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Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. While it focuses on Christian teaching, the writer hopes persons of other faiths find inspiration here. Indeed, "God" can be whatever image helps you trust in the Sacred, by whatever means Grace touches you. Please share this ministry with others, and I hope you return soon. There is a new offering daily.
Blessings,
Rev Dr Brian K Wilcox, MDiv, MFT, PhD
Ecumenical Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader,
Spiritual Counselor, Chaplain
LISTENING TO THE SCRIPTURES
If we have spiritual life from the divine Spirit, let us also go on living by the inspiration of the same Spirit.
*Galatians 5.25 (AT)
RECEIVING SACRED TEACHING
I received shocking news, after serving the denomination for a decade, and having my best year of pastoral work - and upon being given a church that was going down fast upon my arrival less than two years before - the church was well over twenty thousand behind budget, and it had declined in average attendance over seventy-five percent in the last about fifteen years. "We have voted to discontinue your license," said the Chair of a committee of the district - after my church had voted one-hundred percent that they wanted me to continue as pastor, and I had committed, even without full-time pay and benefits, to remain there to help rebuild the life of the church. So, yes, the news was shocking - to the church and me.
He continued, "The committee has decided you do not fit." Said the District Superintendent, "We affirm your calling and gifts, and think you might find a place to serve in another denomination."
The news - in a little over three months my pastoral career with the group was over and, thus, two-thirds of my income (I was already without health benefits), and I would have no place to live. Of course, I was in shock; yet, I did not fall into un-faith, either.
One dear lay woman, in her seventies, held my hands, looked into my eyes, and wished God's blessing on my continued ministry - what grace, I saw in her eyes.
Then, when a couple found out about this news, the husband said that he and his wife, whom I had known for less than three months (much less than the ten years above) - now, notice, before this happened - were talking "the other night." He went on, "We agreed, if you ever needed a place to live, we had a place for you."
Now, was that conversation they had a mere coincidence, when placed beside my surprising - but not necessarily unfortunate - discontinuance? Or, was it more than chance?
Synchronicity. The apparently coincidental occurrence of events that are related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality.
Now, if God is the Great Synchronizer, would it not be logical that much of God's Leading in our lives would apparently be coincidental to our logical minds? If this is so, shall we not discern God's Leading precisely in events that we could not have predicted would arise together in a moment of surprising convergence?
The uncanny coincidence. The unlikely conjunction of events. The startling serendipity. Who hasn't had it happen in their life? You think of someone for the first time in years, and run into them a few hours later. An unusual phrase you'd never heard before jumps out at you three times in the same day. On a back street in a foreign country, you bump into a college roommate. A book falls off the shelf at the bookstore and it's exactly what you need.
Is it only, as skeptics suggest, selective perception and the law of averages playing itself out? Or is it, as Carl Jung believed, a glimpse into the underlying order of the universe? He coined the term synchronicity to describe what he called the "acausal connecting principle" that links mind and matter. He said this underlying connectedness manifests itself through meaningful coincidences that cannot be explained by cause and effect. Such synchronicities occur, he theorized, when a strong need arises in the psyche of an individual. He described three types that he had observed: the coinciding of a thought or feeling with an outside event; a dream, vision or premonition of something that then happens in the future; and a dream or vision that coincides with an event occurring at a distance. No one has come up with a definition that has superseded his, although there has been debate on whether events linked to precognition and clairvoyance should be included as synchronicity.
Some scientists see a theoretical grounding for synchronicity in quantum physics, fractal geometry, and chaos theory. They are finding that the isolation and separation of objects from each other is more apparent than real; at deeper levels, everything - atoms, cells, molecules, plants, animals, people - participates in a sensitive, flowing web of information. Physicists have shown, for example, that if two photons are separated, no matter by how far, a change in one creates a simultaneous change in the other.
*Meg Lundstrom. "A Wink from the Cosmos." Intuition Magazine. 1996.
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Looking at the Universe's workings, so complex and intricate, does it make sense? Yet, would it possibly make sense if we could look at the Universe's logic from inside, not as observer but participant? If we could see as inside, as participant, as of the Universe ("one verse"), then, we might discern easily how each verse contributes to the whole symphony of Ongoing-Creation.
Christ is the Logos, the Reason, Word, or Logic of the Universe. In Christ, all makes sense. If we saw all things from within Christ, then, nothing would appear discordant in the orchestration of Life.
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Albert Einstein spoke, “I shall never believe God plays dice with the world.” Well, you are part of the world. You are one with Creation; you are Creation. This is a deep teaching of the Holy Eucharist.
The union of matter and spirit, everything as one, is being proven, as science delves deeper into the Universe, from macrocosm to microcosm. Science and religion are becoming unified in this search into Reality.
Therefore, if God does not play dice with the world, God, however you understand God, does not play dice with you or me. The Universe, made of Energy, displays a single Mind, and each aspect is like a synapse in the holy communion called Life. This is an implication of the Body of Christ teaching. Life is the Table of Christ, in which God gives Godself to us.
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In the comedy “Sister Act” (1992), Deloris Van Cartier, played by Whoopi Goldberg, a key witness against a mob figure, is put in a convent in the witness protection program. Until now she has lived as a Las Vegas lounge singer. The austerity of the convent is a culture shock for Deloris.
The Reverend Mother leads Deloris, given the name Sister Mary Clarence, to her cell, or room. Deloris is shocked at the lack of furniture. The Reverend Mother explains that the sisters' lives are simple and with few needs.
Deloris asks for a phone. The Reverend Mother, knowing Deloris' situation, responds, "Who would you call?" Finally, Deloris wants to know what she is to do now. The Reverend Mother tells her that it is 9 PM, so it is lights out. Deloris is, again, stunned, "Are you telling me that we go to bed by 9?" The Reverend Mother proposes that Deloris use her time to think about her life "and its direction, or lack thereof...." This offends Deloris. She informs the Reverend Mother that before she got there her life was fine. "I had a career, I had friends, I had clothing that fit. Before I came here, I was okay." This does not impress the Reverend Mother. She knows Deloris' "singing career was almost nonexistent, and your married lover wants you dead." She tells Deloris that she is only fooling herself, and explains, "God has brought you here. Take the hint."
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Squire Rushnell says to see God Winks - what we theists often call Divine Providence - requires diligence. The “God Winks” we can call Simultaneousness, Providence, Coincidence, Serendipity, or Synchronicity. Rarely do we experience a “God Shout.” Rather, as we examine our lives we can see a thread of apparent happenstance or a sudden, surprising twist in our path, often at a crisis or significant change, often when we are lost as to how to proceed. These Rushnell calls God Winks, in When God Winks and When God Winks on Love.
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When studying Jungian psychology and coming upon the word synchronicity, that awakened me to trust anew in Divine Providence. Divine Providence is the way that Spirit cooperates with us, within the context of the Universe as matrix, to bring us into situations and with persons that will bring meaning and purpose to our lives.
While I had been taught about Divine Providence, though little, and had read a Scripture full of examples of Divine Coincidence, Jung helped me begin to see and expect such Providence to permeate my daily experience. I saw that much I had seen as good fortune, accident, or plain good luck was actually a meaningful part of a pattern woven into my life, to lead me toward the Purpose for my existence on earth.
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The Reverend Mother urged Sister Mary Clarence to “Take the hint.” If we do not see these winks in daily life, like a divine orchestration, it is because we are not looking through eyes ready, prepared, and seeking to see. Again, we rarely have a God shout. We see these God winks by looking, somewhat like a hunting dog on a trail or a detective gathering and following clues to solve a crime.
Therefore, by cultivating our spiritual senses through daily spiritual practice, we attune ourselves wholly - body, mind, spirit - to discern Divine Providence:
14The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can't receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit - God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. 15Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by unspiritual critics.
*I Corinthians 2.14-15, MSG
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All right, but what practical implication does this have, day to day? I quote another couple of passages:
16My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness.
*Galatians 5.16, MSG
25Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.
*Galatians 5.25, MSG
Day by day we can seek to walk in the Spirit, for the “spirit” in us can pick up signals of the “Spirit,” by our being attuned to the Spirit. This walking in the Spirit is opposite walking against or away from, or ignoring, the Spirit.
We can walk in the Spirit, following Divine hints that come our way, by diligence in discerning how God is working out details that confirm Presence and ongoing Purpose, by sensing within ourselves when we feel our action is going with or against that Purpose, and daily offering a prayer inviting the Divine operating within the Universe to bring events together and persons in our way that will help fulfill our divinely-endowed Purpose.
QUIETLY RESPONDING
1. Look at one event in your life in which you can now see that God was working to bring events and persons together in a way that cannot be ascribed to being accidental, or by chance. Examine this, seeking to discern the varied God winks in the process.
2. For one week, begin each day with a prayer, somewhat like the following:
Spirit of God, I pray this day, agreeing with You, that You will bring together situations, events, and persons that will meet my need and help me fulfill Your Purpose for my Life. I will remain open to discern and follow, walking in Your Spirit, to cooperate fully, as best I know how, the direction Your hints lead. I affirm whatever I need will arise to me, and not a moment too late. I receive Your calmness of body, mind, and spirit, as I trust You patiently. Thank You.
Blessings!
Rev Dr Brian K Wilcox
May 3, 2009
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian K. Wilcox, of SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis. Brian is an ecumenical spiritual leader, open to how Christ manifests in the diversity of Christian denominations and varied religious-spiritual traditions. He is 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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