Hello.
This D'Mello podcast is part of a six-part series.
Each podcast consists of three parts.
The first part is a talk given by Anthony D'Mello that's roughly five minutes long.
The second part invites you to do a five-minute meditation at the end of his talk.
And the third part is a spiritual story of one to two minutes that relates back to the talk that D'Mello just gave.
How easily people assume that if they had lived in the time of the Messiah,
They would have recognized him at once.
Are you one of those people?
You might have second thoughts after going through this exercise called the Stranger.
When the Messiah came,
His people failed to recognize him.
Are you aware that he is still around?
When did you see him last?
Think of the times you loved someone or the times someone loved you.
That was when God became incarnate once again.
Think of some learning,
Some knowledge that liberated you and set you free.
That was a time when all unknown to you perhaps,
God's Word was being revealed again.
And every time your heart flared up at the site of oppression and injustice,
Each time your hidden depths were lit up in a flash and your defenses were exposed,
It was really the prophet's burning gaze that laid bare the evil and the sin.
When did you last experience inner healing?
It was the Christ reaching out and touching you.
And do you know that when you felt frustration,
Darkness,
Pain,
He was present,
Struggling in his passion.
Do you remember the inspiration you felt when you listened to a speech or read a book or watched a movie?
It was really the voice of the master that you were hearing calling to discipleship.
And in your prayerful silences,
Was not the priest supreme,
Bringing God and you together?
Search your recent past to identify these grace-filled moments and trust that he will visit you again today.
Now imagine that God anoints you as Messiah.
What are your reactions to this startling choice of his?
See yourself fulfill this role quietly unobtrusively for whether you know it or not,
Each time you speak,
Each time you act,
God intervenes in human history.
See him intervening through you in each event that is likely to take place today.
Do you remember the inspiration you felt when you listened to a speech or read a book or watched a movie?
Do you remember the inspiration you felt when you listened to a speech or read a book or watched a movie?
Here's a story from Anthony DeMello about what it means to be a Christian.
A dialogue between a recent convert and an unbelieving friend.
So,
You've been converted to Christ?
Yes.
Then you must know a great deal about him.
Tell me,
What country was he born in?
I don't know.
What was his age when he died?
I don't know.
How many sermons did he preach?
I don't know.
You certainly know very little for a man who claims to be converted to Christ.
You are right.
I am ashamed at how little I know about him.
But this much I do know.
Three years ago I was a drunkard.
I was in debt.
My family was falling to pieces.
My wife and children would dread my return home each evening.
But now I have given up drink.
We are out of debt.
Ours is now a happy home.
All this Christ has done for me.
This much I know of him.
To really know is to be transformed by what one knows.
