Meditating to Heal

Anna Mow, a very influential author writes: “No one is ever useless to God. No one who can pray is ever useless. There are many people to perform the needed activities, but too few to take the time for prayer. I suppose the hardest thing about being an invalid, about being “useless,” is that it is much harder to receive help than to give it. It is much harder to be still than to be active. That is why it is important to learn how to be a gracious receiver as well as a gracious giver.”

We sometimes believe ourselves to be not worthy of God’s love and attention; this is a lack of trust. We must swallow our ego and offer our lives to the grace of God. I open my meditations with the words,” Dear God, I am enthralled by the nearness of you in my life. This assures me that I am a child of God. I glory in the aura that fills me when praying. I am filled with God’s divinity when I am able to pray with others for His grace. His grace allows me to engage with others in their times of trial.

Our cultural differences are celebrated by the life of Jesus; he showed interest in all people and spoke their language. We can celebrate our differences also by accepting that all people are alike. We discover this through our prayers to God. Others discover this the same way. It is prayer that unites us; therefore, all who pray rejoice in their relationship with God and therefore with each other.

I am always both pleased and amazed by the unity of people when we remove our differences, including our definitions of religion. When we strip ourselves of our taught prejudices and realize that we are one in prayer with God, we have no real differences, no differences that God sees. God only sees the beauty in his creations – us.

 

We wait. But what do we await? Regardless of our age, we wait for things as a child awaits the good things to come. We struggle to know who we are, listening to what others say. When we stand for something, we merely repeat things we have learned or read. Humankind is wired to protect what our shadows are supposed to project not what God  expects of us. We are numb to the realization of our own negativity, the negativity ingrained in us by society. Our society has made our personal egos the very foundation of our personas. We wait for enlightenment and understanding.

How difficult is it to accept that we are part of one body, and therefore, we cannot separate ourselves because we think we are different? What are we waiting for? Edith Stein, a German philosopher who died in Auschwitz in 1942, wrote that when we suffer or are happy we have our feet firmly planted in the earth, but by living a life in Christ, is to laugh and cry with all in the world who sing praise to God. This is the eternity that we as Christians are awaiting. That means all of us. Can we stop waiting for something that was never meant to be? As humans, we suffer through lives of disinterest and problematic social and political upheavals. These are not God’s plans; these are our creations.

Our basic problem of combining our diversity of culture with our unity under God seems always to be addressed by every generation. But hasn’t this been resolved by the very nature of our relationship with God? By recreating this dichotomy with every new generation, we end up waiting for God to correct a problem that does not exist. Only we make it important. What is important is how we as humans respect ourselves and each other. Jesus reminded us that we are to love God and love others. I believe that the word god and the word love are interchangeable. The love we show to others is the love we have for God. We need not wait for it; it is there for our recognition.

From the bosom of God comes the words that love is the key to our existence. All other human practices need to display this love in all that we do. Anything else harms us.

 

 

The Christian Hymn Abide with Me includes these words: “Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide; when other helpers fail and comforts flee, help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.”  Abide with me; what does this actually mean to you and me? Do we abide in God’s love, allowing Him to abide in us? Abide in me are powerful words. We ask God to be with us every day, all day. It’s not easy; it requires us to practice this all the time with whomever we meet. It requires prayer.

It requires a concerted spiritual effort, one with the assistance of God to do this. Many of us use such safe words as: “I love my enemies,” “Turn the other cheek,” “I am not racist.” No matter how boastful we are about this, our actions defy the words. I don’t need to set examples; we know what I mean. We speak one way, but actions will not affect daily routines. We are unwilling to contemplate the truth. What we need to do is have a transformational conversion in our thinking and our actions.

We make gods in our own image, and we worship them. I, for one, wear a cross every day. I want people to know that I am a man of faith. I make the cross more important, because I want to spread my joy to the world. Is this making a god of the cross?

How many of us praise public leaders or popular entertainers, turning them into idols? We do this through jealousy, wanting to be like them. And yet, they are merely human, as we are, no better, no worse; at least in God’s eyes. And, isn’t that more important? We also can make idols of ourselves, as in my example above, wearing a cross. We want to build our reputation to bring glory to ourselves, when we should be bringing glory to God.

So, what can we do? Fannie Lou Hammer, a women’s rights activist, once said that Christianity should be about our fellow human being, not about building a million-dollar reputation while there are people sleeping on the streets, begging for a handout to feed themselves or their families. The United States is the richest country in the world, but we don’t see this with all of the homeless people suffering. Jesus, a revolutionary in his time, was not safely in the synagogue, praying to God. He was out with the little person, suffering right next to him. And, he was executed by the powerful because he was a threat to their super-egos.

So, dear Lord, “. . . with me abide; when other helpers fail and comforts flee, help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.”

Born of God

We are born of God; therefore, we are good. Humankind is God’s greatest creation. We cannot forget this. The Gospel of john begins: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” God is before all else; there is nothing before God; there is nothing but God.

The Solomon in Proverbs  reminds us: “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.” God knows us before He creates us. When he creates us, we are perfect. God creates nothing but perfection. Therefore, we are perfect in His eyes. We can recognize this godly perfection in all whom we meet. This is God’s will.

Society leads us from this lighted path. Society cannot exist on a selfless God-given path without setting itself as the main influence in our lives. With God as the core of our existence, society has less hold on our daily lives. Society’s norms are a nuisance that Jesus asks us to overcome.

As humans, we are not perfect; our bodies must die. But our spiritual selves are perfect and live eternal lives. Nevertheless, as humans, we must recognize God in all whom we meet. This is God’s lighted path. On this path, we are God’s perfect creations. Can we see the perfect creation of God in all whom we meet? Are we filled with God’s Love? The light of Jesus gives us the fulfillment we need to live in God’s perfect world. Jesus is our fulfillment.

  

 

He Was Here a Moment Ago!

Will He return as He promised?

He spoke of Moses and the prophets,

He said we would understand.

He died, but yet He lives.

We witnessed this.

Can we believe this?

Must we believe this?

He wants us to go into the world.

What world?

And preach His word,

He said so many.

He said He will be with us,

But he just vanished.

Was He God?

Is He God?

I doubt, yet I believe.

He was so good to us.

He loved us.

We loved Him.

We will do as He asked.

We will spread His message.

He didn’t tell us where

We will find a way

 

 

Heavenly Gifts

Without our heavenly gifts, we are lost; we are unable to endure our lives without God’s Love. This world revolves around the Love of God, not our own small ideas and desires; we are not the center of the universe, nor is the Earth, as Galileo said in 1632. Anything glorious in us or fashioned by our mind, heart, or hands is the revelation of God’s Glory, not our own earth-mired minds.

We know that God loves us; in all ways, God grows into us, if we let Him. God draws us to Him and transforms us by His Holiness, His Love , and His Grace. This is the will of God; this is why He created us. In our moments of crisis, we have many fabricated options and one spiritual option. When we have to make an important decision, we can choose to enter a darkened path, created by our own inefficiencies, or we can accept the Light of God to lead us into the plentiful life that He promises. It’s the decision between a limited earthly future or an eternal existence granted by God’s grace.

It is difficult for all of us to accept God’s will over ours; from our birth, we are trained to stand tall and be individuals unable or unwilling to accept the help of others. Even the most highly educated people think that their so-called intuitive knowledge is their own. It is not! We try to emulate these important people but cannot progress to a spiritual purpose by ignoring the grace given by God.

Richard Rohr writes, “If you can trust and listen to your inner divine image, your whole-making instinct, or your True Self, you will act from your best, largest, kindest, most inclusive self.” This inner divine image, whole-making instinct, and True Self is God within us, as Jesus promises. All of us, from the richest man in the world to the hardest laborer, struggling to feed his family, has these qualities within. They are all gift of God, gracefully, willingly given to us by He who loves us.

 

We live in a culture where labor is no longer dignified. We are expected to rise above the fold and be better that a laborer. Yet, how many of us have a craft-like hobby. Mine is building furniture. Society has divorced us from the fact that we are crafted by God, the original craftsman. God creates, and when we create, we honor God; we imitate God, and participate in His divine love.

As one New Testament scholar wrote, “our soul, our consciousness, our love, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same concept, all belonging to God.” Think about this for a minute and add how Jesus changed this when he said that the kingdom of God is within us. Our very essence is of God. When we love someone, we are projecting God’s eternal love; when we are kind to someone, we are projecting God’s love.

Our love for each other is statement that we are living the life that God wants; we are sharing the light of his very being. Our love is God’s light for the world. I have to agree with Paul when he writes in Galatians 20 (KJV): “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” When we love, we open the doors of our hearts, giving our most important asset to all, everywhere.

God’s Love dwells within us to share, not to keep hidden. When we are grounded in God’ Love, we open our lives to the goodness of the world, not the evils that surround us daily. We may not be able to stop the evil, but we can not let its effect stop us from living a life sharing God’s Love.

I began this meditation speaking of the righteousness of labor and then moved into God’s Love. Our labors are loved by God. He gives the talent to build to the people who have the creativity to so. Society does not often recognize the gifts that God gives people who labor. I write; I cannot write without the love and work of the people who built my home, or the computer I write on. The love of God is expressed through people’s labor.

Love all people, because all people are loved by God.

 

I cannot imagine what my life would be like without prayer. I try to live with this idea foremost in my mind: “Taste and see how God is in my life.” I find it easier every day to write and talk about God in my life. Perhaps, this has to do with age, but I like to think it is about my realization that what I have did not come to without help.

The comfort and blessing I have today are grounded and invigorated by the presence of God in my life. Although I spend a good portion of my day in pain, I find comfort when I am praying with others, or, praying for others. In these moments I am taking my presence out of myself and placing inside those I pray for. The Bible tells us to ask and we will receive, search and we will find, and knock and the door will be opened. This has happened to me so many times in my life, that doubting God’s presence in my life is an absurd concept.

James tells us that when we draw nearer to God, he will draw us nearer to Him. I feel this in many ways. One of the ways is when I am in distress and I am surrounded by friends and family in prayer. This is God’s way of reminding me that His presence is with us. Even Jesus needed and felt this when he entered the garden to pray and asked his disciples to join him. The comfort of their presence was the comfort of God.

Prayer is the comfort of knowing God is with us. Pray often.

A prayer from Frederick Blumhardt:

Lord our God, Almighty Father in heaven, we stand before you as your children, whom you want to protect through the need of our time, through all sin and death. We praise you for giving us so much peace in an age full of trouble, and for granting us the assurance of your help. Even when we suffer, we do not want to remain in the darkness of suffering but want to rise up to praise and glorify you. For your kingdom is coming; it is already at hand. Your kingdom comforts and helps us and points the way for the whole world, that your will may be done on earth as in heaven. Amen.

 

 

We all face difficulties which test us; these are the outside force society puts on us. It is difficult to keep our faith in this unbelieving world. We also face difficulties within us; we are humans, not gods, and, as we age, we must face the certainty of death, the death of our human body. Can we be confident that this great test is not lost to our faith.

For me, what seems most significant is that Spirit, the divine indwelling of creation that is within us. God promises: “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.” If we have God’s spirit within us, we may lose our human form, but not what really matters. God guarantees this.

We worry about earning a living, making sure that we have money for our retirement. If we choose to be our own self-appointed god, then we will merely go enter our own trap, all of us, wealthy and poor. If we want to live without God in our lives, then we are imprisoned in these mortal bodies, which are self-made jails.

God’s Spirit never gives up on us. It’s God within us that loves all of His creation. When we are faced with our human frailty, it is to feel that we are alone. We can shed our concerns and turn God, who opens all doors for us, especially when we can’t see what our path of life is. It takes inner strength to believe in God’s Grace and live by it, even when we face problems.

I try to keep this positive face whenever I am our in the world. The difficult times are when I am alone in my house. I remember that I am only human, and I remember that God loves me.

 

 

God, the light of the world

the light of human existence.

His Word is in our hearts.

His Word allows us to rejoice.

when bitter times engulf us,

we rejoice, as the world rejoices

when His Will and His Word are within us.

God Protects us,

keeps us free in spirit,

allows us harmony

with Him and with ourselves. 

 

Jesus walked the desert, tempted,

always growing closer to God.

His life was disruption

to Israel’s society,

as it is with our society.

We cannot allow how society corrupts us,

leading us from the lighted path of God.

We are in our own desert,

tempted by forces beyond our control.

We can be as Jesus

resisting temptations to live without God.

 

In time of Lent, we

We may not realize an epiphany;

we may not realize God

working in our life,

not working to our expectations.

God is working within us,

purifying us,

as Jesus was purified in the desert.

 

As anxious as I am,

I practice meditation

to learn patience.

God is with me. I know;

I live this.

 

My serenity is my gift from God

it is what helps me spread Love

through my writing, the Love of God.

Every morning I awaken

to the sound of God’s angel whispering in my ear:

“grow, grow, you are in God’s glorious light.”

Being a miracle of life, I am,

like all of you

a part of God.

 

We carry a little piece of God

within us every day.

we spread God’s love to others.

We reach for those

In need of God’s help.

We bring them

to the light that is universal, 

the light that is meant to be shared

by all.