Lectio
“Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude.”
— Thérèse of Lisieux, Story of a Soul
Meditatio
There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love. It is a gift freely given. That we do not say no. That we do not reject, refuse, or turn away from the love that is freely poured out in and as our very lives, even in our inability, in our finitude, to fully receive that gift. All he asks of us is that we willingly receive it. And this willing — this ongoing, repeated turning toward love — is itself a practice of grace. It is already the beginning of surrender.
But life has a way of getting in the way. Not maliciously. Not intentionally. But the world is loud, and God is quiet, and the quiet is easily lost. If we are not careful, we may find that, although we have not consciously given our lives to the world, the world has taken them anyway — and done with them what it wills, what it desires, and what serves itself and not God. Not because God is absent from the noise. But because the noise makes it difficult to hear the silence that underlies it. And, before we know it, we have drifted from God often enough, and far enough, that we suddenly find ourselves feeling abandoned by him.
And so we must, in faith and through grace, and in our own imperfect ways, learn to practice turning toward God, turning toward love. This means setting aside time for God, setting aside time to be a recipient of God’s love, a listener for God’s word, and a dwelling place for God’s peace. It means practicing, in whatever way we are able, Sabbath.
Through Jesus, we come to find that Sabbath is not merely a day dedicated to the Lord, but a life dedicated to the Lord. It is a perpetual yes to God. It is to pray unceasingly and to love unwaveringly. It is to give one’s entire life, one’s entire being, to love. This is surrender. This is gratitude.
Oratio
Align my yes
with your yes, Lord
align my will
with yours
dwell in me
that I may abide in you
let love pour in
and through me
you took on the flesh
to be with me
may grace
draw me into you
Contemplatio
What would it mean for you to practice Sabbath not as a day but as the posture with which you approach the whole of life?
Related Scripture
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” — Matthew 11:28-30, NRSVCE
For Further Reading
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like The Mind of Christ: Meditation, Contemplation, and the Discipline of Love, which explores how Jesus himself models the rhythm of solitude, surrender, and outpouring as a practice of love — and how contemplative discipline shapes us into that same pattern.
Robert Van Valkenburgh
Grappling With Divinity.
Wrestling With God.
Returning To Love.
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