We must in all things seek God. But we do not seek Him the way we seek a lost object, a "thing." He is present to us in our heart, in our personal subjectivity, and to seek Him is to recognize this fact. Yet we cannot be aware of it as a reality unless He reveals His presence to us. He does not reveal Himself simply in our own heart. He reveals Himself to us in the Church, in the community of believers, in the koinonia of those who trust Him and love Him.
Seeking God is not just an operation of the intellect, or even a contemplative illumination of the mind. We seek God by striving to surrender ourselves to Him whom we do not see, but Who is in all things and through all things and above all things...
To live for oneself alone is to die. We grow and flourish in our own lives in so far as we live for others and through others. What we ourselves lack, God has given them. They must complete us where we are deficient. Hence we must always remain open to one another so that we can always share with each other.
Thomas Merton, Seasons of Celebration. (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1950) pp. 223-224, 229.
Oh, how much this insight matters! CS Lewis once said somewhere that there could be no such things as freelance Christians, and Merton amplifies that statement. We need each other so deeply as Christians, and the name of that need is the Church. How can we not need the Body of Christ? What happens to body parts if they are removed, and left lying around?
7 comments:
Mike, I need you and your posts. Thanks. This was something I needed to read tonight.
Mike, this is very powerful... the notion of "body parts" lying around is really hitting me hard.
Community, being integrated into the Body of Christ is a challenge, for me anyway. That is in spite of it being my heart's clear desire!
To be united, to push when He asks me to push and to surrender when He asks me to surrender can be a Cross.
Yet when I resist, I struggle under its weight - which seems to be most of the time. And in those rare moments of grace when I surrender, such sweet joy is upon me.
So to think of body parts cast about is a way for me to be integrated and not disintegrated today; something I long for deeply as we approach Holy Week.
Amen and thank you my brother. Many blessings upon you.
Fran
I have to admit that I've left myself lying around. I am not a very good member of the Body of Christ. Maybe I'll do better. . . .
You're far too valuable to leave lying around, Gartenfische! How much, I wonder, does connection via the blogosphere count as incorporation in the Body? Just a thought... It seems to leave out matter, though, and God rather went out of his way to underline his commitment to matter with the Incarnation, n'est ce pas?
Mike, Yeah, I thought about that, too---that I am, in my small way, a part of the Body by connecting with other Christians in this way. But I also realize that it is not enough.
I think it is just where I am right now (or that's just an excuse). I've been reading Ruth Burrows's Ascent to Love and in the section on the night of sense, she talks about not getting satisfaction out of mass or other spiritual activities. Of course, she is not saying that means you should excuse yourself from them! It's not about enjoyment, anyway, so why do I have such a hard time getting myself to take part? (Hypothetical question---you don't have to answer!) This has been an ongoing struggle for me.
Ah, well - you found what I was trying not to say about Mass - just ain't no substitute, nohow!
Blessings!
Mike
I think I will pray for help and guidance with this. (Isn't that a novel idea?!)
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