As a progressive Christian, I believe there are many names for God and many ways to a loving God; this article reflects one of those ways. Take from here what works for you. Celebrate life with joy and peace!
Author Ann Lamott, gave a commencement address at Goucher College in Baltimore. She said, “Your (biggest) problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued; whether you are going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over people and circumstances, or whether you are (going) to find out the truth about who you really are.”
She goes on to say, “So from the wise old pinnacle of my 49 years, I want to tell you that what you are looking for is already inside you. You have heard this before, but the holy thing inside you really is that which causes you to seek it. You cannot buy it, lease it, rent it, date it or apply for it. The best job in the world cannot give it to you; neither can success, or fame, or financial security; besides which, there ain’t no such thing. J.D. Rockefeller was once asked, ‘How much money is enough?’ and he answered, ‘Just a little bit more.’
“What you are looking for is already inside of you,” she said.
Do we really believe that? Do we really trust that? If we do, many times our lives do not often show it. Many people have lived much of their life believing that what they think they need to make them happy is outside of them, external from them, separate from them; that they must go “out there somewhere” to get it. So, off they go on this endless external quest in their pursuit.
“How much money is enough?” he was asked. “Just a little bit more!” he responded.
How much power and control is enough? Just a little bit more?
How many possessions are enough? Just a few more?
How big a thrill is enough? Just a little bigger one more time?
How much security is enough? Just a tad more?
How many toys are enough? Not too many more?
This journey is a journey of futility, because there is no such thing as “just a little bit more.” It’s an illusion.
In the light of this, Jesus tells a parable. Now, a parable is a metaphor of the Kingdom of God (Realm of God) that is based on something ordinary and every day.
Jesus said, “The Kingdom (Realm) of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself… but when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
It’s as if the farmer scattered the seed, went about her business, and then one day just woke up and was awakened, much to her surprise, to all of this grain growing right outside her door, and, voila, it was ready to be harvested! So, she harvested it! There was little or no effort on her part that caused it to grow to fruition. “The earth produces of itself,” said Jesus. It was much more like it was a gift that just happened, and she awakened to it!
In Luke’s gospel some Pharisees (religious leaders of the day) came to Jesus and asked him when the Realm of God was coming and what to look for. Listen to how Jesus answered them, “The Kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the Kingdom of God is within you.”
“Within you” – the realm of God is within you; not outside of you; not separate from you, but within you. The Greek word for “within” means “within the boundaries of what is already yours.”
Our spiritual life is not just a matter of going out somewhere and getting anything, but a matter of awakening to that which is already within us. That is what Jesus did. When he challenged people with crazy things like “Pray for your enemies” or “Forgive 70X7” or “Do not judge” or “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” he was not proclaiming a new set of laws, but was awakening them to the realm of God, the Divine grace, that was already within them – and when we awaken to this, we will experience great joy and fulfillment and deep purpose.
When we awaken to the Christ within, it is breathtaking, captivating and transforming. The realm of God is within you. Therefore, you are love; you are compassion; you are forgiveness; you are grace. Your purpose is to share love, and to be loved; to help the poor, to feed the hungry, to include the excluded, to empower the vulnerable; to build bridges of peace; to bring comfort; to work for justice; to build community.
Look again into your life and awaken to the Christ within you. And may your light of love and peace brighten the world around you more and more. Amen.
