Life in Christ

Merton's Prayer

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. (Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude)

Communion Through Diminishment

When the signs of age begin to mark my body (and still more when they touch my mind); when the ill that is to diminish me or carry me off strikes from without or is born within me; when the painful moment comes in which I suddenly awaken to the fact that I am ill or growing old; and above all at that last moment when I feel I am losing hold of myself and am absolutely passive within the hands of the great unknown forces that have formed me; in all those dark moments, O God, grant that I may understand that it is you (provided only my faith is strong enough) who are painfully parting the fibers of my being in order to penetrate to the very marrow of my substance and bear me away within yourself. (Teilhard de Chardin, The Divine Milieu)

The Hidden Life of Faith

"Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am humble and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Thus speaks the Lord Jesus Christ in words recorded by the inspired writer of the Gospel according to Matthew. They are words that touch the hearts of people everywhere who are weighed down by the burdens of living in a fallen world.

But in another place Jesus speaks in words less comforting and more challenging: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." These words remind us that the yoke-so-easy and the burden-so-light is the cross of the human condition. Those who try to avoid this cross and instead seek to live by an easier way will be lost in futility. But whoever is willing to lay down his life in imitation of Jesus will be saved.

The way to eternal life passes through a narrow gate. The Lord Jesus counsels us: "Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Jesus invites each of us to enter through the narrow gate and follow him on the hard road to eternal life. Everlasting life with God in the kingdom of heaven is a reward of inestimable worth. It is the pearl of great price. But few are willing to pay the price of being a follower of Christ.

Being a follower of Christ is a matter of the heart. The true believer might not look very different from everyone else on the outside, but in his heart burns a desire to be transformed in the image of the Lord Jesus. He acknowledges that Jesus is the Lord of his life and he strives to follow him faithfully and to love him with an undivided heart. He lives the hidden life of faith and he looks forward in hope to the day when he will see his Lord face to face.

The Kenosis Hymn

Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2: 6-11

Hidden with Christ in God

"If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory."