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When the wise men came from the East, they went to Jerusalem, the capital, to inquire, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” And today those who are “wise” make the same mistake in looking to worldly power to solve the world’s problems. Others go to magnificent cathedrals and follow spiritual paths that appear much more splendid and much more clever than anything which accompanied the birth of Christ.
All this is misguided; it concentrates on the question of “how” instead of the question “why.” We can easily get overwhelmed. How are we to carry out all the tasks laid upon us; how are we to plan our next year; how shall we find the strength both for securing our economic needs and in reaching out to the needs of others? But as important as these questions are, it is more important to remember the ancient question “Why?” Once we realize why Christ came to earth, why he was born as a helpless baby in a manger, and why his whole life was lived as an outcast from the best society, then can we begin to answer the question “how” – “how can we find God again; how can we experience peace on earth?”
We are human and finite, and thus cannot live perpetually in a sense of expectation, or in a continuous Advent. We are distracted by many things. Our spiritual awareness waxes and wanes in intensity. … The swing of emotions is natural to us, and some are more subject to extremes than others. We mustn’t despair about this. But we should be aware of cultivating religious emotions under the delusion that these are the workings of the Holy Spirit. Such emotions are unstable; they risk getting in the way of our communion with God.
It is here that we need to see why it was necessary for Christ to come to the earth. God has come to us because we, by our own power of soul, by our own emotions, even the noblest and most sublime, can never attain redemption, can never regain communion with God.
True expectancy, the waiting that is genuine and from the heart, is brought about by the coming of the Holy Spirit, by God coming to us, and not by our own devices. Spiritual depth, if it is true, is the working of God coming down and penetrating to the depths of our hearts, and not of our own soul’s climbing. No ladder of mysticism can ever meet or find or possess God. Faith is a power given to us. It is never simply our ability or strength of will to believe. The spiritual experience that is truly genuine is given to us by God in the coming of his Spirit, and only as we surrender our whole lives to an active expression of his will.
To put it quite simply, spiritual experience, whether it be of faith, hope (or expectancy) or love, is something we cannot manufacture, but which we can only receive. If we direct our lives to seeking it for ourselves we shall lose it, but if we lose our lives by living out the daily way of Christ we shall find it. …
This pattern of complete abandonment of human strength in total surrender to God’s will is of vital importance for us, both in our lives of activity and of spiritual experience. It was in the surrender of herself to God that Mary became the mother of Christ. It was in her acceptance of Gabriel’s message that the great decisive event of history took place. And in our own daily lives, in our efforts to do right, what is decisive is that we accept and live by and surrender ourselves to a strength which is not our own, to the piercing white light of God’s love.…
Although we are tempted to exert ourselves and push ourselves forward in our search for God, the desire to climb nearer to God is nothing but egotistical satisfaction and self-aggrandizement. The way that Christ took was the low way. His way is abandonment. He not only descended from the presence of God, but he came as a baby in the poorest conditions. It is not that we, as pilgrims, climb to a celestial city, but that the Christ child is born in the poverty of our hearts. …
The meaning of Advent and Christmas is thus the coming down of God’s love. This love alone revolutionizes our lives. Only God’s love, not the elevation of human souls, can effect a transformation of the world. Those who mourn the futility of their own efforts receive the comfort of the love of God. Those who are meekly obedient to his will are filled by the love of God, not as a prize to be won after death, but as redeemed life for this earth.
From Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas.
Read more by Philip Britts: Water at the Roots: Poems and Insights of a Visionary Farmer
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George Marsh
Joined with Christ, a human's effort may fail, but it will bear fruit. We remember Jesus and his promise that with and in him we will do greater things than he did.
L
This chap, has got it, all in one. It is never a matter, of how to do what needs, to be done -- but of what needs doing; and who can help us, make sure, it happens. Engaging, in the right kind, of self-questioning, will uncover all sorts of leading insights, that escape all who seek results -- without taking into account, their proper source. If a person, can dare, to do this, they will find, an unsuspected freedom, to be, just the very best, that they ever can be. Which is all, that most of us, ever want, in this present life -- until we begin, to desire more. ( And then, comes the heaven-life, which is greater .. )
Kevin Cushing
One of the things Mr Britts talked about- not chasing after “spiritual experiences “ since that is only ego fulfillment, sounds like what Teresa of Avila and Ignatius of Loyola spoke of as spiritual darkness or what John of the Cross called the dark night. Other writers spoke of the same phenomenon using different terms. It basically means dying to ourselves by means of a desolating experience (as well as confessing one’s sins) in order to be truly open to receiving God. That is also a long and arduous process- no shortcuts to holiness here as we would all like this path to be.
Kevin Cushing
And herein lies the difference between Christianity and Eastern spiritualities. Because Buddhism does not have a personal god, let alone have the Incarnation, it teaches that people should attain a higher state through such practices like meditation and rejecting the material world as an illusion. Too many people in the San Francisco Bay Area where I live either reject Christianity or uncritically mix the it with Eastern spirituality. Others (and I’m guilty of this) mix social ethics and political action with Christianity. Many (like me too often) look for “spiritual experiences”, and condemn ouselves when there is nothing but dryness. We need to keep focusing on Christ, not ourselves- which is a lifelong journey (and not an instant “born again” conversion experience). Of course that’s easier said than done.
Michael Harris
I read this article from the book this morning before going to work...and was struck with a paragraph left out of this excerpt ...."The direction to which our wills must be put is in obedience to God's will in response to the breaking in of the Spirit. Then something decisive happens 'for this earth'. In place of the confusion of injustice, strife, open war and treachery, there is revealed a path of the most lively unity and clarity..." I believe this is a large part of why the Son of God became one of us- a great and deep mystery that stirs us to the depths! This message must grip our hearts again and again! I have always liked Philip Britts' talks/writings and would love to see more!
Yolande
Thank you Phillip for sharing this. It is true. It was what I needed to hear right now. The place of brokenness and bankruptness before God, cannot be emphasized enough. It is however not so easy to cultivate these mindsets you spoke about...one tend to want to strive, sometimes you don't even recognize that it is striving. "Yes Lord, But how does it work"....that is how I felt like when reading your post....its not the first time I hear this...you just put it very well...but how do you practically yield in this way when you feel depressed and overwhelmed and empty and you really need an experience with God.... I don't yet understand. But even in that, I yield, for God to open it up in His way and time.