Reassurance for the Glimpse

“…catching a glimpse of the Divine Nature out of the corner of the mind’s eye…”

   Austin Farrer gives comforting excursions into the territory of the unknown, offering reassurance for feeling lost in the ocean Unknowable. To imagine the eternal through the golden passage in autumnal woodlands is more than wishful thinking.

“…catching a glimpse of the Divine Nature out of the corner of the mind’s eye. We are really saying: since Divine Nature is the standard of what one might expect being simple to be, how does it arise that what our senses meet on every hand is not God, but finite things? And the argument goes on to answer: it is because the finite things have been ordained by God” (p. 45, Reflective Faith).

     Today’s meditation from the Center for Action and Contemplation addresses this relationship to the Living Presence in nature and in mutual relationship with people:

“… In my life, listening is a prime spiritual practice. Throughout the day, I seek to listen. I find that I sometimes hear the words but do not bring my full attention to listening. A friend is speaking to me; am I listening with a quiet mind? I see the beauty of the roses in my garden. Am I listening internally, taking a moment to notice the effect that the beauty of the roses has on me? I hear an undocumented immigrant in my community describe how her family lives in fear. Am I listening with a responsive heart? I read a story in the newspaper about heroin addiction in our state. Am I listening? I study a passage in Scripture. Am I paying attention to the details in the passage? Am I providing the time and attention to notice what the text might be stirring up in me?... (drawn especially from Nahum Ward-Lev, The Liberating Path of the Hebrew Prophets ].