Fully Awake In Christ
2023년 12월 17일Fully Awake In Christ
< Third Sunday of Advent >
There is a story about Buddha where local villagers ask him.
“Are you a god?”
“No,” the Buddha said. “I am not a god.”
“Then are you a saint?” they asked.
“No,” he said.
“Are you a prophet?”
“No, I am not.”
“Then what do you say for yourself? What are you? Who are you?”
“I am,” the Buddha said, “Awake.”
To Buddha, being spiritually awake is more important than being holy, being prophetic, or even being a god. When you are fully awake you are fully aware to the reality of everything and everyone around you. You see truth because you are true to yourself.
John the Baptist had a similar encounter with the local people. They wanted to know who he was. Was he the Christ? Or Elijah? Or the Prophet? John answered no. Instead he said “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.” Like Buddha, John the Baptist knew exactly who he was. He didn’t get his identity from his followers, much less from his adversaries. And the self-awareness was precisely what attracted people to him. This Advent the Church invites us to learn who we are—in relation to Christ. When we are comfortable with who we are, despite our faults, weaknesses and even sin, we are secure in our identity even in a rapidly changing world.