Again on the Hill \u2026<\/strong>
<\/span>
\u201cHe did not die.\u201d<\/p>\nIt was but a voice, a thought. One not invited, but present nonetheless.<\/p>\n
Of course he died \u2026 we\u2019ve seen it. We continue to see it. It is somehow connected with love. Love for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a lie. He did not die. It is a myth. In fact, he never even lived. It is wishful thinking. Nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n
For days now, these thoughts \u2014 little demons, they are \u2014 have been on attack. At the same time, we\u2019ve discovered that if we do not wish to stay, he does NOT die. Well, not exactly \u2026<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve discovered that when we say, \u201cLord I want to stay here always\u201d \u2014 he says, \u201cI love you,\u201d and dies.<\/p>\n
However, if we simply gaze upon his loving death on the Tree, we are filled with awe and wonder. We are filled.<\/p>\n
Then, if we say, \u201cLord, I want to follow,\u201d the scene is transfigured. The Tree is replaced by an Empty Cave.<\/p>\n
It is then that the little demons attack, just as we prepare to take our first step forward toward the new image.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died. He never lived. He died. He never lived. He died \u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
(29 of 33) \u2026<\/em><\/p>\nIn the Wilderness \u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nOnce again, we\u2019re uncertain of our location. We were on the Hill, preparing to enter the Cave, when all of a sudden our surroundings became hazy \u2014 clouded judgment?<\/p>\n
A voice behind us says \u201cTurn back! You are lost!\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahead we hear, \u201cCome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died. He never lived \u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
The familiar thoughts, doubts. We see a man dressed in white. He is very beautiful. \u201cWhom do you seek?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe man. The man on the Tree \u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died. He died. He died. He died. Dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
As if he, too, could hear our legion of doubts, he replies, \u201cWhy do you seek the dead among the living? He is not here. He lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
(30 of 33) \u2026
<\/em>
In the Garden \u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nWe\u2019re here only for a brief stay \u2014 just till we can clear our head and move on.<\/p>\n
In the Garden, things make sense. In the Garden, all is rational, relative. We know that the dead don\u2019t live. We are smarter than that. Sure, we seek the truth. But truth must make sense! Truth should not \u2014 does not \u2014 contradict knowledge. Rational.<\/p>\n
The fruit is particularly tasty today. The color is a deep dark red. In fact, the fruit of the Tree looks like blood.<\/p>\n
For a moment, our minds reel back to the Hill. We see OUR fruit in the palm of HIS hands. Nails!<\/p>\n
We see him. We are no longer in the Garden.<\/p>\n
(31 of 33) \u2026
<\/em>
On the Way \u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nA new path. The Wilderness reversed? The Garden is now to our right, the Hill to our left. We have turned around. We are following.<\/p>\n
He did live. He did die. He now lives. We follow him \u2026 out of the Wilderness.<\/p>\n
We can go back to the Garden anytime.<\/p>\n
We might be found under the Tree on the Hill from time to time.<\/p>\n
He has warned us that the Garden leads to death. The beautiful creature is Evil Incarnate and a liar.<\/p>\n
The Hill, though resembling death, leads to Life.<\/p>\n
As we follow him, we are not alone. Others have gone on before.<\/p>\n
Something is holding our hand. Or \u2026 are we holding it?<\/p>\n
A cross. It is a cross. Although comforting, it is never familiar.<\/p>\n
(The cross is never familiar.)<\/p>\n
(32 of 33) \u2026<\/em><\/p>\nOn the Way \u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nThe blood doesn\u2019t stain us. In fact, it seems to wash us. The fruits from the Garden are washed away by the Fruit of the Hill. The tree that we bear is our defense against the enemy, the evil one. We used to think him beautiful.<\/p>\n
We now know \u2026 better.<\/p>\n
Knowledge. It\u2019s not all it\u2019s cracked up to be. Much of the experience of the Garden is knowledge. Where did it get us? Deeper into the Wilderness, farther from the Light, in the opposite direction of the Hill.<\/p>\n
\u201cSatan,\u201d they call him. He is very beautiful. Very sincere. Very attractive.<\/p>\n
Very disguised.<\/p>\n
And the fruits? They\u2019ve been there always \u2026 in the Garden. The Tree, however, is not that of Life. For, the Life-giving Tree is on the Hill. The Tree in the Garden is the same one that tempted Adam & Eve. The same Tree tempts us all. For the Tempter can always be found thereon.<\/p>\n
They are not actually \u201cfruits\u201d at all \u2026 but, seeds.<\/p>\n
Seeds of evil.<\/p>\n
When planted within us, we bear fruit. We, too, are trees.<\/p>\n
(33 of 33) \u2026<\/em><\/p>\nOn the Way \u2026<\/strong>
<\/span>
Yes, we are trees, bearing fruit. Like the Tree in the Garden, we can bear sinful fruit: Pride, Anger, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Avarice, Sloth. \u201cPale Gas\u201d we call it. Fitting.<\/p>\nOr, if the seeds planted within us are done so by the Sower on the Hill, we bear fruit of a different kind: Humility, Patience, Chastity, Contentedness, Temperance, Liberality, and Diligence.<\/p>\n
The knowledge gained in the Garden is self-serving and, therefore, self-condemning.<\/p>\n
Deadly.<\/p>\n
In the Garden, we learn how to place ourselves above others by putting them down. We are raised up at the expense of our neighbor.<\/p>\n
On the Hill, we learn humility. This knowledge<\/em> is God-serving. Therefore, it is life-giving. God is Life, God is Love. We learn how to serve our neighbor. In so doing, God is glorified. By our cross-bearing humility, we shall be raised up with Him at the Last Day.<\/p>\nThere are still questions.<\/p>\n
One has been entertaining us all the day long.<\/p>\n
Was the Tree made for man? Or was man made for the Tree?<\/p>\n
+ + +<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meditations are intended to be read sequentially, from 1 to 33. Part OnePart TwoPart ThreePart Four (28 of 33) \u2026 Again on the Hill \u2026\u201cHe did not die.\u201d It was but a voice, a thought. One not invited, but present nonetheless. Of course he died \u2026 we\u2019ve seen it. We continue to see it. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1691,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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