As you might remember, Gentle Reader, I consider myself to be a ‘Christian Ecumenist.’ That is, I am a follower of Christ and his example AND I seek to find ‘truth’ in all faith traditions, in all philosophical traditions and in all humanistic traditions. So far I have found ‘truth’ in all I have sought to understand. I have also been blessed to have had six significant spiritual guides (some call them ‘Spiritual Directors’ but my experience is that they have never ‘directed’ me, they have always guided me).
Yesterday I was paging through one of my journals looking for a particular quotation and I came upon a quotation from one of my early spiritual guides. Here is what I had written down: ‘Remember that meditating on and imitating the behavior of Christ will be of no help. It is not a question of imitating Christ, it is a question of becoming what Christ was!’
For one who espouses to be a follower of Christ it is not a matter of ‘doing’ but a matter of ‘becoming’ and this ‘becoming’ is followed by ‘doing.’ For me, this simple idea changes everything. ‘Becoming’ is more than ‘shifting’ or even ‘changing.’ ‘Becoming’ requires ‘transformation.’ A ‘transformation’ is a ‘fundamental change in character or structure.’
Christ is clear about this ‘Becoming.’ Each ‘Becoming’ entails an ‘invitation’ (Christ is not coercive – I find it interesting and disturbing that so many espoused Christians use coercion rather than invitation); each ‘Becoming’ also involves a personal challenge.
So, as a reminder to those of us who espouse to be followers of Christ, here are a few of the ‘Becoming’ invitations and challenges (in no particular order):
- Become as the little children (this one stops many of us in our tracks).
- Become poor in spirit (we can easily fool ourselves into believing we are becoming poor in spirit).
- Become poor (give what you have to the poor; being rich is a block to eternal life). Now, the ante has been raised.
- Become merciful (this is the balancing polarity to the justice that so many good Christians demand).
- Become a peacemaker (no small feat for any of us); this require us to ‘turn the other cheek.’
- Become compassionate, forgiving and offer healing (an ‘eye for an eye’ is not the norm or the goal).
- Become a servant, first (in our culture we crave to be leaders first).
- Become one who loses his/her life for Christ’s sake (how many of us trust in and believe in Christ and Christ’s message to really embrace this one).
Well, Gentle Reader, this is enough…for me anyway, if not for you. I remember saying to another of my spiritual guides that ‘this is too hard.’ I can see her smiling the smile of the wise and responding: ‘It is indeed hard; but it is not TOO hard – it depends upon what you believe and it depends upon whom you are choosing to become.’
Searcher-Seeker 