THE MYSTICAL CENTER OF THE DISCIPLE

As I tiptoe through Mark's Gospel, I continue to be aware of his reality based description of the disciples. Mark sugar coats nothing about this gangly bunch who at one moment appear to understand profound truths and in the next display the insight of a toad. Time and again Jesus shows them the mysteries of a life of faith and they fail to understand. So time and again Jesus gathers them around and once more teaches them all that human eyes and understanding cannot comprehend.

I've to come to believe it's not in the grasping of holy truth, it's not in our perfect understanding much less perfect execution of holiness that God looks for in a disciple. [consider Peter] Rather, God looks for the mystical center of a disciple: a heart that is willing to break over the things that break God's heart; men and women who daily waste time with Him and have the conviction to act on what they find in those encounters. The mystical center of a disciple is seeded and established by the grace of God -- grace that is freely offered to all -- but it is the disciple who accepts the gifts given and whose life is changed forever.

I wonder how many beyond Jesus' closest twelve, were given the very same invitation to follow, the very same call, the very same grace to have their eyes opened by Jesus...yet didn't respond. Scripture is silent on this, but I imagine there were many. Maybe they're included in the 'crowds' that followed Jesus up and down the area called Galilee. Maybe they were waiting for one more miracle, one more healing, one more something before choosing. Perhaps they continued to be drawn to follow, continued to feel the power in Christ's teaching, but simply refused to submit, to bow their hearts which is the mystical center of a disciple.

The demands and clamour that surround your life and mine make it difficult, but not impossible, for us to offer our heart as a place of sweet communion with God each day. Yet God is patient. And just as Jesus waited for those who would respond to His call, God waits for us to come to the very center of ourselves where He longs to meet us and fill us with His love. The mystical center of the disciple is realized when we consent to meet God within us. May you travel there today. BLESSINGS AND JOY, THE CELTIC MONK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Giving Up the Farm or Farewell to Farmville

It was last fall that I finally answered an invitation on Facebook... the social networking website, to play Farmville... a social networking game. How fun I thought, that rather than playing solitaire or mahjong by myself, I would play Farmville and be able to catch up with friends at the same time. What could be better? I was brand new to the world wide web of all things electronically social and it appeared to be a simplest of avenues to keep in the loop. I’d have a small interaction with friends and acquaintances from miles away as I decompressed from my day. What better way to spend 10 minutes than with that 6” x 6” plot of flat screen soil while sending and receiving trees, chickens, fences and lambs with friends. It even felt familiar, this sensation of a momentary connection. I remembered that when Sean was two and just getting his own little sense of self he practiced a ritual of comfort as he took those first steps of independence. He would make a foray into another room,
Read more

An Invitation

Image
AN INVITATION    7:30 a.m and 7:30 p.m.  What was the last thing you were invited to attend?  I don't mean the herd invitation... everyone is invited. I mean the personal invitation as in I'd be so happy if you would join me, or come with me, or come and see... Most of us are invited often to be part of a crowd.  Come to the spaghetti supper!  Come to the Farmer's Market!  Come to the Strawberry Festival, the Film Festival, the ... well you can just fill in the blank. I am writing to invite you to a very small gathering.  I am writing to invite you to an event where you and I will be the only visible participants.  I am writing to invite you to meet me (every morning at 7:30 a.m. EDST and every evening at 7:30 p.m. EDST) for a journey into your relationship with God which, as it turns out, ends up being a journey not only towards God, but towards yourself and into every relationship in your life. I am calling this time a retreat... because the content when added
Read more

Hope as a Verb

Image
HOPE Is there a difference for you between a wish, a hope or a dream?  I know I sometimes use those words interchangeably in a fanciful way:  I wish I was going on vacation... I hope I am going on vacation... I am dreaming of being on vacation! But when matters are more serious, or even grave...do I still use these words as if they meant the same thing?  I wish I didn't need surgery... I hope I don't need surgery... I dreamt I did not need surgery?  [I have no surgery planned]  No, I don't use these words in the same way when speaking of something more consequential, more serious. In a conversation yesterday with sister spiritual directors, one of them related something she'd heard over the weekend and that she was still in the process of unpacking and wondering about.  Her little something also captured my attention so, that it bubbled up first thing this morning.  At a conference from which she's just returned, the speaker offered this seemingly simple
Read more