Sometimes when I begin my contemplation, I still do not know how to get started. In my hesitancy I wonder where the silence will take me on a particular day. The day that I am recalling was no different. I was floundering around wondering how to be in the Divine Presence when I remember a sentence I had read in Merton: we enter into God through our true self. The self that we are in the creative mind of God provides the entryway into  contemplation.

I then realized that one of the most truly human aspects of my being is my awareness – self-awareness, self-conscious being. And, I began to focus on being in awareness. Being in awareness! Simultaneously, the notion of time intruded into my awareness of being. “I am aware NOW in this existential moment.”
Heretofore I had always thought of the Eternal Now as a succession of moments – one after another coming into being. So I was aware of NOW as a continuous succession of moments. But today I saw NOW not as a succession of moments but as a constant, a whole that lay beneath my changing vision of moments.

I do not know if I engaged that NOW or recognized it or was embraced by it! But I do believe that I was touched by the Eternal in that sacred moment. The Eternal Now is always present and always giving stability to my Reality; it is that infinite Mystery that penetrates all  things.

In the Eternal Present all is well and all shall be well!

Jane note: comforting words for these days of chaos. All is well and all shall be well.

Jane Note: As fear increases here at home and in the world, it is becoming more evident that we need to recognize each other and connect with each other in a new way (or an old way refreshed). Personally, I have been convicted by the word "objectify". We have lost our ability to connect with each other as human beings. We only see categories of people (we objectify) which seems to make taking the life of another human being ok.

My personal reaction is to speak to everyone I see and ask them how they "really are." (ok so you have to start somewhere!) As I awakened this morning feeling overwhelmed and somewhat defeated about the actions of two young men killed by police, five police killed by a young man on top of the Sandy Hooks, Virginia Tech, Orlando, San Diego, 9/11 et al  and now Nice and Turkey, I went searching in the writings of Ben and also of Carl McColman, www.carlmccolman.net/tag/contemplation/

Today, I encourage you to follow Carl McColman if you do not already. Plus read this selection from

Companions in Contemplation Ben Campbell Johnson, 2009, pg 90-91 speak to me to quiet my soul:

"Before I even thought of the silence of contemplation, my reading   for the day stopped me cold. The writer said “…contemplation is out of the question for any one who does not try to cultivate compassion   for other men.”

I understood this undeniable truth! Christ has formed of all humans his Body on earth (not merely the baptized, but all) and division, exclusion and elitism crucify him afresh by dismembering his Body. The image of fracturing his body evokes memories of a lifetime  of withdrawing.

As a child I was taught that our family was different from the neighbors. Our yard was kept better and our family made better choices about with whom we associated and how we managed our money. This distinction between families marked the beginning of my awareness of being different from others.
This distinction grew until my spiritual conversion. I realize today that I was converted away from my sins, rather than to Jesus Christ. I tended then to build a false ego defined by what I did not do – how this made me different from other Christians. I imagine that fear widened this chasm between me and others, a fear that I would fall back into my past  practices.

In the early days of this new life in Christ’s Body, I heard my mentors comparing themselves (and me by implication) with other Christians who lacked an adequate view of holy living, of which, of course, we were good examples. This posture put me on the right side of how to be a  true Christian and placed others on the left. In my early theological training, the emphasis continued to fall on the difference between “us” and “others” and not on the community of the forgiven.

Over the years this way of viewing myself in the Body of Christ has wielded a powerful, unconscious influence on my perceptions of and reactions to other people. Naturally, this pharisaical way of seeing myself affected both the way I saw both people and situations. After all these years, I must be converted to Christ and his unconditional love.  

A new choice is not enough; a resolve will not work; only Christ, Christ alone can make me a new creation.  I look to him."
 
Today, sit in the still quiet heart of our Lord.

Companions in Contemplation, Ben Campbell Johnson, 2009

“We will come into her (him) and make our home in her (him).”
John 4:17
 
How utterly amazing that God in Christ, like a robin nesting in a tree, would be pleased to make a home in me. The Advent hymn proclaims this truth – “Pleased as man with men to dwell, O come, O come Emmanuel.” God builds and furnishes a home in humans much like the bird builds a nest -- one stick at a time, one twig at a time, one feather at a time.

God’s persistent coming into us extends  beyond  a  casual  visit. The dwelling place of God must be more than a beach house visited occasionally to escape the summer heat. To house God in us not only means that God is intentional and regular, but diligent, and unrelenting too. No longer a guest, God in Christ becomes a permanent resident. Even before God takes up full-time residence in us, God dwells within us while the nesting place is being   constructed.

Sometimes, in sacred moments I get fleeting glimpses of the effect   of the Presence within –  like a sudden realization that all the people  on the escalator and I are of the same family; like I am part of the rays of the sun and the growth of the tree; or the perception of an invisible hand reaching out in the silence and drawing me into a new level of union with my permanent  Guest!

Can I learn to be at home in God as God is at home in me?

Never become weary welcoming your guest.

oin me in praying this prayer today and that the way be made clear for open listening and relationship building for each of us with those whom we would not, in the past anyway, have a relationship or connect. Companions in Contemplation, Ben Campbell Johnson, 2009, front pages

Jane Note: As we are overwhelmed by hatred and senseless death in a time where our land of freedom is permeated with objectification of human kind rather than relationships where our love is centered on something higher than ourselves, Ben's prayer, even tho previously published in Caringbridge and on the bulletin for his memorial service, seems like the best to post today.

O God, My Father,
Take me by the hand, Lead me to the path, Place my feet in the way,
And lead me into your presence.
 
As I wait before you,
Cleanse the dross from my soul,
Purify the thoughts and intentions of my heart, Enlighten my eyes that in your light I may see light, And, fill me with yourself that
I may become an Icon of your presence.
 
As I live in you and you live in me,
May the false self die and the True Self arise; Let my self-shaped will dissolve
Into your all-inclusive will Until I will one  thing.
Engulf my consciousness so that moment- by-moment I am united to you and
Your kingdom comes, Your will is done,
Your children receive daily bread, forgiveness of sin, and the guidance of your hand in their lives.

Join me in praying this prayer today adding, Lord, guide me by my hand and may the way be made clear for open listening and relationship building with someone today whom might have been faceless before today. Help me to connect in an insignificant or significant way.

Amen and Amen.

Companions in Contemplation, Ben Campbell Johnson, 2009
 
“Abide in me as I abide in you.” John 15:4
 
To  abide means to live in, to remain with the bounds of or to last for a period of time. Where do you abide? Is your house your dwelling place? You may depart but I will remain; I will stay where I am. And, my truth will abide forever, that is, continue into the future. All these insights are valid and yet they evoke different images of abiding. There is another way to grasp the great truth of  abiding.

On the spiritual journey you abide  in  Christ  by  living  your  life  in and through him. We could say with the Psalmist, “I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.” (Ps. 16:8)

In another sense, the person abiding in Christ plays within certain bounds. Like the basketball player must stay within the lines to retain possession of the ball, the soul on a spiritual path walks within the bounds of love.

To abide in Christ means to take a direction for a period of time, for the full making of the journey. In a person abandoned to Christ every step is a step on the pathway and a move closer to union with Christ.
We abide in  Christ  both  through  meditation  and  contemplation. 

In meditation the truth of Christ is like a lozenger dissolving on the tongue and contemplation resembles swallowing the  truth  whole.  Once swallowed, the truth of Christ dissolves in the soul and filters through the whole person. By osmosis the abiding Christ disperses himself through all the spiritual faculties of the soul.

At some point the believer can say with St. Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:19-20)

Take the truth whole and it will wholly take you!
Repeat the text, “Abide in me and I in you,” and swallow what you can.
 
Jane Note: This morning as I listen to the news of the police shootings in Dallas and the interview of the fiancé of the young man killed by a policeman in Minnesota, my heart is heavy and my stomach sick. I wonder helplessly what I can "do"  to make a difference in the hatred?

Ben's moments remind me to live into the words: "Abide in me and I in you." and swallow what I can.

Companions in Contemplation, Ben Campbell Johnson, 2009, pg 112

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
John 14:10
 
An astounding mutual indwelling! Christ in the Father, the Father in Christ and Christ in me.

Clearly he speaks of the divine/human union and Christ stands at the center as the Mediator. (The one who stands between, in the middle, the mediator between God and humans). The holy God on the one side, human beings on the other, and Christ, the God-Man joining both to each other.

When we meditate on this mystery, our minds hit a wall in short order; our reason cannot take us very far. Our minds cannot grasp the truth of this mystery. We may seek to grasp it, walk around it, view it, wonder about its profundity, and yet we feel helpless to comprehend it. Our efforts to realize the Mystery in which we live continually hit a wall and our imagination is staggered and remains helpless to comprehend this Mystery.

Contemplation may be of some assistance; it takes the way of ‘unknowing.’        What  the  powers  of  human  reason  stumble  over,  the human spirit realizes. Bowing before the mystery of God in Christ and Christ in me does not yield understanding but transformation. Being present to the mystery, of which I am a part in an inexplicable way, makes me vulnerable to the Holy and consequently change inevitably occurs.

Occasionally, after being encircled and wrapped in the Mystery, I seem to smell the perfume of the divine presence. And, sometimes I recognize that the thoughts and feelings that have arisen in me originate
from the incomprehensible fact that he is in me and I am in him.

Seek continuously to notice the indwelling!

JANE NOTE:

This stands out to me this morning as I ponder Ben's words. As I go through this day, I pray to keep this front and center in the mystery of being vulnerable to the Holy.

"Bowing before the mystery of God in Christ and Christ in me does not yield understanding but transformation.  Being present to the mystery, of which I am a part in an inexplicable way, makes me vulnerable to the Holy and consequently change inevitably occurs."
.

From Companions in Contemplation by Ben Johnson, 2009

Another Advocate
…I will send you another advocate … who will be with you forever.
He abides with you and shall be in you.
John 14:15-16
 
The other Advocate, which is the Holy Spirit, who has come as a gift from the ascended Christ and is the Spirit of Christ, will be present in us forever. In his resurrected humanity, Christ is now in the Father; in his Spirit he also abides in our humanity. In both instances we have one who is our Advocate with the Father.

In us the Spirit advocates against our temptations and weaknesses. When doubts arise, she slays them with the sword. When failures and sin leave us with doubt and fear, she assures us that God accepts the broken and the Spirit leads us through our darkness into the light of contemplation.

In our contemplation of Christ we realize that our fallen humanness has been glorified in the presence of God. In God’s presence the Son ever lives to make intercession for us and thus to liberate us to live fully human lives with joy and confidence.

Today, Expect him in every temptation and failure! Embrace and live into the strength that comes only from the advocate. 

Jane Note: Please post your thoughts as you reflect on this Ben Moment and it continues to unfold in your thoughts this day.

 (Companions in Contemplation, Ben Campbell Johnson, 2009, pg 110)

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
John 14:11
 
The Son’s being in the Father is like the bird being in the air or the fish being in the sea. As the air fills the lungs of the bird and the water fills the gills of the fish, so the Father fills the Son. The Father and the Son are like the fetus in the mother and the mother in the fetus. In one sense they are two but in another they are one.

From all eternity the Son is begotten of the Father; he has always been Son, the Eternal Son. In the days of his flesh the Christ remained  in the Father and the Father continued in his Son.  Even now the Son  has taken into that relationship the earthly experience of humanness – limits, pain, vulnerability.  In the incarnation he not only brought God  to us, he ascended and took us into God.

Indeed, this initial participation is hidden in the mystery of God. We cannot understand this mystery, but we can contemplate it and thereby enter into it. By virtue of his incarnation and ascension we are in the Son and he is in us as we are in God.

Let yourself become as intimate with Christ as Christ is with God!
 
Jane Note: Ben's life journey was craving and achieving this intimacy. He now has fulfilled his hope. As we read and contemplate, may the craving that comes only from a spiritual journey move us into closer intimacy with our Lord.

the Way  I am the way, the truth and the life.  John 14:6
Companions in Contemplation...Ben Campbell Johnson, (2009)
 
Yes, it is fact. “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

My child, for  too many years these words have been received as exclusive, closing  out some of my friends while only selecting a few others.  I  spoke  these words as inclusive of all who find the way, believe the truth and experience the life.

Way, Truth, and Life appear most clearly to those who know my Name and deliberately follow me. On the other hand, these words do not exclude those who do not know my name. My kin according to the flesh came to the father before Way was manifest in me.

Those who know my Abba as Allah come to God and to the extent that they find the Way, know the Truth, and live the Life; it is through me whether they know my name or not.

In your contemplation sink deeply enough to find this unity of all things in me! All who find the Way, the Truth, and the Life make this discovery through me.

Find the way; Seek the Truth; Live the Life!

Jane Note: One day when I had been facilitating the Interfaith Board Retreat, I asked Ben how to justify this scripture in light of interfaith. His response, "When you think of Jesus as pure love, this scripture says it all." Enough said!

Please let us hear from you in the comments. Thanks so much!

A heavenly voice spoke to a devote Jewish goldsmith saying that “dabar” was capable of gradually changing him into the likeness of God. The goldsmith’s response was immediately “Me, an ordinary goldsmith, as gentle and compassionate as God? No, impossible!” [1]
 
The following Sabbath, the Rabbi began the reading of scripture by saying,
 
“And God spoke.” Upon hearing these words, the goldsmith jumped up onto his feet and shouted, “God speaks! Do you understand, brothers and sisters? Can you believe that such a miraculous thing could happen here: God speaks?!... The goldsmith carried on so much that he had to be escorted out of the synagogue, where he called out to passersby, ‘God speaks!’ Can believe that such a miraculous thing could happen? God speaks!” [2]
 
Elias Marechal, Trappist monk at Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers Georgia, shares this story in Tears of an Innocent God…Conversations on Silence, Kindness and Prayer. The Hebrew term “dabar” literally translates to “word” but it really means much more. “It is divine, creative, life-sustaining and life-giving energy, a transforming power come to us from beyond.” [3]
 
As is our monthly practice, a beautiful group of people from all walks of life, gathered in front of my fireplace and Christmas tree this week. One of the group led Lectio Divina (ancient practice of reading scripture for divine inspiration or listening for God speaking through the Word) with a familiar passage:
 
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2: 8-12 ESV
 
What was the shepherd’s first reaction to the Angel who said, “Fear not”?  They were filled with fear! The angel was unexplainable; powerful; unknown.  They felt powerless. Or the reaction of the goldsmith when the heavenly voice told him that he could be formed into the image of God filled with gentleness and compassion?  His reaction was “No Way!” He felt powerless.
 
It is no different today than in the days of the shepherds or the goldsmith. What is our first reaction to the unexplainable, powerful and unknown today? Our world that is so filled with death, destruction, terrorism, domestic violence, sex trafficking, chaotic political climate that is unexplainable, powerful and unknown?
 
Are we to be filled with fear? Are we to be powerlessness? Are we to say “No Way!” to believing that God speaks in today’s world? GodSpeech* is all around us. We need to open our eyes, our hearts and our minds to the way that God speaks to each of us individually. 
 
Just as the goldsmith heard God speak, we are to become more aware through opening our eyes, ears and hearts to the transforming presence of the Lord in and around us. It is this compassion of the Lord that we are to share with others; one person; one moment; one situation at a time.
 
My son has an adorable English Cocker Spaniel who loves to give kisses (which I abhor!) When he jumps into my lap and starts covering my face in kisses, I shout sternly “No Kisses! No Kisses! To which my son laughs and says, “Mom don’t you know he only hears, “Kisses! Kisses!” Me thinks my son is correct as my protests only bring more kisses!
 
Don’t let Fear NOT become Fear in your life!  Replace it with the joy of the gift of opening yourself to the GodSpeech in your life and be the light during this season and every hour of every day going forward.
 
 
*In the acknowledgements, Brother Elias credits Ben Campbell Johnson as a great influence in his writings. Dr. Johnson has two books articulating and personifying two aspects of GodSpeech (a word created and trademarked by BCJ).[4] The primary aspect is what God says to us and what we say to him and the secondary aspect is what we say about God. These writings help us interpret God’s speaking to us when we are preparing to listen and hear.  GodSpeech brings the concept of dabar into modern day understanding and application. For more information on Ben Campbell Johnson’s inspiring and practical writings on listening and increasing awareness of the divine, www.theinstituteofchurchrenewal.com
 


[1] Marechal, Elias. Tears of an Innocent God, (New York/Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2015) pg. 23.
[2] Ibid, pg 23.
[3] Ibid, pg 24.
[4] Johnson, Ben Campbell. The God Who Speaks: Learning the Language of God, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004) and GodSpeech: Putting Divine Disclosures into Human Words, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004)