Feb 04, 2018

Follower of Jesus (46)

Blessed are the pure in heart

For they shall see God (7)

Matthew 5:8

When I quoted that excerpt from the Fr. Richard Rohr (OFM) column last time, it accented that we either live in heaven or hell, right now on earth. Yes, often hell looks like heaven (we are seduced by the appearance of ‘good things’ that we buy) and heaven often looks like hell (the pain of loss or destruction that is evident in our lives) but the truth of our perceptions ring solid when we have time to ponder deeply our life.

One of the strangest comments was from the Rabbi who said that heaven after death will be a continuation of how we lived while we live in the physical body, but with a full awareness of the Truths of life: that God and I are, as Jesus said, a single unit that we either accept or reject. We have stuck firmly in our heads, promoted by implications or words, the concept that after death we will have no more worries or concerns, that indeed all will be well and we can walk away from all concerns of the earthly life.

But that is not what Jesus said when he talked about we are one in him just as he was one with the Father: no mention of the afterlife, but here and now. St. Paul put it that we are the body of the Christ, that physical reality that is God on earth in physical form today, here and now.

If we understand that in our very being and perception, we are truly Pure in Heart, and see God in all that exists. But to reach that level of consciousness, most of humanity must go through what Jesus did to reach the Resurrection: we must go through the crucifixion. Our lives must reach the point of where we can no longer see any way out: for that is the only time we can surrender to God and give up the effort of trying to do everything ourselves.

The 12 step programs work because those that truly work the steps have lost any feelings that they can do it themselves. Only by surrender to the higher power, or God, can they receive the strength, moment by moment, to move away from the problem that has ground them into the dirt – but the very thing that can lead to joy and happiness in life by surrender. They have become Pure in Heart, only in their depths of despair where they can let go of their ego. It is the crucifixion of life that leads to freedom.

Most of us have to go through a similar point, where the pain has grown to a point where we can’t stand it, that this point of letting the ego go can happen. Our present age of ‘shop until you drop’ mentality, driven by constant chatter that to be happy you have to have this or that, then that, of our society who believes that happiness is more, more, more, but fails to bring lasting joy, and leads to unrest, unhappiness in our core, and cannot support us when everything is dark, usually from loss of someone near, a job, or life just becoming a horror in our minds.

In order to have a resurrection, we must have a death; a death to the supposedly good life of our society.

Meditation

Spirit of Life, You who are my very core being, my soul, I fall in gratitude for the freedom You give me when all seems lost. You comfort me and give me freedom of soul during the crucifixion moments of life. I know I can relax into Your Presence and be safe from all harm, for nothing can truly harm me in Your Love. I know You will guide me and hold me firmly during these challenging moments, and it is only when I am challenged that I give my whole self into Your care. It is during these times I know deep within that I can relax in Your love, for that is the only true reality that exists.