Kenosis is a word comes to us from classical Greek and it means emptying out or letting go. In the epistle to the Philippians (2:6-11), the apostle Paul uses this word to describe the Divine kenosis involved in the mystery of the incarnation, life and death of Jesus.

Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God did not count equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. From the story of the Universe we can see that kenosis is an essential dynamic of the way in which the Universe operates. Kenosis is manifested through the power of Cataclysm. We observe Cataclysm in the explosive death of stars, the destructive power of violent earthquakes, the devastation caused by tsunamis, tornadoes, droughts and plagues. There was a time when people interpreted these natural events as divine punishment for human sinfulness. Now we know that they are natural phenomena that are an intrinsic part of the way the Universe operates. Only very recently we have witnessed one of these awesome but destructive forces at work in Japan with doleful consequences for a whole nation. These kinds of events are unavoidable given the nature of the Universe itself. They have happened regularly in the past and we can be very certain that they will happen again. In the Permian extinction some two hundred and forty five million years ago, between 75% and 90% of living species vanished from the face of the Earth. This is the nature of the Universe.

In remembering the profound pain of the people of Japan, we will do well to remember that the very event that caused the death of an ancient star was the event that enabled the emergence of our solar system and planet Earth in particular, with is its rich diversity of living species. We can only wonder in expectation and hope what new thing the Universe will enable through the death and destruction that have accompanied the tsunami that has recently rocked Japan to its very foundations.

To counterbalance the power of Cataclysm, the Universe manifests another power, the power of Homeostasis, through which it exercises extraordinary resilience in preserving and protecting what it has called forth into life. The power of Homeostasis is manifested in the way the Earth preserves the salinity of the sea, the chemical composition of the atmosphere, and the mean temperature of the planet in the face of relentless pressures for these parameters to change. Were these parameters to vary haphazardly, life on Earth would be impossible. Life is only possible because the conditions for life are fine-tuned very carefully Lent is a time for reviewing life and for identifying those clinging vines of attachment that stifle new growth. There are trapeze moments in our lives when, in order to grasp the new opportunity, we must bravely let go of what we are clinging to for dear life. In the letting go, there is the experience of that awful in-between moment, the moment of transfer, when all seems lost; when we appear to have nothing to cling to. This is the moment of faith, the moment of trust in that inner wisdom of the Universe to call forth through Kenosis something new and beautiful within us.

Kenosis is an intrinsic dimension of human life. It requires deep wisdom to know when the time has come to let go, and what it is that must be sloughed off so that our lives can advance to a higher level of fulfilment.

This wisdom can be acquired by living in deep resonance with the Universe itself which manifests in its unfolding the secret wisdom of the Divine whose creative presence sustains it at all times, in times of cataclysm and in times of homeostasis. The Divine is deep within the web of life not interfering from without, but sustaining from within the onward growth to fullness of life.

Letting Go

To “let go” does not mean to stop caring; it
Means I can’t do it for someone else.

To “let go” is not to cut myself off; it’s the
Realization I can’t control another.

To “let go” is not to enable, but to allow
Learning from natural consequences.

To “let go” is to admit powerlessness, which
Means the outcome is not in my hands.

To “let go” is not to try to change or blame
Another, it’s to make the most of myself.

To “let go” is not to care for, but to care about.
To “let go” is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To “let go” is not to judge, but to allow another
To be a human being.

To “let go” is not to be in the middle, arranging
All the outcomes, but to allow others to affect
Their own destinies.

To “let go” is not to be protective, it’s to permit
Another to face reality.

To “let go” is not to deny, but to accept.
To “let go” is not to nag, scold, or argue, but
Instead to search out my own shortcomings
And correct them.

To “let go” is not to adjust everything to my
Desires, but to take each day as it comes and
Cherish myself in it.

To “let go” is not the regret the past, but to
Grow and live for the future.
To “let go” is to fear less and love more.