To discover the Jesus the Gospels tell us about, N. T. Wright declares, we need to get in-side them.
This means I will let the four Gospels tell me about Jesus.
Before we start, I need to be clear, that the Jesus of history is a vital part of the Christ of my faith.
It’s not possible to separate them.
The historical Jesus was a real man who lived on this earth—and He was God.
‘To journey with Jesus means listening to his teaching—sometimes understanding it, sometimes not quite getting it.”
These words from Marcus Borg’s Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time echo my experience.
Sometimes I get Jesus.
Sometimes I don’t understand what He meant.
I have learned to trust.
I meet the Jesus of my faith in my centering prayer, and I believe that my practice will open my eyes.
And I meet the Jesus of history and communal faith in the pages of the Gospel.
There is continuity between the two!
Jesus’ presence in prayer and His words preserved for centuries open my eyes.
The Jesus of history spoke in aphorisms, parables, and stories, which impact me today and inform my faith.
Generally speaking, these parables are not linear and nondual.
Jesus was also known to regularly venture to lonely places and pray (Luke 5:16).
His example shapes my prayer life.
Read more in Sitting with God.
I am currently reading Resurrecting Jesus: Embodying the Spirit of a Revolutionary Mystic by Adyashanti.
If you wish to explore the Jesus you meet in centering prayer, reach out to me regarding my one one one offerings.
Contemplative Prayer is the world in which God can do anything. To move into that realm is the greatest adventure. It is to be open to the Infinite and hence to infinite possibilities.
Thomas Keating
A Training Course for Opening to the Presence of God
Father Carl Arico, Father Thomas Keating, Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler
In-depth training in the Christian contemplative path of prayer—a self-guided course.
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