groups, religions, and
persons have many inherent contradictions. Understanding a paradox is to look
at something long enough so as to overcome the contradiction and see things at
a different level of consciousness. This should be one of the primary and
totally predictable effects of authentic God experience. God surely greases the
wheels of awareness and even the evolution of humanity by growing people toward
a much higher capacity. Wouldn’t you expect God to have that effect?
Richard Rohr
