What does it mean for us that God has come to us in the form of the person Jesus? Good news for sure, but what is this good news that appears to be both a scandal and an epiphany? A scandal because God came to us not perched on a lofty pedestal adorned in robes and jewels. But God came to us instead in a feeding trough in a smelly manger in a backwater town wrapped in rags and being held in the arms of a teenage outcast mother. This is the Omega point of the divine.
The Epiphany of Jesus comes to remind us of who we are and have always been – to remind us of what we have forgotten – that what lies deep within the heart of every human being is the reality of God. The one who is divine and human comes to remind us that we are human and divine. When John saw Jesus that day and said: “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” he was saying that the pure manifestation of the reality of God has come to vanquish all that separates us from the clear image of God within us – things such as falseness and misguided ego trips. Jesus has come to help us remember what we have forgotten.
So many of us have forgotten who we truly are, and sadly, not only does it prevent us from living authentically, but it causes us to hurt ourselves and to injure others. We have been seduced by the falseness of power and control, succumbed to the darkness of addiction in all its various disguises, been ruled by our false-self ego and have fallen prey to the lie that we are something less than beloved by God. So many have been imprisoned by these lies, it is no wonder that we often live in fear and anxiety. That is why John’s declaration is such good news. Because Jesus has come to help us remember and reclaim our true selves. Not just some of us, but all of us, regardless of national origin, denominational stripes, spiritual tradition, or political affiliation. He has come to stir us from the slumber of ignorance and to awaken us to the fullness of who we were always intended to be. He has come to remind us that in loving one another we are loving God. This is the universal Christ-consciousness that embraces all the world, and once awakened will revolutionize our relationships with God and with one another. Realizing and embracing this truth is the only way we can heal as individuals and as a global community.
The reality of God is at one with every human soul. There is no separation. We are all one. This is reality. Anything else is an illusion. The Divine Union we seek is already within us. We have just become deaf to its whisper. But we can awaken, and Jesus has come to rustle us from our slumber.
To see the manifestation of God, we need look no further than our sisters or brothers around us. Look beyond the falseness of anything that tries to separate us, and look into each other’s eyes. If look closely with love, you will see love gazing back at you. You will see the Epiphany of God.
BROTHER DENNIS