The next ten days or so are a very important moment in the Christian calendar. As we come towards the end of Lent and head towards Easter, we focus on Christ’s journey to the cross and his resurrection. As completely central to our faith, the coming of Christ, the eternal Word made flesh as expressed in John chapter 1, almost gives a summary of our focus as Christians at this time as it does during Advent, when it read at services in preparation for Christmas. In reflection of that, not only at Easter but on every Sunday, in some church traditions, at a certain point in the Sunday Eucharistic liturgy, the Gospel is reverenced lifted and taken to the centre of the church to be read by the Deacon or Priest as an act symbolising the word of God being proclaimed in the community and world. The practice of Lectio Divina in the Benedictine tradition is about meditating on words and phrases of Scripture in prayerful focus on the presence of God.
In the Gospels, Jesus speaks of our words as being the reflection of our hearts because a lot of the time we speak what comes from the heart. The Christian faith has a long tradition of acknowledging the power of words to do good and heal. As we are living under unprecedented conditions and limitations, this is perhaps a moment to take time express our heartfelt care for another. It might be a simple phone call or email to someone we know expressing our care. The wonderful thing is that we as human beings can bring hope and healing to one another through our words but also conveying our care for one another doesn’t only depend on our words. In prayer we can bring those we love and our concerns and cares before God. We can know his presence in prayer, holding us, surrounding us with his peace and reassuring us. As we pray for one another, we can express our care and support for another before God.
The symbolic reference to our turning our hearts towards the word of God, as the Gospel is taken to the centre of the church, the congregation turns to face towards where the Gospel is being proclaimed. The word of God calls our attention completely as we listen and then inspires us as we live in Christian pilgrimage. As, under current conditions, we have of necessity to listen to the Gospel in many different ways at the moment either through readings, online or recordings, we still turn inwardly to hear and can rest in the Holy Spirit to set the pace of our days. As we do so we can be living in the present moment and offering our concerns for the future to God, taking each moment of the day step by step relying on God’s presence knowing that his presence supports and guides us as we walk with him, day by day.
Passages for Study
1 Corinthians 2:7-13
Luke 6:43-45
John 1:1-18
Ecclesiastes 12:9-10