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The monarch butterfly is a beautiful creature of orange, yellow, and black wings. Yearly, persons enjoy seeing these immaculate creatures fill the sky in their migration south.
The monarch spends the winter in forests with fir trees within the volcanic highlands of Mexico. Environmentalists have identified nine areas where they gather in colonies. Mexico has named five of the sites as sanctuaries of protection.
The sanctuaries cover only sixty-two square miles. Poor farmers and commercial loggers are clearing fir forests, at times in restricted areas, placing pressure on the butterfly colonies. A university researcher has noted the need to expand the protected zones are we will soon not have a monarch migration.
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The human person is a sanctuary of the divine Spirit. We protect our hearts, zealous to honor the space within of the holy Presence of God.
St. Paul presents to us words on the Indwelling-Manifest Spirit of Love:
14 For this reason, I bow my knees and pray to the Father. 15 It is from Him that every family in heaven and on earth has its name. 16 I pray that because of the riches of His shining-greatness, He will make you strong with power in your hearts through the Holy Spirit. *Ephesians 3.14-16, NLV
"In your hearts" is a rendition of the literal reading "in the inner person." This is what many call "the center." The center reminds us of the Holy of Holies. This compartment was the innermost site of the sanctuary in Old Testament and New Testament times.
The tradition going before the Temple tradition was of a Tent of Meeting, or sanctuary, or tabernacle. We see this in the Book of Exodus, reflecting a very early tradition of a portable tent that served as a sanctuary for nomadic or semi-nomadic clans later to become incorporated in the Israel tribes in the land of Canaan. The God of the clans says to Moses:
Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you." *Exodus 25.8-10, NLT
This tradition of outer space, even until now, is a projection of the sanctuary within us each. Even as we reverence highly any sacred site, we reverence the sacredness within others and in ourselves.
Furthermore, we see holiness as pertaining to this inner tent of meeting, where the Divine and human meet in holy communion. Holiness is the protection of this reverenced environment within us.
Virtuous thoughts are essential to protection of this inward space where we live in intimacy with the Manifest Spirit:
Christian brothers and sisters, keep your minds thinking about whatever is true, whatever is respected, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever can be loved, and whatever is well thought of. If there is anything good and worth giving thanks for, think about these things. *Philippians 4.8, NLV
Why are these thoughts so vital? The Book of James gives us a clear reason:
14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.
The writer of James sees spiritual death as a progressive, organic process. Desire, which is linked with thought, leads to spiritual death. Actions are preceded by thought, which stimulates lust. This process, as long as one thinks of the desire, grows. So, thought is linked to desire, or "lust" (KJV).
Let us reverence the sacredness within us and each other. Let us guard it and care for it, with the same respect we would an outer sanctuary, chapel, or other sacred site. Let us give our minds and hearts to that which enhances the Home within where we comingle in Loving with the Holy.
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Meditate on Ephesians 3.14-16. What does it say to you about God and you? Who is the Holy Spirit? Where does the Holy Spirit make you strong? How do you protect that center where God and you meet in living discourse? How does contemplation address the call to meet God within, at the core of your self?
14 For this reason, I bow my knees and pray to the Father. 15 It is from Him that every family in heaven and on earth has its name. 16 I pray that because of the riches of His shining-greatness, He will make you strong with power in your hearts through the Holy Spirit. *NLV
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*Data on monarch butterfly from Craig Brian Larson, Ed. Choice Contemporary Stories & Illustrations.
*Brian K. Wilcox lives with his wife, Rocio, their two dogs, St. Francis and Bandit Ty, and their fish, Hope, in Southwest Florida. Brian is vowed at Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community in Georgia. He lives a contemplative life and inspires others to experience a deeper relationship with Christ. He advocates for a spiritually-focused Christianity and the renewal of the focus of the Church on addressing the deeper spiritual needs and longings of persons and empathic relating with diverse spiritual traditions, East and West. Brian has an independent writing, workshop, and retreat ministry, for all spiritual seekers.
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