Monday, April 02, 2007

We do not have to save ourselves...

'The Christian has no Law but Christ. Our "Law" is the new life itself which has been given to us in Christ. Our Law is not written in books but in the depths of our own hearts, not by the pen of human beings but by the finger of God. Our duty is now not just to obey but to live. We do not have to save ourselves, we are saved by Christ. We must live to God in Christ, not only as they who seek salvation but as they who are saved.'
Thomas Merton Seasons of Celebration .
New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1950: p. 147

"We do not have to save ourselves, we are saved..." It's no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me, and Christ crucified: Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi...

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgements are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

Psalm 36:5-9

In him all Creation is made new - what is crucified at Easter, all that we see as lost, and broken, and hopeless, is truly raised imperishable on the Third Day...

'What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. '

1 Corinthians 15:42-47

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