Meditation – April 21, 2009

Posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Scripture: And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5

Prayer: Help me to get to a deeper sense of hope.

Response: Hope is actually easy to grasp as long as you keep control out of it, that is, what you expect, or think you are entitled. Let me say a word about entitlement – it is what you think you are owed for your loyalty, service, position, and I could go on. Hope is the antithesis of entitlement. Hope generates surprise within you, anticipation, sort of a great expectation and acceptance. In hope your shoulders relax, grip loosens, eyes soften, and breathing slows and deepens. You see hope is manifested in the chatter of the birds before dawn, knowing in hope that dawn awaits.

Now this hope was not simply sprinkled over you, but poured as holy oil over your head and into your heart in the presence of the Holy Spirit. How do I know this, you might ask? Let me say most definitively that each moment you snare in stillness will be a clear confirmation of what I say and, if it is possible, will become more manifest with each succeeding stolen moment in silence. You see, in stillness, you will explore regions of the heart that are not bounded by the rhythms of the body. The Holy Spirit will be your guide and in his company you will learn of hope, surprise, and love.

For this day, see if you are able to articulate wordlessly – I realize the contradiction – your hopes free of what you would control, hold, or possess; rather accept, even recognize for the first time who you are as spirit and then express in some gesture of the heart your hopes. You might be surprised at how detached – not irresponsible – from the goals that fix you, and how your hopes – actually prayers – contribute to a peace and light that reaches far beyond your present circumference.

All for this morning.

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