One of the gifts of contemplative practice is the grace to reframe our understanding of our past and thus allow the transformative power of God to work through our past. Common, but misguided, ways of relating to our past include a tendency to remain stuck in nostalgia for past glories, successes, or titles, as if those things are the source of our ultimate identity. In contemplative practice, we open ourselves to become rooted in our identity as children of the Beloved. From this place, we can see these past blessings as flowing from the Love God has for us, be thankful for the gifts the brought, and let them go to prepare ourselves for the ever-newness of God. An equally human, but still flawed, way of relating to our past is to let the very real wounds of the past fester and make us hard-hearted, stunting our relational growth with God and others. Contemplative practice fosters the disposition and the courage to be vulnerable with those wounds, and to allow the Divine Physician to, as author James Finley says, “reach out and touch the hurting places with love that the suffering might dissolve in love, and to continue touching the hurting places with love until only love is left.”
On December 9 at 6:30 pm, the MMOC Contemplative Core Team will present An Advent Meditation on Effective Ways to Prepare for Christ’s Coming with Deacon Bob Smerek, as we explore God’s in-breaking Presence – past, present, and future. Please join us!