One Spirit, Many Wells - Chapter 9

The Divine "I Am": Humanity's Share in Divinity

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me.
- The Deer Cry
- St. Patrick's Breastplate

I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams and eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice - and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.
- St. Patrick, Another Link

The incarnation accomplished the following: that God became human and that human beings became God and sharers in the divine nature. The only-begotten Son of God intended to make us "partakers of his divine nature." For this reason the Godhead did take our nature on itself and became human in order to make humans gods.
- St. Thomas Aquinas

Wherever two or three gather
in my name and light,
in my experience of
the vibrating, shining cosmos -
then the "I Am" is already there
around, among and inside them.
- Matthew 18:20, translated directly from Aramaic

Short selection of quotes from the book for this chapter, though I really like the theme it explicates.

Jesus tells his followers that we will do equal or greater things then he did if we but trust in our own power and in God's power flowing through us. St. Paul reminds us constantly that we are already saints - we have only to act like it so that we can match the reality that God sees.

As we get ready to celebrate the season of Advent (which the Catholic & Orthodox denominations celebrate, and which some mainline Protestant denominations celebrate), we prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus, for the breaking in of divinity into time and space. We remind ourselves that divinity entered completely into our experience, being born a naked, vulnerable, trusting child; growing through early childhood and adolescence; moving into his full humanity, and finally suffering and dying for a cause and sake greater than anyone would realize at the time.

We are reminded that God has infused us with his own life and spirit, his own breath and energy. We are filled to overflowing with the Great and Sacred Spirit that moves us, animates us and in which we live and have our being. We are living temples built of love and trust that house the ineffable mystery of Divinity.

We are earth, fire, air and water - soul and spirit, body and mind - and God has told us we are made in his image. All of us - the countless billions of people who have lived, who are living, and who will live - are the Image of God.

I can only hope that we will realize - soon - this common bond, and stop looking at the petty things that separate us - culture, societal standing, religion, politics . . . Only when we are courageous enough to face that which is unknown and attempt to recognize it within us, then will we truly be able to say that we have fully helped realize the Reign of God among and within us.

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo