Seeing in a Deeper Way

Thoughts on Mysticism from Steven Charleston

Bishop Steven Charleston is an elder of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the retired Episcopal bishop of Alaska. He has spent a lifetime cultivating the practice of listening to God’s voice. During the pandemic he started posting daily spiritual reflections on his Facebook. I’ve loved following him there and I deeply enjoyed his book Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage.

His post a few days ago—as it often does—resonated with me and what I long for more of in my life and the life of the church.

My hope for The Listening Church is to unleash the church to be a people who see the world in a deeper way. In our fast-paced, distracted society it’s easy to become consumed by our everyday lives. By listening to God and listening to our neighbor we can become mystics who see beneath the surface and partner with God in the work of the coming kingdom, the work that is happening all around us all the time. If only we’d pay attention.