Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation

“[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth. . . . All things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15-16). Jesus is the microcosm of the macrocosm, and his role is to hold together matter and spirit inside of one concrete person—who looks totally human and just like us. Jesus of Nazareth is saying, as it were, “Matter and spirit have always been one. But you can’t believe this, so I’m going to ask you to see it, struggle with it, and fall in love with it in me. And then extrapolate to everything else—and yourself first of all!” Then you have the full Jesus-Christ mystery and can live happily inside the one “Body of Christ.” If you still live in a world where matter is over here and spirit is over there, you’re not yet a Christian. That’s not a moral judgment—it’s simply a true statement that you haven’t yet recognized or allowed the Great Transformation.

“He holds all things together in unity. . . . God wanted all fullness to dwell in him. Through him everything is reconciled, everything in heaven and everything on earth” (Colossians 1:17-20). The Christian God is not just in matter and not just spirit—but precisely when the two operate as one. In that sense most Christians are not yet Christian; they just “believe there is a God” and God’s name is Jesus. Very few know the cosmic “Christ.”

 
Adapted from Soul Centering through Nature: Becoming a True Human Adult,
disc 2 (CD, DVD, MP3 download)

Gateway to Silence:
God is all in all