The eternal Incarnation
As understood by many Christian mystics, the Incarnation is Eternal. As Meister Eckhart says:-
[i]The Father is eternally giving birth to the Son.[/i]
This can change our perspective. Instead of looking back to a past event, seeking to "believe" in it, and then looking ahead to some sort of "return', we can rest in this moment. The Incarnation is no longer a past event.
As Alan Watts has said:-
[i]The Crucifixion gives eternal life because it is the giving up of God as an object to be possessed, known, and held to for one’s own safety, “for he that would save his soul shall lose it.” To cling to Jesus is therefore to worship a Christ uncrucified, an idol instead of the living God.[/i]
The dualistic sense of a transcendent God who looks down upon our suffering - and we wonder why "he" doesn't do much about it, or why "he" seems deaf to our entreaties - is lost. Instead the Eternal, the Source, Reality-as-is, is [i]as us, and within us[/i], as our suffering, seeking to redeem it within each and every moment. Now. Not some belief that "glory" exists beyond the grave in some never-never world.
[i]The Father is eternally giving birth to the Son.[/i]
This can change our perspective. Instead of looking back to a past event, seeking to "believe" in it, and then looking ahead to some sort of "return', we can rest in this moment. The Incarnation is no longer a past event.
As Alan Watts has said:-
[i]The Crucifixion gives eternal life because it is the giving up of God as an object to be possessed, known, and held to for one’s own safety, “for he that would save his soul shall lose it.” To cling to Jesus is therefore to worship a Christ uncrucified, an idol instead of the living God.[/i]
The dualistic sense of a transcendent God who looks down upon our suffering - and we wonder why "he" doesn't do much about it, or why "he" seems deaf to our entreaties - is lost. Instead the Eternal, the Source, Reality-as-is, is [i]as us, and within us[/i], as our suffering, seeking to redeem it within each and every moment. Now. Not some belief that "glory" exists beyond the grave in some never-never world.
