“...but you cannot bear it now.”
I love this sentence. As the days dwindle down to his return to the Father, the Lord Jesus tells his friends that there is "so much more" to share with them. Now, in his glorified body, the Lord Jesus can see beyond our flesh and bone. He can hear the songs of the angels and taste the sweetness of being wholly in God’s presence. Now, beyond death, he knows everything and longs to help us understand the Mystery. But, the Lord knows too well, that we “cannot bear it now.” Though there is so much we long to see and understand, from our human vantage point the veil can only be lifted so much. We are still flesh and bone – still straining to hear the morning birdsong and looking for God in the mess of being human. So, to satisfy his desire to give us “so much more,” he will send us his Spirit. The Spirit will reveal what is true and good and holy. The Spirit will give us strength to abide in these bodies – to mark the days in time and space – until the Lord comes to bring us home.
But something is fascinating me. What is it, do you suppose, that we “cannot bear” now? I suspect it has something to do with the unconditional love of God – the limitless compassion and mercy in which we dwell every minute of every day. I think the Spirit is working within us and among us to make this love known to us. Now, here, we cannot bear the weight of this love. We cannot believe it to be real. We find it hard to accept that no sin, no loss, no suffering in our journey will keep this love at bay. Nothing will keep this love from taking over our world – one soul at a time. The Spirit is preparing us for the day when days will end - working to draw every human heart into the light of God's love before Christ comes again in glory. Then, the eternal Word will speak to us one more time and all shall be revealed. Until then, only the Spirit can prepare us for this great movement into Mystery. Only the Spirit can teach us to trust that this Mystery will never let us go.
I love this sentence. As the days dwindle down to his return to the Father, the Lord Jesus tells his friends that there is "so much more" to share with them. Now, in his glorified body, the Lord Jesus can see beyond our flesh and bone. He can hear the songs of the angels and taste the sweetness of being wholly in God’s presence. Now, beyond death, he knows everything and longs to help us understand the Mystery. But, the Lord knows too well, that we “cannot bear it now.” Though there is so much we long to see and understand, from our human vantage point the veil can only be lifted so much. We are still flesh and bone – still straining to hear the morning birdsong and looking for God in the mess of being human. So, to satisfy his desire to give us “so much more,” he will send us his Spirit. The Spirit will reveal what is true and good and holy. The Spirit will give us strength to abide in these bodies – to mark the days in time and space – until the Lord comes to bring us home.
But something is fascinating me. What is it, do you suppose, that we “cannot bear” now? I suspect it has something to do with the unconditional love of God – the limitless compassion and mercy in which we dwell every minute of every day. I think the Spirit is working within us and among us to make this love known to us. Now, here, we cannot bear the weight of this love. We cannot believe it to be real. We find it hard to accept that no sin, no loss, no suffering in our journey will keep this love at bay. Nothing will keep this love from taking over our world – one soul at a time. The Spirit is preparing us for the day when days will end - working to draw every human heart into the light of God's love before Christ comes again in glory. Then, the eternal Word will speak to us one more time and all shall be revealed. Until then, only the Spirit can prepare us for this great movement into Mystery. Only the Spirit can teach us to trust that this Mystery will never let us go.
Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki
"Jesus Christ," by Pablo Renauld, 2007
