Monday Meditation – In Day's First Light

I love the changing of the light at this time of the year. In the summer the sun rises too early for me to appreciate it and in winter I am already into the day’s work before it appears, and I hardly notice it. But in this in between season I watch in awe and delight as its first rays tinge the mountains with pink and the skyline with gold. I sit and relish its beauty. It is as though God’s glory is born afresh into each new day yet it is only at this time of the year that I am fully aware of it.

The light of God comes into the world each day too and often we hardly notice it. We are distracted by the busyness of the day, or deluged by its anxieties and its burdens. Sometimes the day is already fully formed before we wake up and we feel the glory of new birth has passed before we were aware of it. Then the season changes and the breathtaking beauty of God bursts upon us. We savour it, delight in it and allow it to take residence in our souls, at least for a short season.

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Time to Reflect:

Make yourself comfortable. Read through the prayer and look at the sunrise image for a couple of minutes. Now sit with your eyes closed allowing your inner eye to visualize a beautiful sunrise that illuminated your world with the glory of God. Savour it for a few minutes breathing in and out slowly. Relax, sit quietly and allow God to speak to you.

What is your response: What season are you in at the present time? Are you waking each morning to the glory of God shining in the world around you? If not is there something you think you could do that would enable you to become more aware of God’s glory and beauty?

Now remind yourself of the last time you felt the glory of God engulf you like the early morning glow of a new day. Sit in silence in the glow of that memory until you hear the still small voice of God speak to you.

What is your response: What is God saying to you? How do you invite that glowing presence of God into the depths of your heart?

Read through the prayer again and and sit with your eyes closed again. This time think of your friends and neighbours. Is there someone who comes to mind who you feel really needs to see the glory of God revealed in a fresh new way?

What is your response. Allow the image of that person to flood your mind and sit in silence allowing God to speak to you. Is there something God is prompting you to do that could help that person experience the glow of God’s presence?

Now read through the prayer again, allowing the peace of God to wash over you and settle into the innermost recesses of your soul. Imagine the glow of God’s glory growing within you and within your neighbours until it shines brightly like the midday sun. Pray for God’s glory to be revealed in new ways in all your lives.

Suggested Music:

I am including two music clips today – one a classical rendition of “Arise, shine for you light has come”  performed at Messiah College, and the other a catchy Caribbean melody – very different but both very appropriate for today’s meditation.