Thomas Raymond Kelly (1893-January 17, 1941) was an American Quaker educator. He taught and wrote on the subject of mysticism. His books are widely read, especially by people interested in spirituality.
Kelly’s life was full of disappointment. In 1936, after years of teaching jobs across the country, he was finally offered a position in the philosophy department at Haverford College. His dissertation for his second Ph.D. (from Harvard) was published, and all he still needed to do was pass the oral defense of that dissertation. Then he lived out the nightmare of every Ph.D. candidate: he lost his memory during his oral exam. Harvard not only failed him on the defense, they also informed him that he would never be allowed a second chance.
His son wrote, “There is no exact record of what happened in the following weeks, but it is certain that sometime during the months of November or December, 1937, a change was wrought within the very foundation of his soul. He described it as being ‘shaken by the experience of Presence — something that I did not seek, but that sought me ….’ Stripped of his defenses and human self-justification, he found, for the first time, a readiness to accept the outright gift of God’s Love, and he responded with unlimited commitment to that leading. His teaching colleague Douglas Steere, who spent uncounted hours walking Kelly through his grief, later wrote of his healing: ‘He moved toward adequacy. A fissure in him seemed to close, cliffs caved in and filled up a chasm, and what was divided grew together within him. Science, scholarship, method remained good, but in a new setting’.” (Jerry R. Flora: “Searching for an Adequate Life: The Devotional Theology of Thomas R. Kelly”, Spirituality Today, Spring 1990)
Kelly received word on January 17, 1941 that Harper and Brothers wanted to meet with him to discuss the publication of a devotional book. “Today will be the greatest day of my life,” he told his wife. He died of a heart attack later that same day while drying the dinner dishes. Three months later his friend Steere submitted five of Kelly’s devotional essays to the publisher along with a biographical sketch of Kelly. The book was published under the title A Testament of Devotion.
There is a divine Abyss within us all, a holy Infinite Center, a Heart, a Life who speaks in us and through us to the world. We have all heard this holy Whisper at times. At times we have followed the Whisper, and amazing equilibrium of living set in. But too many of us have heeded the Voice only at times. We have not counted this Holy Thing within us to be the most precious thing in the world. We have not surrendered all else, to attend to it alone.
Let me repeat, most of us, I fear, have not surrendered all else, in order to attend to the Holy Within.
–from A Testament of Devotion
Life is sad and mysterious. Terrible things happen. Read this book by Thomas Kelly. It is full of good stuff.
