This morning, this is the view outside my window. It promises to be a sunny, cool day on Iona, so I plan to do some serious walking. Of course, even though the forecast says it will be a day filled with sunshine, I still need to be prepared for the rain which into every life must fall! (To be taken literally as well as figuratively.)
I mentioned in a previous post that I have found myself taking lots of pictures of portals of various kinds: windows, doors, gates, etc. I have also been struck by the recurrence of certain words or phrases that I have read or heard as I've been traveling around. Last night, I attended the communion service at the Bishop's House, the Episcopal retreat center. The presiding priest, Joyce, asked me to read the Old Testament lesson, Exodus 34: 29-35, where Moses had to wear a veil when he spoke with the people of Israel because his face was shining because he had been speaking with God. The gospel lesson from Matthew was about the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great price, and Joyce asked us to consider whether (1) our faces are shining because we spend time in the presence of God and (2) whether the gospel is the greatest treasure in our lives, reflected in how we live and interact with others.
As we moved through the service, I was struck by the following portion of the eucharistic liturgy that prays that we may be kindled with the fire of God's love and renewed for service in God's kingdom, which is a nice way to sum up a sabbatical:
There it is again -- images of warmed hearts, kindled by the fire of the love of the God who first loved us, and the notion of renewal, re-creation, re-birth for service in the kingdom. The same metaphor in the prayer from Elizabeth of Schonau shared in a previous post, the same metaphor which which Charles and John Wesley expressed their experiences of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
We all, not just those of us on formal sabbatical, have to ensure that we deliberately make time to spend in the presence of God, sitting together face to face the way one sits and has tea with a friend. We all, not just the "professional" religious folks, have to regularly receive the sacrament of holy communion which feeds our souls, renews the life of Christ within us, and energizes us for service in the kingdom. And we all have to pray and seek with great expectation the rekindling of the fire of God's love within us, not just in that quiet space in which we sit and meditate but out there in the beautiful yet broken world that lies beyond that invitingly open window.
What great adventure lies before you and me today as we go out there to mingle with strangers and friends, all created in God's image as we set out with our faces shining with the reflected glory of God and with hearts strangely kindled by the fire of LOVE?
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