This past Sunday (8/28/11) we talked about encounters with God (Moses and the burning bush being our inspiration). In the conversation we noted our belief that God reaches out to us constantly—sometimes we’re paying attention, sometimes not. We noted that as we adjust our sight and hearing in prayer and worship and service, we become more and more aware, and more ready, to encounter God in the “ordinary” events of our lives. In the course of the conversation David shared a poem to highlight our understanding:
“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning
We talked about coincidences, too. As if to highlight what we considered “God’s timeliness” (versus coincidence) this arrived in my email this morning:
Holiness comes wrapped in the ordinary. There are burning bushes all around you. Every tree is full of angels. Hidden beauty is waiting in every crumb.
—Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B in A Tree Full of Angels
Pay attention, today (always), encounters with God are bound to be numerous.
Hear what the Spirit is saying 