DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Sunday, November 18, 2018

In the midst of His disciples, Jesus prayed …  “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  I glorified You on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.  So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in Your presence before the world existed. – John 17:3-5

What is “eternal life”?  I suppose there are many ways to explain the nature of “eternal life”.  I think that most people think of eternal life as a never-ending time after time.  In my contemplative tradition we speak of eternal life as a Timelessness in which time is no longer about clocks and calendars.  But Christ in the Gospel of John states that eternal life is the knowing God and Christ in deeply intimate ways.  It is the knowledge not confined to thoughts and feelings, but the knowledge that is experiential.  It is the knowledge of the bee of the flower.   It is the knowledge of coming together in a work of providential creation.  It is the knowledge of an interplay of lives.  It is the knowledge of the essence of life.

When we “know” God and Christ in such an intimate way … we enter into a Realm which is beyond what we once experienced in a limited way, a Realm where the qualities of heaven and earth come together as well as where the qualities of Forever and the Present Moment come together.  It is the “abundant life” of which Christ speaks; it is the “glorious life” of which we sing.

So, my Loved Ones, draw close to the Lord and the life of the Lord will appear in your midst, and the eternal life will become known.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz