I sat down this morning for prayer and found today’s portion of scripture: “Jesus himself came near and went with them.” (Luke 24:15b NRSV)
But my mind is like a “herd of cats.” My thoughts are running, jumping, climbing the shelves, batting around small objects. While I sit in my meditation space, my mind travels to many locales: my son’s field trip today, the other son’s future nursery schooling, childcare, my upcoming Valentine’s date with my husband, meal planning for the next few days, my mother, the weather, my leadership teams. I am envisioning the upcoming Women’s Retreat. I am really thinking about the sermon that I am preaching tonight... somewhat nervous about the topic (officially “Unity with God”, which is a nice way of saying “Atonement”) and yet I am excited about the opportunity to proclaim that God’s grace and mercy are still alive and active in our world(s). There are a lot of mental “cats” in a very small space.
What a gift God has given me in today’s scripture: “Jesus himself came near and went with them.” (Luke 24:15b NRSV)
I have been practicing lectio divina and the portion of scripture is very small. An essence. Rather than broad Biblical content study, I try to dive into the deepest spiritual core of a small portion.
Reading it over and over makes my ‘thought-cats’ purr, stretch and slow down a bit. Less tumbling. The good news from my prayer chair is that Jesus himself is near and goes with me (and the herd of ‘thought-cats’). Tomorrow I will again aim for meditative coherence. Today, the nearness and accompaniment of Jesus is more than enough. |