Every time my
mind is stretched in that direction, and I learn something new about Jesus as
the revelation of God and thus gain some insight into the mystery of God, I can
so easily slip backward. That is, when I
relax or pause from being contemplative, I can easily tend to revert to deeply
held and usually unconscious feelings about God that tend to reinforce old
images. It’s as if humankind has a
default position when it comes to the divine, and it re-sets itself every time
we pause our prayer or lose focus on Jesus Himself.
Jesus is
more than the image of God, true as that is. He shows us the dynamic life of God and the
kind of life God wants to live with us. In
His every word, deed, attitude, and teaching Jesus is revelation itself. His
life was and is with us in the Resurrection, lived in an ongoing dynamic of
revelation, healing, compassion and compassionate leadership to bring us home
to God.
It takes
some faith to truly appreciate that everything we see, hear and feel when we
contemplate Jesus is a revelation of God.
To be in a
relationship with Jesus enables us to know God and is not so much about proofs
(“show
us the Father”)
[John 14:8], but rather it is to step out into life each day trusting that He
is the
way, truth and life
[John 14:6]. To adhere to His vision and
to live like Jesus, as best we can, is to know God. It’s as simple and as profoundly mysterious as
that.
The
challenge for each one of us, life-long followers as we may be or newly
commissioned disciples, is to not take this relationship for granted, but
rather to keep growing in faith. “Have
I been with you for so long a time, and you still do not know me?” asks Jesus of Philip [John 14:6-14].
The question can be a talisman-like one for us, one to keep close and ‘wear’ so that it can serve as a reminder and challenge us to greater depths. It’s a question for us to take into this day and indeed, into life.
