I know that some of you who read my blog are also following along with me through this Lenten journey of “Cultivating Sacred Space” that I am curating and leading with my faith community at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. The interactive image, reading and themes are below so that you can keep right on doing that. If you’ve been following my own journey then you can probably deduct from the theme that this week is particularly important and meaningful for me. In no small way, I need and crave stillness this week. Let me say a bit more about that, and how I intend to respond to that this week, and into Holy Week.
I have been given amazing gifts during this contemplative season of Lent. I have been lavished with gifts of spiritual serendipity: people and experiences have appeared seemingly from nowhere, supporting my journey in ways I could never have anticipated. I have been blessed with dreams and images that offer me glimpses into who I am, whose I am, where I am in this present moment and where my path seems to be emerging. I am grateful to have have connected and reconnected with people in surprising and life-affirming ways, experiencing a community on my spiritual journey which surprises and delights me. There have been some unanticipated challenges, too and each time I’ve been in the shadow spaces of life I have found myself uncovering gifts of grace and growth. In the best possible sense of the word, I am overwhelmed with deep gratitude for these gifts of Divine Presence in my daily life.
So, this week and through the remainder of Lent, stillness will be the theme I embrace on my own journey. I like to use a few words and/or an image to guide me in my contemplative work, so that is what I will post here on small points of light each day. Feel free to use them in your own journey of stillness as well, whether you are new to this or have a regular contemplative practice. Blessings, light, and peace be with us as we journey together through these remaining weeks of the Lenten season.
Peace and gratitude,
Sarah
Cultivating Sacred Space Week 5: Stillness
Fifth Sunday in Lent: April 6, 2014
This week’s readings give us two poignant images to consider: a prophetic dream of Ezekiel where dry bones rise into life; then, the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from death into life. In the middle of these stories, the Psalmist urges us to wait on the Lord with our whole hearts, to call out from the depths of our souls and wait on the mercy and hope that comes from God. The Epistle reading further reminds us that if God dwells in us, then we also are people of spirit.
What do these readings offer us on our journey of Cultivating Sacred Space? For me, these readings remind me to be still; to listen; to allow truth to emerge not just from what we see and hear and touch but also from the still, small voice within. God is real in our stillness, and in our senses. Our practices this week take us through journeys of stillness, exploring the ways to see and know Divine Presence in the quiet spaces of our journey as well as in community. In our stillness, we may arise into a more full consciousness and awareness of God at work in our lives.
This week’s image, familiar to some of you who may have visited Shrinemont, offers us an invitation to stillness: Come Ye Apart and Rest Awhile. Click on the image below (the interactive image will open in a new window) or follow the link below it to be redirected to the St. Thomas’ website. Either path will lead you to an interactive image with daily practices on the theme of “Stillness”:
Touch or click the blue circles on the interactive image to select a practice for each day this week. Practices may be followed in any order.
small points of light 