Nondual Christianity - Jesus - God Forsaking God

Описание: In this video we will talk about God forsaking God, or the double kenosis (self-emptying). This theological concept comes from Mark 14: 34-38. This video will focus on four layers of the spiritual journey or growth that the text seems to allude to.

Layer 1 - Access to God is Global - The tearing of the temple curtain from top to bottom is symbolic for the removal of barriers to access to God. There are no longer barriers or dividers to keep certain people out of the presence of God. In the temple system, non-Jews, women, non-priests and anyone except the high priest could only get so close to the holy of holies in which resided the presence of God in the ark of the covenant. With the tearing of the curtain, which separated the holy of holies, it shows that access to God is now global and there are not restrictions based on ethnicity, gender, role, etc.

Layer 2 - The Divine is Pursuing You - In contrast to the normal human assumption that we need to do something to get to God, the tearing of the curtain from top to bottom is symbolic of God taking the initiative. This is a paradigm shift. It hasn't been God that has insisted on separation; humans have been fleeing God. There has not been a divine barrier or cosmic law keeping humans and the divine separate. The perceived separation has been humans insisting on being separate. The meeting place of divine and human, the mercy seat (lid of the ark of the covenant), is not "missing God". Jesus is the sacrifice of atonement, the demonstration that God has always been present, and humans have insisted on fleeing. The divine is in pursuit; you are insisting on separation, if indeed that is what you experience.

Layer 3 - Releasing the ego self - The first two layers are about trying to be in proper relationship with the divine, whereas this layer is the transition to realizing you are the divine being. This is the true double kenosis, or God emptying of God. The first kenosis, self-emptying of God, from Phillipians 2 is about God releasing His powers (showing up as human). The second kenosis is Jesus emptying Himself of the idea of God Himself. When the curtain tears, the holy of holies is empty. This entire time, the worshippers have been pursuing a sacred object. They thought if only they could get into the holy of holies they would meet God; life would be perfect. The tearing of the curtain reveals that the pursuit of God was "empty" because it was a pursuit of nothing. From the nondual tradition, this makes sense because each of us is already the divine essence. The moment you believe that you can gain something by getting closer to God, you are already confused and will suffer. There is nothing to get or pursue because you are already the divine. There is nothing to lose or gain. Whatever you actually lack is best to embrace because that is part of your unique perspective. Whatever you think you will achieve or gain by attaining your sacred object is false. You are what you most desire. You will not find God because you are God. Essentially, this layer is realizing your ego personality is not your true self. You give up that false self and experience oneness with the divine because you are not separate from the divine.

Side note - this does not mean you need to be passive in the world. Act, live, strive, play, but do so knowing your true nature. There is nothing to ultimately gain or lose.

Layer 4 - Releasing the Self - Jesus had clearly given up the false identification with his separate self, and experienced his divine oneness with God the Father. It appears that there is a final shift happening. A dying of his unique divine vantage point and resurrecting in complete oneness with the divine in a way that was not present prior to the crucifixion. Perhaps we can say he released his own Self into the divine in an unprecedented way.

Verses:
Mark 15: 34-38
34 At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabaktanei?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 35 And when some of the bystanders heard Him, they began saying, “Look! He is calling for Elijah!” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.” 37 But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died. 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Note from the author:
In my experience, many people will try to look for a quick reason to dismiss these ideas, and one of the most popular is by seeing if the source of the content is "acceptable". In an effort to avoid such a quick judgment, I am intentionally not speaking about the sources of information for these ideas; however, if you email me I would be happy to provide additional information on sources I have found helpful in the exploration of the Nondual approach to reality.

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