As we approach the last week of Advent, the first verse that comes to mind is John 3:16, perhaps the most popular verse from the New Testament.  This is an example of great love that really wraps up the meaning of Jesus’s coming and perhaps the whole message of the New Testament in one sentence.   For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

  Through the experience of being on this earth for more than 50 years with many of those years dedicated to my own and other’s personal growth and healing through yoga and other wisdom teachings, I acknowledge that we all seek wholeness and holiness from our own unique lenses.  Specifically, through my writing I have begun to see that I might view the world a bit differently than the average Christian.  I don’t think Jesus expected us all to be the same and to come into the world with the same gifts and ambitions, how boring!   So, I see John 3:16 not just as a promise of the afterlife or that this lifetime is a mere practice round to get everything right, so we can get a pass to heaven.  I see this life as heaven on earth, our opportunity to bring heaven here, to believe what Jesus said and to live our lives like him, with all his amazing characteristics, such as hope, peace, joy, and love.

I took inspiration for this blog form Richard Rohr and Ilia Delio, both Franciscan priests.   Richard Rohr says this; God for us, we call you Father. God alongside us, we call you Jesus. God within us, we call you Holy Spirit.  I love this and what a wonderful example of love in action, Jesus walking beside us.  I also like the idea that our faith begins with God for us.  Trust is another characteristic of Jesus’s and is an example of love in action.  Since my yoga therapy teacher training trust has been my personal intention and it has helped me so much in navigating my life in general and as a parent.  I can image that without this trust in God, Mary would not have been able to step into her most important role.  Richard Rohr elaborates on this idea here:  When trust in God as Father is missing, there is a foundational scariness and insecurity to our experience of reality. In that sense, we could say that we are living in a world without the Father. It’s not a safe universe. It’s not a benevolent universe. We think there is an enemy behind every rock and that we’ve got to protect our lives at all costs because no one else will. It’s all on us.  When we don’t know God as the One who most desires our goodness, safety, and growth, there is no underlying “okayness” to the world and to our own lives. There’s no sense that reality is on our side, so we of course try to save ourselves.  This sentiment speaks volumes about how we find or even define ourselves in these times, in our lack of trust and egocentricity some have forgotten who and whose they are.  Many have forgotten or got too busy to simply choose Jesus, receive his love and ask him to walk beside them. 

Ilia Delio adds another texture to this idea of God for us, Jesus alongside us as she discusses an important topic in spirituality, why is there suffering?   There is no doubt that suffering and violence abound in the crevices of life, but suffering is not a punishment of a vengeful God. God does not abandon us; we abandon God by . . . running after little gods. God lives deep within us, as the CENTER OF LOVE, but we are often [dismissive of] this inner center and drawn by the little gods of power, success, status, and wealth, everything we create for ourselves. . . . The theodicy question is not why God allows bad things to happen to good people but why we abandon God in the face of suffering. If God is love, then our only real hope is in God, because hope is the openness of love to infinite possibilities and new life. . . . This God of love appears in Jesus of Nazareth, a God who gets radically involved in the messiness of the world to be God for us. . . .

God is unconditional love.  Too many get stuck on the idea of a vengeful God in the Old Testament as Delio suggests above. There are many places in the Old Testament where God reassures his people and foretells of the one who will walk with us.  In the chapter of Isaiah, we are reminded often who we are in God and about who is coming to aid us.  Here is a well know verse that speaks of God for us, we call you Father:  But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”.  Isaiah 43:1-3 

 In another part of the chapter there is the prophecy of the savior’s birth.  The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy.-  Isaiah 9:2-3.  Jesus walking alongside of us, bringing us light and joy.  Later in Isaiah, the prophecy becomes clearer:  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14.   Immanuel, literally means God with us…(Jesus walking alongside us.)  In verse 9:4 Jesus is spoken of again:   For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. These words!  Light up my heart with the promises and love he has for us.

As we move closer to Christmas, let us choose to open our hearts in love.   Let us choose to have faith and trust in a God that loves us unconditionally.  Let us remember that Jesus walks with us, yes, he is near.  Unto us, he was born. Ilia Delio speaks of the times, that Jesus found himself in when he came to us as a man.  Life appeared so different back then but somehow humankind has not changed so much.  Thank you, God, for sending your son, to walk with us.   In his own day Jesus was immersed in a violent culture, a culture of conflict and anxiety. But he also knew of the deeper truth hidden beneath the surface of human judgment, namely that this broken, anxious world is oozing with God. He asked us to have faith, to believe that the reign of God is among us and within us.  Even walking alongside of us.