What an Amazing Truth!

 Every nation, every people, has sought to know God in one form or another.  The most primitive people have designed rituals to appease the gods who controlled the forces of nature.  While all this was going on, God Himself was in search of man.  The divinity sought union with mankind in general and men/women in particular.  He has always wanted us not only to know Him as He is, but also to be united with Him in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4).  

The Bible begins with a wedding in the Garden of Eden, and it ends with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb of God with his people.  According to the writings of John Paul II on the Theology of the Body, the reason we are "male and female," and the reason we are drawn toward the ecstasy of union with one another is a sign of our ultimate destiny of union with God: God and man united as one, even as the Holy Trinity is three-in-one.  

First, God sent His Word, beginning with Abraham, to prepare a people freed from slavery and free to worship the true God, not the gods of Egypt who are worthless.  The world is full of egotism, grabbing what is "mine," completely opposite of the prodigal outpouring of the God who made us in His image.  Power, control, the "lust to dominate," in the words of St. Augustine, characterize the city of man opposed to what he called the city of God.

To bring us back into His image and likeness, God sent His Word to tutor us in the spirit of divinity.  And finally, the Word becomes flesh, the final and ultimate union of God and man:  the two become one in Jesus Christ.  And the Word is now a Person, a Living Being in our midst, a "Someone" who calls us and makes us welcome in His own home, the Life He shares with the Father and the Spirit.  "Come to Me," he invites us, and I will take you home to my Father; I will give you a share in my own Spirit of Truth." 

"Those who belong to Christ," says Paul, "have crucified the flesh with its desires."  Not "will crucify," but "have crucified."  It is done; we are set free from the things that keep up from entering into communion with God.  We are no longer slaves to sin, to separation from the Spirit.  We are no longer part of the City of Rome with its lust to dominate others.  We have become "like God."  He said to Abraham, "I will bless you and you will be a blessing."  Now we are indeed in His image and likeness; we have become a blessing to others instead of a curse on the earth.

And how is this accomplished but by the Spirit of Christ which he has sent to us in the power of His resurrection?  We are no longer "Adam," but now Christ, risen from the dead.  The Spirit of God continually works in us if we belong to Christ, making us new, making us like God Himself, for we are God's building, God's workmanship.  

Today is the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity.  If we look back at our own lives, we can see God working in us to bring us into fellowship/union with Him.  He has sent us His very Word, a Living Being, who speaks to us and in us by His Breath (ruah/ spirit), another Living Being Who is constantly at work in us.  What an Amazing Truth!

Choose a Direction

 John Kavanaugh asked Mother Teresa to pray for him to have clarity.  She said, "I've never had clarity and certitude.  I only have trust.  I'll pray that you trust."  (from God's Voice Within: The Ignatian Way to Discover God's Will, p.25).

God told Abraham, "Walk before me and be perfect."  Another translation: Walk in my presence and be complete. To walk in the Presence is not to be sure of where we are going, but rather to be sure of Who is going with us -- and that is how we are made complete.  Not because we have confidence in ourselves, but rather because we have confidence in His labor on our behalf in all circumstances.

For several years I was privileged to be a co-leader in a charismatic prayer group that met weekly.  The community became a close-knit one so that we joyfully shared food, celebration, sorrow, struggles, etc. with one another.  It always felt like extended family when we were together.  But the day came when I felt, or heard, (sort of) an inner direction: "Leave the 99 and go after the 1."  I was sure this could not the direction of God for me because I was having too much fun where I was -- not to mention that I could hardly picture myself standing on Canal Street holding up a bible and shouting, "The end is near; repent and believe the gospel!"  How are we supposed to "go after the 1?"  Which one? 

For a couple of months, I managed to ignore the soft still voice that recurred whenever I was quiet and peaceful:  Leave the 99 and go after the 1.  I really was not willing, and I didn't know where to go or what to do if I did leave.  

Finally, I had a vivid dream one night.  The group was gathered in a small rustic cabin in the middle of nowhere.  For miles around, there were no discernible roads or paths -- just open fields surrounding the cabin.  Beyond the fields were deep woods; again, no paths to be seen.  The group was having a kind of party with food and a lot of laughter inside, but I was standing on the  porch looking in.  The heavy wooden door started to close, blocking my view.  "NO!" I cried.  I knew what it meant -- that I was leaving them not to return.  "No!"  At the sound of my voice, the door would stop closing, but then slowly, it would start closing again, until I finally relented and surrendered to whatever it was that God wanted.  When the door finally closed for good, I turned to face the 360 degree open fields, waiting for a clue, a signal, a sign --something to indicate the direction I was supposed to take now.  No sign, no clue, no whisper came.  "What do you want me to do?" I asked.  "Where do you want me to go?"  

"Choose a direction," came the answer.  "But ....but... where do YOU want me to do?" I asked.  "How do I know what You want?"  "Choose a direction," again, the voice was insistent.  Hesitantly, I started walking in a direction, with no clue as to whether that was the right direction or not.  And what was to happen when I reached the edge of the woods?  What then?  

As I drew closer to the edge of the forest, a path slowly opened before me, a clear, sunlit path, with nothing frightening on it at all.  And the path continued to open as I walked forward.  

From this dream, I learned that certainty about God's will is not ours to know.  What we can know, however, is that as we walk in His presence, we will be led.  We can trust His guidance, and we can trust that if we are going in the wrong direction, we will be re-directed.  St. Joseph's best decision when he heard that Mary was pregnant was to divorce her quietly.  But an angel came to him in a dream, assuring him that God was with both of them.  

Our best decisions in life are not based on advance knowledge of where we are going or what we are to do.  Our best decision is trust that we are not alone and that we will not be alone on the way.

 

My Novena to the Holy Spirit

 We are nine days out from the Feast of Pentecost, and traditionally Catholics begin a novena (nine days of prayer) invoking the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our lives.  We know that in order to live in the post-resurrection reality promised by Jesus, the Holy Spirit is indispensable. Chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the Gospel of John focus almost exclusively on this 'Gift of the Father" which Jesus spoke about on the night before He died.  "I have much more to say to you," He told them, "but you cannot bear it now. But when He comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you into all truth."  

Until we actually experience what Jesus meant by the resurrected life, until we have experienced being guided by the Holy Spirit as a partner in our lives, we cannot grasp the teaching of Jesus or the Scriptures.  St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away....where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (3:14ff).

On the same day of His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two of His disciples on the road to Emmaeus and began to open the Scriptures to them.  Later, he did the same with His apostles in the upper room in Jerusalem.  It's as if he could not wait to begin "opening the Scriptures" to his followers.  And the same ministry continues in us today through the revelation-work of the Holy Spirit.  

Yesterday I began pondering how I would begin a novena to the Holy Spirit for Pentecost.  I am not so great with printed prayers, beautiful though they may be.  So typically I will read through them once or twice and then just put them aside.  This morning, however, I was lead back to my "first love," so to speak -- the book of Ephesians.  In 1962, I read a book about Elizabeth of the Trinity, whose writing expounded on the words from Ephesians, and from reading her writing, I began to love reading Ephesians.  

I still go back to that book periodically, but this morning I realized that this needs to be my "novena," albeit an unconventional one, for the next nine days.  I need to once again dive into Ephesians slowly, meditatively, deliciously.  Watchman Nee once wrote a commentary on this epistles which was brilliant.  His book is called Sit, Walk, and Stand.  Nee points out the fact that many Christians try to "walk" in the Christian life before they "sit" with the realities poured out by Paul in the first 3 chapters of Ephesians.  Until we have "sat" with those truths long enough for them to become a part of us, trying to live the life of Christ is a vain endeavor.  Paul does not begin to urge the Corinthians to "walk" in the newness of faith until the 4th chapter of his letter, after he has established the fact that God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ...unto the praise of the glory of His grace, which He has freely given us in the One he loves (1:3-6).

Last night, I asked a new convert, baptized at Easter, what she loved about being a Catholic.  Her immediate answer was, "the grace that comes with it." This young woman is about 20 years old, and her answer surprised me with its depth of understanding.  In fact, her answer recalled to me the prayer of St. Paul, "May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of Him" (1:17).

I think I have found my novena.  For the next nine days, I plan to read and re-read Ephesians, asking for the grace of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of God the Father and of His Son, whose greatest desire is to open the Scriptures to us.

Who Do You Want With You?

 When I come to pray these days, I do not pray alone.  With me are all those I love dearly, those for whom I pray every day.  I pray for them because I want them to know the God and Father of Jesus Christ; I want them to know Him as I know Him, as Jesus has taught me about the Father He loves. 

Jesus spoke of the man who found a pearl of great price, who sold all that he had to obtain the pearl. Again, he spoke of a treasure hidden in a field.  The one who finds the treasure sells all that he has to purchase the field.  And then what do we suppose?  Does the finder of such great wealth bury it again, hoarding it for his own use?  Or does he open his doors to all those he loves, saying, "Come, share with me this great wealth!  Eat, drink freely; ask me for whatever I can give you, for I am now a rich man!  And I want you to share in my joy, in my wealth!"

At the last supper, Jesus tells the apostles, those "the Father has given me out of the world," that He is leaving them, but that he is going to prepare a place for them.  And he further promises to "come back and take you with me that you also may be where I am," for "No one comes to the Father except through me" (Jn. 14).

Jesus further tells his friends, "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him....Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."

No other religious leader on earth has ever made such a claim.  No one has ever said, "I will come back and take you to where I am."  In the beginning of his gospel, John writes, "No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son has made Him known."  

From the beginning of the world, people have sought to know God, or at the very least, to appease Him in some way that they might have life more abundantly and not be struck down by earthquakes, famines, plagues, drought, or foreign invaders.  Those who think that God does not care to be a part of our humanity will often turn to some superstition, idol, or routine for protection and insurance.  The golf champion will wear a certain shirt on tournament days; the basketball player might have his favorite pair of socks or routine on game days.  (To be fair, this may occur even when those players have a strong faith in God.)

But God from the beginning has desired for man to know Him, to find delight in Him, to live in His Spirit that joy might be theirs despite whatever else is happening in their lives.  And He has always wanted us to be with Him, where He is.  Until Jesus, we could not be sure of God's love for us, of His desire to be with us and in us, partnering with us in life.  And more than that, he wants us to join Him in His own life of community: The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit eternally knowing and loving and generating life.  Made in His image, knowing and loving are our highest and greatest facilities, bringing us the most joy!  

All earth's great pleasures and delights are doubled, tripled, quadrupled when shared with those we know and love.  And nothing on earth or in heaven can bring us joy when there is no one with whom to share it!  "See, look!" we say, "Isn't it fabulous!"  (Enter into my joy!  I want you to see and know the things which delight me! Then my joy is complete!)  And how sad we are when those we love do not see and love the things we see and love!  

I can think of no greater joy than to have those I love, love what I love.  I want them to know the God who has entered my life to bring peace, wonder, joy, goodness everywhere.  And so I pray for them, that the door will be open for them, that the Holy Spirit will grace them with His presence in their lives -- the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of joy, the Spirit of God Himself.  All of this has come to us through the gift of God given to us in Jesus Christ.   

I have told Him that I am not going to heaven without those I love.  I insist on it.  Whatever wealth has been given to me must be shared with those I love.  I cannot enjoy a banquet by myself; I cannot enter heaven without those I love.  So they must be with me there.  Jesus told his apostles, those the Father had given him out of the world, "I will come back and take you to where I am." Even he would not return to the Father without his friends, those he loved on earth.  One refused to go with him; it must have broken his heart.  The others, despite their sins and betrayal, yielded to his entreaties.  

We go to the Father not because we are good people; we are not.  The  sooner we know that, the better for us.  And even if we are "good" people, we do not earn friendship with God.  If we are to worship Him (enjoy Him) in spirit and in truth, there is only one Way, and that is Jesus friendship with us, His love for us, His great invitation into the Father's house, no matter how dirty our feet.  He himself has promised to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He himself will wash our feet and present us to the Father as his friends.  

Fair warning to those I love:  I'm not going to the Father without you!

Jesus, Our Pedagogue

 St. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215 AD) described the Christian life in terms of the Word of God (Jesus Christ) acting as companion educator (paidagogos) of the Christian.  

In Greek and Roman times, the pedagogue was a trusted slave who accompanied the child back and forth daily through the streets and marketplace to the academy, where he was taught by a master.  The slave remained with the child during the lesson, making sure of the child's attention and behavior, and then returned with him through the streets to his home, ensuring the child's safety and continued instruction.  Through his example, advice, and the decisions he made, he helped the child learn his culture and environment, teaching him to be wary of evil influence and temptation. His way of teaching was not so much "doctrine" as continuing and faithful companionship. 

To Clement, the Word, Christ does this for us.  This way of growth is based on an understanding that a continuing dialog takes place between Christ and the Christian person, and that the dialog occurs in shifting circumstances and continues through all stages of development.

I dare to say that in our culture, most of us think of Jesus more as a moral teacher whose lessons were laid down some 2000+ years ago, and that it is up to us to now follow or not follow His teachings.  Rarely do we imagine our living Pedagogue who accompanies us through sickness and health, for better and worse, always by our side, always comforting, teaching, supporting, healing and upholding us.  

St. Ignatius of Loyola based his spiritual exercises on the conviction that God can and wants to be met in dialog.  Jesus said to the Pharisees, You diligently search the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life, yet you refuse to come to me to have life (Jn.5:39).  It is clear that He does not want us to only read the Word, but to enter into dialog with the Word Himself.  The apostles came to him for explanation of the parables, and after the Resurrection, it seems He could not wait to begin unfolding the Scripture to His followers on the road to Emmaeus and in the upper room.  He even promised to send the Holy Spirit to continue the teaching dialog after his ascension.

In the 12th century, Aelred of Rievaulx wrote a tract called When Jesus Was Twelve Years Old in which he moves spontaneously from describing Jesus in the temple to speaking directly to him.  Almost any classic spiritual writer we pick up today will exhibit the same characteristic -- moving from meditation on scripture to direct discourse with the God of Scripture.  St. Augustine, pierced to the heart by Romans 13:14, recognized the voice of God speaking directly to him and cried out, "O beauty ever ancient, O beauty ever new; long have I sought thee in things without and all along, You were within!" 

For the first 1000 years of Christianity, there was no question of Christians "reading" scripture.  It was all spoken word and response.  People heard the letters of Paul and the memoirs of the apostles read in the assembly, and they responded in dialog, question, reflection, etc. before entering into communion with the Living Word in the breaking of the bread.  Or else, someone they knew told them about Christ and his teaching....or they heard someone proclaiming Christ in the marketplace.  And always, there was a response: belief, curiosity, or rejection.  There was no Bible meant for silent, private reading. The context was not that of private study but rather of announcement (i.e. "good news") by one person to another that brought about a reaction and a response.

Hearing the Word of God was an affective experience:  it affected the hearer one way or another and demanded a response --either awareness of God's personal call to receive His love and respond to it or a decision to reject and disbelieve what was being heard in the heart. 

In the Middle Ages, despite the then-current emphasis on the authority of the church, Ignatius found that his life was a dialog between God calling and himself responding. For him, authority, though respected, did not substitute for the communication that God could address to an individual heart and the response that the person could make.

If reading and hearing Scripture leaves us cold today, maybe it is because we do not enter into dialog with our Pedagogue, with the living Christ, who willingly and lovingly unfolds and reveals Himself to us if we ask.  All the Scriptures speak of Him, but unless He shows us, we cannot see it. And He wants to accompany us throughout our lives, in the streets and in the marketplace, in the workplace and in the hospital, on vacation and during pandemics, always, always, showing us who He is and who the Father is for us and in us!

Jesus, teach us! Jesus, teach me!