“Linking” the Opposing Forces of Time & Matter, and Eternity & Spirit

My friend was pondering the paradoxical, opposing forces of Humanity living in a world subject to the constraints of Time & Matter, while God lives as an Eternal Spirit. The analogy of different dimensions helped to understand the distinctions: Imagine if you lived in a world of Only 2 Dimensions: Length & Width, NO Height or Thickness.

Then imagine how you would describe an “Apple” passing through your 2-Dimensional World:

You would say, “An apple is 4-dots, then a series of expanding & contracting concentric circles, ending with a single dot.” Your description would be accurate, given the limitations of your 2-Dimensional World. But your description would be nowhere near capturing the actual essence of an apple.

Likewise, the same difficulty exists trying to understand Eternity (the constant present, with no beginning or end) from the perspective of the linear Time-Continuum constraint of intervals, from a beginning forward.

For example, imagine that Time is represented by a “line” written horizontally across a page from left to right: At the far left-side of the line is 1900. At the far right-side of the line is 2000. Then 9 vertical lines, equidistant from each other are between 1900 and 2000. They are marked as 1910, 1920 ,1930, and so on. That horizontal “Tine-Line” now represents the 10 decades between 1900 and 2000.

Eternity has no beginning, nor end. There is NO horizontal line progressing from one date to another date. There is just a constant NOW, an Eternal PRESENT, with NO Past, NOR any Future. We would have to turn that Horizontal Time- Line 90 degrees, which would be just a DOT, to represent the constant present. That’s hard for our limitation of only knowing “Time”, to imagine

The same problem exists understanding the distinction between Matter & Spirit. Our body, and everything around it, is a collection of physical atoms. Our body and every thing else can be measured and described by the various arrangements of these basic atoms. In fact, the 7 Billion people on earth have 7 Billion different arrangements of the DNA molecules. Every thing else has their own specific identifying arrangement of atoms.

Conversely,  C. S. Lewis observed, “We don’t have a soul. We are a Soul. We have a body.” Furthermore, the Bible states, “We are made in the Image & Likeness of God.” God is a Spirit. A Soul / Spirit has No Atoms. A Soul / Spirit can’t be measured. Can’t even be seen. So, we assign anthropomorphic attributes to describe and understand God, a Spirit. The extension of the finite mind to comprehend an Infinite Spirit, God, is as futile as the limited 2-dimensional world trying to understand an apple.

All of our analogies fall pathetically short. All of our insightful extrapolations are wildly wide of their mark. However, somehow, somewhere inside of each of us is an awareness of a Power Greater than ourselves. So. there is a yearning from the Sanctuary of our soul within us to connect with the Spiritual Being that created us. (“As the deer pants for the flowing stream, so our soul thirsts for the Living God”)

The above YouTube music video is a tribute to the Creator of All Things

Grace is a gift from God that connects His creation of humanity to the bosom of God (Please forgive the anthropomorphic reference). That connection requires Faith. There is no scale, no yardstick, no microscope that can measure or see our soul or the Spirit of God. There is no algorithm or logical explanation to understand God, and His relation to humanity.

In the quiet stillness of the night, when the mind rests and the heart opens, you may hear God’s small voice say, “Let not your heart be troubled, for I am with you always. I sent My Son to die for your sins. Just believe in Me.” And you will rest in the palm of My hand. Now & forever.

That connection is an experience. It doesn’t come from keeping commandments, doing good deeds, or knowing Scriptural verses. The connection of the Sanctuary of our soul with God is a Relationship built upon:

• humility of creature to Creator,
• gratitude of sinner to savior,
• obedience of servant to Master,
• and trust that God is sovereign over all things.

This life-long relationship journey has many twists & turns requiring repentance, “To create in me a new clean heart.”  Grace serves as the “Gyroscope for our Soul” – seeking the companionship of God.

Above YouTube Video Captures the Essence of this Blog Post Message

The inspired Psalmist writes, “As the deer pants for the flowing stream, so our our soul thirsts for the Living God.” 

The solution to the Cosmic Mystery of “Linking” the Finite & the Infinite, of “Linking” the Material & the Spirit is to open your mind, soften your heart, and allow your soul to EXPERIENCE the presence of the Companionship of God within you: It’s a Phenomenal Experience of “Peace & Joy”. That’s the Gift of God’s Grace.

You don’t have TO DO ANYTHING. Just “Empty” yourself of Current Concerns, Past Regrets, and Future Worries. Just “BE” in a “State of Acceptance”. And the Sanctuary of your Soul will be awash with “Peace & Joy. Guaranteed.

What Dreams May Come When We Shed This Mortal Coil? – Shakespeare

 

The majority of people understand that everything comes from something before it. That progeny process leads back to a “Prime Cause”: Something Eternal, with No Beginning Nor End.

Further inspection of our universe reveals that it contains irreducible complexity, that require multiple, identifiable, repetitive Laws, that speak of an Eternal, Intelligent Designer.

In addition, the microscopic DNA molecule of hundreds of chains of atoms, each in precise, specific order, all different from each other, resulting in 7 Billion People, all distinct from each other, is evidence of the incredible, unfathomable Power & Wisdom of an Eternal Designer – God.

NOT Random Chance: “God doesn’t roll dice.” – Einstein.

So, then, we must decide if that God cares about His Creation. Or, Is He a “Deus Machina” God, who creates something and walks away?

The Bible states that, “God created men & women in His image & likeness.” The Bible also states that, “God so loved the world that He sent his only Son (to become human and die for the sins of everyone) so that all who believe in Him, shall not perish, but have life every lasting.”

The answer to God’s relationship with His creation depends on whether a person believes that the historical person Jesus Christ was the Son of God?

During his life, Christ performed many miracles, curing hundreds of people, from a variety of illnesses, in a variety of locations. More importantly, Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, after 3 days. Most Important, Christ rose from the dead 3 days after being crucified. The risen Christ was seen by over 500 people, over 40 days.

Christians believe that Christ’s Death & Resurrection was God’s intimate involvement in the relationship between God and His Creation. It was God’s re-grafting of the “Broken Branches” into the “Living Vine”. And after their body’s death, Christians experience, “No more death, nor pain, nor tears.” “For God creates all things new.” It would be an eternity of Peace & Joy in the presence of the companionship of God.

The Above YouTube Music Video Captures the Essence of Our Souls’ Yearning to be Together for Eternity.

However, additional intervening parameters determine our choices:

We have free will. Satan exists. Adam Sinned. And the perfect relationship with God was broken. Adam chose self-reliance & self-gratification over God’s Providence & Guidance. Satan sows seed of discontent between our needs and the expectations of our wants. Our wants are “Plus-One” whatever we have, never fulfilled, always in excess of our daily bread. Satan whispers that only self-reliance can satisfy our wants. Satan’s lies are illusions – Hollowgrams of Happiness – and not the solutions they promise to be.

So, we ignore the Toxins of Sin, because we enjoy its Perfume – Like 99% of Rat Poison is attractive to the rat.

Solomon, who tasted all of life’s pleasures & treasures concluded, “Vanity. All is vanity.”  Job lost everything when thieves murdered his sons, burned his barns, and stole whatever they could carry. Job was sitting on a dunghill on the outskirts of town, with dogs licking the open sores on his body, while his wife & friends were mocking him, when Job said, “My Redeemer lives, and God knows me.”

Lives built upon the welcoming embrace of the forgiveness, of the outstretched arms,  of Christ’s Redemptive Cross and loving others as Christ loves them, believe in an eternal life with  the Companionship of God.

Thus, there are the only 2 choices. There is no middle ground.

1. Either: A life of self-indulgent gratuitous pleasures now, based on self-reliance, with no life after death. “A life that struts and frets its hour upon the stage to be heard no more.” “A life full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” – Shakespeare
2. OR: A life based upon loving God and others, now, and then experiencing an eternity of Peace & Joy with the companionship of God.“To sleep.Perchance, to dream.” -Shakespeare.

My friend wishes me “Auf Wiedersehen” – “When we meet again.” He believes that our souls are like a ship that disappears over the horizon, only to see the Forgiveness, of the welcoming embrace of the Redeemer, along with friends & relatives of previous passing, on the other shore.

Above YouTube Music Video expresses the Blog Post Message of the Eternal Companionship.

That sums up “Pascal’s Gamble”: Either choose a life of abundant self-gratuitous pleasures while you live, because their is Nothing after death. Or, spend your life on earth honoring God and loving others, because there is an eternity of Peace & Joy if you do.

BTW: Homer wrote in the “Odessey”, “The Difficulty is not to Die for a Friend. The Difficulty is to find a Friend Worth Dying For”. (Like in the last line of “The Tale of Two Cities” – when one man switched with his friend bound to Die, saying, “It’s a far, far, better thing that I do, than I’ve ever done before”.)

Christ turned Homer’s & Dicken’s Insight Upside Down: Christ died for the Forgiveness of EVERYONE, “As Is”. No Sin, No Matter How Vile or Frequent, Can Exceed the Forgiveness, of the Welcoming Embrace, of the Out-Stretched Arms, of the Redemptive Cross.

(“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the boot that crushed it”. – Twain)

Randy Adlar’s Book, “Heaven” provides a Wonderful, Precise View of our “Life after Death”: “The “New Heaven” will be on the “New Earth” – With God coming down to walk among us (In our New, Perfect “Resurrected Bodies” – as Originally Created, without any imperfections)”. 

Absolute Certainty is Only Known After Our Last Breath.

 

 

A summary of St. Paul’s Letters

A Life of Participation in Communion with God’s Love – A summary of the “Letters of St. Paul”, by Richard Rohr

The power and value of St. Paul’s letters is that they are a transformational experience of his relationship with God – participation in the Mystical Body of Christ – participation in a corporate personality bigger & stronger than himself.

Paul was a devout Jew, who strictly obeyed “The Law”. On the road to Damascus to arrest more Christians, he was blinded by a bright light and heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” I am Jesus, the Nazorean.”N.B. The pronoun: “Me” was the life-changing distinction. Paul was persecuting people who believed in Christ.

For Christ to make no distinction between Himself and those who believed in Christ, was transformational for Paul. Belief in Christ was the same as sharing the life of Christ – the same as Christ being in the life of the believer. It was the basis of Paul’s analogy of the Mystical Body of Christ.

 We are acquitted of our sins by belief in Christ’s death. By belief in Christ’s resurrection, we are reconciled into the life of God. As worthless broken branches, we are re-grafted into the life-giving vine of God. As such, God’s love flows though us, to others. That is the wonderful dynamic of the Mystical Body of Christ. God’s unilateral gift of love to one part, is shared with each other part. There is a corporate, cosmic unity to the Mystical Body of Christ.

 More incredible, was Christ choosing Paul, a sinner (a hateful murderer), to be His “Apostle to the Gentiles”. Paul understood that he did nothing to deserve that selection, which led to his theme of “Grace”. (Grace is the Gyroscope for our soul.) Grace means free gift. We do nothing to earn it. Grace is not performance based. God loves us as we are – imperfect sinners. Paul states, “just as the first Adam separated us from God, so the second Adam redeemed us.” Our redemption was nothing that we earned by keeping Laws (Galatians). Keeping Laws and doing good deeds doesn’t make God love us. God already loves us, so He sent His Son, to reconcile us with Him.

Paul eschews the notion of meritorious “Ladder Theology” – that we climb to heaven by the performance of good deeds and adherence to Laws, to make us worthy of God’s acceptance. Our culture believes in Pavlov’s paradigm: Stimulus /Response /Reward: If we work hard, and produce good results, we get our reward. It’s a quid-pro-quo system based on performance & justice. Christ’s death & resurrection turned that paradigm upside-down. Christ knows we are guilty, and acquits us, anyway. This is counter intuitive to the performance principle. It is God’s unconditional love, not performance & justice, that hung on the Cross. Paul acknowledged the guilt and futility of “Ladder Theology” when he wrote, “When I what to do good, I don’t. And when I want to avoid evil, I do it anyway.” – (Romans). Paul’s transformation came from his experience of God’s love, not Paul’s worthiness.

Imagine that “God‘ is the “Antecedent” of the pronoun “You” in the above YouTube Music Video

Paul knew that the Old Testaments’ bi-lateral covenants were broken by humanity. The New Testament’s covenant is God’s unilateral love.  Paul wrote his letters without the benefit of reading the gospels, which were written later. Paul never knew about the thief, crucified with Christ, who said, “I deserve my punishment, because I led an awful life. You don’t deserve to be crucified, because you are a good man.” To which Christ replied, “This day you will be with me in Paradise.” Paul didn’t know that Christ prayed for His executioners, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Paul didn’t know that Christ told the synagogue official, whose child had died, “Be not afraid. Just have faith”, and the child lived. Or, that Christ’s parable about the “Prodigal Son” is about mercy, as is, the parable about paying laborers the same for different performance. That’s the Paschal Mystery.

 The hardest thing to do is to accept that God accepts us, “As Is”. God knows we are guilty, then acquits us, by Christ’s death. We become a “new creation” – children of God – heirs to heaven by Christ’s resurrection. As such, we will love God, and others, as much as we allow God to love us. Or the reciprocal, we will love God as much as we love someone else the least. The dynamic of the Mystical Body is to allow the “vertical” love of God to flow “horizontally” through broken vessels to each other, whose love, in turn, flows back to God, and so on and so on. We share God’s love because we want to, not because we have to. We love God out of gratitude, not out of the fear of punishment.

This transformational conversion experience of living “In Christo” results in “suffering and death”. Paul speaks of dying to the old-self. The old-self is selfish. It’s petty and needy of admiration and affirmation though praise of achievement – through the acquisition of things. The old-self is defined by persons and things outside of itself. It’s fragile, because its validity is determined by changing life situations. Paul turns that cultural notion upside-down. Our value comes from the life of Christ within us.

We are made by God, and for God. Until we understand that, life won’t make sense. By dying to selfishness, we experience the presence of God within us, and live “In Christo”. The “old-self” is powerless against “Powers and Principalities”. The “New Creation” in Christ, triumphs. When we suffer reversals by rebellion (sin – “kicking against the goads”), we will gain renewal through participation.

Participation in the Mystical Body of Christ shares in the Pascal Mystery of death & resurrection, of loss & renewal. By Christ sharing in our humanity, our humanity shares in His Divinity. Not by doing what is right, nor by knowing (Augustine wrote that Satan knows the creeds of the Church), but by experiencing the presence of God within us. The Mystical Body of Christ is a bunch of broken branches re-grafted into the life-giving vine of God. It’s the progeny of Christ’s unilateral covenant of unconditional love.

The Sanctuary of our Soul experiences God’s Love (not by keeping Commandments or doing good deeds) by the humble acceptance & patience of being in Communion with God.

The Meaning of Wishing: “Merry Christmas”

My friend’s Christmas card contained this handwritten message:

Christmas is the Echo of Eternity Touching Time.
The Incarnation of the Son of God into the baby Jesus is the Priceless Gift of Christmas.
The Divine became human, so that humanity could share in the Divine – the Peace & Joy of the companionship of God.

God so loved the world (especially the men & women, whom He created in His Image and Likeness)
that He sent His only Son
(The Personification of Divine Love)
to become man,
(to suffer & die on the Cross to absolve all men & women, from all sin)
so that all who believe in Him, shall not perish, but have life everlasting – John 3:16.

The Above YouTube Music Video Captures the Essence of “Merry Christmas”

God’s unilateral, unconditional New Testament Covenant of Love restored
the broken relationship between God and men & women.
The first Christmas is the beginning of that wonderful restoration,

It’s the beginning of re-grafting broken branches into the life-giving vine.
It’s the beginning of experiencing the presence of God within us.
It’s the beginning of the gift of Grace, flowing through one broken vessel into another.

All of that Began on One Holy Night in a stable in Bethlehem.

All of that serves as the gyroscope for our souls to love God and each other as Christ loves us.

          All of that is said & shared, when we wish someone: “Merry Christmas”

         All of that Happened because a faithful, young, Jewish Girl believed & obeyed God’s messenger.

That’s why we sing:

 

And The YouTube Music Video (Below) Expresses the Universal JOY of Wishing: “Merry Christmas”

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

N B: If the Music Videos Don’t Stir Your Heart & Soul…CHECK YOUR PULSE.