If there’s one thing that I would like everyone to get out of all of Jesus’ teachings, it’s the kingdom of God within us. This simple teaching penetrates the core of the entire Christian message. God’s indwelling kingdom is the expression of God’s love for all that breathes, for we know God never leaves or abandons us. This divine reality that resides in the depth of our being is the promise of God’s faithfulness towards us. It is also the mystery of the incarnation that God is to be found in our very own bodies.
So if someone asks me what would be the one thing I would like everyone to know and experience, it is this kingdom of God in them, not out there, not in someone else but their own hearts. If anyone can truly experience this, I would feel that my duty as a priest has not been in vain. I so desperately want people to discover God’s presence in them so that whichever suffering, which may come from physical and emotional pain and hurt such as loneliness, cannot take away God’s presence in them. Love is always in us wherever and however we are. How we access this inner kingdom, this inner presence of the Spirit is through breath. The word spirit derives from the Latin ‘spir’ which means to breathe. The Spirit is where breath IS. This is something we can and should take literally, not the entire Bible like biblicists or fundamental Christians. How we encounter the Spirit means how we encounter the Breath. The only way to encounter the Breath is through breath. Yes, it’s that simple. Yes, it’s that easy. Perhaps this is why most people miss it just like the characters in Jesus’ parables of God’s kingdom. It’s hidden, not because it doesn’t want to be found but because it’s taken for granted, unappreciated, too unsophisticated, and too plain. Right as you’re reading this reflection, take a breath in and out that energizes you, down in your belly. Your breath doesn’t have to be deep. Just breathe in a way your body wants right now. Feel that inner ground and center yourself. Try to keep that space as you connect it with your breath. “That” is where we can feel, experience, and connect with the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of God’s presence. In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus uses two analogies: one about being alert to greet one’s master returning from a wedding banquet and the other about being on guard against a thief who might break in at an unexpected time. Both are about the heedfulness of the mind. Once we can locate the inner kingdom, we want to expand it to fill us and feed us. We want to monitor and watch heedfully what we feed ourselves and what we pay attention to. This requires a contemplative practice where we see where we feed. In other words, look mindfully at what we crave. Things we crave are what we identify ourselves with. Material gains can be what we feed on, for example. They fill our minds that we cannot think of who we are apart from material wealth. They define who we are, not the other way around. Craving for wealth owns us as they are the fuel for our identity. Jesus instructs his friends to do the opposite. But his message of giving alms doesn’t come from a philanthropic mindset. His instruction starts with the inner kingdom which is where we feed on. It’s the source of who we are. So, when we sell our possessions and give alms, we don’t do it like a poor person as if we have nothing without them. Rather, we do it like a rich person who always has enough to give away. Possessions don’t possess us. My friends in Christ, we have the treasure that we all can have, share as much as we want to without losing it, and keep it to ourselves without having to take it away from others or protect it from others. It is available to all that can breathe as the Spirit, the Breath of God is to all. The more we cultivate our practice of God’s presence via breath, the more we can enjoy its benefits and share them with others so gracefully and compassionately. This is the abundance of God’s grace and the divine economy. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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