Engaged Spirituality

My Lenten Sunday lesson series, “Awaken with Jesus” is based on the book, Resurrecting Jesus - Embodying the Spirit of a Revolutionary Mystic, by Adyashanti. From a Buddhist perspective, Adya, as he is often called, explores the life of Jesus as a metaphor for awakening. He describes ‘awakening’ as "a shift from seeing yourself as a limited, isolated, separate person to realizing you are...that which all beings essentially are."  With the aid of Adya's amazing insights, I have talked about some of the significant events in Jesus' life and how when viewed metaphorically and metaphysically, they can teach us about our own path of awakening to our divine nature, which in Unity we call 'Christ.' Over the past few weeks, we have explored his birth, baptism and his time in the wilderness with the “wild beasts” and Satan.

After confronting "Satan," who represents the shadow, the aspects of self that we would rather deny, and responding to each of the “temptations” from awakened consciousness, Jesus is attended by the angels. Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore tells us that an ‘angel’ represents “a projection into consciousness of a spiritual idea¹.” This definition helps us understand that the attending of angels illustrates Jesus’ mind being filled with the divine ideas: truths about himself and all creation.

He then comes out of the wilderness to begin his ministry and is immediately given opportunities to encounter suffering, disease, pain, hunger, enslavement and all that comprises the so-called human condition. And, in each instance, he must choose how he will respond. With such accountings, as the story unfolds, we discover that not only is Jesus’ life a metaphor for awakening, it is also a clear depiction of how one acts in the world from awakened consciousness.

The story portrays Jesus meeting the world around him from a consciousness centered in Truth as he heals the sick, feeds the hungry and restores the dead to life. These are often referred to as Jesus' miracles.  When viewed metaphorically and metaphysically, we see that all of this represents what happens within each of us as we truly awaken to the Christ and fully engage in our own conscious spirituality. In the presence of awakened consciousness there are unlimited possibilities - spiritual hearing and seeing are activated; paralysis gives way to movement; hunger is satisfied; thirst is quenched; minds and hearts are cleared and opened; and eternal life is realized. They are the effects of our willingness to claim our Truth and live it.

The gospel writers also provide us with an image of Jesus as one who was fully engaged in what some refer to as "spiritually-motivated social action." He showed compassion for the suffering of the world. He did not turn away from those who were in need. He responded to the immediate need before giving spiritual guidance; as in the story of him healing the leper. He healed him of his disease before telling him to go to the temple to participate in a cleansing ritual. He spoke out against the injustice of society and the Roman occupation. With courage and from conviction, he spoke truth to the Sadducees and Pharisees and Priests who he believed were corrupting the Jewish religion.

Jesus did not, after experiencing his baptisms and his time in the wilderness, go into an ashram or climb to the top of a mountain to sit and revel in his awakened state. To the contrary, he walked in the world fully engaged in it. He met the world around him from a consciousness grounded in Truth. He spoke the Truth to those in power. He showed us the way to be fully in the world, while knowing that we are ultimately not of the world. He lived his mission, which he stated clearly, “For this purpose I was born, and for this I came into the world – to testify to the Truth” (John 18:37). Jesus stood firm in the Truth that all creation is of God, thus, One.

In my own spiritual journey, I have experienced Jesus in many ways. In my youth, I knew him as savior; later as a teacher, brother and guide. Albeit, now from a different perspective, I still believe he embodies all of those. Today, however, I am choosing to embrace him as an example of fully engaged spirituality. I encourage us to allow Jesus to be our teacher, our way shower and our example.

Just as it was for Jesus, awakening to our divine nature is just the beginning. It is not a destination, but a journey; one that is continually happening within us. Awakening is not our goal. Our goal is to live lives of fully engaged spirituality.

Join us Sunday at 10:00 as we continue to “Awaken with Jesus” and discover how his life is a metaphor for our own.

¹The Revealing Word