|
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 hope 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 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 Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader, Spiritual Counselor, and Chaplain.
You are invited to join Brian at his fellowship group on Facebook. The group is called OneLife Ministries – An Interspiritual Contemplative Fellowship. Hope to see you there. Blessings.
Scripture
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
*Galatians 6.14, ESV
Spiritual Teaching
In ancient times Eastern Christian practitioners who lived in the desert would use the following method in meditation - they would remove pebbles or seeds from a sack, one by one, or count notches on a wooden cord, to keep track of the number of their prayer repetitions.
A story tells of a monk making a knot in a cord for every time he repeated the Jesus Prayer during one exercise. While he slept, the Evil One would come and untie the knots. An angel appeared. The angel showed the monk a special form of knot. One formed of seven intricate and overlapping crosses. The Evil One could not untie this knot.
This is an origin story. That is, this story is a tale explaining the import of the use of the seven-overlapping crosses that Eastern Orthodox Christians often use to count their repetitions in the Jesus Prayer meditation.
What does this story teach us? Well, let us explore some imports. For one, seven is a number of fullness, or wholeness. The cross is a symbol rich with meaning, but in all meanings images baptism. The cross is not about death only, but a spiritual descent – into a dying to an old life, or way of being – into a new life, or way of being – a sacramental person in union, a process of becoming God-like. In this, we join in the Fullness of Grace, we enter a personal Wholeness that evokes the Work of the Spirit.
The cross of Jesus Christ signifies willingness to die to the life we stubbornly thought would satisfy the longing of the soul. This means rebirth into a fullness in Love, Joy, and Peace, which we find embodied in the Word, Jesus Christ, and applied in the consecrating work of the Holy Spirit through our entire mind, body, spirit unity. This is a cellular transformation.
Yes, there is evil in the world. While I do not venture here to define evil in-depth, we can look around and see this evil – which is the process of harmfulness. We participate in this evil each time we needlessly harm another creature, the earth, the universe, ourselves ... - in any way express irreverence and disrespect.
* * *
Therefore, the cross represents an historical and ongoing work of God. To say the world is crucified to you, and you to the world, does not mean a disdain of the world of persons, societies, and our natural environment. Rather, the “world” is a way of speaking of life focused on self to the harm of others and self, a life devoid of reverence and awe before the Life that infuses all things with Truth and Beauty. The “un-world” life is a life intimately involved with persons, creatures, historical movements, and the earth, as we seek to embody our dying to a small, self-constricted life, to cherish, honor, embody, and be the Presence of Jesus Christ for others. Evil has no power over this Life. Amen.
Responding
1)Meditate prayerfully on Galatians 6.14. In what ways does this scripture apply to you? Your work? Your relationship with others? To the natural environment? With God?
2)In what ways do you see that you are becoming more Christlike in relation to others?
3)In what ways do you see you need to grow to manifest more wholly and beautifully the Love of God?
* * *
*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.
|
