IN THE BEGINNING (9)

IN THE BEGINNING (9)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Settle into silence, into peacefulness, into profound silence, into pure joy. Keep listening in such quietness and serenity. Come to that place, that space within, that place of deep silence, solitude, to just being here and now, without having to accomplish something.

Let us begin with a prayer in our heart:

Open my eyes Lord, help me to see your face,

Open my ears Lord, help me to hear your word,

Open my heart Lord, help me to love like you….

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

Our last meditation was on the incredible journey of Abraham, a journey of faith, of hope and of obedience. Abraham and Sarah remain our models and their faith in God, who would lead them, become our inspiration and strength. We reflected on how God calls us to journey, to move on like Abraham and Sarah, our roots sunk into no earthly place, our source of security in God and God alone. Letting go is not easy and to let go of a sure and certain and secure thing in order to welcome something new and untried is even more difficult. And that is the challenge!

Through the Scripture, we read about the God’s call to let go, to move on, to journey and to trust God and be faithful to his calling. Faithfulness on the journey is more important than arrival at the destination.

The real success and fulfillment of our life is in our faithfulness to what we have come to know as God’s plan and purpose for us.

It is a gift to know faithful people, people whose inner strength urges them to share their love generously, even when it costs them much. Their lives tell us that faithfulness is possible, though not easy. Faithful people reflect God’s faithfulness.

Faithfulness is the characteristic of a person who simply loves and inspires a sense of confidence and trust in another, even when things don’t seem to be going well.

Dwell on this thought for some time.

Two of the most basic principles of any growth are “grounding and movement”. A tree has to be grounded, put its roots deep into the earth and put out branches…..

We have to have one foot firm on the ground and move the other to make a journey. Abraham and Sarah journeyed…moved, grounded in God and God alone, their roots sunk into no earthly place, finding their identity and security in God and God alone.

Physical rootedness in a place is not a recurring image of the people of God in their history of salvation. In fact the image is to the contrary. They are people on the move, marching to the Promised Land.

But rootedness as a basic and fundamental attitude of trust in God, of linking and anchoring, of basic security and of unbreakable communion as essential to spiritual life, is a constant theme in the Holy Scriptures. “Abide in me and I in you. Unless you abide in me you will not bear much fruit.” says Jesus. “O Lord you are my rock and my salvation”, cries the Psalmist. Peter expresses his refusal to waiver in his decision when asked “will you also go away” and says “To whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life.”

Paul invited the Philippians to be fellow-imitators of Christ (Philippians 3:17 – 4:1). He also encouraged them to be aware of those whose lives were scandalous and not follow them because “our citizenship is in heaven”. Paul was saying to them that they must never forget that they are citizens of heaven and that their conduct must match their citizenship.

Remember who you are! You are fellow citizens with the saints!

He instructed them to “stand fast in the Lord”. The meaning of “Stand Fast” as Paul uses is like the soldier “standing fast” in battle with the enemy surging down upon him.

Be strong! Stand fast in the Lord! Be rooted and growing in the Lord!

We are called to be……..

Rooted in divine love.

Rooted in the solid spiritual heritage and tradition of our church.

Rooted in our own unique cultural expressions of faith.

Rooted in our family traditions.

Rooted in our own personal God-experience.

Rooted in our own understanding of God’s will and purpose.

In the Gospel of Luke (Luke 9:28-36), we read about the voice of God declaring Jesus as the “beloved Son” and calling all disciples to listen to him. In the presence of Jesus, transfigured in glory, Peter, James and John felt secure, happy, at home. They felt they had reached the end of their journey and they were not ready to move on – they just wanted to stay in their experience of comfort, joy, security and glory.

Remember and rejoice in experiences of joy, success, greatness, wonder, glory, happiness and all of life’s peak experiences and be grateful, but be prepared to move on!

They had found a temporary serenity and security. But the journey of Jesus was not complete and the disciple’s journey was not complete either. They had to leave this experience, come down the mountain and accept life with all its joys and sorrows, even accept the cross and eventual death. They had to continue their journey into the unknown, uncertain and insecure future. They had to walk in mystery!

The journey of Jesus would take him to the cross and then to unending glory. His disciples must follow and travel a similar path.

On their way, Jesus would serve as their map, their route, their guide and eventually their way – and the way, the journey and the end of the journey become one.

Be prepared to accept the inconveniences, suffering, pain, cross – all of life’s struggles. Be strong and stand strong in faith during difficult times.        

Take time – be patient – discern your trials. Make decisions grounded in your faith. Prayerfully discern God’s plan for you. Be prayerful!                         

The real test of rootedness in God is the readiness to go beyond, to go to the land that He will show us. “He who wants to follow me,” says Jesus, “must deny himself take up his cross and follow me.”

To go beyond is a call for transcendence at every moment of our life. It is a call to a leap to do God’s will in every moment of one’s life. Everything is an expression of God’s provident mercy and justice.

We are called to go beyond routine ways of doing and being which produce no life, no inspiration, no spark of the divine to ways of genuine living, of truthful beholding of oneself in one’s own eyes, to ways of freshness, vigor and vitality, of spiritual youthfulness. We will reflect more on letting go and going beyond. For, take some time to reflect on being rooted, grounded in God and God’s ways!

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs