What Knowing The Authentic Jesus teaches me about being a better Christian
At the beginning of January, 2015, I completed a 5 Day Silent, Directed Retreat at Campion Retreat Center in Weston, MA. It was a wonderful experience that drew me to deepen my relationship with Jesus. I was directed during this time by Fr. Bill Barry, SJ through portions of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises to uncover "what makes Jesus tick". In this time of praying the New Testament with Jesus I found a way of encountering him in scripture that fulfilled what became the inspiration of my retreat: "If you want to follow me, you should get to know me."
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My retreat experience inspires me to continue the process I began at Campion for a sustained period of time. I intend to prayerfully spend time with Jesus in the 3 Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and The Gospel of John with the additional sources listed below and reflect on this here.
I pray that this encounter will allow me to better know and love Jesus and awaken me to live a deeper and more genuinely Christian way of life. The things I look to pay reflect on and discern will be:
I see the purpose and method of my own quest to know Jesus as addressing what I is expressed in John 1:35-39:
I pray that this encounter will allow me to better know and love Jesus and awaken me to live a deeper and more genuinely Christian way of life. The things I look to pay reflect on and discern will be:
- What is Jesus' Spirituality?
- How did Jesus look at his own Faith tradition (Judiasm) and how does that inform me to look at my own Tradition?
- What did Jesus' actually teach and how did he exemplify who he was through his life?
- Who was Jesus and what does his relationship to God he knew as Abba tell me about him?
I see the purpose and method of my own quest to know Jesus as addressing what I is expressed in John 1:35-39:
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God." 37 The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day...
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Sources of Insight
In addition to the New American Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible, I look to the following cross section of biblical scholars (Matera and Wright), learned modern contemplatives (Borgeault, Merton and Rohr) and spiritual writers (Marion, Martin and Nolan) to aid my prayerful encounter with Jesus. I am seeking to verify and deepen my own insights by comparing mine against theirs as I encounter Jesus through the different points of view expressed by the four Evangelists in the Canonical Gospels.
—. Mark for Everyone. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
—. Matthew for Everyone. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
- Borgeault, Cynthia. The Wisdom Jesus. Shambala, 2008.
- Marion, James. Putting On the Mind Of Christ. Hampton Roads, 2011.
- Martin, SJ, James. Jesus - A Pilgrimage. HarperOne, 2014.
- Matera, Frank J. Resurrection, The Origin and Goal of the Christian Life. Liturgical Press, 2015.
- Merton, Thomas. The New Man. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1961.
- Nolan, Albert. Jesus Today - A Spirituality of Radical Freedom. Orbis, 2011.
- Rohr, OFM, Richard. Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality. St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2007.
- Wright, Nicholas Thomas. John for Everyone. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
—. Mark for Everyone. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
—. Matthew for Everyone. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.