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We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do.
--Oswald Chambers
(St. Ignatius said much the same, as have many mystics. Letting God be God . . . What a relief!) |
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RV 21:9B-14; PS 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18
JN 1:45-51
Philip found Nathanael and told him,
"We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,
and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth."
But Nathanael said to
him,
"Can anything good come from Nazareth?"
Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
"Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him."
Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."
Nathanael answered him,
"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Do
you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this."
And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
USCCB Lectionary
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- feast of St. Bartholomew
Jesus' response to Nathanael's new faith in accepting Jesus as the Messiah is the promise that Jesus himself will open the way for free access to the very throne of God in heaven. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to Jacob and his descendants - he is the way to the Father in heaven and the true "ladder (or stairway) which
unites earth with heaven." In Jesus' incarnation, the divine Son of God taking on human flesh for our sake, we see the union of heaven and earth - God making his dwelling with us and bringing us into the heavenly reality of his kingdom through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus' death on the cross, where he defeated sin
and won new life for us through his resurrection, opens the way for each of us to come into a new relationship with God as his adopted sons and daughters. The Lord Jesus opens the way for each one of us to "ascend to heaven" and to bring "heaven to earth" in the daily circumstances of our lives. God's kingdom is present in those who seek him and who strive to do his will. Through the gift of faith God opens a door for each one of us to the heavenly reality of his kingdom. Do you see with the
"eyes of faith" what the Lord Jesus has done for us?
"Heavenly Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, you have opened the way to heaven for each one of us. As you personally revealed yourself to your beloved patriarchs and apostles, so reveal yourself to me that I may recognize your presence with me and know the power of your kingdom at work in my life. May I always find joy and peace in your presence
and never lose sight of your everlasting kingdom."
- from dailyscripture.net 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 4: The False Self System The liberating message of religion, on the other hand, is that one is worthy of love and all good things simply because one is--because Existence itself is manifesting us. In traditions like Christianity and Judaism, where God is identified as the all-good and loving depth of Existence, then God’s creatures are also, by
extension, considered innately good. Hence, there is no point in trying to “become acceptable” if the Maker of the universe has deemed it fit to give one life in the first place. This realization can then become a liberating spiritual insight to build upon.
It would also seem that the
existence of the false self system is totally irreconcilable with a monistic view of the universe. If God is All, then why should God expressing in human form develop a false self in the first place? And to whom is the monist appealing when advancing a teaching on liberation if the Ego is considered illusory? In a certain, paradoxical sense, then, the false self proves the creationist’s view by implying a misuse of freedom in a being who is not God (unless, of course, we deny the reality of sin,
or else consider God to be capable of sin). The creationist also speaks to the dignity of that freedom by inviting the Ego to become committed to another way of life.
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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