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[S]ometimes we are in such a hurry to transmit that we forget our primary duty is to receive;
and that God's self-imparting through us, will be in direct proportion
to our adoring love and humble receptiveness.
*Evelyn Underhill, "The Heart of the Life of Prayer" (1926)
Scripture
2 I long and yearn
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
*Psalm 84.2, HCSB
1 As a deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for You, God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long people say to me,
"Where is your God?"
4 I remember this as I pour out my heart:
how I walked with many,
leading the festive procession to the house of God,
with joyful and thankful shouts.
5 Why am I so depressed?
Why this turmoil within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
my Savior and my God.
*Psalm 42.1-5, HCSB
Wisdom Story
Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760), born Israel ben Eliezer, founded the Hasidim, a sect of Jewish mystics that originated in Poland in the 18th Century. The Hasidim emphasize joyful worship of an immanent God.
A famous doctor met one of his patients on the street. The doctor said, "I told you not to walk on that leg until it heals!" "But it is healed," replied the man. "Impossible! I saw the wound. It will take months!" "I went to another kind of healer. I went to a mystical rabbi, the one they call the Baal Shem Tov." The doctor narrowed his eyes, then walked away.
A week later, the doctor rapped loudly on the Baal Shem Tov's door. When the door opened, he said, "I hear you claim to be a healer!" The Baal Shem Tov looked at his visitor, and he said, "God is the healer, my friend. Come in!"
The visitor spoke, "Let us examine each other., Whoever best diagnoses the sickness of the other will be proved the better doctor." The Baal Shem Tov smiled, saying, "As you wish. But please do me the favor of coming in!"
Once inside, the doctor began examining the Baal Shem Tov. The doctor poked him, pinched him, gazed in his ears, and tapped on his knees. After an hour, the doctor spoke, "You have no sickness I can find." "I am not surprised that you could not find it," said the Baal Shem Tov. "I so desire the presence of God that my heart cries out in pain when I can not feel it. My sickness is this constant yearning for God."
The Baal Shem Tov looked at the doctor for a time. "Let me now examine you," he said. The Baal Shem Tov took the doctor's hands and gazed into his eyes. At last, the rabbi said, "Have you ever lost something very valuable?" "As a matter of fact," said the doctor, "I once had a large jewel. But someone stole it from me."
"Ah! That is your sickness!" said the Baal Shem Tov. "What? Missing my diamond?" "No. My sickness is yearning after God. Your sickness is that you have forgotten you ever had that desire."
The doctor sucked in a breath. In a moment, a tear flowed down his cheek. One tear turned to many. Still holding the hands of the Baal Shem Tov, he began sobbing. "Please," he said. "Teach me how to yearn!"
"With God's help," said the Baal Shem Tov, "your healing has already begun."
Comments
What is spiritual longing? "Longing" is from an Old English root akin to the German langen, "to reach, extend." The reaching is a reaching out of the heart toward the Totally Other, who is, at the same time, the Totally Immanent. In this yearning we come into immediate contact with our littleness in the Immensity of the Divine. We are candles lit by the Light of the Sun. Pride dissipates in the brightness of the Seeing.
The longing has a strong emotional tone to it. And Prayer, in the forms of song, lament, dance, imagination, and silence are means to express the yearning for the Divine.
The Evelyn Underhill saying above speaks to our yearning for the Divine. She calls us to a daily practice of adoring love and humble receptiveness to be prepared to serve others. We do this to enjoy the Divine imparting the Divine to us. In this receptiveness we receive the inflow of God Godself. Our extending ourselves to God forms the space within that allows the reciprocity of inflow of the Spirit. Your yearning itself helps shape the fulfillment of the longing.
The Psalmist sings of the naturalness of yearning for one who has known the closeness of the Sacred and the ache of feeling apart from the Divine. He feels this ache throughout his whole self, reminding us that longing for God will touch every part of our selves.
And the Psalmist reminds us that our spiritual longings can be associated with sacred space. That space can be a sanctuary, a chapel, a quiet path through the wood, a prayer room, a place set aside in our home for quiet meditation, our vehicle ~ any place we have come to enjoy fellowship with Christ and has been infused with a sense of the Wonderful Presence.
Suggested Reflection
Is it possible the spiritual dearth in many churches is linked to a loss of heart-full longing for God? Explain your answer.
How might your life change if you spend time each morning in a quiet time of adoring love and humble receptivity to God? If you already do this daily, how did beginning this morning time transform how you respond to the events of your day?
Do you have a place, or places, you return to meet your longing for communion with God?
In what ways do you express adoration for the Divine?
How do you practice receptiveness to the Divine Presence in prayer? Throughout the day?
What, to you, is the difference between seeing prayer as essentially to get something from God and prayer as receiving God Godself?
What is the relationship between Contemplative Prayer and humble adoration of the Divine?
*Writing by Brian K. Wilcox, Aug 09, 2007
Brian is available to respond to requests pertaining to seeking a Spiritual Director, his speaking, doing classes, workshops, or retreats for churches or other spiritual groups. He will inform regarding how to receive his other writings or offer replies to comments or questions.
For submission of replies, see below:
*Brian K. Wilcox is Pastor of Christ Community United Methodist Church, Punta Gorda, FL. He is a vowed member of Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community. His passion is living a contemplative life and inspiring others to experience a deeper relationship with Christ through contemplative prayer and living.
*The Underhill citation is from The Contemporaries Meet the Classics on Prayer. Compiled by Leonard Allen. The story of the Baal Shem Tov is by Doug Lipman. See www.hasidicstories.com .
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