We live in a world where reflection shapes our identity. Whether it be gazing into mirrors, the images of ourselves that family,friends and acquaintances reflect back at us...these reflections shape our being. But for followers, disciples of Jesus our image is reflected from the inside...not from the external world that surrounds us.
But because we are so shaped by the culture that surrounds us,like standing in a room full of mirrors, we as pilgrims on a homeward bound faith journey have lost our identity. We have developed amnesia. We have the name tag, the label...but we have lost touch with all the underlying truth that reflects and shapes image behind the name, " Christian."
Every moment, this is what should be shaping our image... " In Christ "
In the world of mirrors, we exercise, apply make up, nip-cut-tuck and inject, all so a better image will be reflected. But, do we ever think of spirituality as an exercise that shapes the mind, heart, soul and spirit. How much time in our day is spent on shaping the inside, on shaping the image of what it is to be, " In Christ."
A book that really impacted me in my early years of my faith journey was, " Practicing the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence." The year is 1689. Late in the evening, in the clutter of a small monastic kitchen in France, a man hunches over a mound of dirty dishes. He has been slaving from dawn: cooking, cleaning, peeling potatoes, baking bread and preparing meat. The job of this cook is tiring and burdensome - it's not the ideal place for a saint to be found. And yet here is where we find Brother Lawrence - a monk, cook, and friend, who labors day in and day out. A man noted as practicing the presence of Godliness:
'That the foundation of the Spiritual Life in him had a high notion and esteem of God in faith; which when he had once well conceived, he had no other care but faithfully to reject at once every other thought, that he might perform all his actions for the love of God'
The time of business does not differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees at the Blessed Sacrament Brother Lawrence devoted his life wholly to God. Even when he worked in displeasure he found Christ, he found prayer. He would scrape a plate for the love of God, or sweep the floor for the love of God. He would rise before the house was awake and enter rest after the house became quiet again, all for the love of God. A beautiful life, a man transcended by a passionate heart. Finding pleasure in every condition by doing little things for the love for God . A soul truly resigned, diligent to commune with God, even when forced into a lifestyle deemed less than beautiful. To find peace and joy as the soul is absorbed in passionate regard for God, as the soul converses with God, this is mystic prayer. This is life transcended by passion for spirituality. At the end of his life Brother Lawrence remained in profession of his passion: 'I am doing what I shall do through all eternity - I bless God, I praise God, I adore Him and love Him with all my heart. I worship Him and love Him without concern for anything else' . Brother Lawrence, whole identity, whole image...everything he reflected was from the reality of being " In Christ." But he, and we don't arrive at that place over night. The reality, the truth...we are there instantaneously, in a divine moment...the second we believe. But at the same time it is a spiritual journey, that takes commitment, obedience, patience...to get to the place, and living in the place of being " In Christ." But the more time we spend in that place, " In Christ " the more His image is reflected...the more our identity is changed. A big part of my morning and evening exercise is to spend time reading, meditating on these passages of scripture... Open your most inner self in prayer, allow the Spirit of God to breathe to fuse itself with the text, allow it to become the breath of God, the Word of God...the same word that spoke creation into existence. Allow it to become the Living Word, that of Christ, who comes speaking the new creation into existence. Allow it to grow, to become a spiritual reality...allow it to become the new place you live your life..." In Christ."
Ron,
Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts. I needed to hear them. It's too easy to get pulled away from the simple, but difficult to be consistent with, practices that keep us in a healthy place.
Posted by: John Smulo | November 22, 2006 at 11:46 AM