Phenomenology of Prayer #1

"How does this vision of God on the Cross accord with the above mentioned 'killing splendor of God'? Phenomenologically speaking we have to say that the two concepts of the sacred, rather than contradicting each other, designate alternative ways of relating to the sacred. Thus the Crucifixion does not deny such splendor; it does, however, exhibit it by its absence. To see the divine splendor and live is to grasp this splendor in its absence from the worldly context." p.66

In this section, Mensch discusses the importance of kenosis in prayer and how that affects our ability to experience God's divine nature. By emptying ourselves, we are able to be filled with God's presence, breathed into us in the same way that God breathed creation into existence and breathed a spirit into Adam's being. The ultimate example of this can be found in Jesus as he emptied himself of his divine nature in order to come to earth. Thus, the cross is the perfect demonstration of the splendor of God displayed in a way that humanity comprehends and survive because it portrays it in an absence instead of in a fullness. The sacred, according to Mensch, is revealed both in its unearthliness and in its incarnation. Thus, God incarnate dying on a cross at the command of God in heaven is the ultimate intersection of the two.

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