“What Jesus represented or demonstrated has now been realized, which is why this is called the time of Christ. The ‘time’ of Christ, whom so many associate with Jesus Christ, represents the ‘time’ of fulfillment of the way of Jesus. What could be taught and learned has been taught and learned. Now it is time to move beyond what could be taught and learned to what can only be realized through relationship. Now is the time of the final revelation of what can be realized, or made real, through following the example life of Jesus. (A Course of Love: Dialogues)”
Affirmation: “May I realize through relationship now.”
Reflections:
We have been in a time of learning, a time that emphasized the mind. As we move into Christ-consciousness, we are bade to come into knowing. The mind and its learning have fulfilled their time. We are now to move into the sustaining of Christ-consciousness, rather than simply the maintenance of this state intermittently.
The way of Jesus was acceptance, and the realization of an example life. It was Christ-consciousness through teaching and learning. Now we are coming into a different form of Christ-consciousness, through relationship, which is exemplified in the life of Mary, his mother. We have “learned” all that we can; we are encouraged now to live with our feelings in relationships. We will truly “know.” And this knowing is beyond needing proof of any kind. It is the fulfillment of all that the sustaining of Christ-consciousness can offer to us.
Day Seventeen affirms that Mary also realized Christ-consciousness. But as Jesus accepted, and was an example life, Mary taught through relationship. And it is this time of relationships in which we find ourselves now. The final paragraph in this chapter begins, “Thus we enter the ending stage of what can be realized through fulfillment of the way of Jesus and the beginning of the fulfillment of the way of Mary.”
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
I am so used to learning. I have sought You in so many ways, and now I am tired of seeking. You, through Jesus, tell me that the time of learning is over, that knowing will happen now. Thank You. I realize that I have longed for this, without realizing what I longed to reach.
May I reach out to others through more loving relationships to them. This heralds the time of Mary, and,, while I do not fully comprehend what this means, I know that the living out of it will make it clearer. Jesus, please guide me in this new phase of my development as a spiritual being.
Amen.
ACIM Workbook Lesson for Day 110:
I am as God created me.
Mari Perron
/ April 22, 2010Dear Celia,
I may comment again later on this Day. I’m finding it too much to keep up with a chapter a day at this time, and your reflections always make me want to re-read the whole chapter! I don’t know if others are feeling this way too, but I suspect they may be as there were more comments early on. Perhaps those of us who are feeling this way need to take our time, read when we can, and when not, settle in to what you have shared with us.
I have been thankful for your continual emphasis on the end of learning and today’s prayer that acknowledges our longing for this time.
One of the things I remember feeling about The time of Jesus and The time of Mary was a sense of overlap. The time of Jesus represents greater action in the world. It may be that we all move through our times as represented by both Jesus and Mary … and maybe not once, but many times. I know that for myself, times of greater action in the world have felt to naturally call for a renewal through solitude and that solitude, stillness, or gestation periods have led back to greater engagement in community.
That, at any rate, is my thought of the day without reading it (once again)!
Mari
celiaelaine
/ April 22, 2010Dear Mari,
Your intuition about our readers is correct. The blog statistics indicate virtually every day that there are visits to earlier postings, sometimes much earlier ones. And visits to multiple earlier postings.
I also agree completely with your comment about the need for solitude after we have spent much time out in the world. There is, perhaps, a natural balance for many people with both the way of Jesus and the way of Mary. I suspect that Jesus makes this characterizations in order for us to have something with which to identify–himself and Mary.
It seems to me to be an extension of “A Course in Miracles” that the emphasis is placed on being in this world–now. We are not driven to be social reformers, because, as said in the earlier Course, we cannot succeed as unhealed healers. The social reform is not negated, but we are led to understand that we must have an inner experience before our outer ones will actually accomplish anything lasting and good.
This latter point is an interpretation of both Courses, not stated explicitly either place.
Love, Celia