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Today’s Scripture ~ Psalm 27.4 (ESV)
4One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire [or, meditate] in his temple.
Wisdom Story
I walk into the wood. Prostrate myself to the ground. Pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I receive only a return of aching silence. My longing remains unabated; my mind is confused by a strange absence. … Now, I recline in my chair. Incense burns to my left. My altar, with the fruitful cross, faces me. I am no longer in the wood of South Georgia, next to my home among the pines. I am in South Florida, in the den of my home. … Many years intervene these two times. … God is near. … But it took many lessons to teach me how truly to know that, not only know about that. I am thankful.
Comments
My journey has been a passage of seeking the One I call by many names. This is a love relationship, and in the last years the spiritual aspiration has been more and more directed on a vital sensation of the Living, Resurrected Christ. This Presence is my Constant Companion, even when I feel absent from the Love. But the sense of absence is less frequent, the sense of Presence is most often the joy of my life.
The spiritual passage is from the outer to the inner, then it moves from the inner to the outer. It begins with and flows from inspiration. The aspiration leads us, like the Psalmist, to be able to say, “One thing have I asked of the LORD.” This asking is consecration to a single focus among the many other interests and demands in our lives. All else moves around this Center.
Asking is not enough. The Psalmist continues “that will I seek after.” Our seeking itself, even apart from words of prayer, is prayer. Our seeking joins with the Divine seeking us. God finds us, and we find God. This is one ongoing act of conversion of heart and life.
We seek what? To live “in the house of the LORD” everyday. To “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD” everyday. To “meditate” or “inquire” in “his temple” everyday. But how do I do this? I cannot go to a temple everyday. Am I, then, to relinquish myself to a life of only intermittent visitation to a temple, church, or sanctuary? Am I only to enjoy occasional gazing on the Divine Beauty and to meditate in the sacredness of a place of worship?
My life passage is of turning from the outer sanctuary to the inner sanctuary. Yes, I can enjoy places set aside for worship. There I am often, alone or with others, nourished in meditation and prayer. I need to frequent such places.
Yet, the outer sanctuary is an image and sign of the inner sanctuary in me, the Withinness of all things. This inner sanctuary is where I learn to live daily with the Companionship of God. To do this, I must do it consciously. I must “seek” to live in such intimate Union with Love. I allow the challenges and distractions of my daily life, work, and relationships not to pull me from Love, but return me to Love. All else in my life is enriched by my returning and living from the inspiration of Grace at the Center. Every happening that can distance me from the Center can be a call to return to the inner Font of Grace, for a renewed baptism of Life.
God, St. John of the Cross (16th Century) teaches us, desires to fill our human capacities with Himself. He observes, in line with teaching of the Church up to his time, that the soul has three faculties: memory, understanding, will. He reminds us, “Their capacity is enormous because they are intended for infinite blessings.” He affirms that their being empty leads to suffering. “We can imagine how great our joy would be if they were filled with their God,” says St. John.
Ironically, however, we are to empty them of all that keeps us from the inspirations of Grace, that they might be filled with God Himself: “We are not able to receive the tremendous blessing God has for us as long as these faculties of the soul are not completely empty.”
Turning consciously inward to God, I surrender my rights to fill myself. I empty myself of all but one desire: the desire for God, to be filled with God Himself, to love God in return for His love toward me. All other desires are made servant of that one seeking. All other loves lead to that one Love or must be removed from my life~not always because they are wrong or evil, but for I have given myself in consecration to this one holy pursuit of God and His will flowing through me into the world, including my being a blessing to those closest to me~like family and friends.
What is the consequence of this emptying? I am graced with the abundance of Divine Blessing. I find freedom in the emptying of all that clogged up the spiritual faculties. God begins freeing me from memories, thoughts, and resistances to a life of faith: love, joy, peace. Inspiration and aspiration become the natural embodiment of the Holy Spirit in my life. I am joyful. Christ captures my heart.
Other persons sense these changes in me. They are drawn to this mysterious, though practical, inner working of Plentiful Grace. I live from the inner temple, where my heart and the Heart of God commune in love, joy, and hope.
Even my sufferings open into gratitude, for I know that God is working within the struggle to teach me the freedom in surrender and humbleness. God is preparing me, through this living Dialogue of Spirit with spirit, for better things and a more productive, Christ-blessed life, wherein my gifts and graces are enhanced to my joy and more persons blessed for His glory.
Suggested Reflection
Is the Holy Spirit calling you to focus more on your relationship with God? How might you live more with a consciousness of daily companionship with the Living Christ? How do you enter your inner sanctuary?
*Quote of St. John of the Cross is from Living Flame of Love. Derived from Near to the Heart of God. Ed. B. Bangley.
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.
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*Brian K. Wilcox lives with his wife, Rocio, and their two dogs, St. Francis and Bandit Ty, in Clearwater and Punta Gorda, Florida. He is a United Methodist pastor and vowed member of Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community in Georgia. His passion is living a contemplative life and inspiring others to experience a deeper relationship with Christ through contemplative prayer and living.
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