Questions: Is there such a thing as a Real Christian? vs. What is the Gospel of Jesus the Christ?

A friend of mine, on another post, asked the question, is there such a thing as a real Christian? There were a number of interesting comments and answers in this regard.



In mulling this question over, Is there such a thing as a real Christian?, it seems to me that its the wrong question. It seems to me, that the question is, What is the Gospel of Jesus the Christ? Even the word "gospel" has been watered down to refer to a method for getting saved, an escape plan for the life hereafter, or even personal piety and individualistic religious experience.



But the word is a technical term referring to a royal announcement of a great victory, or the birth, or accession, of an Emperor. One example would be the Priene inscription from about c. 9 BC, found on the Asia Minor coast, which says,



“Since Providence, which has ordered all things and is deeply interested in our life, has set in most perfect order by giving us Augustus, whom she filled with virtue that he might benefit humankind, sending him as a savior [swthvr], both for us and for our descendants, that he might end war and arrange all things, and since he, Caesar, by his appearance [ejpifanei'n] (excelled even our anticipations), surpassing all previous benefactors, and not even leaving to posterity any hope of surpassing what he has done, and since the birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the good tidings for the world that came by reason of him."



The Gospel of Jesus the Christ is a royal announcment that Jesus the Christ is Lord, Lord of the world, Lord of the cosmos, Lord of earth and heaven, by virtue of his Incarnation, Death and Resurrection; that He has inaugarted the beginnings of New Creation and Lordship, over against all other principalites and powers (earthly or spiritual- especially Ceasar at the time); and is a Summons of Allegiance to Jesus as Lord; and that there is no area of human life that is exempt from this Summons. No Herald of the ancient world would have thought that a Gospel of Ceasar would be an invitation to accept Ceasars rule if you felt like it. A Gospel is an Announcement and Summons to Allegiance, not an experience. In fact the only experience guaranteed by Jesus was to pick up our cross and follow Him.



I know this is a heavy thought but the question is not about what makes a good or bad Christian; but what we do with the Gospels royal announcement and Summons to allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord. Only when we've really dealt with this question, can we then ask the questions that surely must follow, including how we've messed this up too throughout our attempts over the past 2,000 years; or what we can do about it now.



We must first deal with the the Gospels royal announcement and Summons to allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord.

Dark and Difficult Times....

"Dark and Difficult times lie ahead; soon we must all face the choice between what is Right and what is easy."

---Professor Dumbledore to Harry Potter, in the Goblet of Fire

Five Recognizable Marks of the Church- Lecture by Thomas Howard

Five Recognizable Marks of the Church

-a Lecture by Thomas Howard - who is a renowned Christian writer and scholar, known for his works on C.S. Lewis and another Inkling, Charles Williams.


As an Anglican I became aware that I, as an individual believer, stood in a very long and august lineage of the faithful, stretching back to the apostles and fathers. The picture had changed for me: It was no longer primarily me, my Bible, and Jesus (although heaven knows that is not altogether a bad picture: the only question is, is it the whole picture?). Looming for me, as an Anglican, was “the faith,” ancient, serene, undimmed, true. And that faith somehow could not be split apart from “the Church.” But then, what was the Church?

I realized that, one way or another, I had to come to terms with the Church in all of its antiquity, its authority, its unity, its liturgy, and its sacraments. Those five marks, or aspects, of the Church are matters that all of us, I think, would find to be eluding us in the free churches. I speak as a Roman Catholic, for that is where my own pilgrimage has brought me in my quest for this Church in all of its antiquity, authority, unity, liturgy, and sacraments. Let me touch on each of these briefly.

Antiquity

First, the antiquity of the Church confronts me. As an Evangelical, I discovered while I was in college that it was possible to dismiss the entire Church as having gone off the rails by about a.d. 95. That is, we, with our open Bibles, knew better than old Ignatius or Polycarp or Clement, who had been taught by the apostles themselves—we knew better than they just what the Church is and what it should look like. Never mind that our worship services would have been unrecognizable to them, or that our church government would have been equally unrecognizable, or that the vocabulary in which we spoke of the Christian life would have been equally unrecognizable. We were right, and the Fathers were wrong. That settled the matter.

The trouble here was that what these wrong-headed men wrote—about God, about our Lord Jesus Christ, about his Church, about the Christian’s walk and warfare—was so titanic, and so rich, and so luminous, that their error seemed infinitely truer and more glorious than my truth. I gradually felt that it was I, not they, who was under surveillance. The “glorious company of the apostles, the noble army of martyrs, and the holy Church throughout all the world” (to quote the ancient hymn, the Te Deum) judge me, not I them. Ignatius, Polycarp, Clement, Justin, Irenaeus, Cyprian, Cyril, Basil, the Gregorys, Augustine, Ambrose, Hilary, Benedict—it is under the gaze of this senate that I find myself standing. Alas. How tawdry, how otiose, how flimsy, how embarrassing, seem the arguments that I had been prepared, so gaily, to put forward against the crushing radiance of their confession. The Church is here, in all of its antiquity, judging me.

Authority

Second, the Church in itsauthorityconfronts me. That strange authority to bind and to loose that our Lord bestowed on his disciples has not evaporated from the Church—or so the Church has believed from the beginning. If you will read the story of those decades that followed Pentecost, and especially that followed upon the death of the apostles, you will discover that the unction to teach and to preside in the Church that passed from the apostles to the bishops was understood to be an apostolic unction. I, for example, could not start up out of the bulrushes and say, “Hi, everybody! The Lord has led me to be a bishop! I’m starting me a church over here.” The whole Christian community—bishops, presbyters, deacons, and laity—would have looked solemnly at me and gone about their business.

The Holy Spirit, in those days, did not carry on private transactions with isolated souls, and then announce to the Church that so-and-so had been anointed for this or that ministry. The unction of the Holy Spirit, and the authority of the Church to ordain for ministry, were not two random enterprises. The Holy Spirit worked in, and through, the Church’s ministry and voice. To be sure, he could do what he wanted to do, as he had always done, being God. Under the Old Covenant, we could say that he worked in and through Israel; but of course you find these extra characters like Job and Jethro and the Magi, coming across the stage from outside the Covenant, yet nonetheless undeniably having been in touch with God. God can do what he wants, of course.

But the Church understands herself to be the appointed vessel for God’s working, just as the Incarnation was. Her authority is not her own. She arrogates nothing to herself. Her bishops and patriarchs are the merest custodians, the merest passers-on, we might say, of the deposit of faith. As a Roman Catholic, I am, of course, acutely conscious of this. When someone objects to me, “But who does the Catholic Church think she is, taking this high and mighty line” (about abortion or about sexual morality or about who may or may not come to the Lord’s Table), the answer is, “She doesn’t think she’s anything particular, if you mean that she has set herself up among the wares in the flea market as somehow the best. She has her given task to do—to pass on the teaching given by the apostles, and she has no warrant to change that. She is not taking her cues from the Nielsen ratings, or from a poll, or even from a sociological survey as to what people feel comfortable with nowadays. She didn’t start the Church, and it’s not her Church.”

As a free-church Christian, one can, of course, make up one’s mind about lots of things. Shall I fast or not? Well, that’s for me to decide. Shall I give alms? Again— a matter for my own judgment. Must I go to church? That, certainly, is my own affair. Need I observe this or that feast day in the church year? I’ll make up my own mind. Piety and devotion are matters of one’s own tailoring: No one may peer over my shoulder and tell me what to do.

Indeed, no one may do anything of the sort—ifwe are speaking of ourselves as Americans who have constitutional rights. But if we are speaking of ourselves as Christian believers, then there is a touchstone other than the Constitution by which our choices must be tested.

Our Christian ancestors knew nothing of this sprightly individualism when it came to the disciplines of the spiritual life. They fasted on Fridays, and they went to church on Sundays. Some Roman pope did not make these things up. They took shape in the Church very early, and nobody dreamed of cobbling up a private spirituality. And likewise with all sorts of questions. Shall women be ordained as priests? It is, eventually, not a matter of job description, or of politics, or even of common sense or public justice. The question is settled by what the Church understands the priesthood to be—with cogent reasoning given, to be sure. It is not a question to be left interminably open to the public forum for decade after decade of hot debate.

The Church is here, in all of its authority, judging us.

Unity

Third, the Church in itsunityconfronts me. This is the most difficult and daunting matter. But one thing eventually became clear: My happy Evangelical view of the church’s unity as being nothing more than the worldwide clutter that we had under our general umbrella was, for good or ill, not what the ancient Church had understood by the wordunity. As an Evangelical, I could pick which source of things appealed most to me: Dallas Seminary; Fuller Seminary;John Wimber; Azusa Street; the Peninsula Bible Church;Hudson Taylor; the deeper life as taught at Keswick;Virginia Mollenkott;John Stott; orSam Shoemaker. And in one sense, variety is doubtless a sign of vigorous life in the Church. But in another sense, of course, it is a disaster. It is disastrous if I invest any of the above with the authority that belongs alone to the Church. But then who shall guide my choices?

Once again, we come back to the picture that we have in the ancient Church. Whatever varieties of expression there may have been—in Alexandria as over against Lyons or in Antioch as over against Rome—nevertheless, when it came to the faith itself, and also to order and discipline and piety in the Church, no one was left groping or mulling over the choices in the flea market.

Where we Protestants were pleased to live with a muddle—even with stark contradiction (as in the case of Luther versus Zwingli, for example)—the Church of antiquity was united. No one needed to remain in doubt for long as to what the Christian Church might be, or where it might be found. The Montanists were certainly zealous and earnest, and had much to commend them; the difficulty, finally, was that they werenot the Church. Likewise with the Donatists. God bless them for their fidelity and ardor and purity, but they werenot the Church. As protracted and difficult as the Arian controversy was, no one needed to remain forever in doubt as to what the Church had settled upon: Athanasius was fighting for the apostolic faith,against heresy. It did not remain an open question forever.

There was one Church and the Church was one. And this was a discernible, visible, embodied unity, not a loose aggregate of vaguely like-minded believers with their various task forces all across the globe. The bishop of Antioch was not analogous to the general secretary of the World Evangelical Fellowship or the head of the National Association of Evangelicals. He could speak with the full authority of the Church behind him; these latter gentlemen can only speak for their own organization. He was not even analogous to the stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church or the presiding bishop of the Episcopalians, neither of whom is understood by his clientele to be speaking in matters of doctrine and morality with an undoubted apostolic authority.

This line of thought could bring us quickly to the point at which various voices today might start bidding for our attention, each one of them with “Hey—oursis the apostolic voice—over here!” That is not my task here. I only would want to urge you to test your own understanding of the Church against the Church’s ancient understanding of itself as united, as one. What is that unity? It is a matter that has perhaps been answered too superficially and frivolously for the last two hundred years in American Protestantism. The Church in its unity is here, judging us.

Liturgy

Fourth, theliturgyof the Church confronts and judges me. That seems like an odd way of putting it: In what sense can anyone say that the liturgy “judges” me? Certainly it does not condemn me or pass any sort of explicit judgment on me. But if only by virtue of its extreme antiquity and universality, it constitutes some sort of touchstone for the whole topic of Christian worship.

Often the topic is approached as though it were a matter of taste: John likes fancy worship—smells and bells—and Bill likes simplicity and spontaneity and informality. There’s the end of the discussion. And certainly, as I mentioned before, God receives any efforts, however halting and homespun, which anyone offers as worship, just as any father or mother will receive the offering of a limp fistful of dandelions as a bouquet from a tiny child. On the other hand, two considerations might be put forward at this point.

First, what did the Church, from the beginning, understand by worship— that is, by its corporate, regular act of worship? TheBook of Actsgives us little light on the precise shape or content of the Christians’ gatherings: The apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers are mentioned. St. Paul’s Epistles do not spell out what is to be done. We have to look to other early writings if we are curious about the apostolic church’s worship. And what we find when we do so is the Eucharistic liturgy. This, apparently, was what they did as worship. If we think we have improved on that pattern, we may wish to submit our innovations for scrutiny to the early Church in order to discover whether our innovations have in fact been improvements.

Which brings us to the second consideration: the content of the Eucharistic liturgy. From the beginning, the Church seems to have followed a given sequence: readings from Scripture (including the letters from Paul and Peter and John), then prayers, and then the so-calledanaphora—the “offering,” or, as it was also called, the Great Thanksgiving. This was the great Eucharistic Prayer, which took on a fairly exact shape at the outset, and which you may still hear if you listen to the liturgy in any of the ancient churches. Psalmody, canticles, and hymns also came to be included, and certain acclamations like the “Kyrie, eleison!” The whole presents a shape of such rich perfection that one wonders what exactly is the task of the “coordinators of worship” on the staff of various churches. The worship of the ancient Church is far from being a matter of endless tinkering, experimenting, and innovating. The entire mystery of revelation and redemption is unfurled for us in the church’s liturgy. That liturgy is here in all of its plentitude, majesty, and magnificence, judging us.

Sacraments

Fifth and finally, thesacramentsof the Church confront me. The wordsacramentis the Latin word for the Greekmysterion,mystery. Indeed, we are in the presence of mystery here, for the sacraments, like the Incarnation itself, constitute physical points at which the eternal touches time, or the unseen touches the seen, or grace touches nature. It is the Gnostics and Manichaeans who want a purely disembodied religion.

Judaism, and its fulfillment, Christianity, are heavy with matter. First, at creation itself, where solid matter was spoken into existence by the Word of God. Then redemption, beginning not with the wave of a spiritual wand, nor with mere edicts pronounced from the sky, but rather with skins and blood—the pelts of animals slaughtered by the Lord God to cover our guilty nakedness. Stone altars, blood, fat, scapegoats, incense, gold, acacia wood—the Old Covenant is heavily physical.

Then the New Covenant: We now escape into the purely spiritual and leave the physical behind, right? Wrong. First a pregnancy, then a birth. Obstetrics and gynecology, right at the center of redemption. Fasting in the wilderness, water to wine, a crown of thorns, splinters and nails and blood—our eternal salvation carried out in grotesquely physical terms. Then pure spirituality, right? Wrong. A corpse resuscitated. And not only that—a human body taken up into the midmost mysteries of the eternal Trinity. And Bread and Wine, Body and Blood, pledged and given to the Church, for as long as history lasts. Who has relegated this great gift to the margins of Christian worship and consciousness? By what warrant did men, 1,500 years after the Lord’s gift of his Body and Blood, decide that this was a mere detail, somewhat embarrassing, and certainly nothing central or crucial—a show-and-tell device at best? O tragedy! O sacrilege! What impoverishment for the faithful!

May God grant, in these latter days, a gigantic ingathering, as it were, when Christians who have loved and served him according to patterns and disciplines and notions quite remote from those of the ancient Church find themselves taking their places once again in the great Eucharistic mystery of his one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

---Adapted from a lecture given in 1993 to the Fellowship of St. Barnabas in Oklahoma City.

To Read the whole article, please see Touchstone Magazine article, "Recognizing the Church: A Personal Pilgrimage & the Discovery of Five Marks of the Church,"
by Thomas Howard:

http://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=06-03-005-f#ixzz1brsfI0fX

Buyer Beware!! --Problems with Progressive Lense Glasses

Well, I guess I hit another mile stone indicating that I am getting older. One of the first indicators, when I was about thirty was that I started getting ties, socks and sweaters as birthday or Christmas gifts. Another,that I started experiencing a few years ago is falling asleep while watching TV- something I'd never done but fondly remember my father doing. In the last few days, its see the eye doctor and getting a prescription for, now don't laugh, Bifocal glasses! I was told that many people after they turn forty begin to have diminished reading ability, etc.

However, when I took my prescription to the lense and frame sellers, I was told that Progressive Lenses were the new bifocal without lines (actually, more of a multi-focal); and was the way to go. Its only been a few days but I am not convinced; and have been experiencing a number of problems, including headaches, dizziness, nausea, eye strain, eye pain and blurriness, etc.

With any new pair of glasses there is usually an initial time of adjusting to the new prescription. With Progressives, I am finding out that the adjustment period can take a few days to several weeks, and in some cases, a few months. I was never informed of this problem! After wearing them to work yesterday, I was ready to rip my eye balls out of socket! The eye strain and pain was like a slow torture. Everything felt blurry and I could not focus on anything longer than just a few seconds before I was hurting again. I had a hard time sleeping for several hours because of the pain.

My Reading experience is the worst! Reading is not only part of my job but one of my passions in life; and not being able to read without pain, discomfort, strain and blurriness, is simply miserable and disconcerting. I'm trying to give them a chance over the weekend but I am not at all happy with the possibility of a lengthy adjustment period before I can read again!

Buyer Beware!!

The Measure of a Man

I had lunch today (this was posted elsewhere a few years ago) with my friend, Fr Jeff Olkie. During the course of our conversation, he made the comment, that "the Measure of a Man is what he does when he is Alone."

There is much that could be said about that statment but to do so would only mar a perfectly sufficient statement. Let each man examine his own heart and consider this for himself. I know I will.

Prayer-Alert--Iranian-Pastor-Facing-Execution-in-Next-24-Hours.

Prayer-Alert--Iranian-Pastor-Facing-Execution-in-Next-24-Hours

http://www.persecution.org/2011/09/29/iranian-christian-pastor-death-sentence-may-be-overturned/

Toward a Hedge-Priest ministry in the Anglican Tradition

Over the past few years, I have been connecting with people outside of the traditional denominational institutional "Box". Some of them are atheists, New Agers, and Druids, etc. Some still feel a connection with Christ Jesus but not with Church. Some have said I am the only Christian (and even priest) they have ever felt comfortable with. I even have a dear friend (an atheist or agnostic) who refers to me as her priest! She often tells people that, "My priest says that I'm a Pagan!" -which is both a kind of joke between us but also an expression of endearment.

Hedge-Priest: It seems I am becoming somewhat of a "Hedge-Priest"!!! lol

This term usually takes on the definitions of a: rustic, outlandish, sometimes uneducated or illiterate, poor, mean, itinerant vagabond priest, without benefice or home, but one authorized to perform the Rites and Sacraments of and by the church. For those who know me...See any resemblance? haha

However, I've also heard that the term Hedge Priest is also a variant of the terms Hedge-Witch or Hegde-Druid. A Hedgewitch, has traditionally been seen as a shamanistic person who can cross the “hedge” or boundary between this world and the other. The Hedgewitch is usually a solitary practitioner, but may be attended by assistants. Her main function is as mediator between the spirit world (the Divine) and people. She may also work as a herbal healer and midwife.

The term has also been applied to John Ball, an English Lollard Priest (c. 1338[1] – 15 July 1381), who was part of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. According to Wikipedia, "He is said to have gained considerable fame as a roving preacher — a "hedge priest" without a parish or any cure linking him to the established order — by expounding the doctrines of John Wycliffe, and especially by his insistence on social equality" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ball_%28priest%29).

Hmmm. Well, I'm just a simple Christian Priest but I do have a certain spiritual affinity and connection with both the Celtic Christian tradition and the Contemplative/mystical/monastic expressions of the Gospel and church history; and I am very interested in Inter-Religious/Inter-Spiritual dialogue. As an Anglican Priest (albeit a more Contemplative one), I love both the more traditional (Rite One) and high church expressions but also feel a much more earthy rustic spirituality-which unfortunately the institutional aspects of the church too often get in the way of.

My ministry, small though it may be, does seem to be moving more and more outside the hedge of traditional parish ministry; providing friendship and Spiritual Direction with people wherever they are in their journey.

Some of these changes are a result of my own spiritual growth process; together with certain guiding theological principles. One of these was the difference between the Roman and Celtic Model of Evangelism. The book, "The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West...Again" by George G. Hunter III, addressed and confirmed certain principles I was learning by personal or mystical insight.

In the Roman Model, the Gospel was preached primarily within the boundaries of Roman civilization and culture. The Gospel was proclaimed, if one accepted it, then one could be made a member of the church. It was a Belief before Belonging system. However, in the Celtic Model, the Gospel was taken outside the boundaries of language, civilization and culture; and was shared openly with people at the crossroads of life. It was a Belonging before Belief system.

Together with the spiritual principle of the Anamchara (or Soul-friend tradition, a borrowed druid practice), who would come alongside of people and walk alongside of them in their spiritual journey in Christ, offering spiritual counsel through spiritual friendship; not just ministry from a pulpit or lectern. and its much more personal and earthy.



Yours,

The Rev. Father Jerry "Aidan" Hix, O.S.C.

Sharings on Raimon Pannikar's Christophany

It's difficult to put into words the experience of reading Pannikar. Sometimes it did feel like being submerged in waters to deep or great waves overwhelming my little life raft, taking me down, only to come up again a little while later, choking, gasping for breath; but also the thrill of a surfer riding the waves back to shore.

Father Panikkar has helped broaden and deepen my appreciation for Jesus, for Christ, for life itself. Though he may not have wrapped up his book with the conclusions some of may have hoped for, for myself, the conclusion seems to be brought down to the simple level of being, of presence, and of my practice of taking my seat of meditation and there in that space learning to empty myself (Kenosis), to let go, and allow for that warm space of abundance, of love, grace and the divine presence.

I have not always been faithful to my seated-practice of meditation. Sometimes life gets in the way. Over the past six months, I've experienced several health problems, including pneumonia; and recently my wife was gang rushed by about 60+ students during a mini-riot at the school she at, was injured, bruised all over her body, her shoulder torn out of socket, etc., that left her with one arm in a sling and trying to hobble around on a crutch with the other. She just had surgery yesterday and is in alot of pain; and she still has not been paid for worker's compensation.

Yet, in the midst of all this, even though my sitting for specific times of meditation has been blown off course a bit, there is still that gentle returning again and again to awareness (spiritual awareness like the Welcoming Prayer) of the divine presence in the midst of life's waves, somehow learning to manifest rather than just believing or mental assents. I feel somehow different and I think a large portion is the outpouring of love and wisdom I experienced in Pannikar-his book and video's I have watched, like the Window, etc.

We've been married for almost 22 years, and my wife has been through many surgeries and health issues; yet, this is the first time she's really noticed in a deep way that I was there for her, beside her, and caring for her, whether going to doctor's visits, cleaning the house, or just bringing her another ice pack. It's almost like I was invisible before but both of us have changed in our love for each other and experience of God. We are more aware of each other, of love and presence. There is a softening, gentling, deepening, expanding, breathing, experience of something other, that I am sensing withing myself; and a greater awareness of others, even little creatures and insects who are breathing the same air that I am.

No, I cannot explain it any better than Pannikar. But I think the answer lies within each one of us, within our own experience of this deepening Christophany; and as our experience of this something other in love embraces and is embraced with others who are also experiencing this deepening, together we will find the answer, both out there and withing ourselves.

-from an unpublished draft in June 2011

How faith brings wisdom and serenity

See Article on Helium:



http://www.helium.com/items/2164395-spirituality-meditation

Christ's reality is not limited to saving souls

A quote by Father Raimon Pannikar seemed relevant today considering how many people were expecting the rapture or end of the world.


Christ's reality is not limited to saving souls

Although history must not be neglected, neither may Christ's historical role be ignored, Christ's reality is not limited to saving souls, making them, so to speak, ascend to heaven. Christ's full reality cannot be split into three nor reduced to one function. Christ is the Only Begotten and First Begotten, Mary's son and Son of Man, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, this is why his reality transcends the categories of substance and individuality, as well as other concepts that need to be reeaximined, like those of creation and redemption.


A spiritual comment may help us understand what such a christophany accentuates. Our fidelity to and love of Christ do not alienate us from our kindred—which includes angels, animals, plants, the earth, and, of course, men and women. Christ is a symbol of union, friendship, and love, not a wall that separates. Jesus is certainly a sign of contradiction, not because he separates us from others but rather because he heals our hypocrisies, fears, and egoism, while leaving us as vulnerable as himself. Instead of rejecting others because they are pagan, nonbelievers, sinners—whereas we are righteous and justified—Jesus impels us toward others and makes us see the negative which is in us too. Insofar as we share love, sympathy, suffering, and joy with all our neighbors, we discover the true face of Christ that is in all of us. “You have done it to me” (Matthew 25:40) is no simple moral exhortation to do good; it is rather an ontological assertion of Christ’s presence in the other, in every other, in the smallest of the small—not for the purpose of discovering an “other” hidden in the neighbor but in order to discover the neighbor as part of ourselves. In fact, neither those on the right nor the left are conscious of the presence of Christ (Matthew 25:37) because what matters is the human face of the neighbor.

[Part 3 Christophany: The Christic Experience: Chapter 6—The Protological, Historical, and Eschatological Christ Is a Unique and Selfsame Reality,
Distended in Time, Extended in Space, and Intentional in Us, p. 168]

Just War Theory & Gravitation from Above- a Christian Way of Seeing

Just War Theory & Gravitation from Above- a Christian Way of Seeing

Unfortunately, most who've read and responded to my article on "My Reflections of the Death of Osama Bin Laden", on or offline, have my missed my point, though my brother Jose grasped and articulated part of it. I was not making a campaign of sympathy for Osama; nor was I suggesting that his death was unnecessary. In fact, I made it explicitly clear that I believe in the "Just War" theology; that it was a Necessary Killing; and that as a former soldier I would probably have taken the shot- though I would hope I could have done it from a deeper place of "being in Christ" than mere hate and vengeance.

As a side note what is Just War Theory? It deals with the morality regarding the Use of Force, and moral reasons and conditions for "legitimate defense by military force" which justify war under those certain conditions. Some of these include:

* when it is right to resort to armed force?
* what is acceptable in using such force?
* the justice of war termination and peace agreements, as well as the prosecution of war criminals.(jus post bellum)
* the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
* all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
* there must be serious prospects of success;
* the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power as well as the precision of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

However, what I was referring to was a different level of consciousness or awareness that Christ calls us to- the Unitive Vision when our Eye is Single ("when your Eye is single you shall be full of light") and not caught up in duality and our false-self system of Ego -based grasping and aversions; and that many Christians who are called to love even our enemies (from a higher source) were manifesting hate.

Not sure who said this, but its true nevertheless: "I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."


We see an example of this in Peter when Jesus bids him to walk on the water with him. Cynthia Bougeault tells it like this:

"As the narrative unfolds in Matthew 14:22–33, the disciples are making a somewhat stormy late-night boat passage across the Sea of Galilee when they suddenly see Jesus walking toward them on the water. “Do not be afraid,” he tells them; “for it is I”—or as the biblical Greek literally reads, “for I Am.” Peter, always the impetuous one, plunges out of the boat and starts walking across the water toward his master. In the language of the tradition, he is under the sway of “gravitation
from above,” his heart so pointedly fixed on Jesus that he rises briefly to Jesus’ level of being, a level of being at which the laws of the physical universe are transcended. He nearly makes it, too—but suddenly he feels the storm against his face, realizes that what he’s doing is impossible, and becomes frightened. And of course, at that moment he sinks. It is a vivid metaphor, not only to help us grasp what level of being means but also against which to measure our contemporary shortfall."

We cannot live out the true depths of Jesus Christ's teaching from the false-self system of egoic consciousness; nor from just mere going to church and singing praise songs (wonderful though those are). He calls us to a different kind of Mind, what Paul both calls the "Inner Man" of the "Mind of Christ." Having the Christ Mind is not just mental assent to Creeds and Doctrine; it is the unitive experience of the Singleness of the Eye, where we can love our enemies (which again doesn't mean being doormats) from this higher dimension of our being-which is exactly what Christ calls us to.

Christ did not come to be merely our Lord and Savior but also as the "moshel meshalim (Master of Wisdom)” and the Life-Giver. But we have over emphasized his role as Savior to the exclusion of his being Life-Giver; and have made Christianity nothing more than moral platitudes and an Evacuation Plan for the Afterlife (I got my ticket to heaven!); and so, we end up making excuses that we are not Jesus to justify our hatred-which is a contradiction of everything Christ calls us to be.

But Christ also came to Give us Life, to Awaken us to the higher reality of being in Union with God, to be Partakes of his Divine Nature, to existentially experience the transformation of our egoic consciousness to that of Having the Mind of Christ, and putting on the Inner Man. He came to "MIRROR" for us who we are to "Be" in and through Him.

As he said to the woman at the well (John 4),

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water....“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

When we truly begin to "Recognize" Christ, and ask for that drink of Infinite Life, then out of our own innermost being comes forth this living water. This transformation comes from prayer and learning to be Still-to still our normal and fallen egoic way of thinking through meditation and contemplation). Be still and know God.

Maurice Nicoll speaks of the faltering steps of learning to See like Jesus when she says: “As one’s level of being increases, receptivity to higher meaning increases. As one’s being decreases, the old meanings return.”

It was out of one of those moments when I was caught up in the "gravitation from above" and could see and feel things from that deeper well of being where we begin to experience the Mind and Love of Christ that I was speaking.

If only I could learn to live in that state of being but "As one’s being decreases, the old meanings return."

My Reflections of the Death of Osama Bin Laden

I felt mixed emotions at the news. It was a necessary killing but to rejoice in another mans death, still bothered me.

I once read where someone asked the Dali Lama whether is was ok to kill another if it would prevent the torture or killing of many other lives. He said only if it could be done out of a heart filled with compassion and love. But he also said, "But I don't think I could do it."

I'm not a Buddhist but both the Buddha and Jesus Christ taught non-violence. Yes, there is the theology of the "Just War." Sometimes it is necessary. But it should be "executed" from a deeper place than mere hate and vengeance. If I had to take the shot, I would probably have done it (I was a Soldier once) but I would hope that I would have done it out of love and compassion and justice for those who had died because of him and love for those who would not die tomorrow because of him; and not because my heart was full of anger, hatred and vengeance. Vengeance belongs to the Lord.

So, yes, I felt grateful but sickened by those who rejoiced in any mans death. perhaps its just a passing emotion from my current spiritual state of awareness. But nevertheless, I feel a conflict of emotions and thoughts. Justice was served but I weep for both his death and those he had killed.

Don't get me wrong. I am grateful. It was a necessary killing. But what bothers me is the hate I sense in the people who rejoice over it. I do not hate Obama. I pity him, for he is now probably in hell. But I love and weep for those who have died and rejoice for those who will live because or not die because of his death.

I guess its just this subtle something that is changing in me over the past year. I see things from a different sense of consciousness and heart. Not that I am living a holy and righteous life. It hasn't changed my lusts, fears and weaknesses. I just feel them all from a different place that I have ever been before.


Reflections from Sacred Scripture:

-"Do you think I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live." Ezekiel 18:23

Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount(Excerpts)-Matthew 5-7

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Murder
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.


Eye for Eye
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[h] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 7
Judging Others
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Romans 12.14
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

etc, etc, etc

Deepening the Mystery of the Trinity- Why Feminizing the Trinity Won't Work- A Metaphysical Perspective by Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault

Deepening the Mystery of the Trinity-Why Feminizing the Trinity Won't Work-
A Metaphysical Perspective by Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault

http://archive.cacradicalgrace.org/conferences/post_sog/trinity.html

Review on "The Rite-The Making of a Modern Exorcist" by Matt Baglio

The Rite-The Making of a Modern Exorcist
by Matt Baglio

Review by Father Aidan J. Hix, O.S.C.
Thursday, February 17, 2011


C.S. Lewis once said "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them." When I was a teenager, my friend Arlon and I would read books on the Occult, demons and Possession by several supposed Christian authors such as Nicky Cruz’s book, “Satan on the Loose.” I felt both excited and terrified by the prospect of ever encountering such a phenomena as a demon or a demon possessed person.

In fact, even now, as an ordained priest, the idea seems a bit eerie! I’ve often joked around about such a prospect by saying if I was ever called upon to do an exorcism that I would call for a fleet of Fire trucks and bless each one as a container of Holy Water; then would proceed to man the water gun turret and lead the charge with all hoses on full force!

But the truth is that the problem of evil is not a laughing matter; and Matt Baglio did a wonderful job of introducing the world to darker side of faith and the battle between good and evil. He told the story of Father Gary Thomas’ journey of becoming an exorcist; and the testimonies of many who claimed to have been possessed by an outside entity and the story of their liberation, often a gradual process over a period of years.

The book provides a wide overview of the multifaceted issues concerning Demon Possession and Exorcism. He touches briefly on the historical and Biblical development of the idea of the “Devil”, Angelology, Demonology, as well as other Theological concerns; including the development and use of the Roman Catholic Ritual of Exorcism. All of which decry the sensationalist portrayals of Hollywood.

However, he does not focus only on the question of personified evil and possession from a religious, albeit Catholic perspective; but commits an entire section of the book to discuss how modern research from the scientific and medical community accounts for “anomalous healing.” This covers such exciting concepts as:
• healing vs curing
• voodoo possession as a kind of psychotherapy or Folk Therapy
• advances in neuroscience
• benefits of an exorcism in treating people with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
• Reattributing techniques
• Placebo effects
• therapeutic rituals
• Expectancy
• Motivational Concordance
• Self-actualization
• Prayer as a therapeutic ritual
• Quantum Entanglement & healing from a distance
• The Spiritual Brain and Mystical Experiences
• Differentiating the source from psychosis to possession

Matt Baglio’s book goes along way in debunking the sensational misunderstanding of the Catholic practice of exorcism. Most exorcisms are quite mundane with very little physical manifestation, though some can be quite violent. Although there are still stories of abuse and deaths of victims of possible possessions due to medieval like practices, the practice in the American catholic church is that a candidate for exorcism must have a complete physical and psychological/psychiatric evaluation and the permission of a bishop prior to an exorcism ever being done.

Interestingly, a major part of the ongoing process of deliverance ministry is assisting the afflicted person being “proactive” in their own recovery by a return to the spiritual disciplines of going to church, prayer, the Sacraments (especially Confession and Holy Communion) and putting their faith in God. It reminds us that this is a ministry to people who are hurting and afflicted; and not merely engaging in the sensational or paranormal.

I believe Matt Baglio’s book, The Rite, is one of the best books I’ve ever read on this aspect of Pastoral Ministry; and should be part of every pastor’s arsenal. It certainly touched me deeply and dispelled many of my fears and concerns; and reminded me of the power of faith and the hope we have in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Demonic Oppression, Deliverance, Liberation and Spiritual Transformation

Demonic Oppression, Deliverance, Liberation and Spiritual Transformation

A Summary of my Sermon
By Fr. Aidan Hix, O.S.C.
St. David’s Anglican Church
Fairfax, CA
Sunday, 2-13-2011
6th Sunday after Epiphany

Lessons:
Ecclesiacticus 15.11-20;
Ps. 119.1-16 or 9-16; 1 Cor. 3.1-9;
Matt 5. 21-37

SETTING THE STAGE

In light of the new movie, “The Rite” starring Anthony Hopkins, (based on the book “The Rite- The Making of a Modern Exorcist” by Matt Baglio), portraying the subject of personified evil and demon possession, I was rather surprised to discover such a connection with The Lord’s Sermon on The Mount. The Sermon on the Mount, especially the beginning passages know as the Beatitudes, are even lauded as beautiful prose and wisdom sayings by people of many different faiths.

However, as I simply sat with this Sermon during my times of meditation over the past few weeks, I started re-reading the context by going back to the passages of scripture just prior to Jesus sitting down on the hill and beginning to teach. Beginning with Matthew 4.12-5.3, the story reads as follows:

“12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali-- 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. 5:1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying…”

It was in the context of Christ’s ministry of Teaching on the Kingdom of God, Healing the afflicted and Delivering people from the bondage of Demon Possession, that He sat down and began to teach them High Principles of Spiritual Liberation and Transformation. In the Gospel of Luke 4.15-21, Christ specifically identifies himself with this ministry:

15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them,"Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

All we have to do to awaken to the reality of Evil, is to watch a movie like The Rite or watch the evening News. History is full of personified evil. Think of Nero, Diocletian, Hitler.

We seem to have a better grasp of the heaviness of evil than we do the power of Christ’s message of Spiritual Liberation and Transformation; and that is what the Sermon on the Mount is all about! What Christ was pointing to was not mere moral platitudes but experiencing the life changing experience of the Spirit, an Inner Renewal and Awakening, a call to the restoration of the pre-lapsarian state of Man. As Paul puts it, ““Thus it is written, The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”-1 Corinthians 15:45; and in Romans 5:12-21:

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned — sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification* leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“

Below are just a few of the headlines and outline of my sermon from Sunday.

I. There are several different dimensions of Impartation & Revelation in Christ’s Teaching, from the moral requirements of the Law to Hidden shades of meaning He imparts only to His Disciple’s.

A. He reminds them to follow the tenets and morals of the Law.
• 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

• You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times…

B. He taught in Parables to the Crowds; but He instructed his Disciples in the Secrets of the Spiritual Life

• “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables”; or
• “With many such parables spake He the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake He not unto them; and when they were alone He expounded all things to His disciples”
• [please note the emphasis on "when they were alone" or "them that are without."]);
• Jesus tells His apostles: “I have yet many things to say to you, but ye cannot bear them now;”

C. These dimensions of revelation and impartation of the Mysteries of the Faith are mentioned by St. Paul.

• “I came to you bearing the divine testimony, not alluring you with human wisdom but with the power of the Spirit. Truly ‘we speak wisdom among them that are perfect,’ but it is no human wisdom. ‘We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world’ began, and which none even of the princes of this world know. The things of that wisdom are beyond men’s thinking, ‘but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit … the deep things of God,’ ‘which the Holy Ghost teacheth.’ These are spiritual things, to be discerned only by the spiritual man, in whom is the mind of Christ. ‘And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ…. Ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal.’

• Carnal Man (of the body/flesh)- one governed by the urges & aversions of the body
• Natural Man (of the soul/psychikos)-natural human qualities- governed by emotions & intellect
• Spiritual Man (pneumatikos)- one governed and transformed by the Holy Spirit (the Saints).

D. These dimensions of revelation and impartation of the Mysteries of the Faith are mentioned by the Early Church Fathers.

• St Clement of Alexandria. One quote from Clement in his Stromata, says,

“”The Lord … allowed us to communicate of those divine Mysteries, and of that holy light, to those who are able to receive them. He did not certainly disclose to the many what did not belong to the many; but to the few to whom He knew that they belonged, who were capable of receiving and being moulded according to them. But secret things are entrusted to speech, not to writing, as is the case with God. And if one say that it is written, ‘There is nothing secret which shall not be revealed, nor hidden which shall not be disclosed,’ let him also hear from us, that to him who hears secretly, even what is secret shall be manifested. This is what was predicted by this oracle. And to him who is able secretly to observe what is delivered to him, that which is veiled shall be disclosed as truth; and what is hidden to the many shall appear manifest to the few…. The Mysteries are delivered mystically, that what is spoken may be in the mouth of the speaker; rather not in his voice, but in his understanding…. The writing of these memoranda of mine, I well know, is weak when compared with that spirit, full of grace, which I was privileged to hear. But it will be an image to recall the archetype to him who was struck with the Thyrsus.”

II. So, What’s the Point?

A. The Law teaches us the basic principles, values and morals of the Faith (summed up in the 10 Commandments):

B. The Prophets teach us about the Inner or higher spirit of the Law

C. Christ reveals the highest dimensions of the Law & principles of transformation.
• 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them….
• 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
• Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times….
• But I say to you…..

Matthew 5:21-24,27-30,33-37
Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, `You shall not murder'; and `whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, `You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
"You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
"Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, `You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be `Yes, Yes' or `No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

D. Some of the higher principles:
• He requires us to put aside Anger
• To take the initiative in Reconciliation
• Make Friends with your accuser
• He requires us to have control not only over outer things of the Law but over the Inner workings of the heart, like Lust and Sexual Desire
• To take extreme actions (removing the offending member)-Spiritual Disciplines & Following a spiritual practice and awareness of Divine Presence

III. How?
• It requires a change of Consciousness
• The Kingdom is near (at hand)
• The Kingdom is within Us
• He came to mirror for us who we really are in God.

We need to awaken to the reality of the spiritual life and transformation Christ calls us to. He did not come to merely Redeemer/Savior (because of this doctrine we tend to put off until the hope of heaven in the hereafter our personal responsibility of living a trasnformed life in the here and now) but he also came as Life Giver- to give us life now and to mirror for us who we are as the Imagio Dei (Image of God).

A Mystical Awakening, A Spiritual Indwelling, A Transformed Being, A Spiritual Community.

CONCLUSION.

(T.S. Eliot, The Little Giddings, 4th Quartet)

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always—
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.

Opening the Box and setting the Spirit Free

Wow. I am an avid reader but have rarely come across an author that has condensed so much into so little. Every sentence is filled with energy and resonates from the page. Its hard to keep up with and more difficult to respond too. But thanks to Cecile for unpacking and restating!

Going back a day or so in the readings, Panikkar says, " Christophany does not pretend to offer a universal paradigm..." but "does off an image of Christ that all people are capable of believing in..." and that "the meeting with Christ is irreducible to a simple doctrinal or intellectual approach."

I am experiencing in Panikkar a continual softening of those area of my life where I was conditioned to hold things more rigidly or pressed down into a little box. Panikkar opens the box and lays it flat allowing greater movement, phania (manifestation) and experience of the very ingredients formerly contained in the little box but now is open to the movement of the Spirit, creating a greater "mystical vision" and at least cracking the third eye to open, even if just slightly! lol.

Beannachdan (Blessings),

The Invitation (Oriah Mountain Dreamer)-by Oriah

"The Invitation

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes.'

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."


Poem by Oriah

http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/
http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/poetry/oriah-mountain-dreamer.html

The Darkness Cometh- a poem of spiritual warfare

A cowled priest looks through the fire
Beyond this realm of mortal eyes
Where mystery, light and darkness are
Dragons devour the innocent and weak, and
Angels fly over damned souls.
Put on the Hauberk and wield the sword!
Raise the sails, forward to battle.
The Darkness cometh.
The Day has not yet dawned.

-poem by Fr Aidan

A Spiritual Journey of Disillusionment and Re-Enchantment-My Review on Mark Townsend's book, "The Path of The Blue Raven-From Religion to Re-Echantment"

A Spiritual Journey of Disillusionment and Re-Enchantment-My Review on Rev. Mark Townsend's book, "The Path of The Blue Raven-From Religion to Re-Echantment"

February 9, 2011
By The Rev. Fr. Jerry "Aidan" L. Hix Jr.

I was introduced to Mark by a mutual friend a few months ago; and in addition to reading his book (The Path of the Blue Raven), he has also been kind enough to correspond with me about his journey. As a priest in the Anglican tradition, who has also experienced some of the disillusionment with ministry and the down side of institutional religion and bureaucracy, I found in Mark, a Comrade in Arms; and the knowledge I was not alone in my own journey.

Although I tend to remain rooted in the more traditional expressions of the Christian faith and the working out my own struggles with disillusionment within the context of the institutional Church and do not always agree with Mark's perspectives or conclusions, I can relate, sympathize and empathize with the process of his Spiritual Journey of Disillusionment to Re-Enchantment .

I also am extremely encouraged by his honesty, sometimes brutal honesty about himself, his shortcomings and failures; and his openness and "heartfulness" to dialogue and share the journey as friends and brothers, even though we might strongly disagree at times with each others views. That speaks volumes to me about his character and his gift of "presence" as a priest and fellow pilgrim on the journey.

All of which makes this book such a wonderful expression of the Spiritual Journey, as told not only by Mark but by others from different religious and/or spiritual traditions! It not only introduced me to many of the earth based spiritualities I had been ignorant of but also reawakened in me the "earthiness" of Jesus and the earlier Christian faith of my own spiritual tradition.

I believe its especially important in Today's world where the meeting of the world's religions and cultures are drawing closer and closer together, that we learn about each other and how we can both respect our common ground, as well as respecting the differences. Mark's book was a wonderful tribute to the encounter of different spiritualities and how we can reinvest ourselves in lives filled with wonder and enchantment!

Thanks and Blessings to you Mark, respectfully,

Father Jerry "Aidan" Hix, O.S.C.

[Review also on Mark Townsend's Amazon Profile]

Recent Poems by Fr Aidan

The Grey in my Beard
by Jerry Aidan Hix on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 5:09am

My beard is mostly grey now
My back stiff against the winds of time
Injuries take longer to heal
As years pass by like days

Our children are almost grown
Our once energetic Jack Russell
spends most of his days sleeping
waiting for the boys to come home from school
But what silence waits to break the heart
when school days are gone
and the boys only return for family visits?

There is a growing ache inside of me
Did I spend too much time chasing tomorrows dreams
to recognize the joy that was before me?
No more, pick me up Daddy or take me to the park
They seem to need me less and less now

Why does it take so long to realize what we had
when its too late to enjoy what we have?
Only memories swing on the playground at the park
Like ghosts whispering in the cold winter chill.

My beard has turned to grey, and
The years pass by quickly like the sunset of another day.
-Fr Aidan Hix, 2-03-2011


Squeezing of the Grape
by Jerry Aidan Hix on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 3:29am

I enjoyed a glass of Port wine tonight
As it burned my raw throat
the day after bowing before the porcelain bowl
But I was comforted by the sting and the potent draught
I drank deeply from the glass again, and slept.

My heart feels restless
We are restless til we rest in Thee!
Perhaps, but my sail has not billowed
in that wind for awhile

I am a hollow reed waiting to be played
What breath shall make music of my soul?
Perhaps I am off key, ruined, only to be discarded.
Rumi speaks of the Reed Flute's Cry!
When its cut off from the reed bed.
I am cut off and wait for my fulfillment.
My Return.

Let the divine wind blow through me!
Clear away the mire and the dross!
Bore away another hole if necessary
But play at least one mournful song
before casting my reed into the fire.

The grape was crushed and squeezed
before it ever filled my glass.
I enjoy the sweet raw fruit
and the juice that wets my parched lips
But the fermented wine sets my heart on fire
and lulls me into a gentle sleep.

-Fr Aidan Hix, February 2, 2011

The Lord of the Storm-
by Jerry Aidan Hix on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 4:09am

The Lord of the Storm

Like a ship set free of her moorings and berth
To sail the high seas through the calm and tempest
The River of Life and the dark Womb of Creation releases us
A spark in mortal flesh, we slip forth on our way

Oft’ times the seas are calm, all is sublime
The Day Star shines its radiant head, golden mane burning
Sails raised high upon the mast, billowing in the wind
Our vessel cuts through the salty brine, churning up foam, toward the far horizon.

Whence cometh the storm tossed sea, with its tempest and gales?
Dark clouds and thunder, the booming of drums in the deep
Relentless waves pound against us, to weaken, wreck and ruin!
Our Bark creaks and groans under the crush and heavy strain, something breaks
White knuckled, clutching the solid mast, we ride against the wind.

The ship breaks upon the craggy shoreline, impaled on jutting rocks
Thrown into the churning sea, the surge overwhelming
Rising waves lift us up like an offering to angry gods
Then plunge us down into the dark maw, to swallow us whole
Prayers offered up to God, seem only to blow back hard upon our upturned faces

Look up, now, Our Captain comes riding his watery chariot, on the crest of stormy seas
Eyes ablaze, torches in the dark and the deep, the mane of his hoary head blows
Wildly in the wind and cold salty spray
Reach, take his hand, and climb up in the storm torn chariot!
All is now calm and tranquil, here, in the Eye of the Storm,
Where the Lord of the Storm dwells.

{A Poem by Fr Jerry “Aidan” Hix, inspired by a dear and precious friend and my adorable cousin Deanna


Down by the Riverside-A Prayer for my Uncle Troy
by Jerry Aidan Hix on Friday, December 10, 2010 at 11:07am


Down by the Riverside
Where I played as a boy
The river rushes past me
In its wake, both sadness and joy

I watch the gulls fly ore the foam
Memories floating upon the water
I'd gone fishing in a boat with my Uncle
and the ghost of my dead Father

My flute plays a mournful song
As I sit alone upon the harsh rocks
Where water breaks as the tide comes in
I sit alone like the old abandoned dock

My Uncle is sleeping now
We pray for Him to Awake!
Please rise and take me fishing, Uncle!
Do not step off the dock into the cruel wake.

Down by the Riverside
Where I played as a boy
Let the waves wash over me
I want to fish even one more time
With my Dear Uncle Troy!

Grant me this prayer, this request dear Lord
Let me fish again, with my second father,
My dear Uncle Troy
Arise and Awake!
That is my prayer. Amen




What Name Defines Me?
by Jerry Aidan Hix on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 3:06am

What Name Defines Me? and the Power of Namecraft


At birth my parents Named my Jerry
What does it mean to Name someone? something?
Once it was the power craft of priest or shaman
To create you into family, tribe or clan
Now it is often rendered without ritual and empty
As you grew a spiritual name or totem was bestowed
I was given two.

Jerry
It was my fathers name
But no one living remembers why
and I was never told.
I gave it to my son in honor of my father, my hero
The name flows from many places
Meaning Ruling Spear, Sacred Name, May God Exalt

Aodhan.
When I was made a Priest, I was given the name Aidan
Little Flame
Light of Christ
Light Bearer
But my heart is more inclined to darkness, divine darkness,
The Darkness of God
My little flame casts shadows all around

Jyoti Das.
Lover of the Light of God!
But where his light burns in darkness
In Clouds of Unknowing
Along the Path of Unmaking

Many Names of Affection
Husband,darling, dear,
Father, daddy, papa
Son, brother, uncle and Friend

Recently a friend said to me
I think I'll call you Seinfeld,
You are entertaining in the same kind of way!

I am all of these and more
Yet none of these and less

Light drives back the womb of darkness
But silhouettes dance on the wall
Ouroborus! The Serpent bites his tail.
From darkness to light, birth and knowledge
From Light back to darkness, death, abandonment
Then comes Resurrection! Life and Enlightenment!

What Name Defines Me?
...I Am.
But The I Am Summons me.
Seek Me in thyself as your deepest Thou
Seek Me in thyself as thy Thou
Seek Me in thyself as your I.

Until I Am, i shall seek for Thee.
A lover and bearer of The Divine Light
On a shadowed path with only a Lamp unto my feet
Where with Moses and other Hoary Headed Wanderers
I ascend the Mountain into the Dark Clouds of God
In the Face of the Son we behold darkness and
I shall be known as I Am known.

-A poem? or random thought inspired by one who called me Seinfeld,
by Fr. Aidan Hix+
11-20-2010