Meditation: Psalm of unity

Awake my people, my brothers and sisters;

make room in your hearts for God.

Come together as children of God;

come together you children of God.

   Forgive everyone. Forgive everything. Live in love; live in God.

We are trapped in single bodies,

all wrapped in single parcels

but at heart, a single love,

one being made of love by one God.

   Forgive everyone. Forgive everything. Live in love; live in God.

We do not stand alone.

We are one in our Creator, 

one in God's love, each struggling

to prove the unity we glimpse.

   Forgive everyone. Forgive everything. Live in love; live in God.

See past the surface differences

Look to our heart: one light, one love, 

one will; like flames of Pentecost: 

one being with many separate lives.

   Forgive everyone. Forgive everything. Live in love; live in God.

Our inward eyes begin to see

the light of our Creator's love

glow as we accept, forgive, embrace,

uniting as one, come home to peace.

   Forgive everyone. Forgive everything. Live in love; live in God.

So stretch out blind hands, strain and

cling to your brothers and sisters.

See past the wrapping to the 

loving heart, so like yours, inside.

   Forgive everyone. Forgive everything. Live in love; live in God.

Suggestions for meditation
Always begin by offering your time to God: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time when I am reaching out to you" and then a few moments reminding yourself of some of the blessings God has given you - the clear signs of God's love for you.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for Jesus' personal message for you.

If you would prefer a Bible reading I suggest John 17,20-23 - Jesus' prayer ...

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

1. Read this passage or the meditation slowly a couple of times.
2. What word of phrase jumps out to speak to you?
3. Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.
4. Then spend 5, or 10, or 20 minutes with those words, or the word One. You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds. After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen. 

Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock. 

At the end thank God, and return to your day.

Meditation: The Kingdom of God is within you

Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you. 

Luke 17:20-21

I have seen several recent versions of the Bible that translate this as the "Kingdom of God is among you" as if the Kingdom is separate from me or is a physical thing. Luke is very clear that it is "within" us - and seems to contrast the world we see, with our inner spiritual reality. So, he seems to say, if we are to be on watch for the Kingdom, we need to look inward.

For me, that is a bit of an easy answer. The same Creator made both, and to me inner and outer are linked. Or maybe I become more aware of the world around me when I begin to be aware of the world within!

And what about this: maybe it is a responsibility of each one of us to develop awareness of the Kingdom within us, so we can see it around us. In other words it may be that the kingdom of God is here within each of us right now - but we do not have eyes to see it, or ears to hear it. 

But if we cannot see it within, how can the world around us be anything but ordinary, when it is actually extra-ordinary! As I become more aware of the Creator within, how can I ignore the Creator's work around me?

I am born of heaven

in the image of my Creator,

and if sometimes I am not aware of that

it is still always true;

there is something of God

within me.

Without, the world is daily brighter. 

Within, only glimpses through a warped mirror.

But if I relax my focus,

in the corner of my eye I see 

fragments of the world of God about and

within me.

The world outside sparkles.

My heart warms in response

and I know

my two worlds are linked

by the same Creator, without, and also 

within me.

The picture grows daily more clear.
My inward eye sees more;
my whole awareness grows sharp
within and out ... 

in the presence of my Creator, outside and 
within me.

Suggestions for meditation
Always begin by offering your time to God: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time when I am reaching out to you" and then a few moments reminding yourself of some of the blessings God has given you - the clear signs of God's love for you.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for Jesus' personal message for you.

If you would prefer a Bible reading I suggest Luke 17, 20-24

Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. 

His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ because the Kingdom of God is within you." 

Then he said to the disciples, “The time will come when you will wish you could see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, over there!’ or, ‘Look, over here!’ But don't go out looking for it.

As the lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 

1. Read this passage or the meditation slowly a couple of times.
2. What word of phrase jumps out to speak to you?
3. Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.
4. Then spend 5, or 10, or 20 minutes with those words, or the words Kingdom or Within me. You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds. After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen. 

Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock. 

At the end thank God, and return to your day.

Meditation: God's love

Every single thing God created
God loves
completely
unconditionally
always

because
every single thing was created in love 
by love.

A child is born accepting
all the love that is showered upon it
completely
without conditions.

But the child learns its failings and secret shames and learns 
to deflect love
decline to receive
to feel unworthy of love.

The most evil person or angel
God created
God loves
completely
unconditionally
always.

But sometimes the walls we create
are so tall
so thick
so carefully made
that we believe
even God cannot get love through or over.

Despite our best efforts
the love keeps coming,
and maybe it is not until the eternal moment of our death
that we can learn to become again like little children
and accept that every single thing God created
God loves
completely
unconditionally
always.


Perhaps because "God is Love" the concept of love is so hard for us. We know love - know what it looks like, feels like. We know what lack of love feels like. But only babies (and, I suspect, dying people) seem to have a real appreciation or experience of the depth and reality of unconditional love.

Suggestions for meditation
Always begin by offering your time to God: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time when I am reaching out to you" and then a few moments reminding yourself of some of the blessings God has given you - the clear signs of God's love for you.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for Jesus' personal message for you.

If you would prefer a Bible reading I suggest Matthew 18,2-4

2 So Jesus called a child to come and stand in front of them, 3 and said, “I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. 4 The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child." 

1. Read this passage or the meditation slowly a couple of times.
2. What word of phrase jumps out to speak to you?
3. Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.
4. Then spend 5, or 10, or 20 minutes with those words, or the words Love like a child. You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds. After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen. 

Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock. 

At the end thank God, and return to your day.

Meditation: Hymn to Glory: Easter 2015

It may be helpful to see Jesus as a man 
who always did the right thing;
who knew his God in his heart and 
in the teachings he was raised with.

He knew they would have revenge for his OCD
but still spoke his beliefs,
still did the things he needed to do. 
And they killed him for his nuisance.

It may be helpful to consider that
he knew his God as praying people always have.
He knew his own spirit because
it is in his spirit that he prayed, at one with his Creator.

It may be helpful to remember that
he was first, a man of faith;
such faith in his unity with God
to truly make them one and

all-power, all-knowing, all-loving.

It may be helpful to project that thought
to ourselves. Jesus didn't show himself after his death
to prove to us that we too will rise.
He already knew that - had always known -

as every other praying person knows 
intuitively, created by God and like God,
we cannot die. Our natural state is
as part of God living the unending now!

It may be helpful to consider that our emphasis on
the resurrection is our humble attempt
to see proof that Jesus is God.
But maybe that was just the first premise.

It may be that the real point of Easter
is that each one of us is also at one 
with our Creator; also part of the
all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving.

And then we may begin to see that 
as was foretold, this sure knowledge
can indeed move mountains,
forgive all wrongs and resentments,
heal each illusion of fear and limit,
perform wonders greater than Jesus,
and transform

this beautiful creation, every person, every part of it
into the eternal and perfect kingdom our Creator dreamed it to be 
   for us
all one
all good
all loving
all glory
    daughters and sons of God joining Jesus 
all Christ.



Jesus is always present for us - if we ask, if we are prepared to see him. 

And when we don't ask, and are not looking for him, he is there - but we just don't notice because we are not looking for him or listening for him. We just don't have eyes to see or ears to hear.

He is present because he is part of us - and we are part of him in the body of Christ. Look. Listen. We must do all we can to make that truth real for ourselves: pray, meditate, read, talk. Go to church.

One of my favourite Catholic quotes is from Pope St Leo the Great 1600 years ago: Our sharing in the body and blood of Christ has no other purpose than to transform us into that which we receive. 

May we each take steps (however small) along that path of self-awareness each day.

Suggestions for meditation
Always begin by offering your time to God: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time when I am reaching out to you" and then a few moments reminding yourself of some of the blessings God has given you - the clear signs of God's love for you.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for Jesus' personal message for you.

If you would prefer a Bible reading I suggest John 14, 10-12

Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you, Jesus said to his disciples, do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do. I am telling you the truth: those who believe in me will do what I do—yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father. 

1. Read this passage or the meditation slowly a couple of times.
2. What word of phrase jumps out to speak to you?
3. Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.
4. Then spend 5, or 10, or 20 minutes with those words, or the words Joining Jesus. You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds. After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the words you have chosen. 

Each time your attention moves away from the words, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock. 

At the end thank God, and return to your day.