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7. Encountering Christ in his Cosmic aspect
Maybe you know someone who says they find God in nature, or out in the “real world” (as opposed to Church)? Maybe you are such a person yourself?
I can certainly relate.
Even during those times earlier in my life when I didn’t much appreciate the role of religion in conveying a sense of God’s presence, I still felt close to God in nature. I enjoyed hunting, fishing, bird-watching, boating, camping out, gardening, and lots of other outdoor activities. Fresh air and sunshine can help anyone feel better, but there was more to it than that. There was a sense of presence there, and a freshness that I didn’t find anywhere else; that is still the case at times. Hours of silence and solitude in a duck blind or on a deer stand put me in touch with deep inner longings, and helped me become open to the beauty manifesting in nature around me. I often found myself moved to prayer--even just simple statements like “thank you,” or simple prayers of petitions out of my longing. At that time in my life I didn’t recognize the Christic aspect of this experience; now I understand it a little better, and I will share some of my understanding in this conference.
I think there are two difference ways to speak of encountering Christ in his cosmic aspect: one is to have a sense of Christ manifesting through creation; the other is a sense of creation in Christ. The first is to view creation as sacramental--another symbolic mode through which something of Christ can be communicated, and that will be the primary concern of this conference. I’ll say more about seeing creation in Christ in Conference #8.
How do you encounter Christ in creation? An early 20th C. Irish poet named Joseph Mary Plunkett describes his experience of this as follows:
I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.
I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice--and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.
All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-heating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.
I consider this to be an outstanding example of encountering Christ in his cosmic aspect. The poet--a little-known Irish mystic from the turn of the 20th century--is a person who must have had a deep sense of encounter with Jesus through the first three modes we spoke of in previous conferences. He obviously loves Jesus, and has a lively sense of the sacramental as well. Trees don’t really speak of the cross of Christ for those who don’t know him in his passion, as related in Scripture; they’re just trees, evoking a sense of appreciation and wonder, perhaps, but not necessarily a reminder of the cross. Nevertheless, Plunkett’s poem is a beautiful testimony to a mystical sense of the personal Christ present to us in nature. For those who have gone deeply into the first three modes of encounter, this is a real possibility, and a wonderful one to hope for.
Another--and far more likely--type of encounter with Christ in creation is of the sort I mentioned from my own life. If one has not gone very far into the religious modes of union, then the Christic dimension might not be recognized. Still, it can be experienced, and just as a newcomer to a Christian community can have a sense of Christ’s presence and love without being able to identify it as such, so, too, can we encounter him in creation. The reason for this is because God is good and whatever God has created is good; therefore, everything in nature reflects something of God’s creativity and goodness. Furthermore, because we believe that God created through the Word or Second Person of the Trinity--the very Person Who became incarnate in Christ--every created thing is a word of that Word. And so it is impossible to have a deep and authentic encounter with nature without also touching something of Christ, even if indirectly. That is how I understand my own earlier experiences now.
Two exciting possibilities suggest themselves to me about all this. One is that many Christians whose experience of Christ has been primarily through religious modes can also come to a deeper encounter with him by learning to recognize him in his cosmic mode. The second is that there are many who love nature and who, with the right kind of teaching, could be led to recognize the Christic aspects therein and, perhaps, become interested in finding Christ in the religious modes where he presents himself to us most powerfully as well. Space does not permit an adequate treatment of the second possibility; it is one that I think the creation theologians and spiritualities have tried to explore, if not always very well. Perhaps we can discuss this second option some more on the discussion forum if there’s an interest.
All of us can grow in our encounter of Christ in creation. We see movement in this direction during the earliest days of Christianity, where Paul speaks of Christ in a cosmic sense (Col. 1, 15-20) and even uses the image of creation as a womb of the Church (Rm. 8: 22). Then there is Gregory of Nyssa, a great 4th C. mystic and theologian, who wrote: “When someone whose mind is but partially developed sees something clothed in some semblance of beauty, he believes that this thing is beautiful in its own nature . . . but someone who has purified the eyes of his soul and is trained to see beautiful things . . . makes use of the visible as a springboard to rise to the contemplation of the spiritual.” The first three modes of encounter help us to purify the eyes of the soul to see the beauty of Christ in his personal, communal and sacramental manifestations. This sensitivity to Christ can help us to find in creation a “springboard to rise to the contemplation of the spiritual.”There is also St. Augustine (4th C).: ”I cannot show you my God, but I can show you his works. ‘Everything was made by him’ (John 1: 3). He created the world in its newness, he who has no beginning. He who is eternal created time. He who is unmoved made movement. Look at his works and praise their maker.”
Beyond this consideration of Christ in nature, his cosmic presence extends all throughout the non-Christian realm of human culture as well, including secular cultural, governments, and even other world religions. Sometimes the presence of Christ is mediated in places most unexpected--like in a public school where the faculty emphasizes care and respect for the students. It might also communicate through a self-help book written by an atheist, who nonetheless has something helpful to say about improving your relationships with others. Or maybe a Hindu or Buddhist teacher radiates a love that feels familiar. The possibilities here are endless, for “whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light.” (James 1: 17). Also, we recall the simple truth that “God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” (1 Jn. 4: 16). Wherever we find love manifesting, we can be sure that God is involved.
How would one know that it is Christ manifesting through nature, society and other means, and not just your own natural, sentimental responses?
Olivier Clement puts it very well. “The book of the cosmos (the world, St. Augustine says, is a ‘first Bible’) and that of the Scriptures match each other, since they have the same author. Both of them find their full revelation in Christ, who, after writing them, made them his body and his face . . . The Word both hides and reveals himself in visible forms as much as in the words of Scripture.” (“The Roots of Christian Mysticism”).
For those who have become attuned to the voice of the Shepherd leading us through the Scriptures, the Church and the Sacraments, his voice will be heard whispering to us in nature and human culture as well. You know the “feel” of his presence, the peace and joy he shares, and the love for all beings that he awakens in your heart.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1. What feelings, questions, or comments do you have from this conference?
2. How do you encounter Christ in nature? In civic organization? Other world religions?