Jesus is The Divine Logos made flesh.
~ Robert Barron
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, Who is the head of all rule and authority. In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Colossians 2
Oh beloved, it is true.
We hear so much preaching about being saved. And yes, those of us given grace to see it, understand just how deep a hole we are in – apart from Christ. However, upon our being saved from the penalties of our sins, we still have so much to learn.
And at first, our perspective is so messed up that we need to have everything about us changed, in order for us to get to seeing things right. The issue is really not complicated, but we have always been so broken and diseased that it is hard for us to understand what has happened to us.
We have to go back to the beginning. Actually, we need to go back to when ‘beginning’ made no logical sense. Eternity includes time, but the time dimension is more of an adjective, than a controlling factor, in that place. We have always been strapped to this rail, so it is hard for us to even comprehend a state of reality that simply is.
But, it is into eternity that we have been saved. So it is best that we gain our bearings, and begin to explore. And, as always, Jesus Christ is the Key to the whole map.
In this eternity, Jesus is in an everlasting relationship. He is utterly One with His Father. This Dual-Phase, infinite, and Truly Loving pair, are joined to Each Other by a Bond of Love so powerful that This Love is Another real and Infinite Spirit as well. For utility, this Unfathomable Mystery is called: “The Trinity.” But, any attempt at explanation falls short. This Triune One is the basis for reality itself. They are the reason intelligibility even is available to the creation They have wrought.
This is where Jesus is so vital. All of Who They are (and were, and will be) are in Him. So, as Jesus entered into our lower dimensionality and strapped Himself to the rail of time, He brought all the Godhead down into our existence. Said more simply: “Salvation ripped through the surface of time, in the cry of a tiny Babe.”*
Suddenly, eternity has burst the fragile bubble of the physical world. It has thrust itself in Love towards a throng of dying people. What happened when this happened? The Trinity simply brought what They have always been, and invited us into the Symphony of Who They Are.
Can we see it?
G_d did not send us a message, nor did He toss some rescue equipment down in our hole. He did not just provide assistance.
He (They) gave us Himself.
Catch this beloved. Everything that He is: Trans-eternal, utter wholesome holiness, Love Itself, unbounded power, covenant-bound compassion, limitless knowledge, and all this in a state of unchangedness…. It is this, that He has given to us.
Our dis-ease has been Healed in His Wholeness and Holiness.
Our endangerment has been drawn up into Three sets of everlasting arms so Mighty to save.
Our captivity has no defense against the onslaught of our Omnipotent Deliverer. His freedom is now our freedom.
Our isolation has been overrun by Friendship so large, and so real, that not even eternity cannot contain it. We are never alone anymore. We have been adopted into the very house of G_d.
Our loneliness has yield to our betrothal to The King of The Universe. We have been wed to Him that we might bear fruit in others, as He has already done in us.
Our former insanity has been turned into wisdom and preserved by the Mind of Them who cannot lie and do not change.
Our fractured existence has been made whole, and bound together by the same superstructure that holds the Trinity in Unity: Love.
He has rescued us from Certain death so powerfully that we have been thrust forward into eternity of Life in Him.
Again, don’t miss this. It changes everything about our former narrow-minded religiosity. There is no ongoing set of transactions, wherein G_d gives us what we need. No, He has overcome our poverty, not by sending emergency aid. Rather, He has given us the Source of all riches, and grace, and honor, and beauty, and hope: Himself.
So, are you struggling to understand who you are in this new reality? Look to Him. He Himself is what we are being made to look like on The Day He brings us home.
Tonight is your night. Time to realize just how incredibly saved we are.
Eighty-six years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who has saved me?
—To his executioners
Saint Polycarp (d. c. 167)
* Bruce Cockburn, “The Cry of A Tiny Babe”
No Responses