Last week we considered the Elephant and the six blind men who found different aspects of it and thought that they had found the full explanation of what it was like. The elephant was a symbol for God and we wondered how it was we could satisfactorily understand God, or describe him.
We noticed that Paul, amongst many other well known Christians, were Jesus centered because by looking to Jesus “as the pioneer and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews) they found that an experience of God – likeness was easier to grasp.
We also noticed that Jesus constantly helped people understand what God was like as he reflected the nature of God to the people he met and spoke with, both disciples (followers) and those he healed and made whole. (there is no evidence that all those he healed became his followers)
And so to us, where does this then lead us today as people who may look to Jesus to find God.
In looking to Jesus we not only discover something of God, “The God that is Christ-like”, but we in turn seek to follow his way. This following becomes for us a life long journey, and as I was SPEAKING WITH SOMEONE THIS WEEK WE BOTH ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THIS JOURNEY has both its successes and failures and has ups and downs.
In the words of a famous hymn, “A man that look on glass on it may stay his eye, or if he pleaseth, through it pass and then the heaven espy…) (Gerard Manly Hopkins)
We can look on the glass and simply see our own reflection, which keeps us centered on ourselves, and this may not lead us far and can easily keep us focused on the downs of our lives,
OR
We can allow our eyes to see through the glass and gaze “on heaven” and see Christ looking back at us and see the God in Christ calling us.
As we have in our Eucharistic prayer…. Our life and Gods can be a wonderful exchange because of Jesus and this is the goal for Christians.
Our communion with God is physical and Spiritual in the Eucharist as we eat and drink. Christs body we say comes into us. And as we also believe we become today his body on earth.
As the famous 16th century words say:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Teresa of Avila 1515-1582
We reflect to those we meet and speak with Christ himself, and this is no small thing. In fact it is a huge thing we claim to try and do.
It does mean however once again that Being Christ’s is not just a spiritual thing, we cannot simply pray our way into Christ, it is a doing and transforming action thing too. The practical showing forth of being Christ’s is called for.
Christianity has always been an incarnational faith in that it both proclaims Christ was Godlike and God was Christ-like, but to be Christ’s means being (and doing) as well as believing.
Take a look at your hands now…..
Think about your voice and how you have used it…..
How many times this week have you found your feet walking away from need and not meeting it?
Think about the times you have looked on someone and thought bad of them, or judged them because they were in some way different or challenging?
Being Christlike, being Chrsist’s body is never going to be easy. I do not or at least sadly cannot say it is even second nature…. Oh I wish it was!
I do this however looking to Jesus who I see as the pioneer of the faith, the one who makes it possible even for me to aspire to. The one to whom I look when I know I have once again messed up, or just simply got rather lost.
I read this week words of Richard Rohr, “ When you get the, “who am I?” question right, all the “what should I do?” questions tend to take care of themselves.” (Richard Rohr, “Falling upward” pg 5/6)
Praise be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I received an e mail this morning.......(thanks Trevor)
One day, God was looking down at the Earth and saw all the wicked behaviour going on...
He sent one of his angels to earth to look into it.
When the angel returned, he told God, "Yes, it is bad on earth; 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not."
God was not pleased so he decided to e-mail the 5% that were good, because he wanted to encourage them and give them a little something to help keep them going...
Do you know what the e-mail said?
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