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June 2004: The Voice Of God |
| Week 1
First Comes The Table Of God's Word When we gather for Eucharist, before we go to the table of Christ's body and blood, we come first to this table, the table of God's word, that we too might hear the voice of God. That we too might hear a word that often we need to hear, much more desperately than we can imagine. Because at Eucharist, in the liturgy of the Word, we don't just hear what God said and did a long time ago. Rather, we hear God speaking to us NOW. God Speaks To Us As Unique Persons "For all the people were weeping as they heard the word of God", God knew how to speak in a way that those people could hear. One of the most amazing things about God is that God knows many languages. By that I mean God knows how to speak in a way that every person can hear. Each of us, The Voice of God comes to us in many ways. And it is in fact often wordless. But God does speak. God Comes To His People In His Word Ezra opened the scroll so that all the people might see it. And as he opened it, all the people rose. Ezra read plainly from the book. Then Ezra said to the people, "Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad and do not weep". For all the people were weeping as they heard the word of God. I've always wondered why they were crying. What did they find in the words that were proclaimed to them that touched them so deeply that they would cry? The word proclaimed to them that day, somehow was deep inside them, into their real life stories. And hearing the story of their life, in the context of a bigger story, the story of God and his people, touched them deeply. I don't know for sure what they heard. Perhaps those who were frightened or felt lost saw that God was with them. Perhaps those who had grown hardened heard a deep call to repentance. Maybe those with broken hearts came to meet the God who suffered with them. Somehow, they need God. In God's Word We Hear Our Life Story Whatever my life situation, whether I am a single parent struggling with demands, or a teenager in love, whether in my single years wondering about a job, or a career, in grade school, and someone had made fun of me at recess, or a senior citizen and homebound. In God's word, we hear our life story in light of a bigger story. The story of God's care for people down through the ages. That story turns how we understand the stories of our lives. The Same God Speaks To Our Needs The same God that called Abraham and Sarah, and they obeyed. The same God who spoke to Moses out of a burning bush. The same God who raised up countless men, women and children down through the ages, speaks to us here a word that we so desperately need to hear. Space Of Silence Needed To Hear God's Word During the liturgy of the Word, we must fully listen - using even our eyes to help us hear the word of God proclaimed to us. Before the Gospel, we mark ourselves with the triple signs of the cross, praying that God will be in our mind, on our lips and in our heart. How important to actually create a space in our mind, on our lips and in our heart for God's word. So often our lives are so loud and busy, filled with so much that there is no room for the word of God. Sometimes God has a message that we desperately need to hear, yet we don't because there's so much noise. God Speaks Amidst Our Loud And Hectic Lives Often our lives have a lot of noise in them. I believe that God can and do speak in the middle of all that. Yet, for us to recognise the voice of God in the midst of that hectic pace of daily living, I believe we need quiet time. That we need time to sit in silence and with God's word, find the God that lies waiting for us. And when we come to know that voice of God, then when we're back to that hectic pace again, we will know that voice. It is unavoidable that sometimes our lives will be loud and hectic. Recognising God's Word But, if we come to know that voice of God, when we come to know the word behind the words, when our lives are hectic and loud, we will be able to know the same voice who speaks to us, even in the midst of our hectic pace. We Taste God In His Word The Eucharist, we taste the word of God. Before we go to the table to dine, in the dying and rising of Jesus, we come first to this table to hear God's word. Week 2: Words, Solitude and Intimacy The Voice In The Garden Of Solitude Solitude is the garden of our hearts which we yearn for love. It is the place where our aloneness can bear fruit. It is the home for our restless bodies and anxious minds. Solitude, whether it is connected with a physical space or not, is essential for spiritual lives. It is not an easy place to be, since we are insecure and fearful that we are easily distracted by whatever promises immediate satisfaction. Solitude is not immediately satisfying, because in solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our feelings of lust and anger, and our immense need for recognition and approval. But if we do not run away, we will meet there also the One who says: "Do not be afraid. I am with you and I will guide you through the valley of darkness". Let's keep returning to our solitude. The Intimacy Of The Table The table is one of the most intimate places in our lives. It is there that we give ourselves to each other. When we say: "Take some more, let me serve you another plate, let me pour you another glass, don't be shy enjoy it", we say a lot more than our words express. We invite our friends to become part of our lives. We want them to be nurtured by the same food and drink that nurture us. We desire communion. That is why a refusal to eat and drink what a host offers is so offensive. It fells like a rejection of an invitation to intimacy. Strange as it may sound, the table is the place where we want to become food for each other. Every breakfast, lunch or dinner can become a time of growing communion with each other. Letting The Word Become Flesh Spiritual reading is food for our souls. As we slowly let the words of the Bible or a good spiritual book enter into our minds and descend into our hearts, we become different people. The Word gradually becomes flesh in us and transform our whole beings. Thus spiritual reading is a continuing incarnation of the divine Word within us. In and through Jesus, the Christ, God became flesh long ago. In and through our reading of God's Word and our reflection on it, God becomes flesh in us now and makes us into living Christs for today. Let's keep reading God's Word with love and great reverence. Week 3: Words, Flesh And Community Words Are Important Without them our actions lose meaning. And without meaning we cannot live. Words can offer perspective, insight, understanding and vision. Words can bring consolation, comfort, encouragement and hope. Words can take away fear, isolation, shame and guilt. Words can reconcile, unite, forgive and heal. Words can bring peace and joy, inner freedom and deep gratitude. Words, in short, can carry love on their wings. A word of love can be one of the greatest acts of love. Because when our words become flesh in our own lives and the lives of others, we can change the world. Jesus is the word made flesh. In him speaking and acting were one. Words That Come From The Heart Words that do not become flesh in us remain "just words". They have no power to affect lives. If someone says, "I love you" without meaning it, such words do more harm than good. But if these same words are spoken from the heart, they can create new life. It is important that we keep in touch with the source of our words. Our great temptation is to become "pleasers", people who say the right words to please others but whose words have no roots in their interior lives. We have to keep making sure our words are rooted in our hearts. The best way to do that is in prayerful silence. Flesh Becoming Word The word must become flesh, but the flesh also must become word. It is not enough for us, as human beings, just to live. We must also give words to what we are living. If we do not speak what we are living, our lives lose their vitality and creativity. When we see a beautiful view, we search for words to express what we are seeing. When we meet a caring person, we want to speak about that meeting. When we are sorrowful or in great pain, we need to talk about it. When we are surprised by joy, we want to announce it! Through the Word we appropriate and internalise what we are living. The Word makes our experience truly human. Words That Create Community The word is always a word for others. When we give words to what we are living, these words need to be received and responded to. A speaker needs a listener. A writer need a reader. When the flesh - the lived human experience - becomes word, community can develop. When we say, "Let me tell you what we say. Come and listen to what we did. Sit down and let me tell you what happened to us. Wait until you hear whom we met", we call people together and make our lives for others. The word brings us together and calls us into community. When the flesh becomes word, our bodies become part of a body of people. Week 4: God's Voice In Spiritual Life The Dynamics Of The Spiritual Life Our emotional lives and our spiritual lives have different dynamics. The ups and downs of our emotional lives depends a great deal on our past or present surroundings. We are happy, sad, angry, bored, excited, depressed, loving, caring, hateful or vengeful because of what happened long ago or what is happening now. The ups and downs of our spiritual lives depend on our obedience - that is, our attentive listening - to the movements of the Spirit of God within us. Without this listening, our spiritual lives eventually becomes subject to the wind-swept waves of our emotions. A Window On Our Spiritual Lives Even though our emotional lives are distinct, they do influence one another profoundly. Our feelings often gives us a window on our spiritual journeys. When we cannot let go of jealously, we may wonder if we are in touch with the Spirit that cries out "Abba". When we feel very peaceful and "centred", we may come to realise that this is the sign of our deep awareness of our belovedness. Putting On Temperaments In The Service Of God Likewise our prayers lives, lived as faithful response to the presence of the Spirit within us, may open a window on our emotions, feelings and passions and give us some indication of how to put them in the service of our long journey into the heart of God. Our temperaments - whether flamboyant, phlegmatic, introverted or extroverted - are quite permanent fixtures of our personalities. But the way we "use" our temperaments on a daily basis can vary greatly. When we are attentive to the Spirit of God within us, we will gradually learn to put our temperaments in the service of a virtuous life. Then flamboyance gives great deal for the Kingdom, phlegmatism helps to keep even keel in times of crisis, introversion deepens contemplative side, and extroversion encourages creative ministry. Let's live with our temperaments as with gifts that help us deepen our spiritual lives. Spiritual Dryness Sometimes we experience a terrible dryness in our spiritual lives. We feel no desire to pray, don't experience God's presence, get bored with worship services, and even think that everything we ever believed about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit is little more that a childhood fairy tale. Then it is important to realise that most of these feelings and thoughts are just that, feelings and thoughts and that the Spirit of God dwells are beyond our feelings and thoughts. It is a great grace to be able to experience God's presence in our feelings and thoughts but when we don't, it doesn't mean that God is absent. It often means that God is calling us to a greater faithfulness. It is precisely in times of spiritual dryness that we must hold on to our spiritual discipline so that we can grow into new intimacy with God. |