I am happy to share Wendy Peterson’s response to my past meditation, What Is the Jesus Paradox? I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I was delighted to hear from Wendy last week and with her permission share it this week.
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Jesus was God and man in this way:
In the English Standard Version of the Bible it states in the initial Book of John: ‘In the beginning was The Word and The Word was with God and The Word Was God.’ Jesus, of course, is The Word.
However, as in the same way any son separates from his father at conception, Jesus became a separate entity when He was begotten of the Holy Spirit and Our Lady. From then on, Jesus was and is a separate person and personality now seated on the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
Jesus explains this concept further in the first Book of John: ‘I want you to be one with me as I am one with the Father.’ This is what He meant, earlier, when He stated: ‘I and the Father are one’ and which a few passages later He explained, I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.’
He and the Father are one spiritually as He wants us to be one with Him, spiritually. We become one with Him spiritually by inviting into our lives the Christ spirit – the resurrected Jesus – as He had the Spirit of God within, and then drinking in His words and digesting them. In one sense, we are what we eat; and, in another sense, what we focus on and believe (we also do) and become.
Go Further
Enjoy a past interview with Amos Smith based upon his first book, Healing the Divide: Recovering Christianity’s Mystic Roots.
Amos Smith, Healing the Divide: Recovering Christianity’s Mystic Roots
Amos Smith, Be Still and Listen: Experience the Presence of God in Your Life
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Centering Prayer as a Way of Life by Contemplative Outreach, Pamela Begeman, Mary Anne Best, Julie Saad: In this, the third offering of this year’s trilogy on Centering Prayer, we will explore how the practice of Centering Prayer evolves into a surrendered life of inner peace and equanimity despite the busy and often tumultuous circumstances of daily life in the 21st century. As the inner room begins to expand its walls beyond the twice-daily practice of Centering Prayer, the Spirit takes over our life more and more, and we begin to accept ourselves just as we are, God as God is, and all reality as it is. From this disposition of true humility, enlarged under the influence of God’s grace, we live in the Kingdom of God here and now, which is a state of consciousness ever-attentive to the presence of God in the midst of ordinary life.
Centering Prayer as Practice and Process by Contemplative Outreach, Pamela Begeman, Mary Anne Best, Julie Saad: If you are new to Centering Prayer or wishing to renew your practice, this retreat will assist you with deepening your relationship with God. We will focus on teaching and practicing the method of Centering Prayer; review its place in the Christian tradition, its conceptual background, and psychological process; and share insights into establishing Centering Prayer as a way of life.
Lean In, Lighten Up and Let Go Practices for a Deeper Commitment to the Contemplative Life by Contemplative Outreach, Mary Dwyer: This retreat encourages a life of prayer and practice, both “on the chair” and in daily life. It will support you in making a deeper commitment to your relationship with God, and strengthen your ability to live the contemplative life through dedication to prayer and practice, all within the normal routines of everyday life.
Sounds True has titles by teachers and authors such as Thomas Keating, Cynthia Bourgeault, James Finley, Richard Rohr, David Frenette, Parker Palmer , Eckhart Tolle , Michael Singer , Jon Kabat-Zinn , Marianne Williamson to name a few.
Contemplative Light offers courses on contemplative practices (Christian Meditation, Centering Prayer, The Examen, Lectio Divina, The Jesus Prayer), the Christian mystics (ancient and current) and spiritual writing. Peruse their wonderful offerings.
Prayer-Bracelet: Authentic Orthodox prayer ropes and bracelets are handmade by monks in the Orthodox monastaries reciting a prayer for every knot they tie. Peruse their prayer ropes and bracelets that are all handmade, provided by several orthodox churches around the globe.
