The Dangers Of Jesus

In 2013 the Pope claimed that having a personal relationship with Jesus, independent of the church was dangerous. According to him we should not be seeking "a personal, direct, immediate relationship with Jesus Christ without communion with and the mediation of the church."

Perhaps that tells us something very important about the power and liberation that is available to us when we do in fact have an independent relationship with Jesus. 

Perhaps that tells us about the threat to the establishment that is our free and independent relationship with Jesus. 

I used to think that Christianity was completely non-spiritual. I mean what did Christians do exactly except say a few words of prayer, and listen to a Priest talk every Sunday? I couldn’t understand Christianity, because where was the meditation, the altered states of consciousness? How could you connect with the divine without some kind of spiritual practise?

I had no idea of the power of prayer, and I had no idea of how it feels to feel God’s presence, to sense Jesus, and to allow myself to be guided by the Holy spirit with any questions and struggles I have in my life. 

All this happened to me without a Church, without a building. 

What happened was, I kept reading people talk about ‘following Jesus’ and their ‘walk with Christ,’ and so I asked in an online group of Christians I’m in, ‘’I don’t understand how to follow Jesus, how exactly do we do that?’’ 

I can’t even remember what they said, but it’s funny that immediately after that, every time I went out for a walk, I could sense Jesus ahead of me, that I was, quite literally following him. Now almost every time I go for a walk, I feel like I am ‘walking with Christ.’ 

From praying every day, for more than a quick prayer but an extended period, I’ve deepened this sense of connection, and it is the most powerful spiritual experience I’ve ever had. . 

And it lasts, it’s not like a flash in meditation, that leaves me craving more or wondering how to obtain more. This is a growing sense of peace that is permeating my very existence. 

And the Pope thinks this is dangerous? 

Perhaps I do have a Church, but it’s not the one the Pope envisages. My church is a scattering of people, spread across the globe. The gathering for me has been online, and yet the guidance and support from others has been powerful. 

One of the new friends I have made shared how Jesus taught a kind of worship that is not about the building ‘you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’ He said that ‘when two or more are gather in my name there I shall be also.’

Like living stones, we build the church. We can do so freely and independently. 

The thing is my major misunderstanding was thinking that Christianity had to be chains, oppression, and judgment. That it was boring and dreary. 

It was brought home to me when I read that Jesus himself was killed by religious leaders. 

Discovering Jesus beyond the church, connecting with like-minded believers. Maybe this is how we keep ourselves free of the oppression of the church, and whatever dangerous motives are behind telling us it’s dangerous to have a personal relationship with Jesus. 

I know there are some wonderful churches out there, in physical buildings, that stay close to the truth Jesus taught, and I would love to visit them one day. In the meantime I’m building it piece by piece, as the stones of a living temple with others. I recently watched an inspiring film called The Last Reformation, in which believers went out onto the street, healed the sick, and cast out demons, just as happened in Jesus’s day. 

The movement was started by a priest when he was reading the Bible and reflecting on how he’d never healed the sick, and never cast out a demon personally. Now everyday people are learning these skills within a few short days. 

Perhaps you’re getting an inkling of why doing this on an independent basis is dangerous to some. As a life-long free spirit who never wanted to follow a religion, I certainly feel like following Jesus himself is like coming home.

……

On The Last Reformation website they have a map, so that you can find local like-minded believers who want to get back to the roots of being a follower of Christ. I’m hoping to go to a local ‘home Church’ in northern Italy soon, and get baptised.

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