“It is you who light my lamp; the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.” Psalm 18.28
Reflection
Recently I sat with a friend on a bench outside a hospital room listening to him process the unexpected diagnosis of cancer… And there was darkness.
This morning I sat in silence watching the sunrise crest over the hills…And there was light.
Just before that happened, before there was much light on the horizon at all, I stood outside and closed my eyes. I thought: right now all around this planet, millions are living, millions are being born and millions are dying. It is a cycle of breath coming in and releasing out.
Perhaps there will come a day when my wife is meeting with a pastor outside my hospital room sharing news of an unexpected diagnosis. Perhaps you know what I mean.
At first, we think we are separate bodies, living separate lives. Secretly, we say things like: He has the diagnosis. They are suffering over there. I hope that doesn’t happen to me. And then we suffer too.
It seems to me impossible to understand. But I can feel love arising through the experience of being human together and somehow God is having the experience with us…whatever happens to the least of these is happening to me.
Prayer
God of Light inside the Night of All Human Suffering:
Connecting us to your eternal Life beyond this physical form, we remember who we are in you and who you are in us.
In Christ, nothing can separate us from your love. Including every human experience. Help us through this cycle of life until your Breath is complete.
Amen.
© 2012. All Rights Reserved.
ContemplativeChristians.com is an online spiritual resource for the contemplative Christian journey deeper into God’s love, celebrating the gifts of Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina, Silence, Solitude, Service, Nature, and especially the writings of Thomas Keating, and other teachers, contemplatives and mystics who have contributed to our understanding of the spiritual journey and contemplative Christianity.
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Filed under: Contemplative christianity, daily prayer, Daily Reflection | Tagged: Contemplative christianity, daily prayer, Daily Reflection, suffering | 1 Comment »
