Sitting with Mystery 

In a post I wrote in 2023 around the spiritual practice of Mystery; I offered these words: 

The spiritual practice that goes with accepting a mystical experience is the practice of mystery. When one engages in the acceptance of mystery, the word acceptance here is important. In my practice as a Christian pastor, I would often bump into people who would look down upon the idea of mystery because it felt too close to the supernatural or demonic or even Pagan. I even recently had a student tell me that they were not allowed to read the Chronicles of Narnia because it was not Christian! But, when one can get their head around the idea that mystery exists in our Christian faith, we come to cherish the unknown, the hidden and inscrutable aspects of our faith.   

On May 19, the Benedictine teacher Joan Chittester offered that “mystery happens when we allow life to evolve rather than having to make it happen.” Sitting with mystery is an act of becoming. It challenges us to let go of our “should’s, ought’s and musts”. It allows us to recognize the absurdity of life and deeply engage with the mystery of God’s presence, love and grace.  

Shrouded in Mystery 

In Hebrews chapter 11 we are told that faith is an experience of hope of things that are unseen. There are two words that stand out when looking at Hebrews 11, faith and hope. Both of these experiences are shaped by the mystical and mysterious. Both experiences are personal and intangible.  

Faith, as shaped by its mysterious nature, invites us to relinquish our demand for certainty and instead embrace the profound art of waiting. Patience, then, becomes not a passive resignation but an active participation in the unfolding of that which is yet unknown. In this space of patience, the tension between hope and unknowing becomes a fertile ground where trust in God’s timing is nurtured. To walk this path is to acknowledge that the deepest revelations often emerge not in moments of clarity but in the quiet, unspoken whispers of the divine, beckoning us to rest in the unmade and the unseen. 

As a practice, mystery encourages us to embrace the baffling the baffling, curious, hidden, and inscrutable dimensions of our existence and the world around us. Live with paradoxes. Embrace your hidden self and explore your divine nature.  

A Practice of Patience 

We are engaged in a process of becoming. Life is a regular practice of contemplation and discernment. In this sacred journey of becoming, the practice of mystery invites an encounter with the ineffable—where questions linger without pressing for answers, and where the echo of the divine harmonizes with the human heart’s yearning. It is in this dance with the unknown that we are drawn closer to the essence of God’s creation, learning to release our need for control and to wonder in the face of life’s unfolding beauty. Such a practice invites not only trust in divine timing but also a deep humility, acknowledging that the mysteries of existence are not barriers to understanding, but bridges to communion with the sacred. 

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul reflects on his thoughts as a child. While this passage is rarely commented upon, it serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities of maturity. As children, our faith tends to rely on what we are instructed to believe, and our hope is often shaped by the community we are part of and the circumstances we encounter. As adults, it is incumbent upon us to dig deeper into the spiritual practice of mystery and cultivate a more mature, personal faith. 

To Close 

We must allow space for mystery, to sit with mystery. In contemplative and mystical discernment, we deepen our awareness of God’s divine touch on all aspects of the creation that stretches out before us each day. In this journey of faith, sitting with mystery becomes not merely a practice but a posture—a way of being that reorients our hearts toward the divine. It is a deliberate act of humility, acknowledging the limits of human understanding while opening ourselves to the infinite expanse of God’s wisdom. To sit with the unknown is to find beauty in uncertainty, allowing it to shape our perspectives and deepen our spiritual resilience. Through the lens of mystery, we are invited to perceive life not as a puzzle to be solved, but as a sacred tapestry woven with threads of grace, paradox, and wonder—an invitation to trust, to marvel, and above all, to remain steadfast in the presence of the unfolding divine narrative.