The below probably speaks for itself but in a nut shell it is about churches, chapels and retreat centers joining the movement to move from an overly human-centered religious consciousness (what Pope Francis calls our “narcissism” as a species) to a cosmically-aware consciousness. It is about uniting anew the psyche and the cosmos that was torn asunder in the modern era with the divorce of religion from science but today can and must be healed. With a practice like this we can move from centuries of battles over Jesus and Christ dogmas to the “third nature of Christ,” the Cosmic Christ (which in fact is present in our earliest Christian sources including Paul and the Gospel of Thomas). Such an understanding paves the way for an Eco-Christ and an eco-theology but based on a spiritual practice, not just speculative theologizing.

Thank you for your attention,

Matthew Fox

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You are invited to undergo this new contemplative practice created by spiritual theologian Matthew Fox. In this mini walking pilgrimage one meditates on the 7 “I am’s” and the 9 events in the life of Jesus that are cosmic based including the Nativity, Baptism, Transfiguration, Pentecost, etc. The 16 Stations were created by artists M.C. Richards and Ullrrich Javier Lemus and the practice is fully laid out with pictures in the recently released book, Stations of the Cosmic Christ by Matthew Fox and Bishop Marc Andrus.

What a brilliant and exciting combination of creative words and evocative images. And where they take us is where we must go! We need a Christ at least as large as the universe we inhabit and much larger than the tribal religion most of us were born into. Allow yourself to be happily led there. ―Richard Rohr,O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

“Stations of the Cosmic Christ” is a divinely inspired book that must be read by every human being devoted to spiritual and global survival. It is cosmically brilliant. ―Caroline Myss, Author of “Anatomy of the Spirit and Defy Gravity”

Many Christian churches have representations on their walls that are called the “Stations of the Cross.” Walking the Stations is a bit like taking a mini-pilgrimage.

In this display of the Stations of the Cosmic Christ we are proposing a new practice based on very ancient teachings. This practice honors the common ground of people of diverse faiths and no faith; it empowers one to contribute to an ecological revolution; it interacts with today’s science; and it offers a new but ancient paradigm that can help revitalize the Western spiritual tradition. Priest scientist Teilhard de Chardin called the Cosmic Christ “the third nature of Christ,” It takes us beyond arguments of the other two natures about Jesus and the Christ of the Nicene Creed.

This archetype of the Cosmic Christ finds a parallel in the East such as the teaching of the “Buddha Nature” found in all beings. Or the Hindu teaching of the Cosmic or Primeval Man who existed before the beginning of the Universe and who was sacrificed but survived his own dismemberment. This Cosmic Man represented the Order and Unity of the universe in tension with the Chaos of the Universe. Interestingly, Albert Einstein insisted that the human race needs to embrace a “cosmic religion” if we are to survive, one that goes beyond nationalism and sectarianism and that embraces conscience along with cosmos.

A Cosmic Christ is a green or ecological Christ because “ecology is functional cosmology,” as Thomas Berry teaches. To recover the sacred in all beings is the first step in developing an eco-spirituality. Rabbi David Seidenberg in his book on Kabbalah and Ecology: God’s Image in the More-Than-Human World has established that the tradition of the image of God in Judaism applies to all beings, not just to humans. This too is Cosmic Christ consciousness, the image of God in all beings.

The very first writings of the Christian Bible—writings from St Paul in Colossians and Philippians and the Gospel of Thomas—pay tribute to the Cosmic Christ “who holds everything together in the heavens and on earth.” (Col 1). Christ is the “light in all beings” John tells us (Jn 1) and todays’ science tells us that indeed, light waves or photons are present in every atom in the universe. The Cosmic Christ archetype names the Divine light or glory (doxa) that is found in all things. While the light and sacredness of every being and of the universe as a whole is celebrated, it also reminds us of the suffering in all beings since all beings suffer just as Jesus also died on the cross. This practice of the Cosmic Christ has the potential to move us beyond anthropocentrism by re-awakening the relationship between human psyche and the cosmos.

Thus we walk and pray these 16 Stations with the hope of a New Awakening, one that recovers a marriage of science and religion, of peace and depth sharing among world spiritual traditions, of a renewed Christian faith that returns to its more-than-anthropocentric view of the world. In this way the Earth itself might resurrect from the crucifixion it is undergoing at the hands of human beings stuck in the narcissism of their species.

More can be learned from the book The Stations of the Cosmic Christ authored by Bishop Marc Andrus and Matthew Fox (Tayen Lane Publishers, 2016) as well as the Meditation Cards of the Cosmic Christ which allow one to undergo this practice at home or on the road. Also see Matthew Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ published by HarperSanFrancisco.

Special thanks to artists M. C. Richards and Ullrrich Javier Lemus (www.ullrrich.com) who created these particular icons. The “I am” clay tablets exhibited here were created by M. C. and hung at St John the Divine Cathedral in New York City for two years, then nine years at the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland.

(READ LEFT TO RIGHT)

I. IN THE BEGINNING
II. I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
III. NATIVITY
IV. I AM THE LIVING BREAD
V. BAPTISM
VI. TRANSFIGURATION
VII. I AM THE VINE
VIII. DO IT TO THE LEAST
IX. I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD
X. I AM THE DOOR
XI. I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE
XII. THE CRUCIFIXION
XIII. THE RESURRECTION
XIV. I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
XV. THE ASCENSION
XVI. PENTECOST

EXCITING NEWS!

Your Church or Retreat Center or Chapel can now post your own 16 Stations of the Cosmic Christ for a very modest investment!
 
The 16 Stations created by artists M. C. Richards and Ullrrich Javier Lemus have been on display at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, at Trinity Church in Santa Barbara, and now at All Saints Episcopal in Pasadena. The original version is 3-dimensional clay tablets, beautiful, original, but also fragile and difficult to transport . To guarantee their safety and security they are displayed in 8 plexiglass vitrines as in the photo on the previous page.

NOW we have 2-dimensional versions of these same original and “exquisite” (a word often used) icons which are also reproduced in the book, Stations of the Cosmic Christ. This way you and your community can pray this minipilgrimage, this new practice to bring the archetype of the Cosmic Christ and Buddha Nature and Image of God alive in you. These 2-dimensional icons are very easy to transport and to post on the walls of your chapel, church, etc. They are very professionally reproduced and available in two versions:

1. Reproduced on semi-glossy durable paper stock. They are 8 x 10” so it
would be very easy to purchase a frame and glass to put them in and to post
them that way (the frame would have a hook behind it).

Price for this version is: $495 which includes the 16 Stations 8”x10” on
semi glossy plus a copy of the book plus a video of Matthew Fox leading
the practice. Add $25 for S&H. Price: $495 or 12 payments at $50 month.

2. Reproduced on aluminum. This version is very durable light weight and
washable and eminently easy to post (simply use 3-M removable tape).

Price for this version is: $990 which includes the 16 Stations 8”x10” on
aluminum plus a copy of the book plus a video of Matthew Fox leading the
practice. Add $35 for S&H. Price: $990 or 12 payments at $90 month.

** Make Payments to: Matthew Fox Legacy Project Inc, PO Box 424533, San Francisco, CA 94142. Or call and share Credit Card # to: 510.835.0655 or email: 33dennis@sbcglobal.net.