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Read whatever chapter of scripture you will, and be ever so delighted with it - yet it will leave you as poor, as empty and unchanged as it found you unless it has turned you wholly and solely to the Spirit of God, and brought you into full union with and dependence upon him.
- William Law
(Scripture as a means of encountering the Spirit: how do you experience this?) |
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GN 17:3-9; PS 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
JN 8:51-59
Jesus said to the Jews:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death."
So the Jews said to him,
"Now we are sure that you are possessed.
Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?
Or the prophets, who died?
Who do you
make yourself out to be?"
Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;
but it is my Father who glorifies me,
of whom you say, 'He is our God.'
You do not know him, but I know him.
And if I should say that I do not know him,
I would be like you a liar.
But I do know him and I keep his word.
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;
he saw it and was glad."
So the Jews said to him,
"You are not yet fifty years old and you
have seen Abraham?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM."
So they picked up stones to throw at him;
but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
USCCB Lectionary
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John 8: 51-59 (The eternal origin of the Christ)
The meeting of the human and divine in Jesus will be forever a mystery, an inexhaustible truth. Certainly the human Jesus was born of Mary in space and time. John, however,
reminds us today that the great I AM (Yahweh), whose knowledge is of eternity, also lives in Jesus. The Jews considered such a belief blasphemous and attempt to stone Jesus.
* What does today’s reading say to those who consider Jesus only a great man or one of several incarnations of God, along with Buddha and Mohammed, for example?
* Spend some time with the passage “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me.” Write your impressions.
Paperback, Kindle
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd ed.) ____________ Chapter 3: Ego (excerpts
For purposes of this work, I am proposing that “Ego” be used in reference to the experience one has of Self in its reflecting and intentional engagements. In taking this approach, I realize that I am at odds with many spiritual
writers and their usage of “Ego,” but I also believe that this understanding is more congruent with how many psychologists use the term.
Self and Ego are not two different things, as God and Self are. Rather, Ego is Self experienced in its engagement with the world of people,
places and things. The Self that is sublated in reflecting consciousness is one and the same as the Self we awaken to in non-reflecting consciousness. The experiences are different -- one of Self as simply present to the moment, the other of Self experienced in the context of active engagement with the world via intellect, will, psyche and body. Self non-reflectingly present is simply “that I am;” Ego is Self engaged in some kind of pursuit, during which one discovers something of one’s
aptitudes and character. Ego thus becomes more engaged in the process of developing one’s potential and developing an identity.
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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