Lectio:
“In silence there is healing; in silence there is safety; in silence there is love.”
~Amma Syncletica
Meditatio:
There is a quiet place deep within us where only God resides, a secret place where, by grace, we can retreat into safety, comfort, and rest (Matthew 6:6). When the brokenness of the world overwhelms us, when fear, pain, or grief overcome us. When we have reached the limits of our ability to process the suffering we have experienced or are experiencing, Jesus calls us to himself. He tells us to come to him in our darkest hour, and he will give us rest and make our burdens light (Matthew 11:28-30).
God knows our pain, he knows our suffering, he knows our loneliness and our anguish because, as Christ, he has experienced these himself. This is the gift of the incarnation, that our God suffers with and for us, not so that we will be free from suffering — the crucifixion teaches us that we will not — but so that we know that we do not suffer alone, and that, through the resurrection, we may find solace in knowing that our suffering is not without meaning, even if, like Mary and the disciples who did not expect to see Jesus ever again, we do not yet understand what that meaning is or when, or if, it will ever come.
At our darkest hour, when we have been beaten, betrayed, and abandoned, when we feel that even God has left us, Jesus teaches us to return to prayer, to return to faith, and to return to the Father who knows our hearts and in whom, through Christ, we will be restored to wholeness. All of our broken places will be healed, all of the darkness we have endured will be brought to light, and our hearts will be judged not by our shame, but by our love.
Oratio:
Settle me down Lord
into that still quiet place
where no one may enter
where I know that I’m safe
hold me in mercy
absorb me in grace
where no one can reach me
where I know that I’m safe
I’m closing my eyes now
please show me your face
where no one can hurt me
where I know that I’m safe
take me away Lord
take me away
into the silence
where I know that I’m safe
~Robert Van Valkenburgh
Contemplatio:
When life feels overwhelming, can I retreat into the quiet presence of God and trust that I am safe there?
Related Scripture:
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” (Isaiah 43:2)
For Further Reading: If this post resonated, you may also like Scriptio: My Ego Is A Raging Storm
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