Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome back to another episode in our series,
Look Again.
Now let's start with a statement that'll set us up.
Or what of the goal of Christianity?
Is not to become a better person.
That might sound strange because some people would ask,
Well hang on,
Isn't the spiritual journey about becoming a better person?
Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?
Becoming more loving and patient and generous and forgiving and discipled.
And holy?
Whatever that might mean.
And well,
Yeah,
So all of that matters.
I'm not doubting that.
But what if those things are the fruit?
Of what this is all about.
And not the destination.
What if.
.
.
The Christian spiritual journey isn't about becoming a better version of yourself.
What if it's actually about something that's far more?
I think maybe the word's exciting.
What if it's about participation?
In the life of God.
What if we're not meant to be God's employee?
Were actually asked to join with God.
In doing this with God,
Together.
And with one another.
Now this might sound a little bit strange,
But it's actually woven through the whole of the New Testament.
You'll see it in phrases like when Jesus doesn't say,
Learn my teachings,
But says things like,
Abide in me.
In other words,
Remain in me.
Live in me.
And then he says something that sounds even more outrageous.
As the father has loved me,
So I have loved you.
Abide in my love.
Now,
This is not the sort of language of an employee that's trying to impress the boss.
This is a language of relationship.
And so I think one of the biggest shifts that we can make in our understanding of the spiritual journey is that.
I think most of us live as though God hired us,
Right?
And that God is the boss and we're the employees,
That God gives instructions and we perform.
And then God evaluates.
We hope we get a good review.
And be known as good employees of God.
You know,
We go to church and pray and read the Bible,
Don't sin,
Give money,
Serve,
Try harder,
Do better.
And if we do all that,
When we die,
God looks at your performance and says,
Well done.
But.
.
.
I don't think Jesus describes salvation like that.
Remember that word salvation?
Soteria,
Which means to be made whole.
I don't think this is what.
.
.
Being made whole is all about.
Because through the Gospels,
Jesus uses the language of home.
He talks about family and friendship and abiding and union and love.
One of the strangest statements.
In the whole of the Christian tradition.
Is in John's Gospel,
Where Jesus prays that his followers may be one,
Just as Jesus and God are one.
Think about that.
He doesn't pray that the disciples behave better and do better and perform better and produce better.
And get better outcomes and results.
He's praying for participation in the very relationship at the heart.
Of God,
As the Son and the Father are one,
Along with the Spirit.
So we are one with God,
Jesus,
Spirit,
And each other.
And then Peter.
.
.
Says something that backs this up in one of his letters.
He talks about humans becoming partakers of the divine nature,
Right?
Partakers.
Participants.
Now,
This doesn't mean that we're gods or replacements for God,
But people who share in God's life.
And this is where Christianity becomes far more radical than a self-improvement sort of course because God just isn't simply trying to make you behave better.
God is actually trying to open you up.
To how alive you are with divine life,
And that's a completely different vision.
Right,
To use another analogy of Jesus.
Think about the branch connected to the vine.
The branch doesn't strain really hard and say,
I'm going to produce grapes,
Jesus tells us.
And this is in John 15,
By the way.
It can't do that.
The branch can't do that.
Just go,
I'm going to produce all the grapes.
The branch produces grapes because it's connected to the vine.
All right,
And because it's connected to the vine.
Life flows through it.
That's the image.
Jesus gives us.
Again,
Not try harder,
But abide,
Remain,
Stay connected,
Receive,
And then the fruit comes.
Love,
Joy,
Peace,
Patience,
Kindness,
And so on.
All the things that we would desperately want to try to manufacture in our lives through effort,
And,
You know,
Working harder.
Jesus describes every single one of those as fruit.
And fruit can't be forced.
Fruit grows from life.
And I think that's why.
Within Christian circles at least,
Spirituality can become absolutely exhausting because we're trying to produce externally what can only grow internally.
We're trying to manufacture these things,
Peace,
Patience,
Love,
Holiness,
And all Jesus says is.
.
.
Remain.
Stay.
Receive,
Let the life of God become the source of your life.
Now,
I'm not suggesting that,
You know,
Some sort of effort doesn't matter.
Of course it does.
We practice.
We discipline ourselves.
I mean,
The disciples were called the disciples after all.
We make choices,
We repent,
We learn,
But those things.
.
.
We don't do those things because we want God to love us more,
Because we can't make God love us more.
They're ways of making ourselves available to the life that's already there,
Already being offered.
And that changes the whole emotional tone of things because instead of saying,
I've become worthy of God.
And I've got myself to a place where I can finally say I've become worthy of God.
Rather,
We're saying.
.
.
God is inviting me.
Into God's life.
Instead of,
You know,
The people who say,
I need to get closer to God.
That's not the question.
It's God is already giving God's life to me.
And all I need to do is receive it.
So suddenly humility becomes incredibly important,
Because humility is recognizing that life is a gift.
You didn't create yourself and you didn't create your own existence.
You didn't make the breath that's in your lungs,
You receive it.
And maybe the whole spiritual life is learning how to receive.
To receive things like life and grace and forgiveness and love and this moment now.
And eventually.
.
.
Is what you receive.
Becomes what you're able to give.
And again,
This takes us right back to Jesus.
Why does Jesus love?
Because Jesus lives from God and God is.
Love.
Why does Jesus forgive?
Because Jesus lives from the life of God.
And the life and heart of God is to forgive.
Why does Jesus give himself?
He can give himself because he knows he's not operating from scarcity,
He's participating in divine abundance.
And so the invitation,
I think,
Is the same for us to let the life of Christ become alive in you.
Paul says,
It is no longer I who live,
But Christ lives in me.
Now,
We need to be careful with this,
Because a lot of people write this down to,
I lose my personality.
And,
You know,
People who say,
I love you with the love of the Lord.
It's not about that.
All right,
It's not about.
Um.
.
.
You know,
Losing who you are.
In fact,
It's quite the opposite.
The more deeply you participate in the life of God,
The more fully.
.
.
You become yourself.
So,
The Christian vision.
Is that grace brings you fully alive.
You,
Who you are,
Through your personality and gifts and history and creativity,
Through your compassion,
Your weirdness,
Your laughter,
Your capacity to love.
And all of this becomes a way for divine life to move through the world.
And I think that's what holiness actually is.
All right,
We often think holiness means we need to become less human,
But I think holiness is when we become fully human.
Human.
Because Jesus.
.
.
Comes and shows us exactly how.
To be human.
He shows us what humanity looks like when it's completely alive in God.
And that's probably one of those beautiful things.
That Christianity has to say,
That God doesn't want you.
Just to become a religious version of yourself,
God wants you to become fully alive,
Not God's employee.
But God's beloved.
Someone who's been invited right now into the life of God.
So today.
.
.
Let go of the question that asks,
Am I doing enough for God?
And hold this question.
Am I receiving what God is giving?
Am I receiving love and grace?
Am I receiving this moment?
Am I allowing myself to be loved without having to feel like I have to earn it?
Because I think the deepest spiritual discipline.
Is.
Learning to receive.
And then from that place,
Give,
Love,
Serve,
Forgive,
Create,
Become.
Again,
This is not earning the life of God,
But giving it because you are already being invited to participate in it.
It's already there.
You already have it.
And I think this is the great mystery.
That God doesn't want something from humanity.
God wants to share something with humanity.
And what is that thing?
God's own life.
And so the question really is,
How can I become open enough?
To receive the life God is already pouring into me.
Note that open enough,
Not good enough.
Because you're already good enough.
You're loved already.
But how do you become open enough to receive that life?
Because again,
You were never meant to be God's employee.
You were created to be God's beloved.
And that word,
Beloved,
Is a title that you never have to earn because it's the truth that you already have.
And all we need to do is learn to live from it.
And all you need to do is look again.
And may grace,
Peace and love be with you as you do today and always.
Amen.
Tomorrow.
Bye for now.
