Simple Is Not Always Easy

Jesus commends to us the most simple, root teachings of our Judeo-Christian scriptures in two simple practices: 

1. “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (Matt. 22:37).^1 

2. ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’" (Matt. 22:39).^2 

Love - unconditional, unabashed, wholly committed, freely given - is the common concern of these practices. 

In the Koine Greek in which the New Testament was written, several words are translated into English as love. "Agape" is the specific kind of love identified as "the unconditional, self-sacrificing, and volitional love of God for humans through Jesus, which they ought also to reciprocate by practicing agape love towards God and among themselves."^3  

Jesus is teaching us to feel in our heart, quicken in our daily living experiences, and hold as ideal in our consciousness, this unconditional, unabashed, wholly committed, freely given love his Father has for us; and that we should share this same agape love within our own heart, for ourselves, and all those with whom we interact. This vitalizing response to life is to permeate every aspect of our lives, from the way we think, how we feel, and the behaviors we exhibit. 

Pretty simple! Love one another as I have loved you. (John 13:34) 

Easy? Quite the opposite! In fact, we often find this extremely difficult! 

Imagine a person at school or work maligns you or physically harms you. What is our most natural human reaction to this mistreatment? Usually, it is NOT to love that person with our whole heart, soul, and mind. Yet responding to harm with agape love is the teaching of Jesus! 

And Jesus follows his own teaching. At his crucifixion, nailed to the cross, Jesus says, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).^4 

This is a difficult teaching! It goes against our human nature to love those who harm us. Are we the better for loving unconditionally? When casting our eyes to our long term spiritual development and maturity, Jesus and the saints answer that it IS in our own best interest to be so freely forgiving and unconditionally loving. 

As Christians we seek to embody Christ, heart, soul, and mind. We will fall short of this mark a great many times, to be sure. But we are to recommit ourselves to not only becoming adopted sons and daughters of God in a theoretical sense, and not only in a spiritual sense, but also in a very real day-in-day-out sense in how we choose to live our lives, and in how we permit ourselves to express our behavior. 

To be clear. I am NOT saying this is easy! I am NOT saying we can do this all the time, or perhaps even most of the time. But we must extend to ourselves a degree of charity, and seek through the Grace of God, that we may over time, return again and again to these ideals we hold to be sacred. 

We are on a journey. We are growing and maturing over time. And as we practice, so the more we become. Ever so slowly at times. Sometimes more easily than others. Sometimes sliding back into destructive states of mind or behaviors. But we are not done, unless we give up! It is not so important that we fail and fall back into times of darkness; we are human, and this is going to happen to us. What IS important is how we respond to these times of trial:  

§ Acknowledge our shortcomings. 

§ Sincerely feel repentant. 

§ Sincerely recommit our self to correcting our mistakes and misdeeds. 

§ Sincerely recommit our self to doing better now!  

§ Seek the Grace of God, enabling us to overcome our shortcomings. 

May the Peace of Christ be with you, 

Erik++ 

Monsignor Erik
Associate Dean, Ekklesia Epignostika Seminary

https://northernway.org/seminary/holyorders/index.html 

My Path Back to Christianity

Monsignor Erik
Associate Dean, Ekklesia Epignostika Seminary

https://northernway.org/seminary/holyorders/index.html 

I never expected to return to Christianity; my path back was a searching, uncertain, "lost in the desert" exploration traversing several decades. It is for this reason I feel I may appeal to others as they make their own spiritual journey, perhaps also assuming Christianity was a dry well for them, and then discovering this spiritual tradition offers more than they knew! Such has been my experience.

The book that awoke me to the esoteric ("hidden" or "inner") meaning of Christianity was Smoley's "Inner Christianity." Reading this book awoke me to the possibility of true inner spiritual searching in the Christian religious tradition. It truly is possible to seek a mystical, esoteric connection with Spirit, expressing as a Christian. And this tradition is ancient, valid, and real, reaching back 2,000 years! (Several thousand years more distant, in fact, once one includes our ancient Hebrew heritage.)

I entered the priestly formation program offered by the Ekklesia Epignostika Seminary, undertaking the serious reading of a great many critical texts, and inner searching required of one seeking formation as a priest. It was a life-changing encounter for me, as it may be for you.

Aged 50 years, I became an ordained priest in the Ekklesia Epignostika church on Sunday, February 25th, 2013, on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Apostle. I felt the rising "crown of flames" as my crown chakra opened during the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist in which I became a priest in the order of Melchizedek. (As it turns out, "crown" chakra does not just mean the top of one's head!)

"Spiritual, but not religious?"

Perhaps, like me, you just didn't know there is a rich, time honored tradition of mysticism in the Christian faith. If you have been raised in the West, like me, and especially in the United States, one of the important reasons to consider returning to a vital experience of esoteric Christianity is that it is in our bones, and blood, and our very cultural experience; we cannot escape it, is it the water in which we swim, like it or not. Thus, we will naturally resonate with Christian symbolism far more readily than those from another culture; when it comes to activating the unconscious, through which the divine is experienced by us, this is an important consideration.

All valid spiritual traditions which sponsor peace and the seeking of inner illumination speak to the same transcendent, ultimate truth: there is only One God; a singular reality. However, many are best served by seeking this transcendent truth embodying terms and symbolism in which one has been raised; this offers the deepest unconscious connection to this transcendent reality, which is quite useful to you in practical ways.

What do I do now?

I am an Associate Dean and Monsignor in the Ekklesia Epignostika church, assisting with the formation of those inspired to become priests. If you find a kinship with the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit at work in this world, perhaps we will be fortunate enough to work together in the near future.

What should you do now?

As you read this, if you are feeling the call of the Holy Spirit, I suggest you contact the Ekklesia Epignostika Seminary to discern whether you are being called to the priesthood. The Ekklesia Epignostika church has ordained as priests, men and women, married and single persons, and we share the same ancient Apostolic lines of succession as the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Pax Christi,

Erik++

A Word About Our Beliefs

We believe the following to be true:

• The goal of spirituality is not merely about the salvation of the soul; it is also about the enlightenment and liberation of the mind.
• There are many levels of existence, both subtle and physical, each containing unique expressions of the Divine. As such, it is our duty as spiritual seekers to learn as much as we can about these intermediate levels in order to better understand the fullness of God.
• While faith is essential to spirituality, it should never be given blindly. Therefore, we encourage congregants to become educated about the historical truths of the Bible, the church, and Christ.
• Truth can be found within all of the world's religions, and can be uncovered through study, introspection, and discernment. As such, we do not discriminate against any nation or creed, knowing that we are all equal in the eyes of God.
• Spiritual illumination can be achieved through a mindful life of prayer, study, inward meditation, and the rigors of maintaining a decent, ethical life.
• The deep, transformative understanding of wholeness associated with personal, spiritual experiences of God, are essential to creating global and societal change.
• Spirituality is ultimately personal, and therefore, must be discovered by the individual. As such, we do not recognize any member of the church as having a special, divine authority greater than anyone else.
• Mankind can never truly define or limit spiritual expression or evolution, as the fullness of God can never be fully understood by finite minds. Therefore, spiritual belief and expression should be adaptive to the changes of understanding, or Gnosis, of God, rather than based solely on dogmatic teachings.
• Balance in all things is to be cultivated and integrated, be it intellect and emotion, masculine and feminine, or faith and science, as all are aspects of the Divine.

https://northernway.org