A Dance of Wild Abandon: Letting Go and Letting God

When you free yourself to worship with your whole heart, mind and strength (Mk 12:30 & Dt 6:5), then you can be like King David.  Try it sometime!

8. King David, a devout servant of the Lord, danced before the Ark of Got with all his might (even with wild abandon) (2 Sam 6:14) commemorating the benefits bestowed in times past on his fathers. He made musical instruments of different kinds; he published Psalms, and appointed these to be sung with joy; he himself likewise often sang them, playing upon his harp, inspired with the grace of the Holy Spirit. He taught the people of Israel to praise God with their whole heart, and to join their voices in blessing and magnifying Him every day.

But that doesn't have to be you.  The more sedate approach is also allowed:

If such great devotion was then celebrated, and such remembrance of the praise of God before the Ark of the Covenant, how great ought to be the reverence and devotion to which I and all Christian people should have in the presence of this Blessed Sacrament, and in receiving the most excellent Body and Blood of Christ!

Here's the point - Letting yourself be steeped in the Presence of Almighty God can easily send you to either expression.  Letting go, and letting God pour through you will change you forever:  for eternity.

Thanks for reading and praying along with me.

'Til next time, be imitators of Christ!
tim

Light the match! What is the potential of a wet wick?

You may want to review the last meditation, which discusses the historical figures of Noah, Moses and David, before continuing.  Click here, or page down to refresh your recollection of who Thomas is referring to in paragraph 5:

5. O my God, how much did they endeavor to do to please You!

Alas! What I do is so little in comparison!  I spend so short a time when I prepare myself to receive Holy Communion, being seldom fully reconciled,  and very seldom free from all distraction!

And yet, surely in the life-giving presence of Your Self, no unbecoming thought should occur, nor anything created take up my mind; for it is not an angel, but the Lord of Angels that I am to entertain within me.

Thomas concentrates his worship, not by clearing his mind, but by focusing his mind on the Lord. As with the last reflection, we should first realize Who we are to receive and then prepare accordingly. Stop looking at who is passing by, quit chasing the fly around or fiddling with your change in your pocket.  Get busy focusing!

6. An yet there is a very great difference between the Ark of the Covenant with its relics, and Your most pure Body, with its unspeakable virtues; between those sacrifices of the Law, which were figures of things to come, and the true sacrifice of Your Body, which is the fulfillment of all these ancient sacrifices.

Even though the most revered relics of ancient Israel were precious and worthy of being treated with reverence, there is little comparison with Christs atoning sacrifice on the Cross.  The Ark and The Law prefigured Jesus - His Body in the Host fills up the shadows of the past, even today.

And in knowing all of this, Thomas then asks us:

7. Why then am I not more inflamed, considering Your venerable Presence?



Why do I not prepare myself with greater care to receive Your sacred gifts, seeing that those ancient holy patriarchs and prophets, yes – kings and princes, with the whole people, have shown so great an affection of devotion towards Your divine worship?

The answer, as you will see, is that there is a great deal of fruitfulness in the trying. Sometimes we have to dry out the wick before it can be lit. We are all working toward that holiness of the Angels, the Saint, the Patriarchs.
     One of the reasons I come back to The Imitation of Christ time and again, is that Thomas directs his prayerful thoughts toward his own (and my) inadequacies and continues to reach the same conclusion in 1400 that I do in 2011....that my desire to be more holy and reverent is its own consolation, its own foreshadowing of things to come.  "The kingdom of God is like........"  We can only look at how we want to be, then take steps toward that goal of being that humble servant of Christ.  Light the match!

Thanks for praying with me.

'Til next time, be imitators of Christ!
tim

History v. Mystery: How 30 Minutes Can Change Your Life!

Book 4, Chapter 1, Paragraph 4:  History v. Mystery
What if I would even spend one half-hour as I ought to reverencing Him!

This question above is how Thomas ends paragraph 4.  Read it again, then read the passage below.  Put yourself into the context of history.  The answer quickly presents itself:



Noah's Ark - link to wikipedia

 4. Behold Noah, a just man (Gen 6:9) labored one hundred years in building the Ark, that he, with his family, might be saved; and how shall I be able, in the space of one hour, prepare myself to receive with reverence the Maker of the world?



Ark of The Law-wikipedia link

 Moses, Your servant, Your great and special friend, made an Ark out of incorruptible wood, which he also covered with the purest gold, that he might deposit within the Ark the tables of the Law (Ex 25:8-16); and shall I, a corrupt creature, presume so easily to receive you – The Maker of the Law and the Giver of life?



Solomon's Temple -link to wikipedia

 Solomon, the wisest of the kings of Israel, spent seven years in building a magnificent Temple for the praise of Your name:  And he and his people then celebrated for eight days the feast of the dedication of the Temple; offering a thousand cattle and sheep as peace offerings, and brought the Ark of the Covenant in a solemn procession into the place prepared for it, with the sound of trumpets and jubilee (1 Kings 8:6). 

And I, a wretch, and the most unworthy servant, how shall I bring You into my house  who can hardly spend one half-hour devoutly?  What if I would even spend one half-hour as I ought!

Thomas once again brings us to a quick conclusion of where our hearts and minds and spirits ought to be.  He distills the answer for us through the filter of history.  He doesn't guilt us into being ashamed, rather, he challenges us to enter into devout worship of He Who gives us Himself....just for 30 minutes.  Both Thomas and The Lord, promise to change our life in this 30 minutes.

This week's challenge:  30 minutes of devout adoration.  Don't get up to adjust the shades, don't scratch the itch, don't answer the phone (unplug it in advance, turn it off). Prepare in advance (Thomas says, to prepare for an hour!).

Thank you for reading and praying along with me. 'Til next time, be Imitators of Christ!
tim