The second in a series of posts on companionship and the spiritual journey. Please pass along to those you consider companions on your journey into the fullness of God. This follows a post on "Companionship as part and parcel to the nature of God" . . .

Consider the Incarnation. In Christ, God isn’t merely thinking about humanity, God’s being humanity. In the person of Christ, divinity and humanity are woven together, and humanity’s made sacred in the weaving. The spiritual journey, then, is not a flight away from our humanity into divinity, an ascent onto the heights, leaving the stuff of earth behind. Rather, the Christian path is a downward path. Our journey follows Christ into the earth, into the body, into our full humanity—embracing ourselves and embracing others.

St. Irenaeus, one of Christianity’s earliest theologians said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” Against every escapist notion that might tempt us toward independence and isolation, Irenaeus’s words invite us to see humanity as the cradle of divinity.

To be continued . . .