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Or, rather, I can conclude that the contemplative is on the path toward realization of the universal nature of the Christ, or Word. So, that person might resist this universalizing in her soul, as her soul is undergoing the graceful transmutation of all lesser embraces in the One Embrace of Grace. This is Love. But, if she refuses to follow this movement of God, then, she will fall from the onward grace of contemplation, which is a process of deepening realization of God as Love. She, in contemplation, is formed in the image of God, thus, she cannot go on resisting the tendency of the Spirit in favor of a lesser embrace of Spirit. Of course, she will not be understand by those persons who are attached to a lesser image of the Divine.
This universal, universalizing Spirit in Jesus still speaks to us, and through Jesus, even as it speaks in other ways. Why? For it is free of, in, and through Jesus. If it was not free of Jesus, it could not speak freely. Either Wisdom is boundless or bounded, for it cannot be contained and be free. This Word is nonlocal Reality; that is, not contained in any locale. Therefore, this same living Wisdom can appear in other persons and ways. This Wisdom can be as real in you as it has ever been in anyone, for it is the same Word.
As we enter more deeply into the contemplative path of prayer and life, we find ourselves growing closer to this Reality. Jesus is detached from only history and culture, and the universal Word speaks to us intuitively. The sign of Jesus is fulfilled in and through Jesus and in transcending the physical, then, Jesus fulfills us as the Living Christ, Word, and Wisdom of God.
What emerges is familiarity, or friendship, over time. When once we related to the Living Word in Jesus as though it was other, now a deepening friendship emerges with the Word and, thus, with the Christ in union with Jesus. A wonderful, loving, and gentle familiarity grows between the soul and the Beloved. This is quite wonderful and surprising, for many of us have been led to believe we cannot have this familiarity. But, we can. We can relax and enjoy the company of the ineffable Living Christ. This can be natural, and it can appear non-religious, or impious, to those clinging to the signs of the faith, rather than moving to enjoy the fruition of indications of the faith.
If you have a pear tree, you do not cling to the trunk, trying to relish the taste of a pear. No! Once the tree produces the fruit, you are satisfied with the fruit. Mistaking the nature of the tree can keep one hungry. The tree is indication; the pear is fruition.
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For the mystical Christian, this gentle, open familiarity, even friendship (Greek, philos), with the Living Christ, with God, comes about as a fruition of our devotion to Jesus of Nazareth. However, this new relationship is speechless! And any word I use to describe it is misleading, though I attempt to be indicative.
The dynamic reception of the Word, beyond all reductionism, makes possible familiarity with Spirit at a very deep level. As one opens to ever-deepening expressions of the Word, and as this deepens into an intuitive knowing, beyond logic and reason, one becomes more comfortable with the not-knowing. This is accompanied by a tranquil renunciation of linear knowledge to the immediacy of innate clarity and coinherence in the pure, unmediated knowledge of God. This is one reason contemplatives have no interest in arguing with spiritual materialists.
The source of this process of deepening intimacy is a disclosure that, in linear terms, is perceived to come from "the Father." The "Father" (Greek, patros) is the divine Source, or Beginning Point, of the disclosure of Wisdom to the soul. This weds the soul and God into living contact and, eventually, mystical Union as One. Here God is seen to be one substance and one substance with the one substance of the universal Soul manifesting individually in each of us.
Therefore, I translate, or paraphrase, John 15:15 with a mystical meaning. "The living, indwelling Spirit, the living Word, speaks, 'I no longer treat you as one who has power over you. One who acts that way has not let the other know his deepest heart. No, rather, I relate to you as my closest companions. The relationship I enjoy with you is the natural fruition of my openness with you, and your receiving of what our common Creator is communicating from my soul to your souls. All this is possible for I have honestly shared with you all I have sensed our common Spirit sharing with me.'"
Blessing to you. And may God guide you along the Way.
Spiritual Exercise
How is God calling you, now, into a deeper intimacy with Christ?
OneLife Ministries is a pastoral outreach and nurture ministry of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Meade, FL. For Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, spiritual formation workshops, Christian meditation retreats, or more information about OneLife, write Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox at briankwilcox@comcast.net.
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