moving downward, monday

Monday, July 21

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, give us the grace and the strength and the courage to follow your invitation downward—to the place where there is only you and nothing else.  In your name and for your sake we pray.  Amen.

Scripture Reading for the Day: Philippians 2:1-11

Reading for Reflection: Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

It is a classic question, one that is asked often in numerous places and contexts.  And why not, it's fun.  If you could have any superpower what would it be?  From my experience, the hands down leader will always be to be able to fly.  I mean, who wouldn't want that one, right?  Or superhuman strength, or speed?  But every now and then you hear someone say, I'd like to be able to be invisible.  And when those words are said it starts all of our collective wheels turning, imagining what it would be like to go about, for a time at least, unseen.  Inevitably, however, when we are really pressed, we all have to admit that the reason for wanting to be invisible is so we can do things without getting caught.  But what if the reason for wanting to be invisible had to do with being able to do good things, even great things, without anyone ever knowing about it.  That would be impressive wouldn't it?  But it might be far too noble a quest for most of us, especially me.
     I do, however, have a growing suspicion that striving to be invisible has enormous value in the spiritual life.  Look no further than the life of Jesus for your body of evidence.  For thirty of his thirty-three years he was in utter obscurity, with almost no information given about the content or composition of his life during that time: slow, hidden, quiet, small...invisible.  Just the way you would expect God to enter the world, right?  Why in the world would he do that?  One thing you can be sure of, it was the thirty years of obscurity that prepared him for the three years of public ministry.  Never was one, it would seem, so reluctant to occupy the spotlight.  And something deep within me really likes that; something deep within me senses the rightness and goodness of that.  And when he does finally arrive on the scene, what is the first miracle he performs, and how does he do it?  He turns water into wine at the wedding of some dear friends, with only a couple of the people (and most likely not even the bride or groom) ever being aware of what really happened.  And how often did Jesus tell someone he had just healed not to tell anyone?  I mean, who does that?  Don't we all want everyone to know when we do something extraordinary or noble; or compassionate or heroic?   Many would say his secrecy was because of something called the Messianic Secret; he was trying to keep everything a secret so that his time wouldn't come faster than it was intended to.  And while there might be some truth to that theory, I have to believe it was much more about something that was lodged deeply within his soul and Spirit; the same thing that led him to empty himself and make himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant (Philippians 2:7).  There seems to be something deep within the heart of God that loves the hidden, the small, the empty, the nothing, the invisible; something deep within Him that is actually drawn to it.  Therefore, if I am to grow in my likeness to Him, as my attitude becomes the same as that of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5), the same should be becoming true of me.

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: O Jesus, how far down you had to come to reach us.  How small and how low.  Can anyone really comprehend the magnitude of that downward journey?  You, who had always enjoyed true delight, the loving intimacy of the Trinity, were willing to step down, out of the ecstasy of that intimacy, because of your great desire to bring us into that union.  You, who was in very nature God, laid aside your Divine privilege and position to become a man of sorrows, despised and rejected by men.  You, the Eternal One, were willing to become a mere mortal.  You, the Creator of all, were willing to become one of the created.  O the great sacrifice! O the immense love!  Christ emptied himself of more than we can ever comprehend or imagine and gave us an example, that we might do the same.  Lord Jesus, during this season, when we celebrate your stepping down out of the throne room of heaven to become one of us, show us what this emptying looks like as we flesh you out in the world.