Sometimes in the stillness of the quiet, if we listen, / We can hear the whisper in the heart / Giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair.
—Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart

CAC teacher Rev. Dr. Barbara A. Holmes shares how contemplative times of stillness and quiet are an integral part of the spiritual journey:

The journey of life is absolutely a sacred journey, but we don’t know that when we’re younger. We often don’t want to think about life in terms of a sacred journey, because we don’t know for certain where we came from, and we don’t know for certain where we’re going. Depending on our faith traditions, we know this by faith. We have traditions about who we are, how we got here, and where we will end up.

In the everyday maelstrom of life, however, people don’t want to think about any of that. They just want to get through their day. They want to accomplish things. They want to own things—and there’s nothing wrong with that. But when we get to the halfway point in our lives, we begin to realize that all the things that we have accumulated don’t mean a whole lot. We can’t take them with us when we die. As we age, we begin to take into account what really matters in life. Things like family, relationships, love, commitment, and service to others are what matters. When we start focusing on those things, it no longer becomes just a church phrase to say or something to do. Working with others really warms our hearts. Leading with love changes who we are.

The journey is absolutely sacred because we are not just flesh and blood. We are also spirit beings. And what other kind of journey could a spirit being take except for a spiritual journey?… I’m on the other side of fifty now, and all of my priorities have shifted. The ambition and all of the things that I was striving for don’t make a lot of sense at this point. The fulfillment comes in doing what you are led to do. In the Christian tradition, the Holy Spirit is supposed to lead you into all truth. I see the Holy Spirit as a guiding light—we’re walking by the path and there’s a lamp unto our feet that helps us to know what to do, how to do it, and to be still.  

This is where contemplation comes in. It is impossible to shift priorities if we are in a constant, busy, frenetic lifestyle. There has to be that pause, that breath, that waiting, that willingness to be still until we know. Be still and know—but the stillness doesn’t immediately lead to knowing. At first, we have to be still, and then we have to be patient until the knowing comes about.

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From Skye Jethani. With God Daily

Fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, his followers were gathered together in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Tradition recognizes that day, called Pentecost, as the birthday of the Church because that was when Jesus’ previously frightened disciples were empowered to boldly proclaim the gospel to the crowds in Jerusalem and thousands believed and were baptized. While Pentecost was certainly the launch of the Church’s mission, we may need to expand our vision of the Church beyond its mission if we are to see the role of Jesus’ cross in its birth. Amid his excruciating suffering, Jesus looked down from the cross to see his mother, Mary, and near her was his disciple, John, who was likely just a teenager at the time. Throughout his ministry, Jesus’ compassion moved him toward the hurting and the suffering. He touched them, embraced them, and even cried with them. But here, nailed to the cross, he could not embrace his grieving mother. Neither could he have John tenderly recline on his chest, as he did at the Last Supper. Unable to comfort them himself, Jesus instead called them to comfort one another. Looking to Mary he said, “Woman, this is your son.” And looking to John he said, “Son, this is your mother.” He bound these two people he loved together so they would not be alone in their pain. Remarkably, even as he experienced the most terrible suffering imaginable, Jesus was still sympathizing with the pain of others and doing all he could to alleviate it.But there is something more at work in this merciful moment. The language Jesus used was formal and common during adoption proceedings in the first century. He was legally binding Mary to John, and it’s clear his disciple understood this responsibility because we are told that from that moment John took Mary into his home. Jesus, from his cross, redefined their relationship forever. And the cross redefines our relationships as well. Through his death, Jesus has brought together separate, even hostile, people and bound us together into a new family called the Church. He shows that what ultimately unites the Church is not genetics, culture, nationality, politics, a family name, ancestry, or even a particular worship style, theology, or approach to mission. What gives birth to the Church and unites us is the cross.This vision of the Church is very different from what we see so often today where congregations are defined by a shared interest or mission. As Fleming Rutledge wrote, “The Christian community comes into being without regard to differences. Personal likes and dislikes have nothing to do with the body of Christ.” She’s right. We are united, like Mary and John, by the simple but incomprehensible truth that Jesus loves us, and from his cross he calls us to love one another. DAILY SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 12:46-50  EPHESIANS 2:11-22  JOHN 19:23-27 WEEKLY PRAYER From Henry Van Dyke (1852 – 1933) O Christ, the brightness of God’s glory and express image of his person, whom death could not conquer, nor the tomb imprison; as you have shared our mortal frailty in the flesh, help us to share your immortal triumph in the spirit. Let no shadow of the grave frighten us and no fear of darkness turn our hearts from you. Reveal yourself to us as the first and the last, the Living One, our immortal Savior and Lord. Amen.

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