“Phenomenal cosmic powers … Itty bitty living space.”
—Genie, Disney’s Aladdin
Richard Rohr’s instant classic, The Universal Christ (2019), raised quite a stir by distinguishing the historical Jesus from the “cosmic Christ,” for it seemed to flow in the opposite direction of the apostle John’s insistence that “Jesus IS the Christ.” Indeed, I’ve occasionally flagged that distinction as problematic.
And then again, much of the pushback Fr. Richard received for his teaching contained more error and less orthodoxy than what his critics thought to oppose. Rather than nitpicking Rohr, I want to hear the treasure in what he’s thoughtfully and prayerfully attempted—I want to perceive with my heart what the Spirit is speaking through the limitations of human thought and words. Said another way, I want to receive the gift of the Incarnation afresh through this friend who exudes it so beautifully.
To do so, I’ll briefly engage with his contemplative colleague, James Finley, in his summary of Rohr’s teaching.1
So, James begins:
Our Christian faith does not teach us that God became incarnate in someone named Jesus who lived 2000 years ago. Rathe,r our faith teaches that in the person of Jesus who lived 2000 years ago, it is revealed that God has become incarnate as us—that God’s life and our life are one life and this one life is Christ’s life, a unitive life in which in some essential sense, we and God are not dualistically other than each other.
And this is where Finley and Rohr lose so many of us. Are they denying the Incarnation? Not really, no. Are they denying the uniqueness of Jesus of Nazareth as the “only begotten” Son of God? Not as I’ve come to know Fr. Richard. Rather, they view Jesus as the focal point of this unique revelation: that in Jesus of Nazareth, God the Word (the universal Christ) did more than temporarily borrow a human body to roam around Galilee and die outside Jerusalem. The revelation of Jesus Christ (for I stubbornly combine the two ‘names’ in one person) is that infinite Love is unitive. That is, our Creator is united to all creation, Christ is united to all humanity and infinite Love is united to you. Finley describes this “unitive nature”:
What’s so key about this understanding of unitive nature—of God’s life being given to us as our own life—is that this oneness with God and life itself is not something that’s been given to us out of the ability to live up to some ideal that we aspire to, some set of moral principles or standard like the law that we’re trying to measure up to.
This should certainly trigger a resounding “Amen” from those who’ve had a taste of grace. The indivisible union of this God of “phenomenal cosmic love” in the “itty bitty living space” of the Virgin’s firstborn baby is the quintessential revelation that this same Love resides in you and “ain’t goin’ nowhere.” It is not sabotaged by our shameful bits or propped up by our grandest achievements…
To the contrary, in Jesus of Nazareth is revealed that God has freely chosen to become identified with us—unexplainably precious in the midst of our fragility itself. That in some sense, the recognition of our fragility, the recognition of our weakness, the recognition of the unresolved matters of our mind and heart is the condition in which we realize the infinite love of God is infinitely identified with us in the midst of those very issues…
Please remember that the “Incarnation” extends beyond the virginal conception of Jesus or his birth in Bethlehem. The historic Incarnation encompasses the whole of the life of Christ, including his death on the Cross. What does the Cross reveal about the “unitive mystery”? How does it apply to my faith journey today? Forgiveness of sins, for sure. But there’s more:
Another key insight that runs through the heart of our faith is that Jesus says, “Come, follow me” and we discover where he is leading us is the Cross. And what is the Cross in the context of our faith? It is the mysterious process of dying to our dreaded and cherished illusions that anything less or other than an infinite union with infinite love has the authority to name who were are. That is to say, the mystery of the cross is dying to the idolatry of shame, as having authority to name who we are, and it is also simultaneously dying to the authority of virtue or attainment.
You see, the Incarnation reveals that it’s not about how good or bad we’ve been, but that Infinite Love freely chose to identify with us, abide in us and become inextricably woven into the human condition. Christ emptied himself into humanity to raise up humanity with himself—in no way contingent on our performance:
Because this love is so unexplainably given to us by infinite love, it is a love we are powerless to diminish and we are powerless to increase. It is boundaryless in all directions through and through.
Some have wondered whether Rohr’s Jesus/Christ distinction or “cosmic Christ” revelation makes the Cross unnecessary. Rohr is unequivocal: “Without the Cross, your suffering would be meaningless.” But with the Cross, we see how Christ (perfect Love) co-suffers with all human suffering. Ironically, our embrace of the Cross of Christ means our death but what a gift! Why?
… this process of this sweet death—of dying to everything less than love is our experiential salvation.
Dying to the idolatry of both shame and achievement reorients us to Infinite Love and now that Love names us. No longer do we know ourselves by what we’ve done or failed to do. Rather, our identity is rooted deeply in Perfect Love’s infinite union with us.
I will take Finley and Rohr’s word as a call to grow a little bit more in love (in Christ) by ‘dying’ a little bit more (to performance). To let my fearful “what ifs” become bold “even if” faith statements … and ultimately, to fix my eyes and ears on Christ, who “Because Love ____, therefore____.” And to let that be my hymn of hope and praise!
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[1] James Finley, “On The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3yIwHgGaKE.
Thanks for sharing this. I so appreciate your openness to listen to 'the Spirit speaking through the limitations of human thought and words'. It seems to me that with every revelation there comes a certain tension due to the limitations of human language - which challenges us to nuance how we express the received revelation. I guess the reason for this is, that true revelation is not meant to be received and lived in a vacuum but in loving community, so it can be worked through and expressed in relationship. After all, true revelation enables us to participate in the Divine Communion after which all our relationships are to be modelled.
Posted by: Florian Berndt | June 18, 2020 at 12:53 AM