Dear Beloved Community,
After Pentecost Sunday we entered that long season of the church year known as “Ordinary Time”. Since this season does not include any festive holy days like Christmas, Holy Week, Easter or Pentecost, we may assume that nothing “special” happens. But sometimes in the midst of the ordinary, something extraordinary happens!
On Epiphany Sunday way back in January all the worshipers received a star word. Mine was “dig”. (I considered making a subtle trade while no one was watching.) In the ensuing weeks I examined that word from every angle and found no inspiration. It took six months, but the epiphany came in early weeks of Ordinary Time.
Recently Joani Hughes introduced me to a book by Martin Laird entitled Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation. In it I discovered a quote from St. Augustine that provided the long-awaited illumination of my star word. In a growing awareness of the presence of God in his own life, St. Augustine wrote, “You (God) were within me and I was outside myself. What riches does every person have inside without needing to dig!” There was my star word, hidden for six months, waiting to be revealed! Epiphany!
Martin Laird writes that many of us simply lack the awareness of this fundamental reality of God’s presence in our lives. “We go off in search of what has from all eternity sought and found us.“ The Apostle Paul said it this way, “in God we live and move and have our being.”
I have spent too much time searching for a treasure that was always present. I am grateful that we have a God who is ever-present, as close as our breath, and no digging is required.
Peace and All Things Good,
David