Godisnowhere
Luke 10: 38-42
What do you see? I want you all to share what you see in the letters before you. The difference in what you see before you is space. Where you place the space is what gives meaning to the letters. We all need space for meaning in our lives. Spaces delineate the boundaries of our lives. Depending on where your spaces are, you would either get GOD IS NOWHERE or GOD IS NOW HERE. You are all correct in where you place your spaces. The spaces are products of our perspectives. It is the spacing of sounds that makes music harmonious or otherwise. Often times, like in the lettering, we pay more attention to the letters rather than the spaces. The exercise you had before you is what life dished out for you. Your God can be NOWHERE or NOW HERE. The truth is that we cannot experience the presence of God without at the same time feeling His absence in our lives. We always oscillate between “Emmanuel” – God is with us and “My God, why have you forsaken me”. We are often torn between these two realities of the presence and absence of God. Where are you currently in your relationship with God. Is God present or absent?
I would love us to reflect on the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10: 38-42.
Can we make our lives centred on the good part that Mary chose. Can we dare to sit at the feet of Jesus rather than rely sole on our strength? Would it not be a good idea that in retrospect, we can say, that we gave the good part of ourselves to God? The point here is that every spiritual quest is about allowing God to fill in the spaces of our lives. The more space you make available to God, the closer He draws to you. What God gives us is beyond any human recognition or earthly success. What God seeks of us daily is in John 15:4 – Abide in me, and I in you.
Can you make the aftermath of our encounters about making space for God to fill? No one can ever describe the experience of serenity, peace and joy of being in communion with God. It would be a good idea if we all have Sacred Spaces [Exodus 3: 1-15] in our rooms and Personal Spaces [Mark 1:35-37; 6:31-32; Luke 5:15-16; 6:12; 9:10; Matthew 14:13; 14:23; 26:39] in our relationships.
Take your time to make space for God. Open your heart to Him and beam your attention on His nearness to you. Here are few more scriptures to guide you
Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually (Chronicles 16: 11)
Be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13)
I want you all to rest in the assurance of God’s closeness.
Psalm 46:10 – Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth
John 14: 16-17: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Psalm 139:7-10: Where shall I go from your Spirit ……
Fr. Tee, SMA