naked, sunday

Sunday, October 5

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

         

Opening Prayer: O Lord my God, how I long to recapture the purity and joy of the Garden—when I was able to stand before you (and others) naked and unashamed.  That, indeed, is what I was made for.  But this side of heaven that is not my reality.  My reality is filled with fear and shame; hiding and covering—terrified that I will be exposed, found out, not enough.  How I genuinely long for true communion with you; total vulnerability; deep trust—to be fully known and fully loved.  Have mercy on me!  Amen.

                       

Scripture Reading for the Day: Genesis 2:18-25

Reading for Reflection:

 

     Naked.  How does that word make you feel?  What is the first response that comes up from within you as you hear it?  Terror?  Embarrassment?  Anxiety?  Shame?  Or does it bring about more positive feelings?  Freedom?  Intimacy?  Delight?  I have to admit that my first response is closer to terror than anything else.  Even the mention of the word makes me want to grab for cover.  Because at my fearful core being naked means being exposed and uncovered—which seems so unsafe.  It means being seen for who and what I really am, not just who I project myself to be.  And surely if anyone were ever to see me completely naked it would most certainly lead to rejection.  Thus the very idea of being naked leads to overwhelming amounts of fear and insecurity.

     But there is another side to this story.  Because somewhere deep within me (and really within all of us I believe) there is a longing for nakedness—a nakedness that we were created both in and for.  It is the kind of nakedness mentioned in Genesis where we are told that the man and woman were both naked and unashamed.  They were totally known and yet totally loved.  What a beautiful picture of our deepest hopes and wildest dreams: total vulnerability and total acceptance.  This is the kind of nakedness we were made for.  This is the kind of nakedness that gives us a hint of the type of relationship God longs for with each of us and the type of relationship God longs for each of us to offer one another.

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                  

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the grace, the strength, and the courage to take off all that I use to cover myself and to clothe myself only and always in you alone.  Amen.