“Everything exposed to the light itself becomes light,” says Ephesians 5:14. In prayer, we merely keep returning the divine gaze and we become its reflection, almost in spite of ourselves (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The word “prayer” has often been trivialized by making it into a way of getting what you want. But here I use “prayer” as the umbrella word for any interior journeys or practices that allow you to experience faith, hope, and love within yourself. It is not a technique for getting things, a pious exercise that somehow makes God happy, or a requirement for entry into heaven. It is much more like practicing heaven now.
Richard Rohr, The Naked Now, pp.22-23
Henri Nouwen once said, “Those who live in communion with Jesus have the eyes to see and the ears to hear the second coming of Jesus among them in the here and now.” We don’t have to look forward to eternity as some kind of treat reserved for us against our death. Heaven, eternity, the presence of God, are with us now, if only we will look.
Jesus himself said, “…remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 NRSV) Look, the present tense!
2 comments:
This should be joyful and joyous, don't you think?
Absolutely, TS!
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