We gathered to pray this week with a very difficult passage. These words of Jesus are shocking to hear and impossible to do from our own wisdom and strength. And it needs to be acknowledged that many have suffered under the weight of this teaching, either prodded into submission or beaten down so severely that there is no sense of a self who can discern and choose a life-giving way forward in the particular circumstances of life.
So perhaps we might begin before we read this text, with a remembering of a moment where you had some experience of being loved and accepted by God, just as you are. Take your time to allow all your senses to help you remember such a time. Let your body remind you that “this” is what the flavor of unconditional love is like inside you. Maybe there was a moment when you were particularly captivated by the beauty of creation and you had a undefinable sense of belonging to the Creator. Maybe thee was an unexpected kindness or grace that brought a feeling of warmth inside your chest or near your heart. Maybe there is a scene you return to in your minds eye, and it brings a sense of solace and safety. Or maybe its the texture of a particular blanket or the fit of a chair that allows your body to feel wrapped and held.
Whatever your senses show you about your experience of accepting love, give yourself space to truly be re-membered to that memory. It is from here we begin, from a place of safe embrace and sense of our belovedness that we can even begin to hear and be curious about what Jesus is trying to explain about the Kingdom of God.
And if you find yourself bereft of any consoling memory of being loved and accepted by your Creator, please go gently with yourself and honor any grief and longing you might be holding about that. This then is where we begin. We begin with our longing to be unconditionally loved and accepted just as we are. And we invite the Divine to meet us in that longing. And we wait and notice what comes. We linger with any hint of kindness, gentleness, or aliveness that comes. Something will come because Someone is there. God’s loving presence may not come in dramatic fashion or in ways you might expect. See if you can stay present and curious to the subtle hints of Love coming to meet you and meet with you.
For those who sense themselves ready for a contemplative experience of this text, sense if you can hear the heart of Jesus through the words.
Instead of using these words to force our behavior from the outside in, might we make room to listen in the moment for the Spirit’s invitation to the next right step towards love and goodness? What power or life energy do we notice arising within us to take that step?
May there be grace upon grace for all of us as we discern the movements towards love and more love. And even more grace as we make missteps along the way. However we go, may we go hand in hand with Christ as his beloved.
Luke 6: 27-38 RSV
“But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return;[a] and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
For Reflection and Prayer:
Was there a word, a phrase, image, or feeling that ‘shimmered’ as you listened? Allow it to land in your heart. Stay with it. Savor it.
Reflect on what you heard. What effect does it have on you? What meaning does it hold for you? What does the Holy Spirit seem to be conveying to you? Talk it over in your prayer.
Perhaps you want to draw or color your prayer or journal the conversation.
As the time of prayer comes to a close, share some moments of quiet with Jesus, simply resting safely in his presence.
