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Friends United Meeting |
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Quaker
Life
April 2002
The Mystery of Christ Within
By Michael Hatfield
Let us offer to God acceptable worship,
with reverence and awe;
for our God is a consuming fire.
—Hebrews 12:28-29
Friends gather as the Body of Christ to share and be fed by Christ. As other Christians congregate to remember Christ's sacrificial life by sharing physical bread and wine, we participate directly in Christ's life, which is the spiritual food and drink that nourishes the Body (John 6:35-38). Thus, the best way to orient ourselves to the spiritual reality of waiting worship is through the ultimate revelation of spiritual reality: the Submission, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ.
The Garden—Willingness to Submit
The night before his crucifixion, Jesus withdrew from the world into the
garden to pray. His prayer was weighed with sorrow contemplating what
was before him—to endure great pain and suffering so the Truth and
Love of God could be revealed. In the garden, Jesus submitted with the
prayer, "Not my will, but Thy will."
When we enter waiting worship, we withdraw from the workday world to pray and confront the truth that God has called us to give him our own will and life. To remind ourselves of our willingness to submit to God's will, we may gently repeat Jesus' prayer, "Not mine, but Thine" or we may ask Jesus' help by praying, most simply, "Jesus." While reminding us of our need to submit as Jesus did, this prayer reflects our intention to do so, and at the same time opens us to God's grace so we can.
The Cross—Willingness to Endure
Jesus promised to submit to God's will in the garden, but on the cross,
he physically, mentally and spiritually endured the reality of that submission.
He cried out in agony, questioning why God had abandoned him. Yet, Jesus
endured without retreat, for he lovingly forgave his tormentors and the
thief who hung next to him.
When worship begins, we enjoy the peace of the inner garden and find little difficulty promising submission because we underestimate the cost. At the cross, we discover the cost. Continuing to gently pray "Jesus" as worship proceeds, our body aches, our mind stews and our expectations of a spiritually consoling experience disappear. In the garden, we promised to surrender everything within us not divinely-owned, but in the light of Christ's cross we realize how much of us that is (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). Our false sense of spiritual well-being dies as we endure this growth from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness. It hurts to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to be consumed in God's fire as we are baptized into Christ's life. But consumed we must be in order to be transformed (Matthew 3:11; Romans 6:3-4; Hebrews 12:28-29). Yet God neither consumes nor transforms more than we are willing to sacrifice.
Resurrection—Willingness to Receive
When the Resurrected Christ appeared, he gathered the disciples, breathing
the Holy Spirit onto them (John 20:22), opening the scriptures to their
understanding (Luke 24:32,45) and teaching and encouraging them (Luke
24:27,38). Some thought he was an illusion (Luke 24:37) but everyone recognized
him when Jesus began to feed them (Luke 24:35; John 21:12). They were
overjoyed but fearful (Matthew 28:8), bewildered and trembling (Mark 16:8).
Fed by the ministry arising from waiting worship, we begin to sense the Resurrected Christ gathering us. Receiving his gifts for the Body, Christ may silently breathe the Comfort of the Holy Spirit onto us, open our minds to some understanding or speak through us to those gathered, instructing or encouraging us as only Christ can. After enduring the confusion of the cross, we may at first be hesitant to believe his Presence is real, but when we realize we are being nourished, all doubts wither and we are left overjoyed, even if we feel fearful, bewildered and trembling. Christ has risen in the gathered Body, and we must have the willingness to receive him. Then and only then is Christ's Body prepared for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Ascension—Willingness to Hope
The Resurrected Christ ministered to those he gathered and then instructed
them to feed the world. He told them he would never leave them (Matt.
28:20), and then he did (Acts 1:9). What confusion they must have had;
yet, both ChristÕs Presence and Ascension were real.
As we become aware of Christ's healing work within us or through us, we may begin to sense the impending Ascension of his Holy Presence. We must not attempt to hang on to him (John 20:17), for in the mystery of Christ, he ascends. He leaves us with instructions to feed the world and wait for the comfort and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Christ promises always to be with us. Waiting worship is concluded with hope in this continuing comfort and guidance as we return to the workday world. Our willingness to hope is sustained by being deepened into the experience of the mystery of Christ within, which is our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).
The willingness to submit, endure, receive and hope is the willingness to be reconciled with God through faith in Jesus Christ. In waiting worship reconciliation arises when we pray with faith to do as God wills—and then let God do his work in us.
Michael Hatfield belongs to the Austin Christian Friends Worship Group, Texas. He works as a tax lawyer.
Copyright (c) 2002 Friends United Meeting
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