Affair.
The mystics are those who are let in on this secret mystery of God’s love affair with the soul, each knowing God loves my soul in particular; God loves me uniquely. We are invited into that same mystery.
~ Richard Rohr
God is the Creator and we are the creature. And yet, [Romano] Guardini adds, “Although I am not God, I am not other than God either.”
~ James Finley
advent, 4 - love.
This week’s post comes from Kellie Daley, executive collaborator, muse, and resident mystic at The Vining Center!
In this incarnational, sacred time of year my heart resonates with this profound, life-altering truth—a truth that leads us to the heart of Advent itself and the focus of week four: Love. This greatest of all Christmas revelations is that God invites us into union with our Creator. Even though this gift is skittishly avoided in most modern churches, it is clearly invited in the Bible as well as in the writings of many ancient wisdom teachers such as Teresa of Avila and Francis of Assisi. They teach earnestly that God is seeking us and wants nothing more than for us to find our home in God. Writers you may know like C.S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, and Maya Angelou all expressed their journey to finding oneness with God.*
What did Jesus have to say about union with God?
My prayer is not for them (the disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (Jn 17: 20-23).
This unprecedented prayer is a request from Jesus to his heavenly Father that we as humans would wake up to the gift of oneness being offered. To reconnect with the divine spark of light placed inside us at the creation of time. Jesus imparted the glory given to him from his Mother / Father to us (Yes, God is both Mother and Father!). We are meant to embody this glory in all centers of our being—head, heart, and body. This is the image of God bestowed on us in Genesis 1:27. When we embrace this truth, letting go of our egoic needs, we enter a higher level of loving consciousness, which is another way of saying union.
What would it mean for us if we could experience oneness with the Trinity this Advent? A true union that would redeem all the negative preconditioned ideas we have about ourselves? We would rest in the knowledge that we are inextricably loved and valued just for who we are and not any other reason. God’s heart and ours are one in this mutual longing, and we can receive the unconditional love of God offered to us through Jesus’ prayer and reciprocate by loving God for initiating this union.
What does union with God look like and how do we find it?
St. Teresa of Avila was one of four women named Doctors of the Church. Her comprehensive, abiding love for Jesus is reflected in a compelling story: One day she was walking the corridors of her monastery and noticed a beautiful child at the foot of the stairs. The child asked her who she was, and she responded, “I am Teresa of Jesus.” In return she asked the child, “And who are you?” to which the child responded, “I am Jesus of Teresa.” This saint knew deeper than most of the union our souls long for and described the journey in her classic book, The Interior Castle. Teresa described seven mansions, concentric circles that represent our path to oneness with God. Check it out if you are interested.
One timely message being sent by the Holy Spirit is our need to be untangled from this material world. It is so easy to become trapped by and fall asleep to the allures of materialism, capitalism, and wealth—particularly at Christmas, ironically enough. We mistakenly believe these commodities will lead us to power and control and ultimately happiness. We feel the need to be esteemed by people we don’t even know (think social media). Our egos are naturally built for these things, but our spirits are not.
Our union with the Divine is all about surrendering our need to control; we must let go of our fear in order to enter into Love. Fear is the foundational emotion that all other negative feelings spring from. It is pervasive in this world, but letting go of fear is the crucial movement toward union. It is a choice we make every day, many times each day.
Union with God is the journey of transformation for all of us, not just the spiritual elite. It is available for everyone who desires it, yet it also requires our entire selves. Union calls us to deep connection with God and yields a profound sense of unity with all beings. The first step is some practice of meditation, which is an active experience of surrender. Meditation is a practical training in releasing our attachments and prepares our hearts to do this in daily life.
The whole idea of union with God can feel scary, impossible, or even wrong. How can mere humans imagine oneness with the Supreme One? If it were not God’s idea to start with, we would rightly step back from such a proposition. Instead, Jesus’ prayer has drawn us right into the heart of intimacy and union. Embrace the magic of the incarnation!
growing your soul
What would it take for you to enter into the loving embrace of silence a few minutes each day?
serving our world
Where does your union with God and others intersect this Advent season?
takeaway
Love leads to Union.
*www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/union-with-christ; www.henrinouwen.org/read/reaching-out; www.ntunity.org/power-thought-dr-maya-angelou