God’s Love
God’s Love
My friends, perhaps you share my feeling of woe? I feel a deep sadness about the world in which we find ourselves these days. The discord among us is to a level I’ve never experienced. Some of you are a few years ahead of me or from different places and might remember other seasons of strife. This is a first for me, and I am disquieted.
I have a few places I go for words of comfort, scripture first and foremost. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” from John’s gospel is one that is on repeat in my mind.
And breathing. Focusing on my breath helps. It helps me be present to something so basic to my existence. The in and out of my breath brings my mind to the present and not to the unknown but darkly imagined future.
As often happens, a word will come along that speaks to my situation. Below I am sharing a practice from James Finley that made its way to me this past week:
In this contemplative practice, sit and renew your awareness that you’re sitting in the presence of God all about you and within you. As you inhale, inhale God’s silent “I love you,” in which God is being poured out and utterly given away to you as the miracle of your very life. Then when you exhale, exhale yourself in love: “I love you.” And so, we are breathing along with God, “I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.” From the reciprocity of love, destiny is fulfilled, and the foundations of suffering are healed.
As we sit this way, suffering arises. The suffering then might be our anxiety and concerns today, for ourselves, for our loved ones, for the world. As we sit in the midst of the arising of the anxiety, when we inhale, we inhale this love of God loving us through and through, anxiety and all, finding no hindrance in our anxiety, loving us so unexplainably forever. Then when we exhale, we exhale ourselves in love, anxiety and all, to the love that loves us. This requires gentle perseverance, because anxiety arises again. It doesn’t automatically go away. We sit with it, we lean into it again, and we hold fast to this love that sustains us in the midst of things…. [1]
This practice is adapted from Wisdom in Time of Crisis, in which Finley also has this to say:
In the light of eternity, we’re here for a very short time, really. We’re here for one thing, ultimately: to learn how to love, because God is love. Love is our origin, love is our ground, and love is our destiny.
Breathing in God’s love and breathing out God’s love. The most basic elements of our existence… breath and love… one and the same. Love is where I come from, it is where I live, and it is where I am going.
Maybe these thoughts will speak to you too. I’d love to know.
Go make peace, my friends.
Pastor Leanne
[1] Adapted from James Finley, “Practice That Grounds Us in the Sustaining Love of God,” Wisdom in Times of Crisis, Center for Action and Contemplation, April 26, 2020, video, 6:22.
Community Presbyterian Church
32202 Del Obispo
San Juan Capistrano. CA 92675
949-493-1502
info@sjcpres.org