The Contemplative Companion for Monday, May 1, 2017

Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.
So they said to him,
What can we do to accomplish the works of God?
Jesus answered and said to them,
This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent. – John 6.27 – 29

Essentially, the answer to their question what can we do to accomplish the works of God – is NOTHING. We can do nothing to accomplish the works of God except believe in THE WORK of God, which is Christ, the utmost expression of Divine manifestation in the realm of forms. It is the Work of the union of human and divine. For that work, all one can do is believe that it is REAL,  and that the union is available not just for Jesus, but for you too.

Had their question been focused somewhat differently – such as: what can we do to participate in the work on ourselves –  the answer could have been: to work on yourselves you must follow my way of transformation, dying a little bit to your self and being raised, layer by layer, more into the life of Christ. 

Work on ourselves looks like not getting so stuck in negative emotions. Not expressing negative thoughts. In Jesus’ terms, turning the other cheek. Forgiving our enemy quickly. Clearing accounts we hold against others. These are just a few of the many practical means Jesus taught and revealed of  how to work on ourselves.

These ideas are a kind of enduring food. Such ideas influence us at deeper levels and give us an energy that feeds our transformation, in contrast to the kind of food and influences and ideas that deplete us – perhaps temporarily entertaining us, yet distracting us long-term from our more enduring purpose, meaning and possibilities.

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