Daily Signet
Mechthild of Magdeburg, a 13th c. Christian mystic, first gained authority over herself by submission to a search for rock bottom, where she was absolutely stripped of all consolation and expectations. It was not her worthiness, then, which drew God to Mechthild, but rather her emptiness; even God, according to Mechthild, must submit to the authority of love. Mechthild’s submission is active, drawing in her desires as if preparing a treasure, and thereby creating an irresistible vacuum for God’s love and grace to fill. There is no pride in this authority, nor is it without cost, for the inward tug that draws us in time to God must first draw us to the depths of abandonment. This abandonment does not come from the belief that one can become God, but rather as Mechthild described it, in the profound sense of Thou and I and the essential difference between the two when one has genuine self-knowledge.
At one point in Mechthild’s life, the church authorities refused to read the offices before her or celebrate the mass. God assures her, though, that “I am in thee and thou in Me; we could not be closer, for we two are fused in one, poured into one mould, thus unwearied shall we remain forever.” Christuman calls each to be his own priest, to go beyond believing to beloving, to essay the freedom of choice against the authority of love. Mechthild would tell us that “Amen” will move heaven and earth if backed with the authority of love and the power of submission. “Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened unto you.” In the name of the Christ within each, may it be so. Amen.
Teri H. Martin
