A most majestic #MindfulMonday morning to everyone! Here we are friends: 10 days away from the wonder of Christmas. Here we are: striving to own #Joy (while our society is attempting to cram a candy-coated happiness down our throats). And as we continue on our #AdventJourney, it might be beneficial to take a moment & acknowledge that some of us JUST ARENT READY for baby Jesus to be born. Now, I dont mean that in any sort of deep or theological sense. Im just addressing the human, earthly, practical dimensions of the season. Perhaps we are becoming more than a little bit anxious about whatever it is we have yet to accomplish to properly celebrate. Juggling the demands of work, church, special holiday projects, parties, family, extracurricular activities for the kiddos... It can be quite chaotic at this time of year. And for those of us who want to remember The Reason for The Season it can get even more bizarre & stressful. We tack our spiritual disciplines on top of the worldly activities. Not that that is how we want or intend to prioritize. It happens. We get caught up in the madness of daily life -dragged by the current of culture & trying to please/honor/appease/whatever everyone from our extended family to our bosses, from our children to our neighbors, from our favorite charitable organization to our faith-community... ...and where does that often get us? Fried. Frazzled. Disjointed. Overwhelmed. The special power & significance of this time of year (even for...especially for those of us who want to keep Christ in Christmas) can become an unintentional afterthought or a watered-down version of what we truly long for. So today, as we keep #FindingOurselvesInTheNativityStory, we turn our attention toward the extended-holy-family. And we want to pause. Breathe. Block-out all the noise, noise, noise. We want to be mindful. Like Zechariah. We want to be silent. #Speechless. Full of awe & wonder at what The LORD has done, is doing & will continue to do in the #ContinualAdvent of Christs (coming) Kingdom. We want to shut our mouths. Open our ears. Listen... ...for the voice of our #StillSpeakingGod... ...and the voice of the prophets... ...calling to us & challenging us to make a way through the madness -that there would be a place for the Christ-child to be born, afresh, in our hearts, minds, lives, world... And that can be profoundly challenging amidst rush & bustle. The Good News that we are to experience & usher-in cant be spoken to others unless or until weve really HEARD it ourselves. As I read & reread of Zechariah being struck mute, I cant help but think of those classic preschool-teacher-expressions: If youre talking, youre not listening. and GOD gave us two ears & one mouth -so that we would listen twice as much as we speak. Maybe thats why Zechariah was silenced by Gabriel. So that he could be mindful. So that he could think before he spoke. So that he (like his young cousin Mary & his wife Elizabeth) could treasure these things up in his heart. So that he would have a chance to bed-down the worries of being an older-dad. Process-through the concerns of work & worship & way-making. Pray about how deeply blessed he was about to be. How deeply blessed Israel & all of Creation would be through his offspring (who, himself, would be blessed to be a forerunner -a way-maker for Jesus: The Way). And in the silence, the contemplation, the prayerful consideration & mindfulness, I imagine he was able to fall-back into the arms of Joy. There, he could get-over the (mere/temporary) happiness of finally conceiving a son & deal with the fears about what the religious elite always do to prophets... ...see, thats where #SacredSilence is a space to #CultivateJoy. In those times & places of deep listening such as was thrust upon Zechariah, we are given the opportunity to stare the harshest of realities in the face & still sense that #GodJourneysWithUs. That in the midst of social unrest & personal upheaval -even through those unfortunate realities a light is shining on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death. One which will guide our feet (through the storms & uncertainties) into the path of peace. It is in mindfulness & silence, in “repentance and rest, in quietness and trust (as the prophet Isaiah wrote) that we find strength & even salvation itself. Lets all take a cue from Zechariah today. And STOP. JUST STOP. And be quiet. Ponder the beautiful mysteries of GODs Grace & goodness. And in those moments of time-away-from-time; those places of sacred silence & not having to have an answer... ...find & cultivate TRUE JOY. The kind which isnt dependent on circumstantial happiness or situational, finite, temporary pleasures, but rests & trusts in the Eternal Love of an Ageless & Endless Lord & Savior. PRAYER CHALLENGE: 1.) Take a nap. 2.) Every time someone asks you a question today, stop & count to 15 before responding. 3.) In between each task you have to accomplish today, take a 3 minute break & prayerfully consider how GOD has been active & present in the last period of your day. #KnowGrowGo #JourneyingWithTheHolyFamily #JoyOfGod #Zechariah
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 13:55:49 +0000
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