Having just returned from an excellent holiday in the French Alps (a village called Chatel near lake Geneva) I include a reflection written as I sat on the balcony of the chalet we rented.
Holiday Reflection 2003
I sit on the balcony of an alpine chalet. The sky is blue and wisps of cloud amble across lazily. Before me mountains rise with trees growing at a ridiculous angle. Lines of grass appear where the trees haven’t managed to grow. The sun is warm and the breeze pleasant.
To close ones eyes to pray would be a sin. What would I ask for? All that God has given is laid out before me. If the purpose of my prayer is to listen to God, then my eyes have become my listening organs. His speech is too large for my ears; were He to say all this with words my eardrums would not survive.
When did prayer become something to be conducted in silence and darkness? Could it be that we have constructed a form of living that opposes the sights and sounds that speak of the creator? Could it be that we have to shut out that which we have made in order to sense the created……or the creator? Could it be that our search for God is in actuality a journey away from things rather than a journey to Him? We say that God is everywhere, yet we still have to search for Him – why?
At this moment our everyday lives seem like a microcosm existing beneath the reality of the created. It is reached through a wormhole and consists of scurrying around in the darkness searching for that which makes no overall difference. Major triumphs in this microcosm are but the tiniest grain of sand in the real. The things we strive for and ask God for are a little less than meaningless.
Tragedy alone transcends the boundary. A cry of anguish or bereavement echoes around the mountainside, is heard and receives a response. At such times a clarity of vision is achieved such that the trivia of our lives adopt their proper place. The immovable, the eternal, that which is of God comes into focus.
The mountains speak of a power far beyond our control. They require submission, respect, preparation. They encourage life, but pose a threat to the life of the unwary. Those who ascend to the summit are guaranteed their reward.
The mountains speak of God.
Holiday Reflection 2003
I sit on the balcony of an alpine chalet. The sky is blue and wisps of cloud amble across lazily. Before me mountains rise with trees growing at a ridiculous angle. Lines of grass appear where the trees haven’t managed to grow. The sun is warm and the breeze pleasant.
To close ones eyes to pray would be a sin. What would I ask for? All that God has given is laid out before me. If the purpose of my prayer is to listen to God, then my eyes have become my listening organs. His speech is too large for my ears; were He to say all this with words my eardrums would not survive.
When did prayer become something to be conducted in silence and darkness? Could it be that we have constructed a form of living that opposes the sights and sounds that speak of the creator? Could it be that we have to shut out that which we have made in order to sense the created……or the creator? Could it be that our search for God is in actuality a journey away from things rather than a journey to Him? We say that God is everywhere, yet we still have to search for Him – why?
At this moment our everyday lives seem like a microcosm existing beneath the reality of the created. It is reached through a wormhole and consists of scurrying around in the darkness searching for that which makes no overall difference. Major triumphs in this microcosm are but the tiniest grain of sand in the real. The things we strive for and ask God for are a little less than meaningless.
Tragedy alone transcends the boundary. A cry of anguish or bereavement echoes around the mountainside, is heard and receives a response. At such times a clarity of vision is achieved such that the trivia of our lives adopt their proper place. The immovable, the eternal, that which is of God comes into focus.
The mountains speak of a power far beyond our control. They require submission, respect, preparation. They encourage life, but pose a threat to the life of the unwary. Those who ascend to the summit are guaranteed their reward.
The mountains speak of God.
posted by Peter and Heather King at 1:01 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home