Scripture: Luke 12:54-56
Journal: Where do you notice signs of the movement of God’s Spirit within or
around you these days?
Reflection: For the child, newborn, is a natural spy. Only his inherent limitations impede him from
consuming all the clues of the universe fitted to his perceiving
capacities. Sent here with the mission
of finding the meaning buried in matter, of locating the central intelligence,
he goes about his business briskly, devouring every detail within his
developing grasp. He is devoted to
discovery, resists sleep in order to consume more data. Never again will he seek to unearth the
treasure buried in the field with such single-mindedness. He has to learn the world from scratch, but
the task seems nothing but a joy. Yet
gradually, over time, something goes wrong.
The spy slowly begins to
forget his mission. He spends so much
time and effort learning the language, adopting the habits and customs,
internalizing the thought patterns flawlessly, that somehow, gradually,
imperceptibly, he becomes his cover. He
forgets what he’s about. He goes to
school, grows up. He gets a job,
collects his pay, buys a house, waters the lawn. He settles down and settles in. He wakes up each morning with the shape of
his mission, what brought him here in the first place, grown hazier, like a
dream that slides quickly away. He
frowns and makes an effort to remember.
But the phone rings or the baby cries, and he is distracted for the rest
of the day. Perhaps he forms a
resolution to remember; still he seems helpless to keep the shape, the color of
his mission clear in his mind. Then one
morning he wakes up and only yawns. It
must be there somewhere, buried in the brain cells, but at least superficially
the memory is erased. The spy goes
native. (And the Tress Clap Their Hands by Virginia Stem Owens)
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to constantly be on the
lookout for any and every sign of your coming.
For your kingdom is at hand, if we just have eyes to see it. Amen.
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