Sent By God

An institution, to the extent that it remains faithful to the vision or blueprint of its founder, must be likewise imbued with the spirit and will of its founder. How much more so is this true with respect to the founding of Christianity by Jesus of Nazareth, popularly and esoterically known as "The Christ"? Is it not true that we even refer to this Church as "the body of Christ", precisely because it is imbued with his spirit and his will?

For this man, whom many have welcomed into their hearts as a unique manifestation of God, poured out his flesh, blood, and soul -- all his spirit and all his will -- into the Church he wished (and was born) to create. He held nothing back, with the paradoxical consequence that there is nothing of himself, and everything of God The Father, in "his" work. His name is praised above all others, but not for its own sake; rather, it has become synonymous with both God and the Church. In fact, it is a name which, to some, means only Love.

With precision, we may say that Christianity is the work of The Holy Spirit, which moves mysteriously between the submission of The Son and the dominion of The Father. This work is not accomplished without the cooperation, or harmonization, of both Father and Son; just as a king cannot send an epistle through enemy territory unless he first locates a willing messenger who is able to carry it. What draws them together is The Holy Spirit, which is not merely an agent of serendipity, but also the very love with binds them to one another, and to their mutual object; the preaching of the Gospel of love to all people. While this is a subtle distinction, it is, at the same time, one which may be easily apprehended by most readers, provided that they be receptive to this same Holy Spirit of love.

We see, in Christ's submission to God, the prototype for spiritual perfection. In like manner, the Christian saints have all submitted themselves to Christ, inspired by his absolute sumbission to God, and, by the secret ministrations of grace, found themselves under the dominion, not of Christ, but of the Father who sent him. They have sacrificed whatever life they may have known apart from God, for the sake of finding a new life in the living spirit and will of Jesus, who sacrificed himself as an example for them, and, so, inspired their devotion to him, and to the Father who loved him.

When Christ declares himself "sent by God", this is another way of saying he is loved by God. However, since we are all loved by God, the expression "sent by God" suggest something more; namely, that one KNOWS one is loved by God, and speaks of this love "as one with authority"; as one who carries official news, sent by the king. And, just as Christ was not merely loved by God when The Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the divine voice was heard declaring him "My Son, in whom I am well pleased", -- but, continues to be loved, so God continues to send Christ; who is not sent once, but is always sent by God. Christ continues to bear the love of God, as a missal, in spirit as he did in flesh.

Something more must be said concerning submission to God, for the manner of submission to which Christ's words and life testify is unique. In a sense, Christ did what we are told the devil could not do on account of his pride. Following the command of God, he submitted himself to the service of mankind, and found, in this, the form of his service to God.

Even Satan, it is said, could love and submit himself to God. It was God's love for sinful creatures, and His command to serve them, which the devil could not abide. How many self-proclaimed Christians are, in fact, submissive to this devil, when they proclaim the goodness of God along with His wrath toward sinners? They are able to love and submit themselves to God only as Satan does; that is, to God as He is on His throne, and in His kingdom, where He reigns. Beyond the boundaries of the heavenly realms, they are fit neither to carry, nor to receive, the commands of God.

"My kingdom is not of this world", says Christ.

He did not cease to be a faithful servant of the King, when he divided himself from the court, left the sovereignty of the kingdom, and came into this world. Nor did he shrink from declaring himself Prince (Son of The King), in hostile territory, where he could only hope to be crowned with thorns. In a world where allegiances were split between tyrannical rulers and fundamentalist rabbis, he declared the rightful rulership of Divine Love.

Today, largely due to the sacrifice of this man, and others like him (many of whom were simply responding to the call with which he had inspired them), we are relatively free to speak of "the divine right of love". Yet, even today, it is exceedingly rare to meet a person who does more than speak of this, and perhaps make an occasional effort in this direction. Can we even begin to imagine what it must have meant to his contemporaries, when Christ not only spoke about a love which they had never heard before, but went the distance, by becoming a living sacrifice to love, so that they could see as well as hear?