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Wisdom Quote
I am a Pastor. I never cease to be amazed at how afraid many Christians are of receiving the Love of God and the compassion of fellow Christians. They engage in a maintenance religiousness, not an organic intimacy with Triune Mystery. They will hide from God behind the Bible, sermons, prayers, praises, dogma, theory, classes, programs, outreach, family night meals, missions, creeds, short-term goals, long-term goals, upkeep of buildings, ... I have learned over time of how apparently good "church-going" people will turn critical and sometimes downright mean when anyone preaches, teaches, and tries to live this Love. The Bible says "God is Love," and that is just the Truth being the greatest threat to a church or person's use of religious faith to defend against and push away the one Reality we tend to most long for and, at the same time, most fear: God, Love, Everything. Possibly a reason most Christians shun Silence is they know, deep within, to open the Heart is to open to the One~and~Only Reality that will take away the facade of self-do-goodism and attachment to entertainments that occupy their attention and affections and will lead them graciously but sometimes painfully into loving intimacy with others and Divine Presence.
*Brian K. Wilcox
Wisdom Story
A lover unsuccessfully pursued a woman for many months. He kept
suffering from pains of rejection. Finally the woman surrendered her heart.
She informed him of a place and time to meet her.
At that time and place the lover finally
enjoyed sitting beside his beloved.
He reached into his pocket and pulled
out some love letters he had written
to her over the months. They were passionate
and eloquent letters, expressing the pain he felt
and his burning desire to experience the delights of
love and union with her. He began to read them to his
beloved. Time passed, and he kept reading on and on.
At last the woman said, in frustration, "What kind of
a fool are you? These letters are all about me and your
longing for me. Well! here I am, sitting beside you, and
you are lost in your stupid letters."
Suggested Reflection
Have you experienced someone openly opposing you or passively discrediting you from fear of opening to the Love of God?
In what ways do you possibly sabotage your own growing in intimacy with the Divine?
Do you ever find yourself filling up your set-aside times for devotion with reading, so avoiding prayerful Silence? Why do you think you might do that?
Do you find yourself ever resisting receiving Love from persons you give Love to?
In what ways popular in churches might we be armoring ourselves from becoming intimate with Christ? With each other?
*The story "The Talkative Lover" is taken from Anthony de Mello, The Song of the Bird.
*Brian K. Wilcox lives with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, in Port Charlotte, FL. Brian is Pastor of Christ Community United Methodist Church, Punta Gorda, FL. He is a vowed member of Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative community. His passion is living a contemplative life and inspiring others of varied faith paths in living a contemplative spirituality.
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