Our Long Journey with Mystery Pt 4 - Christianity

This is the 5th in a series of short reflections on the major Faith Traditions. Christianity is arguably the most diverse of all the Faith Traditions. Therefore, I have decided to focus through the 'prism' of Celtic Spirituality. This takes a non-dualistic view of the life, teaching and message of Jesus the Christ. It briefly focuses on 4 areas or aspects of Celtic Spirituality as reflected by Jesus the Christ.

Our Long Journey with Mystery

Part 4:-    Christianity - 

Love and Transformation for ALL

‘My command is this; 

love one another as I have loved you’.

'You are my friends if you do as I command’

 John 15: 12, 14

Christianity is founded on the life and teaching of Jesus the Christ. Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi (Teacher), firmly based in the Jewish Tradition, who presented a simple and powerful message of Transformation, Compassion and Love. He stressed the importance of relationships and referred to God as ‘Abba or Daddy'. He never founded a Church, (arguably it was the Mystic St Paul who did) had relatively few followers and most of these deserted him in his hour of need. This short reflection will focus on 4 aspects of Jesus' life.

Christians have formed more denominations than any other Faith Tradition with a resulting complex set of beliefs, customs, traditions and dogmas. Critics suggest that the many divisions indicate Christianity’s failure to live-out His teachings. GK Chesterton once wrote ‘It is not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting. It has never been tried!’  What has been tried is Christendom, which began when Constantine made it the official religion of the Roman Empire. It was then modelled on an earthly and patriarchal kingdom and not as Christ intended. So who was this Jesus the Christ and what were the main tenets of his teachings?  

Celtic Spirituality forms my ‘roots’ and its 4 important P’s of Place, Presence, Pilgrimage and Prayer feed them. These will form my reflections on Jesus the Christ. But first it is important to note that Christ is not Jesus’ surname. Jesus was born in 1^st Century Palestine. Christ denotes the Cosmic and Divine Nature of the Incarnation or the Word (as St John calls it) who existed before the Big Bang and was Divine! This is the important message of Christianity. It is one so easily missed by people who relate to Christ merely an adjunct to Jesus. Thus they can over-focus on Jesus and under-focus on the Christ. It is through Christ that we all become ‘adopted’ daughters and sons of God. This is the wonderful and hopeful message for all humanity.

Place  We begin with ‘place’ as this was very important for Jesus. He seemed to enjoy, and do His best work, outdoors. He liked nature and friends and there are many references to lakes, mountain sides, rivers, wells and dining with outsiders. In fact Jesus very rarely visited formal places of 'worship'. He prepared for His ministry with a 40-day wilderness experience with the God He called Abba. Shortly after this He was chased out of a synagogue and  towards the end of His Ministry, He chased others out of the Temple. His radical message was delivered mainly outdoors and, following a long line of Prophets, was given to the oppressed (the poor, widows and orphans), the outcasts (women, shepherds, lepers) and outsiders (the unclean, Samaritans and Foreigners). None of these were welcome in the designated ' Holy Places’. Jesus took the Good and radical News to them where they were!

Presence  The life of Jesus is imbued with the sense of ‘ Presence’ which was heightened by His enlightened wilderness experience. So deep was this sense that it forms a constant backdrop in the Gospels. Jesus felt close to the Presence of Mystery and referred to God with the intimate term of ‘Daddy’. This was a relationship of total mutuality. For many Jews, the reference to God as ‘Daddy’ was radical.  This sense of Presence stayed with Jesus to the very end. For a brief moment on the Cross, He felt it ebbing away ‘My God , my God why have you forsaken me’ only  for it to return as He said ‘Into Your hands I commend myself’. Before every important decision, Jesus sought solitude to be more ‘present’ to the 'Presence of God ’. This Relationship of Presence is a model for all and is one of His greatest gifts for humanity. It models a truly spiritual and mystical mutual I: Thou relationship.

Pilgrimage.  The pilgrimage journey is a common theme in most great Faith Traditions. Jesus spent 3 years wandering around a small part of Palestine delivering the message of the ‘Kingdom’. He began with a call to repentance which led to Him being chased out of the synagogue. This word ‘repentance’ can easily be misinterpreted. It comes from the Greek word ‘metanoia’ – to change both mind and direction. Jesus was not interested in the narrow negativity of ‘shameful’ repentance but in getting us to rethink and re- act in a more loving inclusive and compassionate way. His Sermon on the Mount, as Gandhi remarked, lays out His ‘manifesto’ and the everlasting values of the ‘Kingdom’. He then used the power of parables to further outline these values. The Parables always focus on the outsider and are critical of the insider and those in power. They are meant to challenge both our actions and thinking. Ultimately the parables of Jesus are stories that are calls to true repentance (metanoia). They are both a challenge and an invitation to re-envision and transform our life and thus play our part in bringing about the Kingdom.

Prayer   This is an essential part of the Jesus story. He regularly withdrew for solitude and prayer, especially before important points on His journey towards Jerusalem and death. Its interesting that Jesus tells us ‘Do not be Afraid’ ,a quote that appears exactly 365 times in the Bible, one prayer for every day of the year. Prayer was part of His intimate relationship with Mystery. It was a companion to His constant sense of Presence and a mindful and ever-present prayer. Both Celtic and Eastern Spiritualities also advise, as Jesus does, to pray constantly and see every moment (at work, rest or play) as being a prayer or communion with the Mystery we call God.

Ultimately, the 4 P’s of Jesus’ life are both a modelling of, and a true call to, genuine metanoia – a truly loving, mature and compassionate transformation.

‘Behold, I am making all things new’ ( Rev 21.5). 

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times

The Satsang Association

DAY OF REFLECTION 

ANCIENT WISDOM  for MODERN TIMES

Saturday  13th  June  2015 :-     10.30 – 4.30

Friends Meeting House, Summerfield Road   Wolverhampton

We live in times of rapid changes. There is an  explosion of technology and knowledge with consequential challenges to old certainties and ideas. It is often referred to as a post-religious era where increasingly many question authority , religions , political systems etc. The danger is that we can 'throw out the baby with the bath water'. How can we retain the essence of Ancient Wisdom and use this to face the challenges of our Modern Times?

This Day of Reflection will provide an opportunity to look at several major problems and challenges  facing our human family and how Ancient Wisdom could provide us with useful guidelines. There will be video input from Sister Ishpriya ( the Satsang Spiritual Guide) and excerpts from the Scriptures of some of the major Faith Traditions. In addition , it will provide time for silence and personal reflection.

THIS IS AN OPEN EVENT – ALL ARE WELCOME

PLEASE BRING A PACKED LUNCH

Suggested Contribution  is £5 (to cover costs)