Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 3: Year 1
Morning, Psalm 25; Evening, Psalms 9 and 15;
Deuteronomy 4:9 to 14; 2nd Corinthians 1:1 to 11; Luke 14:25 to 35:
“You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain while the mountain was blazing up to the very heavens, shrouded in dark clouds. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.” (Deuteronomy 4:11 and 12).
It is arrogance on our part to reduce God to human form, except in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is Holy Spirit, God just is. God made us to be. We live at God’s pleasure.
I treasure Moses’ experiences with God. I like the burning bush experience. On the mountain of God, God was a flame of fire that restrained itself from destroying the bush. God was ever-living bush, a plant product of earth. And, God was voice, a voice that called Moses by name, “Moses, Moses,” (Exodus 3).
We still stand at the foot of the mountain. Our spiritual mountains are still ablaze with the holiness of God. God is a flame of light and warmth in the darkness and coldness of our lives, and God is the spiritual smoke we need in the light of day to lead us through troubled waters. We need and very much depend on the Voice with no form who formed us and loves us.
In my contemplative moments I am moved to light a little candle. A little flame, “This little light of mine,” is representative of the light of God in my life. I pray and ponder in the presence of this little light and listen for the still small but powerful voice of God. Some days are clearer than others. But God does lead me and guide me. And I am thankful.
I have found that I am moving too fast in my day to day doings. I need to slow down. I sometimes speak too quickly, and too fast. I don’t know why. I just need to slow down. This is the kind of message I am receiving from my little light during these days. I will heed this insight.
I very much recommend to you as you read these words, to develop your own contemplative practice where the God with a Voice but no form will join you for your own benefit, and the benefit of the community in which you live. Our God with a Voice and no form is a God of love. And we, you and I, are on a journey with God, from the “Horeb” of our lives, with instructions for how to live our lives in a place promised to us by God – a place where we will thrive, a place where we will tell our children, and their children, about the great and loving deeds of God. This place may be more about your spiritual self than a physical location; more about dimension than destination. What is the Voice of God saying to you for right now? Be still and listen; ponder.
Let us live to love, more than just love to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
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