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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. This writer is an interspiritual-contemplative Christian. Interspiritual is open to the wisdom and practices of varied faith Paths, and does not see any one Path as the sole means of relationship with the Divine. I hope persons of varied faiths will find inspiration here, and this site can contribute to the unity of faiths in a world that needs religions to be a vital means of healing. 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 please 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 briankwilcox@yahoo.com .
Blessings,
Brian Kenneth Wilcox MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual-Contemplative Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader,
Spiritual Counselor, and Chaplain.
Quote
We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.
*Dorothy Day. The Long Loneliness.
Today's Scripture
21So the Living One, the Eternal, made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then, after closing the flesh up, 22the Living One made and a woman out of the rib.
The Living One, the Eternal brought her to the man, 23and the man exclaimed,
"Here is someone matching me!
She is of my body,
my flesh and bones.
She came from me, a man [Hebrew, ish].
So I will name her Woman [ishah]!"
*Genesis 2.21-23, CEV
Spiritual Teaching
There are different kinds of poverty. In India some people live and die in hunger.
But in the West you have another kind of poverty, spiritual poverty. This is far worse. … You have the poverty of people who are dissatisfied with what they have, who do not know how to suffer, who give in to despair. The poverty of heart is often more difficult to relieve....
*Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Everything Starts from Prayer. Ed. Anthony Stern.
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Mother Teresa tells of visiting a wonderful home for the elderly. There were about forty persons there, and they seemed to have all they needed. But they were all looking toward the door. No one was smiling. Mother asked a sister, “Sister, why are these people not smiling? Why are they looking towards the door?” The sister replied, “It's the same every day. They are longing for someone to come and visit them.” Mother concludes, “This is great poverty.
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We can have so much and be miserable, if we do not have the human love and interaction we need to sustain us. We are social creatures, as indicated in Genesis, in the story of the Creator matching the man and woman – this indicates we are innately community beings. Some of us need more sharing than others, but we all need a measure of healthy family interaction and at least a few good friends.
The community aspect on the spiritual Path is vital, also. Buddhists take the Three Refuges, or Three Jewells. The practitioner will take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Roughly, this means the historical Buddha, the Teachings or Way of Buddhism, and the spiritual community of practitioners and those who have received enlightenment. Therefore, the Buddhist confesses a reliance on these three: founder, teaching or path, and other Buddhists.
Muslims have a strong sense of community. In the Qur'ann is reference to the Ummah Wahida, Arabic for the “One Community” - the Islamic world unified. Likewise, Muslims use ummat al-mu'minin, the “community of believers,” to speak of the communion of all Muslims dispersed wherever. And just imagine, prostrating to pray at set times daily, and knowing other spiritual brothers and sisters are doing the same all over the world. So, as with all faiths, even when alone, sharing in a common rite nurtures our appreciation and awareness of community. When a Muslim prostrates to pray, he or she is connecting to every other Muslim who has done likewise and is now.
Christians were founded on the ecclesia following Jesus, a term later rendered “church, Church.” This Greek word referred to a “group.” In its secular context, the word had no theological meaning of significance. Jesus based his movement on an intense form of communal life. He had many followers, then twelve inner ones, and, last, three – Peter, James, John. These were Jesus followers. Later, after the resurrection of Jesus, this group was called “Christians.” So, Christians and Church signify a unity universally, and over time, and called “the communion of saints.” The Nicene Creed, originating in the 4th Century reads, in the International Consultation on Religious Texts rendition, used by Lutherans and Episcopalians: “We believe in one holy catholic [universal] and apostolic Church.” And the Apostle's Creed reads: “I believe in … the holy catholic [universal] church; the communion of saints...”.
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Certainly, at times, we each likely feel alone. Yet, we can be encouraged by our tradition. We can remind ourselves through daily rituals of our connection to the tradition, as it spans history, and our oneness with all peoples, too.
Yes, there is a poverty plaguing our cultures in the West. This plague is the dis-ease of disconnection. Spirituality, rightly practiced, addresses our deep longing for unity. Ill practiced spirituality isolates us in our superior status or our fear of being contaminated by others, by the world. This is not healthy religion. Healthy religion progressively shapes us with a consciousness of our oneness with others.
Responding
1)Reflect on persons who have and do provide you much blessing through their sharing life with you. Give thanks for them.
2)Think of ways you can remind yourself daily of your spiritual connection with others – those inside and outside your faith tradition.
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian Kenneth Wilcox, SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, with friends and under a vow of simplicity. Brian is an ecumenical-interspiritual leader, who chooses not to identify with any group, and renounces all titles of sacredness that some would apply to him, but seeks to be open to how Christ manifests in the diversity of Christian denominations and varied religious-spiritual traditions. He affirms that all spiritual paths lead ultimately back to Jesus Christ. 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 briankwilcox@yahoo.com . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*Contact the above email to book Brian for preaching, Spiritual Direction, retreats, workshops, animal blessing services, house blessings, or other spiritual requests. You can order his book An Ache for Union from major booksellers.
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