A Haiku on Hell

A Haiku on Hell
Scripture tells us that
God is a Consuming Fire,
and that God is Love.

The Consuming Fire of God and the Love of God are not two opposing forces which must be somehow balanced out, one against the other. It is, rather, two different ways of speaking about the same thing — the Divine Love poured out at the Cross.

It is the Divine Judgment condemning sin and evil, purging and cleansing us from it. It is Love in its chastening work, correcting and refining us, to deliver us from our false self and restore us to our True Self, which is Christ in us, and us in Christ.

The True Light That Overcomes Our Darkness

The darkness of sin,
the curving inward upon ourselves
in a downward spiral toward oblivion,
blinds us to the infinite and eternal glory
that is Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
But Christ is the True Light who gives
light to everyone in the world,
and overcomes our darkness
but cannot be overcome by it.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light that was the True Light which gives Light to everyone coming into the world.” (John 1:1-9)

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” (John 8:12)

Christ and the Road We Are On

Christ is the only
Way to the Father,
But there are many
Ways to Christ. And
There is no road
He won’t come down
To find you and me.

There may be many who
Follow the Way of Christ,
Live the Truth of Christ,
Experience the Life of Christ,
Who do not yet know His name.
Then let us look for Christ
In everyone we meet.

The Incarnation Means No Separation

The Incarnation of Christ,
the union of divinity with humanity,
means there is no separation
between God and humankind,
between heaven and earth.

The only separation is in our own minds.

“For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.” (Romans 8:5-7)

There may be distinction, but in the ontological reality of things, there is no separation. How could there be, for the Incarnation is all-encompassing of humankind. There is only one humanity, of which we all partake, and by the Incarnation, Christ has become that humanity.

This is why St. Paul can speak as universally of Christ as he does of Adam:

“Consequently, just as one trespass [Adam’s] resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act [Christ’s] resulted in justification and life for all people.” (Romans 5:18)

“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

As many as were lost in Adam are found in Christ.