“What concept could man have of God if he did not first fashion an image of him in his heart? By nature incomprehensible and inaccessible, he was invisible and unthinkable, but now he wished to be understood, to be seen and thought of. But how, you ask, was this done? He lay in a manger and rested on a virgin’s breast, preached on a mountain, and spent the night in prayer. He hung on a cross, grew pale in death, and roamed free among the dead and ruled over those in hell. He rose again on the third day, and showed the apostles the wounds of the nails, the signs of victory; and finally in their presence he ascended to the sanctuary of heaven. How can we not contemplate this story in truth, piety and holiness?” – St. Bernard
Wake Up and Remember!
I woke up this morning to this quote (and a bit more; I edited for my blog) and had to share. Don’t you just love to contemplate Jesus in all of these scenarios? I know I do. I have been reading about a particular theologian who urges us, in his theology, to remember Jesus IN history. And he wants us all to remember that we are part of that history. The world’s story is not just God’s; it’s The Story of all of us. God is not bound by time because He is not a physical being. If you ask St. Thomas Aquinas God is not any sort of being at all. God is “to be” itself, the sheer act of being. All comes to be through Him and is sustained by Him, out of love.
That’s not the point, but it’s fascinating…
But I digress! The point here is, St. Bernard gets it. At the appointed time God sends Jesus into the world, into history. Bernard is remembering Jesus here as a baby, as a preacher, as our Savior. And the good saint is reminding us that Jesus is still with us. Before He ascends, He leaves the Holy Spirit with us – to strengthen us, inspire us, edify and illuminate our minds and hearts. And just before He ascends, mere seconds before, Jesus tells His apostles and us that He is with us until the end of time. He will never leave us or forsake us. He will cry with us in our anguish, rejoice with us in good times, and Jesus will love us through everything. Whatever we do, we can never lose that love.
You knew it was coming, didn’t you? Here’s a song entitled “I Know” by Big Daddy Weave. I heard this song as I was waking up this morning on my local K-LOVE station! God was sure waking me up in fine fashion this morning. God bless you all and don’t ever forget, God is with us!
Drowning in Lemonade 
It’s difficult for some to visualize Jesus,but you have to remember He took a human body ,born of a woman to grow into a Man /God. That sounds impossible but remember God is a Spirit and to become a Human He went through the process of what all mankind could understand. He showed us how to live and how to die. He showed us by example and talked to us in metaphor and in parable.
He also explained what the Apostles didn’t understand. Read the Bible and the footnotes and if that doesn’t help read St Thomas Aquinas ,St Augustine, Thomas Moore .and dozens of other writers who have gone before us and tried to decipher for us , that which we can’t understand, the Word of God.
I read an interesting line ,don’t know who wrote it, but it went something like this. In reading the Bible
put yourself in it. Just be a bystander of that time and follow Jesus through His many sermons and discussions and you will begin to absorb Him. An interesting thought , to be there as a bystander listening. How would you react? What questions would you have? How attentive would you be ? Remember, you are in that time , with Jesus. What an idea !
Liked you blog Lynn. Just had to add my two cents !Dad
LikeLiked by 1 person
Putting yourself in the scene is what you do in lectio divina (divine reading). It can be quite helpful in visualizing Jesus in history! And recalling that everything He said is for us, too! 🙂 Thanks, Dad!
LikeLike