Pilgrimage to Easter: Easter Sunday

Meditation for Sunday 26 March: Easter Sunday
... from the readings of the day:

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
Psalm 118:24

The Empty Tomb

MARY
I couldn't sleep, just wanted to be near. I knew
I wouldn't get in: that huge rock at the opening!
But needed to be on my own, to be close.
It was a full moon, quite bright for walking,
but the black of the entry was all the darker.
Suddenly I needed the others. It was so silent.
It was only later, in the light, he said my name.

PETER
I was still awake. The sun was almost up, first
cockerels crowing, when Mary burst back in. John
and I ran down first. The boy waited, and I went
in. Just enough light to see now. He was gone.
All the cloths rolled and neatly stacked, but where
was the body? Stolen? Had I let him down? again!
But he knows I love him. I love him. I love him.

JOHN
I won, but waited for the old man. The first ray 
of the sunrise hit the wall as he went in, so we 
could see clearly. Peter was an elder, examining
the evidence - but I saw it was empty, and knew,
knew! in that instant, it was full! The universe 
froze, anchored in a moment touching eternity,
blinding white light whirled in new dawning.

Suggestions for meditation

Always begin by offering your time to God and asking for the grace to grow closer: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time as I reach out to you, and ask that you guide me now, and each day, closer to you".

The exact words of the prayer are not important but you do need a firm intention to open yourself to God's input.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for the personal message for you. There will always be one word or phrase that will reach into your heart. Think of it as the personal meaning God has for you alone!

If you would prefer a more authoritative reading to focus your meditation, try this from one of today's readings, Paul's first letter to the John 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead. 

Focus on a significant word or phrase in this passage or the meditation for a few moments.

Is there a word or phrase that jumps out to speak to you?

Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.

Then spend 5, or 10, or 15 minutes with your word from Jesus, or the word LIGHT or DAWN.

You need a clear intention to empty your mind of random thoughts (you won't be entirely successful but you need the intention).

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: Broken, 1

There is a crack in everything: that's how the light gets in!

Leonard Cohen 1993

The potter made the most beautiful pot,
flawed in the kiln;
but still a pot,
still perfect in the memory of the maker.

Made first to be a work of art - 
an object of wonder
striking awe in its perfection
a reminder of the perfection in each of us.

Made to be displayed, not used,
too perfect for human use.
Now, flawed, but useful still
because of the space enclosed within.

And it works as a pot. Perfectly. Still 
remembering the potter's dream
of perfect form and design and decoration
but now more: useful as well as beautiful,

just as full of awe, just as perfect,
just as full of beauty, but now also 
in daily use. Dusty, worn by handling, yes, 
but still perfect and loved and full of wonder.

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. The exact words of the prayer are not important but you do need a firm intention to open yourself to God's input.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for the personal message for you. There will always be one word or phrase that will reach into your heart. Think of it as the personal meaning God has for you alone!

If you would prefer a more authoritative reading to focus your meditation try Isaiah 64,8-9

Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay,

you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;

do not remember our sins forever.

Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.

10 
Focus on this passage or the meditation slowly a couple of times.

What word of phrase jumps out to speak to you?

Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.

Then spend 5, or 10, or 20 minutes with your word from Jesus, or the word CREATOR or the word LOVE. 

You need a clear intention to empty your mind of random thoughts (you won't be entirely successful but you need the intention). 

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: Learning the language of God, part 1

So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind.

And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 

After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. 

And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?

1 Kings 19,11-13

God's first language is silence 

                                                                                   (John of the Cross)

God does not speak with words, 
does not deal in logic or reasoning. 
So we must learn the language of God; God 
does not speak English! or Mandarin! or Arabic!

God touches us in the gentle
movements of silence.
We open to God in our empty silence.

In the moment, we listen. 
We can't talk back: we do not 
speak "gentle wind" - but allow ourselves 
to be immersed, filled, absorbed in God's silence.

God touches us in the gentle
movements of silence.
We open to God in our empty silence.

Our words prepare our hearts,
help still our frantic minds, allow us 
to unplug the world's strident implant. 
Only then can ...

... God touch us in the gentle
movements of silence. Only then can
we open to God in our empty silence.

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. The exact words of the prayer are not important but you do need a firm intention to open yourself to God's input.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for Jesus' personal message for you.

If you would prefer a more authoritative reading to focus your meditation try Elijah's story above.

Focus on this passage or the meditation slowly a couple of times.

What word of phrase jumps out to speak to you?

Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.

Then spend 5, or 10, or 20 minutes with those words, or the word EMPTY or the word GOD. 

You need a clear intention to empty your mind of random thoughts (you won't be entirely successful but you need the intention). 

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.