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I’ve been practicing Ignatian Scripture meditation for some
time now. For those who don’t know what
that is here is the basic principle: You
create a quiet, peaceful place. You ease
yourself into prayer. You ask God to
show you what he wants you to see. You
slowly read the scripture and then you assume a role/enter into the scene. Don’t control it, just interact in the scene
as you feel guided. Let God move you in
the scene, and when you are done talk to God about what you have felt, learned,
and how it moved you. Sounds like a
pretty awesome practice, doesn’t it? It
is! It brings the scripture to life in a
way that makes it both personal and whole in your heart and mind. I love it but I have a “problem” it seems that I am ‘stuck’ on one particular
passage. So, stuck, in fact, I’ve not
been able to change scriptures—for over a year.
It is an oft read scripture, but always overlooked. It is important, but doesn’t impact people
the way I think it should, and has me for this last year. It absolutely connects everything with
everything else. Now, after a year, I
want to share the VERY simple elegant truth I’ve discovered in this mediation
way.
Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over
the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
After a year, solid of
meditation on this, even as I wrote it, my hands trembled with-not exactly
anxiety-more like something that has no word to describe the overwhelming
nature of the impact. That moment is
vast and ancient, more than our human minds can comprehend and yet that isn’t
even the key point of my sense of awe.
The key point is found in: AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD WAS HOVERING OVER THE
WATERS. Now, it took me literally months
to get to that actual part of the scripture semi-comfortably as the first part,
arriving in the moment of nebulous creation, so ancient and HUGE was hard
enough. Then, we get to the second part
about the Spirit. When I was finally
able to get to that part there was a sense of awe while at the same time something
completely unexpected. There was a sense
of connectivity. Which, is what I want to
share now.
That same spirit that
lingered over the waters of creation, in a moment so pure and still, now dwells
with in you.
Take a moment please. Put the computer down. Walk away.
Go to a silent place, close your eyes and just dwell in that for a
moment.
When you are able to come
back here I want you to now consider this:
The Spirit that gave King
David his gifts and anointed him as King-now dwells in you.
The Spirit that came upon
Moses and then the group that helped Moses when he was overwhelmed with leading
his people is now within you.
The Spirit that gave Elijah
the gift of prophecy-now dwells in you.
And get this…
The Spirit that raised our
Savior-Jesus the Messiah- from the dead- is now within you!
I could go on, but I hope
you get the point or are inspired to look more instances up in the scripture,
because it is important. It is also
important for us to embrace, not only because it allows us to know our God and
Savior better, but because the next time you sit in Church offering the "peace
be with you" that you look at the people around you in that light too. The same Spirit that lingered over the waters
of creation not only dwells within you, but those who claim Jesus as their
Messiah. We are one body of Christ, in
the Unity of the Holy Spirit, forever, and ever…Amen.
I may never be “unstuck”
from that scripture in my meditation, and that is OK, it has granted me a sense
of awe and the seed of understanding of God’s mighty presence in my life. What my potential is, what our potential is,
if we embrace that Spirit obediently.
Here I am, Lord, Send me!
I can recommend John 3:8.
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