Tag Archives: Meister Eckhart

As They Love Their Cow

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“Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow, and to love Him as they love their cow – for the milk and cheese and profit it brings them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God, when they love Him for their own advantage. Indeed, I tell you the truth, any object you have in your mind, however good, will be a barrier between you and the inmost Truth.”

-Meister Eckhart 1260-1327
(Source: Edge of Enclosure)

Mothers of God

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“We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time: When the Son of Man is begotten in us.”

- Meister Eckhart, 1260-1328, German Dominican monk

Trusting Death

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In the Episcopal lectionary the gospel for this past Sunday (John 12:20-33) has some Greeks coming to Philip and saying, “Sir we wish to see Jesus.” Philip tells Andrew of this request and together they tell Jesus. I suspect Jesus’ response is not what these Greeks had expected or wanted.

Jesus responds:

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also (John 20:23-26).

As much as we might like to see Jesus, Christianity is not a spectator sport. Seeing is not believing. Participation is believing. Essentially Jesus is saying, “If you want to see me, if you want to be with me, then die.”

Jesus invites us to trust death. That is hard work for most us. We have been taught to fear, avoid, deny, and fight death in whatever form it might take – whether it be our physical death, the loss of a relationship, a dream, a way of thinking, our identity or reputation. Our efforts, however, to insulate ourselves from death ultimately insulate us from life. To the extent we are afraid to die we are also afraid to fully live.

The place of death is also the place of birth. This is clearly demonstrated when the icon of the Nativity is compared with an icon of the Resurrection, namely that of the myrrh-bearing women at the tomb of Christ on the third day.

The icons below and the excerpt following come from an article by Father Deacon Matthew Steenberg entitled “The Nativity of the Paschal Christ:”

Icon of the Nativity of Christ; provenance unknown Icon of the Myrrh-bearing Women at the tomb of Christ; Greek style, provenance unknown

Here the Nativity and Resurrection are mirrored almost exactly, drawn together with profound theological significance. Christ is born into a manger identical in form to a tomb; and the theological witness is that, in the icon of the resurrection, the tomb is suddenly indistinguishable from a manger. If it seemed for a moment strange that the place of the Lord’s birth should be mingled in the icon with a reminder of His death, now that imagery’s meaning is fully revealed: Just as our sin unites birth to death and makes every human nativity an assurance of a human departure from this life (for all are bound by sin, all die)-making every person’s ‘manger’ or cradle a kind of foretelling of his tomb-so Christ’s incarnation, His truly human birth and death, transforms the tomb into an image of life. The sarcophagus, the grave, are made mangers that cradle an entry into new life – a life of eternity in the Kingdom.

The grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies produces much fruit. We are the fruit of that Holy Grain of Wheat, Christ. If we want to see Christ, to be with Christ, then we too must fall into the earth and die. That is our work of participation.

As Meister Eckhart, the Dominican monk of fourteenth century Germany said:

The seed of God is in us. Given an intelligent and hard-working farmer, it will thrive and grow up to God, whose seed it is; and accordingly its fruits will be God-nature. Pear seeds grow into pear trees, nut seeds into nut trees, and God-seed into God.

So die. Die with joy. Die with confidence. Die with thanksgiving. Die in order to live.

 

Birthing God – The Feast of the Annunciation

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The Annunciation to the Theotokos (Luke 1:26-38) is an annunciation to the entire human race that the Son and Word of God has become incarnate. What happened physically in Mary happens spiritually in everyone who lives in virginity, that is, in those who are purified of the passions.

Every time we say “Let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) we relinquish control, we surrender to the Mystery, we entrust ourselves to the Unknowing, and we open our womb to God’s presence. “Let it be” are words of creation echoing God’s “Let there be.” St. Gregory Palamas speaking of Mary says, “Having been fashioned by God through grace … she shaped God in human form.”

Meister Eckhart, the Dominican monk of 14th century Germany says,

We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself? And what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I also do not give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time. When the Son of God is begotten in us.

Eckhart’s questions invite us to see humanity, and not Bethlehem, as the true birthplace of God. How amazing is that?! God has chosen humanity to give birth, to give life, to make real, God in this world. That says a lot about what God thinks of us. So often we look at ourselves and say, “I’m only human! What do you expect?” But God looks at us and says, “Humanity, created in my image and likeness! They shall be the ones through whom, by whom, and in whom my Son will be born.”

Eckhart challenges us to answer his question. How will we give birth to the Son of God in our time and in our culture? In our local communities, in our schools and workplaces, in our families, in our churches, in meeting the needs of the poor, in speaking for justice, in our relationships, in our brokenness and pain, in our joys and celebrations?

Or maybe the better question is, Will we? Will we let it be?

Feast of the Annunciation www.skete.com

Feast of the Annunciation, http://www.skete.com

Entering the Temple of the Heart

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If the heart is the most authentic temple of God, the truest dwelling place of God, then it is also our true home. It is the deepest and most authentic part of our humanity, the place of wholeness and integration. “All things are there,” Macarius says of the heart. The heart is not only the physical but also the psychic and spiritual center of the human person. It is the point of convergence and union of body, soul, and spirit. It is the means through which we enter into communion with God and experience uncreated grace.

At the center of the purified heart there is only One. This One is, no doubt, the subject of Meister Eckhart’s statement, “The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me. My eye and God’s eye is one eye, and one sight, and one knowledge, and one love.”

The hesychast tradition counsels us to enter the heart. This means, according to Bishop Kallistos Ware, “enter into relationship with your deep self, find God in the profundity of your being, discover the true dimension of your personhood in God, realize yourself as created in the Divine image and likeness.” How, then, are we to enter the heart?

A few points need to be established before we begin to address the question of how to enter the heart. First, entering the heart is not necessarily a one-time event. While the heart does have some corporeal, physical, aspects, entry into the heart is not the same as entering physical space. In physical space we are either here or there, in or out. Entry into the heart is an ongoing process of entering. The human spirit naturally longs to know God. There is no end to this learning. We aspire to ever deeper knowledge of God – entering ever deeper into the heart.

Second, entry into the heart is a relationship of intimacy with the Blessed Trinity. In this regard entering the heart is more about a way of being than it is about taking a particular action. Having said this let me also say that the Church has always taught certain practices that facilitate or open us and make us available to entering the heart.

Finally, there is no one “right” way to enter the heart just as there is no one “right” way or method of falling in love. God’s relationship with each one of us is unique and personal, so is our entry into the heart.

So, how do we enter the heart? In my previous post I suggested Anna’s presence in the temple at the presentation of our Lord is our invitation to enter the temple of our heart. Let us then begin with Anna as our guide. Luke tells us she remained in the temple – the heart – praying and fasting day and night.

Prayer is always the starting point. The classic prayer for entering the heart is the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” The continual invocation of the Holy Name guides us into inner stillness, silence, and awareness of God – the place of the heart. The Jesus Prayer is practiced in two ways. First, is the continual repetition of the prayer as we go though our day tending to our work, running errands, waiting in line, driving. Regardless of where we are, who we are with, or what we are doing this prayer is silently repeated. Second, we set aside regular fixed periods of time in which we sit in silence and solitude saying the prayer either silently or aloud. At these fixed times our sole purpose is to be present with God.

Fasting begins with the recognition that human beings are by nature hungry and our deepest hunger is for God. In fasting we abstain from certain food, drinks, other things, thoughts, attitudes, even activities, and sometimes certain people in order to more intentionally feel our hunger. We let go of the many things we use to fill and satisfy our self – things that are really nothing more than substitute gratifications. Fasting teaches us what is truly nourishing and life-giving. Fasting prepares us and creates a space within us to receive the “true bread from heaven.”

Finally, silence and solitude are essential to entering the heart. They can be seen as  forms of fasting and necessary components to true prayer. Silence and solitude are both more about presence than the absence of noise or people. They are interior qualities and not determined by the surrounding environment though a practice of some external silence and solitude is necessary.

These are not the exclusive means to enter the heart but starting points. Perhaps the simplest and most foundational practice is to simply show up. Show up with the intention to be fully present to God. Show up with your full attention on God’s presence.