A faith embodied

"The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory" -John 1:14

How is the Word made flesh in our lives? 

Teresa of Avila once said that"Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people."

The Word is God, the source of life that brings light to humanity, the light which the darkness has never overcome.

Where can you see the light which Jesus, the Word incarnate, brings in to the world this Christmas?

Sometimes it takes a bit of work to spot the mystery of God in our midst. He can be where we least expect him. The Lamb of God over whom the shepherds watched was an unlikely messiah. Three noble men travelled from afar based on the ancient methods of celestial navigation to honour a newborn king in a stable. Are we looking in the right places? Are we open to finding the Lord and Master on whom we model our lives wherever we are lead irrespective of our own preconceptions?

Can we learn to roll with what we find- no room at the inn, an infant of uncertain origin, an angel or an inkling inviting us to participate in a bizarre or frightening adventure? Can we keep moving toward the light of God in spite of our lack of understanding? Can we welcome God?

"Aren’t there annunciations
of one sort or another
in most lives?

         Some unwillingly
undertake great destinies,
enact them in sullen pride,
uncomprehending.

More often
those moments
      when roads of light and storm
      open from darkness in a man or woman,
are turned away from

in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair
and with relief.
Ordinary lives continue.
                                 God does not smite them.
But the gates close, the pathway vanishes."

-Denise Levertov

I am

""I am Pure Consciousness,  the underlying essence of all elements and beings. Nothing whatsoever exists separate from My Divinity. There is no power in the cosmos that does not emanate from Me and belong to Me. The entire universe is suspended from Me as if I were the string in a necklace of jewels. The gems may differ vastly, but the force holding them all together, the central thread, is Me, Divinity.

I am the innate nature of everything. In pure water I am the sweet taste. In the sun and moon I am the radiance. In the very center of human beings I live as virility and courage. I am the sacred Word... and I am the sound of it heard throughout the universe.

"I am the slight, delicate scent, the sweet fragrance of the earth. I am the brilliance in both fire and sun. I am the light of Divinity in all beings. I am the subtle spirit in spiritual practices that gives them their existence - I am the love in the devotee, for example, or the austerity in the ascetic, or the sweet sense of charity in the giver.

"I am the primordial seed of all entities, the power of discrimination in those who are intelligent, the splendor within all resplendent beings and things.

"Of the strong, I am their might and vigor. As I am beyond all attachments, I am the power in unselfish desire. I am the subtle force in good actions that puts them in harmony with the welfare of humanity. I am the innate urge to help others." 

-The Bhagavad Gita: A walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley at p.69

"I am the Good Shepherd" as featured in the book The Christ Jouney which features several of the great "I am" sayings of Jesus accompanied by a commentary by Sr. Wendy Beckett. See https://www.piano-nobile.com/publications/42/ for details.

“God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’"Exodus 3:14 “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger.” John 6:35  “I am the light of the world; he who fallows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12  “I am the gate; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9  “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.” John 10:11 I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.” John 11:25      “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” John 14:6  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” John 15:1   “Truly, Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” John 8:58 Who am I? They often tell meI stepped from my cell’s confinementCalmly, cheerfully, firmly,Like a Squire from his country house. Who am I? They often tell meI used to speak to my wardersFreely and friendly and clearly,As thought it were mine to command. Who am I? They also tell meI bore the days of misfortuneEquably, smilingly, proudly,like one accustomed to win. Am I then really that which other men tell of?Or am I only what I myself know of myself?Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,Struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat,Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,Tossing in expectations of great events,Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all. Who am I? This or the Other?Am I one person today and tomorrow another?Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,And before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling?Or is something within me still like a beaten armyFleeing in disorder from victory already achieved? Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine. Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine! -Dietrich Bonhoeffer who died in a concentration camp in April 1945 See http://www.dbonhoeffer.org/ for more.

“God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’"Exodus 3:14

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger.” John 6:35

 “I am the light of the world; he who fallows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12

 “I am the gate; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9

 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.” John 10:11
I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.” John 11:25
    
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” John 14:6

 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” John 15:1  

“Truly, Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” John 8:58

Who am I? They often tell meI stepped from my cell’s confinementCalmly, cheerfully, firmly,Like a Squire from his country house.
Who am I? They often tell meI used to speak to my wardersFreely and friendly and clearly,As thought it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell meI bore the days of misfortuneEquably, smilingly, proudly,like one accustomed to win.
Am I then really that which other men tell of?Or am I only what I myself know of myself?Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,Struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat,Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,Tossing in expectations of great events,Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all.
Who am I? This or the Other?Am I one person today and tomorrow another?Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,And before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling?Or is something within me still like a beaten armyFleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.

Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine!

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer who died in a concentration camp in April 1945 See http://www.dbonhoeffer.org/ for more.