As a child, when I heard someone say that they were spiritual, my assumption was that they were talking about spirituality in the Judeo-Christian tradition. I had some vague idea that people from the Far East might be speaking from the Hindu or Buddhist tradition, or that some people from the Middle-East might be speaking from tradition of Islam. I had no idea that a pantheon was emerging in the United States, and that spirituality did not necessarily refer to a belief in the teachings of the church.

Today, that pantheon has a firm hold on the culture of the United States, and when people say they are spiritual it may mean any number of different things. For some, spirituality may have everything to do with the faith and practice of the Christian Church. For others, it may be one of the other ancient religions. Still others mean they have a sense of transcendence, or a sense of unity with the universe, or a heightened sense of consciousness. The most common thread seems to be that most people think of spirituality in very personal terms. It is often used to describe an emotional experience, a sense of personal balance, or a feeling of peace. Oddly enough, I have even heard a number of outspoken atheists describe themselves as very spiritual people.

Contemporary American and Western European culture shares a number of elements in common with the Corinthian culture addressed by St. Paul. In Corinth, the Mystery Religions were probably more popular than the traditional Roman religions. These Mystery Religions varied widely in practice and substance, but the common themes were personal enlightenment and personal experiences of an ecstatic nature. This personal enlightenment was intended to be a closely guarded secret as were the rituals and experiences of the devotees. The spirituality of the Mystery Religions had nothing to do with public life. To anyone who has heard much about the New Age spirituality of our contemporary society, this all sounds terribly familiar.

The problem that rises when personal enlightenment and ecstatic experiences become the measure of spirituality is there is no accountability to truth. It makes no sense to someone who has just had the kind of intense emotional experience they have been striving for to ask, "Yes, but was it an experience of truth?" When we evaluate the many spiritualities offered in the new pantheon of our society, the question we, as Christians need to be asking is not, "Is it really spiritual?" but, "Is this spirituality a Christian spirituality?"

St. Paul begins the Twelfth Chapter of his First Letter to the Corinthians saying, "Now concerning spiritual things. . . . I do not want you to be ignorant." It is unfortunate that most translations render this, ". . . . concerning spiritual gifts." The word used in the first verse is not the word for gifts, and St. Paul’s theme is larger than spiritual gifts. He is addressing spirituality as a whole. St. Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians that before they became Christians they had been enticed by various forms of idolatry. Many of them had probably been involved in the Mystery Religions, and may have had some deeply "spiritual" experiences, but they were not the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The first test, says St. Paul, of any spirituality must be whether it leads a person to acknowledge that Jesus is the Lord. This statement, together with the statement, "Christ rose from the dead," is probably the earliest of Christian creeds. Evidently, there were some in the church at Corinth who were trying to move beyond Jesus. Perhaps they were trying to introduce elements of the Jewish ceremonial law as essential to salvation. Perhaps they were introducing other deities from their old religions. We cannot be exactly certain. What we do know is that a Christian spirituality can never move beyond our need for the redemptive work of Christ. No Christian spirituality can ever say that there are other lords, other redeemers, or higher forms of enlightenment. The baseline test for any spirituality is whether it acknowledges Jesus as Lord.

The next test of any spirituality is whether or not it builds up the church. St. Paul writes, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." If our spirituality is just about our enlightenment, or our personal peace, or our own emotional experience, it is insufficient. Any gift of the Spirit of God is given to us for the sake of others. Any enlightenment we receive from the Gospel of Christ must move us beyond the narrow focus of self-interest and expand our vision to the building up of God’s kingdom through Christ Jesus. That, after all is an important part of what it means to say that Jesus is Lord.

This story may help us understand. There was a wife and mother who asked for a pastry cloth as a gift. This gift would make it easier to make things like pie for the family and for others. The gift was given to her, and she did derive a personal benefit from that gift, but the gift really benefitted the family and friends of the family.

When we pray in the Eucharist that Christ may dwell in us and we in Him, we must remember that it is indeed a great blessing for us. It is also a great blessing for the rest of the world. There is no such thing as a purely personal Christian spirituality. We hear God’s word so that we may transform the world with God’s vision for creation. We receive the sacraments so that we can be made over in the image of Jesus Christ who gave Himself for the sake of the world. If all that we are seeking is our own peace, or our own salvation, our spirituality is less than Christian.

Finally, St. Paul tells us that a truly Christian spirituality moves us beyond our reliance on our own abilities. This is probably one of the most difficult steps of faith that we can take. Notice that St. Paul writes, "It is God who activates all of the gifts in everyone." Too often we allow our own limitations to shape our view of what is possible. We don’t pray with expectation because we are asking for something that is beyond our ability. We may feel a strong prompting to speak a word of truth, but we hold back because we are surrounded by people who know more. When we stay entirely within the parameters of our own ability, we fail to receive the gifts that God wants to activate in us.

Not all spiritualities are Christian spirituality. Not all spiritualities will lead us to life. If we want to live a truly Christian life, we must not be ignorant of spiritual things. Rather, we must understand that it is the Spirit of God who prompts us to proclaim that Jesus is the Lord. It is the Spirit who gives us true enlightenment. If we want to live a truly Christian life we must allow the Spirit of God to work through us for the good of His church and His Kingdom. If we want to live a truly Christian life, we must be open to moving beyond our own strength, to allow God to activate in us something that we could never do under our own power.

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