The Person and Presence

My dear friend and teacher

stands among a group of my friends and me.

We sit listening, as he quietly draws us in.

Is it the words he speaks? Yes.

But really, it’s more than the words.

It’s the Essence of the message behind these words.

It’s the person behind the words.

It’s the presence behind the word.

The teacher has been discussing

a different way to look at living and

a different way to live.

There is a familiar sense of

“what would Jesus do?”

in the lesson,

but THIS.

This feels very different.

This feels very beyond.

This feels very right.

The words

that struck me so deeply

were that we are to

“...be

the person

and presence

of Jesus.”

He speaks these words, and

there is a pause

of about twenty years.

As I sat in the church listening to David Hayes speak, I had no idea these words would continue to echo in my mind and heart so many years later. It was as if the Essence of the Spirit knew I needed to hold on to these words and draw upon them, later, when I was ready. The Essence of the Spirit knew I had caught a glimpse of something special. The Essence of Spirit knew I would return to the words behind the words over and over again in my searching and seeking.

And here I am

twenty years later,

still considering these same words

from my dear friend and teacher.

I believe this Essence

that was behind the words in that lesson is

the Essence of Jesus, the man and

the Essence of Jesus the Christ.

It is certainly worth considering

that once-popular phrase,

“what would Jesus do?”

but for a moment,

let’s consider this.

Let’s consider

when Jesus says,

“I am in the Father, and

you are in me, and

I am in you.”

Let’s consider the possibility that we don’t have to wonder.

We don’t have to think “what would Jesus do?”

Let’s imagine

we can trust Jesus’s words.

Let’s imagine

we can actually BE

the person and presence.

Let’s imagine

we can actually tap into

this Essence that made Jesus,

Jesus.

Look at those words again.

“I am in the Father,

you are in me, and

I am in you.”

THAT is the Essence Jesus carried.

THAT is the Essence of the Father.

So with this in mind,

dare we imagine that we can

tap into this same Divine Essence?

Dare we imagine that we can

soak up this same Divine Presence?

Dare we imagine that we can

BE this collective Person

in our shared humanity?

After all of this considering and imagining and daring, I am reminded of another reminding from my same dear friend, David quoting the Apostle Paul who encourages us to

“...be transformed

by the renewing of your mind.”

Over these past twenty years, I can say without a doubt that my mind has been and continues to be transformed. Those words spoken so long ago still speak to me today. I cannot help but think that the Essence that is the person and presence of Jesus is giving me peace to simply be. A peace that comes from a renewed mind. A mind that is continually being renewed day by day in this fragile “jar of clay” that is my life.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been wrestling with the paradox of being and doing and how we as Jesus followers can best hold this dynamic tension in peace and in stillness. And I feel compelled to trust, be open to, and say "yes!" to this paradox of person and presence.

So as I lay out these thoughts,

I want to leave you with one last

considering, or

imagining, or

daring.

For a moment, let’s

consider BEing the person. Let’s

imagine BEing the presence. Let’s

dare to immerse ourselves in and

live the same Essence

that my dear friend and teacher spoke of

that made Jesus,

Jesus.

John 14:20; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:15

Photo by Luis Morera on Unsplash