It would be very difficult for an atheist to live by the Godlike sea, a perpetual presence. It is always there, ever present, the mind of God, "reflected in His great earthly mirror." To whom would an atheist give thanks when he is overwhelmed in gratitude for the gift of the boundless sea, to whom would he give praise?" (The Sea Within, Peter Kreeft. 2006)
This morning, as I sat on my front porch with a cup of coffee, I gazed at the endless blue sky with its small puffy clouds drifting past, and thought of this quote from Peter Kreeft. The trees in front of me arched their branches into the panorama of the blue sky and white clouds; the soft breeze stirred the leafy plants on the porch and the overhanging branches beside the porch----and for a few moments, I felt totally at one with the Creator of heaven and earth and with all of His handiwork. My spirit merged into the Spirit of God, uniting me with not only the creation I could see in front of me, but with all of my neighbors, who I could not see at the moment. I felt that for a moment, I had been given an experience of God's own love for all that He had made and done.
No one's sins or virtues, no one's manners or lack thereof, had any bearing on the love and unity I felt with them at that moment; all were united with me in my union with all that exists and with the God from whom they emanated. For a few moments, I felt the meaning of Sabbath -- a word that means "stopping." I had nothing to do at that moment but to enter into unity with my Creator and with all of His gifts, human or otherwise. The peace that rested within me was a peace that I knew we were meant to carry all our days, through all our endeavors, through all of our work on earth.
I knew what Jesus called "the Gift of God," the "kingdom of heaven" on earth. And I felt sadness for those who could not enter the kingdom even now, for those who had no one to thank for the beauty of all that exists and for the ultimate unity we will all share in heaven. Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has done great things for me!" What a gift to be able to repeat her song of praise, her Kaddish, knowing it to be true not only for her, but for me.
Stopping for a moment, for an hour, for a day, to enter into praise and thanksgiving would ease all our anxieties and fears, at least for that moment. And I believe that as we extend those moments of praise, they would drive out permanently all that threatens to overwhelm us in our lives. The Book of Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4, has much to say about the Sabbath-rest that God has planned for us. I will quote just a portion:
Today, if you hear His voice, do not grow stubborn....a Sabbath rest still awaits the people of God; anyone who enters God's rest, rests from his own work, as God did from his. Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the old example of unbelief.
"Observing the Sabbath" --- truly -- means stopping from our own work, even from our own thoughts, and allowing God to gently and quietly move into our lives with His thoughts and His work. And where He takes us is so beautiful, so delightful, so restful to the spirit that words cannot describe it. Nothing we can manufacture by our own efforts can in the least way compare to the work of God -- but if we do not rest for a moment from our own work, we will never see what is right in front of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment