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This lack is mostly to be blamed upon the clergy of established religions, who have often miserably failed at being spiritual men and women. For the most part many of them themselves have stayed in the outer courts of the senses in regard to faith and religion. And, now, the majority of laypersons think that must be all there is to faith~thanks to the failure of those who were supposed to be spiritual leaders but failed to graduate to spiritual. Now, even in most Christian churches, to teach a true Christian spirituality is like teaching persons of another and unknown life form~to them it is that unfamiliar.
My own spiritual journey has been a painful and joyful series of re-birthing that began in fundamentalist Christianity. Many trials, disappointments, dogged determination, willingness to suffer rejection and be misunderstood, and Amazing Grace have, to some extent, offered me bliss of "seeing" God almost constantly. And, in "seeing" God, I have seen, like William Law, Bayazid, and a myriad other contemplative souls of differing faiths, some measure of the fullness of spiritual Life that is the bliss of "seeing" God God's Self as one with the inmost Self of the human person. And, now I know by experience that where this grace of "seeing" is, the "seeing" is a gift of God, and Christ is present, and the Holy Spirit makes possible the gift.
For any of this "seeing" I do "see,"~which is minscule compared to what God offers us each to see~I must give credit to the Holy Spirit. And, through it, I rejoice that I have been drawn into intimacy with Christ Jesus beyond what "cultural Christianity" could offer me~it left me dying of thirst~, a love for the Christian Way, and an ardor to lead other of my brothers and sisters in this mystical way that is for every Christian who yearns to know God in the fullness of intimacy.
The knower and the known are one. Simple people imagine that they should see God, as if He stood there and they here. This is not so. God and I, we are one in knowledge.
*Meister Eckhart, Christian mystic and pastor (c. 1260-1227/8)
My Me is God, nor do I recognize any other Me except my God Himself.
*Catherine of Genoa, Christian mystic, saint (1447-1510)
Suggested Reflection
Do you see yourself going through re-birthings toward a deeper, more comprehensive experience of God as a personal Presence in the center of your being? Can you identify the major transitions in that re-birthing and the consequences to your relationship with Christ Jesus? Explain your response.
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See next page for details on OneLife Ministries, Brian's book An Ache for Union, and material pertaining to sources used in the writing.
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