(15) Jesus said: When you see him who was not born of woman , throw yourselves down upon your face and worship him. He is your Father.
The first thing I thought of when reading this saying was the line from the play Macbeth ... Fear not, Macbeth; no man that's born of woman Shall e'er have power upon thee. .... In the play, of course, such a man did exist - someone who was taken from his mother's womb before he was born in the natural manner.
Who ever is born must have a beginning and an end, and is finite. Jesus was known to be born of a woman, Mary, so perhaps this saying isn't meant to be about hum. Or it's possible that Thomas held the ganostic belief that the spiritual Christ was not born, but decended on Jesus when he was baptised and left before he was crucified. To say that this person not born of woman is Jesus and to also say he is the Father, is similar to Joh's gospel saying of Jesus and the Father being one ... go Trinity :-)
6 comments:
My spiritual friend often asks me, "What is it within you that is unborn and undying?" The answer I always come round to is God. And feeling this Presence in the moment of realization fills me with a particular sense of awe, and of loving gratitude.
I only sense this in brief moments, but I'm guessing that Jesus felt this constantly. In this way, likely Jesus felt that he and God were One being.
Not only that, but he also prayed to the Father that you and I might become one with God as he was.
His prayer is being answered.
Hmmmm...I think I understand what Meredith is saying. Those who can fully realize the Presence within them get to the part of them not born of woman but ensouled by God.
Its still a bit mind-boggling to me, but I'm not fighting it.
There are people who find God within themselves and that is the part that you mean is neither born nor dies? I see God as other than myself, maybe because the satisfying things to me in religion are love and relationship ... I don't want to be God, I want to be with God ... does that make any sense?
Dear Crystal,
"There are people who find God within themselves and that is the part that you mean is neither born nor dies?" In a word, Yes.
You write that you see God as other than yourself because the satisfying things to you in religion are love and relationship. I think that is wonderful that you recognize these rich treasures possible in the spiritual life. However, they both come when you find this spirit within you as well as outside of you.
You write that you don't want to be God, but rather a relationship with God.
In relationship, in relating, something to consider is: Where is your locus of control? Is it within you, or outside of you? Do you depend on the other to meet your needs, or are you able (to a degree) find this potential within yourself? for example, do you need another person saying they love you, or can you find this love within yourself...can you love yourself fully and completely? Do you need another to depend on for your sense of security, or can you depend fully upon yourself? Do you need another to guide you, to tell you what to do, make decisions for you, or do you do this for yourself? These are aspects of locus of control. Certainly we all are interdependent to some degree, but self confidence comes from having a strong locus of control within yourself. In the same way, a strong relationship to God happens when we feel this guiding and loving presence within our very selves, this confidence and love so close to us, so near as to be within us.
Hi Meredith ... she who sees right through me :-)
Yes, in human to human relationships, I do need someone outside myself to love me, in order to feel whole. I know that's a character flaw.
But I'd say that in a relationship with God things are sort of different. No matter how much I might love myself, I don't think I could do without the love of God and still feel whole.
I wish I could explain better what I mean about God being a person, and a person setarate from me, a person I can have a relationship with, rather than me actualizing an inner part of myself. Fr. Marsh posted an article on his blog that more or less expalins thsi Ignatian idea much better than I could ... if you're interested, it's here - here
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