Jesus' conversion experience
I'm reading a book - Too Deep For Words: Rediscovering Lectio Divina by Thelma Hall rc. The chapter I'm on, The Deepening of an Interpersonal Relationship, starts off about the love relationship that develops with God through prayer ... For we grow in love of God as we grow in any intimate love relationship - through a continuum of knowing, trusting, desiring, surrendering our defenses and fears, and ultimately our very selves, to the Beloved.
Up to this point, I was nodding ... it sounds a lot like what's learned and experienced in an Ignatian retreat .... then she goes on .....
To follow Jesus is to be in love, with all that is consequent upon that gift. When that love is fully accepted, our lives begin to change from the center ..... Yet as we all know, we find this incredibly difficult ..... most of us seem to assume that union with God is attained by laboriously ascending a ladder of virtues which finally fashion our holiness and make us fit for him. In truth, the reverse is far more accurate: the great saints and mystics have been those who fully accepted God's love for them. It is this which makes everything else possible.
I struggle with this idea every time I encounter it - that God loves me as I am. But enough about me ... she then discusses the possibility that Jesus had a conversion experience - a sudden realization of and acceptance of God's love for him, which radically changed his life. I'm not sure how this fits theologically with Jesus being (and being aware of himself as) God, but it's an interesting idea, so I'll post a bit of what she wrote here below ....
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Finally, a fascinating light on this total acceptance of love cn be found in the reflections of some theologians today on the possibility that Jesus himself experienced a profound conversion at the time of his baptism by John - a conversion not from sin to virtue (which is unthinkable in him) but in the radical redirection of his life, in which his entire person was caught up in such a total and unconditional response to the revelation he received of the Father's love for him "at once, as he was coming up out of the water", that his entire human existence was irrevocably turned toward the Father, with all the intensity of his being .....
It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. And at once, as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heave, "You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you." (Mark 1:9-11)
We can only imagine the interior reverberations of such a revelation in the heart of Jesus ..... the point of particular relevance for us, made in all the foregoing, is the absolute and primary importance of an unconditional acceptance of God's love, if we are to become all he has created and called us to be .....
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- Baptism of Christ by Masolino da Panicale
Up to this point, I was nodding ... it sounds a lot like what's learned and experienced in an Ignatian retreat .... then she goes on .....
To follow Jesus is to be in love, with all that is consequent upon that gift. When that love is fully accepted, our lives begin to change from the center ..... Yet as we all know, we find this incredibly difficult ..... most of us seem to assume that union with God is attained by laboriously ascending a ladder of virtues which finally fashion our holiness and make us fit for him. In truth, the reverse is far more accurate: the great saints and mystics have been those who fully accepted God's love for them. It is this which makes everything else possible.
I struggle with this idea every time I encounter it - that God loves me as I am. But enough about me ... she then discusses the possibility that Jesus had a conversion experience - a sudden realization of and acceptance of God's love for him, which radically changed his life. I'm not sure how this fits theologically with Jesus being (and being aware of himself as) God, but it's an interesting idea, so I'll post a bit of what she wrote here below ....
********************************
Finally, a fascinating light on this total acceptance of love cn be found in the reflections of some theologians today on the possibility that Jesus himself experienced a profound conversion at the time of his baptism by John - a conversion not from sin to virtue (which is unthinkable in him) but in the radical redirection of his life, in which his entire person was caught up in such a total and unconditional response to the revelation he received of the Father's love for him "at once, as he was coming up out of the water", that his entire human existence was irrevocably turned toward the Father, with all the intensity of his being .....
It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. And at once, as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heave, "You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you." (Mark 1:9-11)
We can only imagine the interior reverberations of such a revelation in the heart of Jesus ..... the point of particular relevance for us, made in all the foregoing, is the absolute and primary importance of an unconditional acceptance of God's love, if we are to become all he has created and called us to be .....
**************************
- Baptism of Christ by Masolino da Panicale
posted by crystal | 2:00 PM
7 Comments:
Crystal, re the "scary" concept of unconditional love . . . surely you've experienced this with your cats. You never waited for any of them to get "better" ("Stop killing those mice!"); you love them as they are. And you wouldn't withdraw your love should they do something you disapprove of, like puking on the sofa.
I'm being funny, but I'm serious, too. Unconditional love shouldn't disturb you. You live it every day.
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I think, Crystal that you are far to hard on yourself, you are much nicer than you think you are!
It seems to me that as I have read lives of the saints, that few, if any, woke up one morning and decided that they were going to be so perfect that they would become saints. It seems to me that it was far more common for God to approach them, and they made the decision to accepts God's love, and therefore turned more and more to Him. I think that Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus is a great example of this.
I am by no means saying that we shouldn't try to be spiritual and good, but maybe what we miss in looking at the saints is that God really does love us, and reaches out to us, and all we have to do is respond. Some of us need a real kick in the behind to recognize him, others seem to just do it naturally.
Hugs,
Mike L
Hi Mike, what you wrote makes sense to me intellectually, but it's just hard for me to integrate it. Someday ...
Hi Susan :-) Actually you're right.
Crystal, I believe that there’s no harm in trying to attain heavenly gifts now and then in whatever way which brings happiness to our heart of heart and God will correct us in His own way. As a matter of fact did not Jesus tell us in so many words to collect gifts from His Kingdom and everything else that we need here on earth would follow and I’m sure He knew that we would make many mistakes in the process, don’t you think? I also believe that no matter how many gifts God’s Children do accumulate, it still won’t make Our Heavenly Father Love us anymore or any less than He already does.
In closing I’ll say that I may not get to meet you in this lifetime but I have faith that we’ll have plenty of time during Eternity to maybe continue to agree to disagree now and then on various matters. (lol!?)
God Bless
Hi Victor,
I wonder about that sometimes - what it will be like to meet people if there's an afterlife like heaven. I'm looking forward to it (unless I end up elsewhere :-)
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