If we ever get used to the idea that you and I are one, not two, it profoundly affects how we think about God and ourselves. Paul spoke many times of being “in Christ,” and “Christ in him” (Gal.2). How we interpret his words changes if he and Christ were one instead of two.
When Jesus prayed that we would experience our oneness with God the way he did (Jn.17), how we hear his prayer changes if we are one with him… and one with God… instead of two.
It’s amazing our spiritual forebears intuited our oneness with one another and with God so long before the quantum physicists figured it out.
I am the vine. You are the branches. Remain in me. I remain in you. With you in me… and me in you; this is a fruitful life! (Jesus – Jn. 15)
I used to hear this text like this…
There is The Vine (Jesus). And then there are some branches (you and me). If we branches work really hard to stay connected to The Vine, some really good things will happen for us.
That’s what I heard. But that’s not what Jesus said.
Think about horticulture for a minute and you’ll realize that a vine is not a vine without branches; and branches are not branches without a vine. There is a oneness about the vine-branch reality. Twoness means only death to both. Fruitfulness only exists when vine-branch oneness happens.
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Another text:
And they questioned Jesus: “Lord! When did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Thirsty and give you drink? Naked and clothe you? Sick or in prison and go see you? When, Lord?”
And Jesus answered; “the truth of this thing is that whenever you did these things for even the least among you, you did it for me.” (Mt. 25)
In some real way, caring for people is caring for Jesus. Caring for others is caring for self… is caring for Jesus. In some real way, we are one; not two which means that loving neighbor is loving self. Loving enemy is loving self.
If we can get our heads around this foreign idea; it changes everything.
We, who are many, are one body in Christ. We are, each of us, members one of another. (Rom.12)
It is so much easier to understand “oneness” when it is explained via quantum physics – which provides real GROUND for the concept. The “we are one on Christ” concept can be taken on faith, of course, but then just becomes another one of those ideas we have always been told to believe solely on the basis of faith – like all the other things that have been preached at us over our lifetimes – but which we often blame ourselves for if we can’t because we feel our faith has fallen short. Having context based in science makes the concept believable. And once it is believable, then we can begin to open our minds to the possibility that other ideas we have always been told to “take on faith”, may be viewed in a similar way and also become plausible/logical/real. Not sure what this does to the idea of “faith alone…” There must still be a place for faith I suppose…………..
“,,,one IN Christ” – typo
exactly!!! me too!!!
i know i’m an enigma to a lot of people. what’s a minister doing spending so much time talking about quantum physics? aren’t science and religion in separate categories?
but i do listen to a lot of these physicists. i do it because they really help me frame my religion. i understand jesus better… BECAUSE i listen to to quantum physicists.
i understand our contemplative saints, our mystics, jesus, paul so much better, once my underlying framework of reality is shifted to the “oneness-construct.”
understanding what the physicists are saying makes jesus’ words stop being “crazy things i can’t understand, but have to put my religious faith in.”
rather, science is helping me frame what our saints have been talking about all this time.
d.
Bingo!
In my view, faith comes in when i try to live up to the Gospel,even it’s quantum iteration that Doug has been talking about. Will power isn’t enough. Intellectually incorporating these new ideas is a challenge but living them out is even harder because it requires one to act in the blindness of faith. I find myself grateful, really grateful for the knowledge that transformation occurs only through the secret and hidden movements of God in me. I have no idea how it works but i know that it’s real and i ‘know’ through faith.
blog comments should have a facebook-like button for “liking” a comment.
davis… i “like”
I
I carry/add to the vine/branch example and include the root.. God. Use your Aspen Grove and it is easier to see the root systen leading to the vine/trunk and then to the branches. The religion here was easier for me to feel/accept than the quantum stuff/science. Maybe the farm girl in mwe..?