advent 2 - into the present

readings

By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high has broken upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
LUKE 1:78-79


Out of kitchen table or chair
As if a celestial burning took
Possession of the most obtuse objects now and then -
Thus hallowing an interval
Otherwise inconsequent

By bestowing largesse, honor,
One might say love. At any rate, I now walk
Wary (for it could happen Even in this dull, ruinous landscape); skeptical,
Yet politic; ignorant

Of whatever angel may choose to flare
Suddenly at my elbow. I only know that a rook
Ordering its black feathers can so shine
As to seize my senses, haul
My eyelids up, and grant

A brief respite from fear
Of total neutrality. WIth luck,
Trekking stubborn through this season
Of fatigue, I shall
Patch together a content

Of sorts. Miracles occur,
If you dare to call those spasmodic
Tricks of radiance miracles. The wait's begun again,
The long wait for the angel,
For that rare, random decent.

- Sylvia Plath, from Black Rook in Rainy Weather


for reflection

I imagine Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, holding his newborn son tenderly in his arms as he sings the words recorded in the first chapter of Luke's gospel (verses 68-79). For him, the "dawn from on high has broken" and God is already at work guiding people onto the path of peace. It took some time for Zechariah to perceive this, though, about nine months to be more exact.

One day, approximately nine months before he held his newborn son, Zechariah was carefully fulfilling his duties as a priest in the temple when - to borrow the glowing words of Sylvia Plath - an angel chose to flare suddenly at his elbow. It was Gabriel himself, and the angel was bringing word to the old priest that he and his equally old wife would soon give birth to a son.

"But, I'm old," said the priest.

"But, I'm Gabriel," said the angel, "and I stand in the presence of God."

"How will I know this is true?" questioned the priest.

Interestingly, his question is the very same one uttered by Abraham when he was given a rather unbelievable promise from God (see Genesis 15). Zechariah, the religious professional whose job it was to help people remember what God had done in the past and help people hope for what God had promised to still do, couldn't quite accept that God was up to something right now.

We're told that as a consequence of his unbelief, Zechariah is struck speechless for the entire period of his wife's pregnancy.

I wonder, what would nine months of silence be like?

What would we notice or understand if we were silent for nine months?

It seems that for Zechariah, it was a reorienting time, a time to cross a threshold right into the present moment where God was already at work doing something wonderful. He came to recognize not only the God of his ancestors and the God of his future hopes, but Immanuel, "God with us."

For different reasons we may live with our focus primarily on the past. We may find ourselves lost in the regretful chorus of "should've, could've, would've." Or perhaps it is loss or grief that keeps our gaze fixed behind us. In religious communities it can happen when we put great effort into preserving former identities or traditions.

For many reasons we can live with our focus primarily on the future. We may find ourselves living out of an incessant wish for things to be different than they are, or a wish to simply get through the moment at hand so we can get to a moment in the future that we expect will be more pleasurable to us (how does the song go? . . . "everbody's workin' for the weekend"). In religious communities this sometimes takes the shape of end-time hopes and dreams for a final experience of release and salvation for oneself or the world as a whole.

The point here is not that remembering (looking back) or anticipating (looking forward) are inherently bad or wrong; they are vital impulses of our soul. But, to focus primarily on one or the other may be to miss those "spasmodic tricks of radiance," those miraculous birthings of God right here and right now!


for prayer

• Choose something that you do every day - eating a meal, drinking a cup of coffee or tea, changing a diaper, taking a shower, brushing your teeth - and try doing it from start to finish with wakeful attention. Simply notice and experience what you see, hear, taste, smell, feel and think as you do this common task with awareness. If your mind leaps backward or forward, gently bring your awareness back to what is right there going on in the moment: the texture of that next bite of food as it touches your tongue, the sensation of the water rolling down your back . . . No need to explain it, describe it or interpret it - just experience it with awareness.

• One very ancient form of drawing one's awareness to the present moment is by praying with the breath. A simple way of doing this is to sit in a firm chair with your back straight (without being uncomfortably or unnaturally arched). Either close your eyes or gently rest your gaze on a spot in front of you. Take a few moments to notice where tension points may be in your body and breathe deeply, stretching or massaging those places if you need to. With a word, or perhaps a simple gesture, invite God to be with you in this time of prayer. Then begin to draw your attention to your breathing. Notice it entering and leaving your body. Notice where you feel the breath in your body and on your body. Simply notice, and if you feel your curious and wondrous mind wandering, bring your attention back to the breath without any judgement. You cannot do this wrong! If you are not accustomed to silent, meditative prayer you may want to begin by doing this for 5-10 minutes, then increasing the time if you wish. Close your time by giving God thanks for the lifegiving gift of the breath and this moment of awareness!

• Another way to pray into the present moment is to pray with a breath or mantra prayer. One example of this from the Eastern Orthodox stream of Christianity is the Jesus Prayer, also known as the Prayer of the Heart. This prayer, in a simple form, is as follows: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me. The prayer can be repeated, aloud or silently, as one goes about the tasks of a day. You might try this prayer or create your own mantra prayer, such as: (breathing in) I live this moment, (breathing out) in your love, O God. Or, a prayer like this one might shift and change in a day as you encounter a new situation: (breathing in) I live this moment, (breathing out) to share your love, O God. Invite God to help you find a simple mantra prayer to take into your day. What do you notice?

May the peace of the Luminous Darkness

be with you in this Advent season.