Kneeling with Giants by Hansen Gary Neal;

Author:Hansen, Gary Neal; [Hansen, Gary Neal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2012-03-08T00:00:00+00:00

With this relationship in mind, Teresa turns her attention to the actions of Christ on our behalf—passion again, but with a different meaning. Seeing his suffering prompts the loving bride to cry out, “O Lord of the world and my true Spouse!” because “seeing Him in such a plight has filled your heart with such tenderness that you not only desire to look upon Him but love to speak to Him, not using forms of prayer, but words issuing from the compassion of your heart.” It prompts her to ruminate on Jesus’ love for her in her brokenness and on the fact that he even wants her devotion: “Art Thou so needy, my Lord and my Good, that Thou wilt accept poor companionship like mine? Do I read in Thy face that Thou hast found comfort even in me?” And it sparks reconsideration of her own problems: “If Thou, Lord, art willing to suffer all this for me, what am I suffering for Thee? What have I to complain of?”

Teresa’s recollection starts with the role of Jesus as Spouse and moves to the memory of what our Spouse did on the pages of the Gospels. If we look hard at Jesus and remember that he is not only the Lord we follow but the Bridegroom whom we marry, we too might find new things to say. That is, while being with a king brings out humble words, with a lover one shares intimate secrets, heartfelt sorrows, joyful hopes. Instead of formal praise, devotion brings words of love. Tender gratitude is different from awe in the face of grandeur. Look to Christ the beloved, the bridegroom, and see what you want to say.

Friend. Other roles come up at least briefly, but I will mention just one more: Teresa recollects the image of Christ as friend. This is not as common in the New Testament as the others discussed, but it is there. At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples that they were no longer his servants, but his friends (John 15:14-15). The idea fills Teresa with wonder. Affection makes us want to stay with our friends and makes us want to know them better, so we take every opportunity to be together. She wants friendship with Jesus to motivate us to stay in a state of prayer, where we can speak to him and know him. She calls this to mind as she prepares her sisters to pray the prayer Christ taught, the Lord’s Prayer: “Imagine that this Lord Himself is at your side and see how lovingly and how humbly He is teaching you—and believe me, you should stay with so good a Friend for as long as you can before you leave Him. . . . Do you think it is a small thing to have such a Friend as that beside you?”

For Teresa, recollection of Jesus as friend is even a cure for the wandering thoughts that trouble so many in prayer: “O sisters, those of you

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