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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, I pray persons of varied faiths will find inspiration here. Indeed, "God" can be whatever image helps us trust in the Sacred, by whatever means Grace touches us each. Please share this ministry with others, and I hope you return soon. There is a new offering daily. And to be placed on the daily OneLife email list, to request notifications of new writings or submit prayer requests, write to barukhattah@embarqmail.com .
Blessings,
Rev Dr Brian K Wilcox, MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader, Spiritual Counselor, and Chaplain.
Brian encourages support of the 4-Star Christian organization Compassion, which supports children worldwide; for more see www.compassion.com .
Opening Affirmation
Go into a brief time of silence, affirming the following: feel the truth of the affirmation:
God is near me.
Opening Prayer
Christ, your presence seems to come and go, but I know you are always with me. Help me to have faith that you are near, when you seem distant. Teach me a more mature love of you through times when you seem near and times you seem absent. In Love, Amen.
Sacred Scriptures
I won't leave you like orphans. I will come back to you.
*St. John 14.18 (CEV)
Sacred Teaching
A story tells of a man on an African safari deep in the jungle. The guide, in front of him, has a machete and is whacking away the tall weeds and thick underbrush. The traveler, tired and hot, inquires in irritation: "Where are we? Do you know where you are taking me? Where is the path?" The guide stops and looking back, answers, "I am the path."
We ask the same questions, don't we? We ask God, "Where are you taking me? Where is the path?" And he, like the guide, doesn't tell us. Oh, he may give us a hint or two, but that's all. If he did, would we understand? Would we comprehend our location? No, like the traveler, we are unacquainted with the jungle. So rather than give us an answer, Jesus gives us a far greater gift. He gives us himself.
*Story and quote in Max Lucado. Traveling Light: Releasing the Burden You Were Never Intended to Bear.
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Jesus promises he will not orphan his disciples, regardless of how lost or alone they may come to feel at times. He says: "I won't leave you like orphans." The King James Version renders this: "I will not leave you comfortless." The latter speaks of the emotional state of the Greek orphanos, which referred to being bereft of a parent, teacher, guide, or guardian (Strong's Greek Concordance).
We have each known the feeling of being orphaned, or left comfortless, due to the loss of someone we loved dearly. Do you recall the grief of losing a loved one to death? Or the sadness of a friend moving far away? Or the loss of a spouse, whom you still loved, by divorce? Or a family member or friend refusing to be close to you anymore? Such personal losses can be disconcerting and cause deep grief. Jesus promises his followers such will not be the case for them in his relationship with them. We are never apart from Christ in the jungle of life.
Next, Jesus tells his followers why they will not be left as orphans: "I will come back to you." He refers to his post-resurrection return, and the arrival of the Holy Spirit - for the Holy Spirit is the continuing presence of Jesus Christ.
18But that doesn't matter. All that matters is that people are telling about Christ, whether they are sincere or not. That is what makes me glad. I will keep on being glad, 19because I know that your prayers and the help that comes from the Spirit of Christ Jesus will keep me safe. 20I honestly expect and hope that I will never do anything to be ashamed of. Whether I live or die, I always want to be as brave as I am now and bring honor to Christ.
*Philippians 1.18-20 (CEV), Italics for Emphasis.
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I had a cleric from the Episcopal Church to serve as my first Spiritual Director. He had been a Buddhist. I asked him, "Why did you leave Buddhism and become a Christian?" He replied, "I guess I needed something more personal. Like Jesus."
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My own experience is that at times I sense a closeness to Jesus, as the man who lived two thousand years ago. At other times, I sense more of what I call the mystical Christ. Both are manifestations of the Word.
In the Word, God gives Godself to us, still. In faith we can hear Jesus saying, "I've not left you. I keep coming back to you. Trust my presence. Let me comfort you. You are never alone; I would never let myself be apart from you."
Quietly Responding
In what ways do you affirm Christ's Presence in your life, even when you do not feel Christ near?
Blessings! In Love! And Peace to All!
Brian Kenneth Wilcox
July 8, 2009
barukhattah@embarqmail.com
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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-interspiritual 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 . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*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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