by Christine Sine –
Practicing resurrection is simple I commented in last week’s meditation Monday, but it is not as simple as I expect when it comes down to the nitty gritty of the ways I interact with others. My tendency to want to talk when I should be listening, to try to take when I should be giving and to insist on teaching when I should be learning often gets in the way.
Teaching, talking and doing are so often about our agendas rather than God’s. If we look deep within ourselves we realize that it is our desire to let others see how much we know or how important we are that drives us rather than what God knows and desires (and often we confuse the two).
I call myself a contemplative activist, and as I think about that today I realize how important that sequence is. Activism needs to be grounded in contemplation. We should to go into the world with a listening and learning attitude or otherwise our actions can hurt rather than heal.
What is Your Response?
Sit quietly, close your eyes and reflect back over your activities this past week. What occasions come to mind in which you should have been listening rather than talking, taking rather than giving or learning rather than teaching? Are there people that were hurt or projects that were harmed as a result? Is there something that you could do in this coming week to rectify this?
This prayer is one that I wrote a couple of years ago during a time of real struggle with my tendency to get my priorities of listening, learning and giving mixed up with the compulsions to talk, take and teach. I need these constant reminders to keep me focused and to reset my priorities so that I do practice resurrection as much as possible in my daily life.
What is Your Response?
Sit quietly in the presence of God with your hands in your lap, palms facing upwards. Take a few deep breaths in and out. Read through the prayer above several times, then watch the video below. Relax yourself in the presence of God allow the words “In quietness and trust is my strength” to lodge deep within your soul. Are there new ways that God is asking you to practice resurrection through contemplation? How might your activism be more strongly grounded in these practices?