The Still Point

A Time of Meditation and Reflection

First Sunday after Christmas  

... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance...

 

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

            Peace on each one who comes in need; 

            Peace on each one who comes in joy. 

            Peace on each one who offers prayers; 

            Peace on each one who offers song. 

            Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son, 

            Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.

 

Opening Prayer

Son of God, Child of Mary, born in the stable at Bethlehem, be born again in us this day that through us the world may know the wonder of your love. Hear this prayer for your name’s sake. Amen.

 

Scripture Reading           John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

 

Poem: “Wonder”         by Thomas Traherne

How like an angel came I down!
How bright are all things here!
When first among his works I did appear
O how their glory me did crown!
The world resembled his eternity,
In which my soul did walk;
And ev’ry thing that I did see

Did with me talk.

The skies in their magnificence,
The lively, lovely air;
Oh how divine, how soft, how sweet, how fair!
The stars did entertain my sense,
And all the works of God, so bright and pure,
So rich and great did seem,
As if they ever must endure
In my esteem.

A native health and innocence
Within my bones did grow,
And while my God did all his glories show,
I felt a vigour in my sense
That was all spirit. I within did flow
With seas of life, like wine;
I nothing in the world did know
But ’twas divine.

Harsh ragged objects were conceal’d,
Oppressions tears and cries,
Sins, griefs, complaints, dissensions, weeping eyes
Were hid, and only things reveal’d
Which heav’nly spirits, and the angels prize.
The state of innocence
And bliss, not trades and poverties,
Did fill my sense.

The streets were pav’d with golden stones,
The boys and girls were mine,
Oh how did all their lovely faces shine!
The sons of men were holy ones,
In joy and beauty they appear’d to me,
And every thing which here I found,
While like an angel I did see,
Adorn’d the ground.

Rich diamond and pearl and gold
In ev’ry place was seen;
Rare splendours, yellow, blue, red, white and green,
Mine eyes did everywhere behold.
Great wonders cloth’d with glory did appear,
Amazement was my bliss,
That and my wealth was ev’ry where:
No joy to this!

Curs’d and devis’d proprieties,
With envy, avarice
And fraud, those fiends that spoil even Paradise,
Flew from the splendour of mine eyes,
And so did hedges, ditches, limits, bounds,
I dream’d not aught of those,
But wander’d over all men’s grounds,
And found repose.

Proprieties themselves were mine,
And hedges ornaments;
Walls, boxes, coffers, and their rich contents
Did not divide my joys, but all combine.
Clothes, ribbons, jewels, laces, I esteem’d
My joys by others worn:
For me they all to wear them seem’d
When I was born.                                        

 

Meditation

A commitment to belief in the Incarnation of God in Jesus is a commitment to belief that the ultimate power of the universe can be found, not in mighty armies or big explosions or huge weapons or vast quantities of money, but in the most helpless, fragile, vulnerable person in all humankind: a baby. If we acknowledge this to be true, then to live that reality of Incarnation is to live helplessly, vulnerably, with fragility. As we age, we lose our softness. Grief overtakes us. We experience losses, wounds, rejections, and we harden ourselves. We lose the total openness and wonder of a wide-eyed baby reaching out arms for connection.

Zen practices describe the "beginner mind" as a practice of returning to softness, a practice of holding all things lightly. Our God is a God who says, "behold: I make all things new," (Revelation 21:5). If we have the same mind in us that was in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5), we have the same mind that was in that little baby in the manger, the same mind of total trust, of wonder, of awe, and of knowing nothing but love. 

The more life wounds us, the harder it can feel to begin again. The good news is that the promise of the Incarnation is that life is always beginning again for us. Life is always being made new. Life is always opening in wonder like the eyes of a little baby. Whoever and wherever we are, there is always the limitless unfolding of the now, offering us the place to start over, the place where the ultimate power of the universe dwells. Here is a brand new breath. Start again.

 

Questions for Reflection

- Think back to being a child. Can you think of a time when you experienced total wonder? What did it feel like? When was the last time you felt wonder like that? Think back to before the wondrous moment began. What invited you to experience that moment? How might you be invited into such wonder in this here-now time in your life?

- What does it mean to live vulnerably? Think of a time when you felt vulnerable. How did it feel to be vulnerable? Was it exciting? Was it scary? What were you afraid would happen? 

- Think about how God chose to become the most vulnerable person in the world. What was it like for God to be vulnerable like that? Do you think Jesus felt afraid sometimes? What does it feel like for you to know that God knows exactly what it feels like to be so vulnerable?

 

Prayers

We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today 

We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer

We bring to God a troubled situation in our world 

We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust

We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection

We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives

We name before God those who have died.

 

Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us, be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all ages. Amen.                       

Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.

May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.

Reflections this month offered by: Kathleen Schmidt