Contemplations
Contemplation archive |
Forming the Beloved Community
by Rev. Michaël Merle
“The Beloved Community” is an expression of an idea that was first used by an early 20th century philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce, who founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Royce used the expression to convey an understanding of what a true community such as that of the early Christian communities is all about. It was not meant as a reference to what was but to what at any stage, we, as loving and concerned human beings, can achieve at hand of collaboration with the grace of the Divine. However, it was Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, also a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, who popularised the expression and through his work in the peace movement could imbue it with a deeper meaning which has captured the imagination of people of goodwill all over the world. It was exemplified in the deep friendship the Dr King developed with Thich Nhat Hanh. This friendship transversed different cultures, religions and, at the time, countries at war with each other. This friendship built on mutual respect and care, a deep sense of the importance of peace and the full recognition of the innate spiritual dignity of every human being, was an example of what it means to form a community based on seeing the true essence of the other: sensing the spiritual being of the other.
Royce wrote a book which he titled The Problem of Christianity some three years before his death in 1916. It is in that book that he named and described what he called the Beloved Community. What Royce saw as the problem of Christianity was that despite its many positive and ameliorating effects over the centuries, it had become institutionalised in such a way that it had become corrupted and had exerted a power based on political control that betrayed the origins of a community of the Christ. So many people today suffer from the trauma of the inhuman control that they felt was exerted on them at hand of the authority of a Christian church and its externalised moral code that had negatively influenced society at large.
With the founding of The Christian Community, Movement for Religious Renewal, an opportunity presented itself for the Christian path to be encountered as the way of the developing conscious human being who recognises that the Community of the Christ embraces all of humanity in the true sensing of the spiritual essence of every person. In this community of love, respect and understanding, we stand as the individuals that we are but also as the community members of the community that lives in the gaze and embrace of Christ as his beloved.
Are we conscious of the forming of this Beloved Community? Do we feel that the great Mystery of Easter makes it possible for us to form this Community of the Beloved: this Community of human beings in becoming, mandated to love one another as Christ loves us?
It is Christ who, through the Mystery of Life and Death on Golgotha, makes our hearts to be at peace, strengthens our wills and unites us as humankind. Thus, in this unity we are able to become the Community of the Christ: The Community of the Beloved, the Beloved Community of the Becoming Human Being.
Royce wrote a book which he titled The Problem of Christianity some three years before his death in 1916. It is in that book that he named and described what he called the Beloved Community. What Royce saw as the problem of Christianity was that despite its many positive and ameliorating effects over the centuries, it had become institutionalised in such a way that it had become corrupted and had exerted a power based on political control that betrayed the origins of a community of the Christ. So many people today suffer from the trauma of the inhuman control that they felt was exerted on them at hand of the authority of a Christian church and its externalised moral code that had negatively influenced society at large.
With the founding of The Christian Community, Movement for Religious Renewal, an opportunity presented itself for the Christian path to be encountered as the way of the developing conscious human being who recognises that the Community of the Christ embraces all of humanity in the true sensing of the spiritual essence of every person. In this community of love, respect and understanding, we stand as the individuals that we are but also as the community members of the community that lives in the gaze and embrace of Christ as his beloved.
Are we conscious of the forming of this Beloved Community? Do we feel that the great Mystery of Easter makes it possible for us to form this Community of the Beloved: this Community of human beings in becoming, mandated to love one another as Christ loves us?
It is Christ who, through the Mystery of Life and Death on Golgotha, makes our hearts to be at peace, strengthens our wills and unites us as humankind. Thus, in this unity we are able to become the Community of the Christ: The Community of the Beloved, the Beloved Community of the Becoming Human Being.
Christ – the full expression of the Divine
by Rev. Michaël Merle
On the two Sundays before Passiontide, we prepare the journey to that season (that leads us into Easter) with Gospel readings (pericopes) that prepare us for the way of Passiontide. In the reading on the last Sunday before Passiontide we hear in the passage form Matthew’s Gospel depicting the Transfiguration that a voice speaks from the bright shining cloud. In the passage a Greek word appears to describe the relationship of the Divine Father to this beloved Son: eudokeo. This is variously translated as the one in whom “my pleasure is revealed”, in whom “I am well pleased”. Yet, this combined word of “eu” and “dokeo” express much more than simply good pleasure – a well satisfied experience.
The “eu” is well known to us in English in such words as “eulogy”, “euphemism”, ‘eucharist” and “Eurythmy”. It is also the root of what through Latin came into English as “ev”. This gives us “evangelisation”, for example. The short word “eu” or “ev” means well, good or beautiful, hence giving us the spreading of the good news (evangelisation), beautiful movement (eurhythmy), and the presentation of a well-intentioned speech or study of a person’s life (eulogy). So here we have the word that translates as good or well, as in that which is experienced as complete: well and good in its fullness: fully fulfilled.
Then “dokeo” means quite simply an opinion or an expression of a certain perspective. Here we are not dealing with the Divine Father’s preferred view (often translated as “pleasure”) but rather of His expression of that alone which he can express: the reality of His being, the true essence of Himself. So, this is no opinion – no personally biased view. It is the expression of self that is the very nature of the Divine Father. Hence, what is spoken form the cloud is about the one in whom “I am fully expressed: well and truly revealed”.
Christ is the full, true revelation (complete expression) of divinity. This presence in the being of Jesus: the Christ, fully reveals the nature of the Divine Father. This is the Mystery of Incarnation which realises the mission of Incarnation in the Mystery of Golgotha (the Mystery of Death and Life, of Resurrection on Easter morning). The fulfilment of Divine activity is in the very being of Jesus Christ. He is the full and complete revelation of God. It is this reality that changes the sacrifice of the cross into the full salvation of the human being. In this lies our hope of future development, evolution of spirit and the becoming of the Future Human Being (the full realisation of the picture held in the words expressed for centuries in English as “The Son of Man”).
As we journey in March through Passiontide (and Holy Week) to Easter Sunday, may this realisation grow brighter and stronger in us and in our becoming.
The “eu” is well known to us in English in such words as “eulogy”, “euphemism”, ‘eucharist” and “Eurythmy”. It is also the root of what through Latin came into English as “ev”. This gives us “evangelisation”, for example. The short word “eu” or “ev” means well, good or beautiful, hence giving us the spreading of the good news (evangelisation), beautiful movement (eurhythmy), and the presentation of a well-intentioned speech or study of a person’s life (eulogy). So here we have the word that translates as good or well, as in that which is experienced as complete: well and good in its fullness: fully fulfilled.
Then “dokeo” means quite simply an opinion or an expression of a certain perspective. Here we are not dealing with the Divine Father’s preferred view (often translated as “pleasure”) but rather of His expression of that alone which he can express: the reality of His being, the true essence of Himself. So, this is no opinion – no personally biased view. It is the expression of self that is the very nature of the Divine Father. Hence, what is spoken form the cloud is about the one in whom “I am fully expressed: well and truly revealed”.
Christ is the full, true revelation (complete expression) of divinity. This presence in the being of Jesus: the Christ, fully reveals the nature of the Divine Father. This is the Mystery of Incarnation which realises the mission of Incarnation in the Mystery of Golgotha (the Mystery of Death and Life, of Resurrection on Easter morning). The fulfilment of Divine activity is in the very being of Jesus Christ. He is the full and complete revelation of God. It is this reality that changes the sacrifice of the cross into the full salvation of the human being. In this lies our hope of future development, evolution of spirit and the becoming of the Future Human Being (the full realisation of the picture held in the words expressed for centuries in English as “The Son of Man”).
As we journey in March through Passiontide (and Holy Week) to Easter Sunday, may this realisation grow brighter and stronger in us and in our becoming.
Christ and the Mystery of Resurrection
by Rev Michaël Merle
Central to the Christian Faith – to the path of being Christian, to walking the way of Christ that transforms us – is the Mystery of Resurrection. This mystery is beautifully described in the parable of the Prodigal Son – that parable which accompanies our thoughts between St John’s and Michaelmas – a time in the season between (which we call Trinity Time). As we begin four weeks between the season of Epiphany and that of Passiontide, we may well reflect on the mystery that is so central to the experience and manifestation of being Christian (of feeling oneself united in a community to which all belong who are aware of the health bringing power of the Christ).
A lovely reflection on this was written by a priest of The Christian Community some years ago and his words are worth reflecting upon:
“The central event of Christianity is the mystery of Golgotha – the mystery of death and resurrection. The words of the father in the parable of The Prodigal Son remind us of its mystery: “My son was dead, and he is alive.” A quality belonging to the son is that he rises from death. The Greek word for resurrection is anastasis. In this parable it appears twice in active form as a verb: “I will arise and go to my father” and “he arose and came to his father.” We mustn’t overlook the importance of rising from death. It might be expressed as ‘through the power of resurrection in him’ he arose. Christ works within the human being so that we can rise from death; that we can rise above forces that would pull us down. Through Christ’s power at work within me, I become a ‘son’.
The prodigal son returns home to be welcomed by his father, not as a new servant but as a much-loved son. As long we have still to find our true selves then we remain servants, needing to be told what to do and how to go about it. Once we have learned to take responsibility for ourselves, to be truthful and ‘for real’, then we become a ‘son’. Whether male or female, every human being is called to become a ‘son’ of God by developing their true self or their ‘I am’. We do this by remembering our heavenly origin, by learning to see, read and understand our lives from the vantage point and by implementing the changes that will help us to serve the heavenly worlds working through us on earth. All of this is possible through the power of resurrection working in us. It brings our true self or ‘I am’ to life, and renews it over again in our thinking. We are called to be sons of God.” (Hartmut Borries)
When the prodigal son returns home the father recognises the power of resurrection in him, that he has arisen and come into himself, that the activity of ‘I am’ has awoken in him, and so he invests him with a stole. This Greek word: stole is the word for the archetypal garment of the king and of the priest. This human being is now invested as (consecrated in the garment of) priest and king. As Christians (Becoming Human Beings) we are called to become a priestly and kingly people: those with the power to bring about change, those with the power to manage and direct ourselves. This power is the power of Christ in us, the power of the mystery of resurrection.
A lovely reflection on this was written by a priest of The Christian Community some years ago and his words are worth reflecting upon:
“The central event of Christianity is the mystery of Golgotha – the mystery of death and resurrection. The words of the father in the parable of The Prodigal Son remind us of its mystery: “My son was dead, and he is alive.” A quality belonging to the son is that he rises from death. The Greek word for resurrection is anastasis. In this parable it appears twice in active form as a verb: “I will arise and go to my father” and “he arose and came to his father.” We mustn’t overlook the importance of rising from death. It might be expressed as ‘through the power of resurrection in him’ he arose. Christ works within the human being so that we can rise from death; that we can rise above forces that would pull us down. Through Christ’s power at work within me, I become a ‘son’.
The prodigal son returns home to be welcomed by his father, not as a new servant but as a much-loved son. As long we have still to find our true selves then we remain servants, needing to be told what to do and how to go about it. Once we have learned to take responsibility for ourselves, to be truthful and ‘for real’, then we become a ‘son’. Whether male or female, every human being is called to become a ‘son’ of God by developing their true self or their ‘I am’. We do this by remembering our heavenly origin, by learning to see, read and understand our lives from the vantage point and by implementing the changes that will help us to serve the heavenly worlds working through us on earth. All of this is possible through the power of resurrection working in us. It brings our true self or ‘I am’ to life, and renews it over again in our thinking. We are called to be sons of God.” (Hartmut Borries)
When the prodigal son returns home the father recognises the power of resurrection in him, that he has arisen and come into himself, that the activity of ‘I am’ has awoken in him, and so he invests him with a stole. This Greek word: stole is the word for the archetypal garment of the king and of the priest. This human being is now invested as (consecrated in the garment of) priest and king. As Christians (Becoming Human Beings) we are called to become a priestly and kingly people: those with the power to bring about change, those with the power to manage and direct ourselves. This power is the power of Christ in us, the power of the mystery of resurrection.
Peace on earth to people of goodwill
by Rev Michaël Merle
This aspect of the Christmas message proclaimed from the realm of the angels to the people of earth (the humble shepherds): “peace on earth" may often strike us as unrealised. We live in such a chaotic, conflicted age, still manifesting in the conflicts that bring death and destruction in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and in parts of Africa and across the globe. Does all this mean that 2024 will again be a year in which the full reality of the Christmas message remains unrealised? What is the peace that the angels' message promised? Could it be the peace that is indeed realised in the Mystery of the Resurrection?
In The Act of Consecration of Man (The Future Human Being) we hear that Christ gave us the peace that enables us to stand at peace with the world. This is the peace breathed upon the disciples on Easter day. We, who are the inheritors of this peace, are like the first disciples: those who are underway in walking the Way of Christ with Christ. He has given us his peace, the peace to stand at peace with the world. This is a very different reality to the external peace we so obviously lack and which we clearly have yet to achieve. Living with a sense of peace in our hearts and in the way in which we take a stance in our lives and in the world does not lessen our responsibility to work towards an external peace – if anything it heightens that responsibility.
Peace in the world does not start out there but in us, in our inner orientation towards all that faces us, all that confronts us and all that challenges us. How do we stand at peace? The simple truth is that we cannot manage it at hand of anything other than working with the gift of peace given us by the grace of Christ’s Deed. Yet, as the words of our Eucharist Sacrament reminds us, we have to work with this gift to wrest ourselves free from the load of sin, and in the full clarity of our thinking and in the execution of our will (our truly good will – our loving devoted will) join with Christ and so unite ourselves with the world's evolving: an evolution in peace, an evolution for peace, an evolution realised from the peace within the human being.
May we find in all the small events and experiences of everyday life the peace of Christ, the peace that makes it possible for us to stand in such a way that hate, fear, greed, personal ambition, anger and hurt are able to dissipate in the full power of Christ's peace, that peace promised to all people of goodwill on that first Christmas night. Then true recognition, respect and love for all human beings becomes possible – when, in good will, we stand at peace with ourselves.
In The Act of Consecration of Man (The Future Human Being) we hear that Christ gave us the peace that enables us to stand at peace with the world. This is the peace breathed upon the disciples on Easter day. We, who are the inheritors of this peace, are like the first disciples: those who are underway in walking the Way of Christ with Christ. He has given us his peace, the peace to stand at peace with the world. This is a very different reality to the external peace we so obviously lack and which we clearly have yet to achieve. Living with a sense of peace in our hearts and in the way in which we take a stance in our lives and in the world does not lessen our responsibility to work towards an external peace – if anything it heightens that responsibility.
Peace in the world does not start out there but in us, in our inner orientation towards all that faces us, all that confronts us and all that challenges us. How do we stand at peace? The simple truth is that we cannot manage it at hand of anything other than working with the gift of peace given us by the grace of Christ’s Deed. Yet, as the words of our Eucharist Sacrament reminds us, we have to work with this gift to wrest ourselves free from the load of sin, and in the full clarity of our thinking and in the execution of our will (our truly good will – our loving devoted will) join with Christ and so unite ourselves with the world's evolving: an evolution in peace, an evolution for peace, an evolution realised from the peace within the human being.
May we find in all the small events and experiences of everyday life the peace of Christ, the peace that makes it possible for us to stand in such a way that hate, fear, greed, personal ambition, anger and hurt are able to dissipate in the full power of Christ's peace, that peace promised to all people of goodwill on that first Christmas night. Then true recognition, respect and love for all human beings becomes possible – when, in good will, we stand at peace with ourselves.