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Lenten Devotionals 2009
Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of the Presence of God, Who is Love. While it focuses on Christian teaching, the writer hopes persons of other faiths will find inspiration here, also. Please share this ministry with others, and I hope you return soon. There is a new offering daily.
Blessings,
Rev Dr Brian K Wilcox
Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader,
Spiritual Counselor, Chaplain
PRAYERFUL ENTERING
Let the following sentences be preparation for entering into the Inner Sanctuary of the Heart of Hearts...
Divine Love, you are here with me
You are coming from outside me
You are arising from within me
Your Spirit and my spirit are becoming one.
You are meeting me
in many ways
in many places
through many persons.
You are
changing me, more and more,
into the Likeness of YourSelf.
I am here
I am receptive.
I invite you fully into my self
my body
my heart
my mind
my soul.
*Brian K. Wilcox.
LISTENING TO THE SCRIPTURES
My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
*Ephesians 3.14-19 (MSG)
RECEIVING SACRED TEACHING
First, before you read anymore, I confess this writing arises from my blissful, painful journey in learning about receiving Love. Just today, my counselor was exploring with me how when God offers Pure Grace to me - such as, unspeakable peace in time of trial, a sense of all is well when things seem to be going un-well, ... - I struggle to believe such Love can be real for me. I can preach It well, and teach It with excellence, but live It with ease. Well, sometimes, sometimes not. Much in my life has trained me not to be comfortable with Love. God is still teaching me otherwise. I have come a long way; I am still on the Path.
So, read this writing as a continuing journey, inviting you to enter and join those of us who run sometimes and stumble sometimes on this Path - and sometimes fall. Or, this writing may be encouragement to you already running, stumbling, and falling - so, learning - with others and me.
Do you yearn to live "full in the fullness" of God, by whatever name you call God? Sure, you do, or you would not be reading this writing. Possibly, you showed up here for Spirit wanted you to - to invite you into a more wondrous Love than you thought possible - at least in this life.
On an extended retreat in Silence, I met with a lady providing me counseling and spiritual direction. At this time in life, I was especially open to Spirit, Love. This was the period in my early 40s, when I published An Ache for Union, a book of mystical love poems about our yearning and realization of union with the Divine Presence.
On the third day of our sessions, this lady looked at me. She was aware the church I served was divided over me. About half the active membership was strongly behind me. The other half aligned in a plot to have me removed from that church and the pastorate in that denomination. I was judged an idolater, a liberal, a universalist, and ....
One of the factional leaders appealed to another clergyperson from another Christian sect to test my writings. He presented his "expert" conclusion, confirming the faction: "His writings are not Christian." Wow! How fortunate I live now, not during the Inquisition. Yet, is it not possible that he who has never seen the Sun might judge as darkness that which is Light?
Ironic, then, what the lady - also from the same Church sect as mine was then- had to say. Looking at me, she said, "Brian, any church you serve, you will split in two, for your Love is so strong." - I am not saying I am in Love as I was then. Possibly, possibly not.
I thought persons - and of all, certainly, Christians - would be elated to have a pastor who was connected, and powerfully, to Love. But persons who confess "God is Love" being repulsed by Love - now, such I never would have dreamed.
I have learned more fully how we all hide from Love. How do we "hide" from Love? - kill It off, run and escape It, deny It, label It with negative terms, accuse It, ignore It, betray It, scorn It, discredit It - even use "God" to justify crucifying it.
Not only do we do this collectively or individually when we meet Pure Love outside ourselves. We do this in ourselves, when Love arises within us.
God is Pure Love. Think of that: Pure. Not one anti-Love aspect in the Divine. And we are not conditioned - so, prepared - to receive that degree of Love. We want to. But we need Grace to receive such Amazing Affection. We need help to receive Grace. We need Grace to receive Grace.
If we are faced with even a brief experience of Pure Love by means of someone, we likely, at first, are taken aback. Have you ever thought something like, "Why is this person being so kind to me?" Or, "What does she want?" Maybe you said, when someone gave you a free gift - and you spoke blushing with embarrassment-, "I appreciate it, but you didn't have to do this?"
Let us go back to that last affirmation. When you say that, you speak a great Truth. He or she didn't have to do that. That is the point. God-Love does not have to do anything; such Love acts naturally from Its own Nature.
Our part is to receive. We need to be honest about resistance to this Graceful Kindness. Receive, and confess how you play games not to be embraced by this Love. Possibly some of you need to confess you use religion or spirituality to deny this Love's place close to you.
Persons in relationships, and, yes, churches, create chaos to subvert Divine Love. I have seen it repeatedly in churches. And many of you have tried truly to Love another person who says, "I believe in God," - can really chat out the God-Talk - yet, he or she blocks Loving again and again. You may have heard back, "You don't love me," "You don't respect me," "You don't understand me," ... any number of affirmations of your ineptness at knowing, loving, and caring. Well, how can you share Love with a wall thrown up in your face, behind which stands a person - or collective of persons - terrified to let you in? No one wants to share Love with a wall - it just is not the way God meant it.
See, many persons, including Christians, cannot tolerate even a mild degree of Grace. Grace is one way of speaking of Love, as is, mercy, kindness, intimacy, closeness, eros, reverence,...
Here is a surprise for you, though: You do not have to have a high degree of tolerance for Pure Love. That is right. Read it again.
What do we need? Become aware of how Divine Love loves us and of our escape tactics.
We can practice noting the ways God loves us. We often think of God loving us as something objective-outside or subjective-inside our selves. Yet, God is loving us all the time through other persons. Where, after all, did you think that smile came from that welcomed you to work this morning? A hug? The call from a friend? A word of kindness?
Caroline Myss writes: "You are forming an internal partnership with the divine. The fear that God makes you pay a price for his intimacy, however, is centuries old, ingrained in your psyche" (Entering the Castle). Now, note: the dread of Pure Love is not located in the soul, or spirit - such fear cannot find its source or home in the soul-spirit. Such avoidance is in the psyche. This does not mean it belongs to you, for we are part of a collective-psyche, a communal energy system of thought and behavior.
Therefore, the nonresistance to Loving arises from the soul-spirit. By entering the Center, Love radiates outward as It expands our capacity to receive and give Loving. For in the giving, receiving is expanded, and in the receiving, giving is expanded.
QUIETLY RESPONDING
1) Do you feel attracted or distracted by the continual focus on Love in this writing? Does this indicate anything about you? If so, explain your response.
2) Does the thought of religious-spiritual systems "killing off" Love and Loving persons strike you as true or untrue? Explain your response.
3) Go into Prayer. Rest in Silence. Give an opening prayer, inviting the Spirit's manifesting. Ask the inner Spirit to show you ways you block Love Loving you, either directly within or from persons outside. Seek guidance in ways to address this dread.
4) Choose one day. Note when you receive Love, either within from God or outside from God through persons. Observe your sensations. Become aware of responding in a like response. At the end of the day, go into the Silence, review your day, giving thanks for the Love exchanges.
IMPORTANT: In the above exercises numbers 3 and 4, do not judge yourself for struggles you have to receive or give Love. Such judgement is itself a Love-less, selfish act, a mechanism that separates you from lived union with the Divine.
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian K. Wilcox, of SW Florida. Brian is pastor at Christ Community United Methodist Church, Harbour Heights, FL, and Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Punta Gorda, FL.
*Brian welcomes responses to his writings or submission of prayer requests at barukhattah@embarqmail.com .
*Contact the above email to book Brian for Spiritual Direction, retreats, or workshops. You can order his book An Ache for Union at major book dealers.
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