Pilgrimage to Easter: Day 23

Meditation for Thursday 3 March
... from the readings of the day:

Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Luke 11:23

If I am not tuned to your station, I hear only static.
Living white noise, I am not my true self.

O my God, I try to live with you in my life
but I get caught up in busy-ness, in travel, in 
maintenance, and my awareness of you
fades away.

If I am not tuned to your orchestra, I am discordant.
Outside the harmony, I am not my true self.

My God, I am distracted by thoughts of revenge
and pay-back for imagined attacks. Even when I know
I over-react, I buy into the shame and slight and I
leave you out.

If I do not fly in formation, I tire and fall.
If I cannot soar, I am not my true self.

When I try to live without you in my life, I
quickly drift into day dreams of some rosy future
or bitter past: I waste my now replaying movies
where you are not.

If I do not work with you, my fruitless effort is hard.
Without joy, I am not my true self.

O my God, help me to touch your eternity in
each moment, to live in the silences between
the ticking of the clock. Teach me to live each
moment in you.

Whoever is not with you is against you,
and whoever does not gather with you, scatters.

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, Jeremiah 7:23-24

Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper.
But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.

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

Is there a word of 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 phrase LIVE IN 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.

Meditation: Learning the language of God, part 2

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 does not speak with words,
does not deal in logic or argument.
So we must learn the language of God; God
does not speak my language.

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

In moments of love and wonder

my throat closes, 

my breathing is suspended, 

my eyes water, 

my heart flowing over with rising warmth. 

Aware - but outside time and touching eternity,

I become a living soul.

My heart lifts 

to moments of sudden beauty, the subtle 

and jubilant rightness of a decision or action

in moments of joy - God's nod of approval!

The coincidental word or action dropped on me.

The perfect moment, two or three or a thousand wholly aligned, 

caught in the moment, struck by sudden perfection.

   In the movements of our hearts

   our God speaks to us; 

   in the gentle movements of silence 

   touches us, lets us feel our Father's 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. 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 AWARE 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.