As we become more aware of and attentive to the presence of God in ourselves during contemplation, we experience what it’s like to “be” and “loved.” The voice from heaven at the baptism of Jesus still and always echoes in our hearts. Yet, that peace we experience in our meditation (or whichever activity we find a sense of quietude) does not last forever once we open our eyes and engage with others and things around us. The reality unsettles our minds as if peace never existed in us! For example, whatever peace and serenity we’ve gained from meditation would disappear once we’re stuck in heavy traffic.
Jesus in the gospel story this morning seems to experience the same cycle of peace and chaos that we encounter. The Spirit does not let the voice of love from heaven linger in Jesus a bit but immediately drives him out into the wilderness. It’s the wilderness of temptation or spiritual challenges. Mark doesn’t illustrate in detail what kind of temptations Jesus faced but Luke and Matthew provide: 1) turning stones into bread, 2) having angels protect him from injuries after he jumps from the top of the temple, and 3) worshipping Satan in return for being in control of all the kingdoms of the world. The temptation happens to every human being when something crucial is deprived. We don’t need Satan to tempt us. We become our own tempters. The issue is more about how we manage temptations or challenges that unsettle or irrationalize our emotions and thoughts rather than how to protect our sense of peace or how not to be disrupted. We cannot always stop feeling and thinking to be at peace, which will disable us from any social interactions. However, we can watch how we’re feeling and thinking, how feelings and thoughts come and go. This ability to watch or be attentive to our feelings and thoughts takes practice because we too often become dominated by them. We are that feeling or that thought or both! But we are not. The first step to being watchful or mindful of our own thoughts and feelings would be to recognize them by saying to ourselves. If we’re hungry like Jesus, we must recognize that deep starvation and say, “I am hungry.” And add, “I can neither eat stones as if they’re freshly baked loaves of bread nor turn them into something edible.” Being quite rational, we can have fantasies unenchanted and see clearly what matters just as Jesus sees what matters to his life is not only food but also the rule of life rooted in the way of God’s love. Jesus is not against food but knows who to prioritize in his first temptation to the point that he becomes the bread for all. We can learn two different ways of contemplative practice in the gospel story. One is to consistently remain in silence to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit that lovingly speaks to the very depth of our being, “My beloved, be loved.” The other is to be mindful of our thoughts and feelings when faced with temptations, challenges, and crises in life. Step back from being consumed by thoughts and feelings and be clear-minded to see what and who to prioritize. If the former contemplative practice helps us to rest, restore, and rejuvenate ourselves, the latter one helps us to expand our spiritual capacity to manage difficult situations. We show love, grace, mercy, and compassion when they lack. The latter contemplative practice is reminiscent of St. Francis’ prayer that we’re all familiar with: “Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.” To be God’s instruments of peace, we first need to be able to see hatred, injury, discord, doubt, despair, darkness, and sadness rather than becoming it. I can imagine Jesus faithfully practicing the first and second contemplative practices as he proclaims God’s coming in each person. What are we thinking now? Are we up for it? |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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