We entered the season of Christmas filled with Light
filled with Hope, filled with Joy, filled with Love, filled with Wonder.
Liturgically, the Christmas Season is all about Manifestation – making the Divine known. There are three occasions; Christmas, Epiphany and the Baptism of Jesus. Each event was to indicate the Divine’s Presence in the person of Jesus.
It is hard to preach on scripture readings when we do not even know if those events took place. We know that Scripture is a theological work and not a work of history. It is not meant to make logical sense or any sense at all.
We just heard Bishop Spong’s lecture on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew’s Gospel. This was not an “eye-witness reporting”. “This was Jewish interpretive painting.” The comparison was that between Moses and Jesus. In short, Jesus was the new Moses, but Jesus was superior to Moses in every way. Each story about Jesus was written to make certain that Jesus was caste in a superior light in comparison to Moses.
Matthew’s Gospel was not written for us. Matthew’s Gospel was written for a specific group of people in a specific location at a specific time. The writer wrote for the readers. The readers understood what the writer wrote. It made sense to them. The Gospel helped them understand who Jesus was in the course of Salvation History.
The Christmas Liturgical Season tells us three things. First, the Infancy Narrative of Christmas Day, tells us that the Divine is in humanity. There is no separation. The Divine and the human are one.
The second, Epiphany, tells us that the Divine is for all people. There is not a select few. There are no legals and illegals. All people are viewed as good.
The third, The Baptism of Jesus, informs us that all people are called to have an intimacy with the Divine. The phrase, “This is my Beloved”, speaks of an intimacy that all people are called to experience.
The last two Sundays we have talked about the Feasts of Christmas and Epiphany. Today we focus on the Baptism of Jesus.
Just as we immerse ourselves in our favorite hobby, author or sport, we also immerse ourselves into the quiet. It is in the quiet that we experience the intimacy with the Divine. We are told that quite often Jesus would go off alone and pray. This is where he would reenergize himself for his mission. This is where he would gather his strength and sense of purpose. In the quiet he would contemplate the meaning of his life. It was here in the quiet that he would come to understand the value and significance his actions would have on others, his ministry and his very life.
We who follow Jesus state that we model our lives after him. We welcome the outcast, the marginalized and the poor. We also need to model him in terms of prayer.
From Cynthia Bourgeault’s book, The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice.
I too used to believe that I entered Centering Prayer to be filled with God. I now know that this is no longer true. I do not need to be filled with God. God never stopped being in me.
Cynthia reminds us, Every heart is already a perfect holograph of the divine heart, carrying within itself full access to the information of the whole.
Centering prayer is a place I come from. Centering prayer teaches me who I am. I am unconditionally loved by the Divine! Centering prayer teaches me how to live. I live connected to the Divine within.
Centering prayer is a wonderful practice that teaches me how to live from this place of “free attention” as Cynthia mentions. Centering prayer is only a tool. It is a practice I use to let go of my thoughts, emotions, and even physical sensations and open to God who resides in my heart.
God does not need to fill my heart. God has always been in my heart. Centering prayer is a daily practice that purifies me so I can learn to live from my heart.
When I operate from my heart I too become more compassionate and empathetic. I need to practice centering prayer twice per day. To sit in silence is an act of love. It teaches me to how to love God, love others and even love myself. I need the balance of all three. They make me whole!
I am very much work in progress! That is why I return to my Centering Prayer practice each day. It keeps me connected to the Heart that resides within my heart. This inner journey will best prepare me for my outer journey.
As we leave the Christmas Season we are left with the reality that the Divine is present in humanity, in all people, and all of us are called to an intimacy with this Divine.
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