Gospel reading: John 3.1-8 *
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’
Reflections
I have been reflecting recently on practising the presence of God as I go about the things of daily life, as I stack the dishwasher and dust the house and do my accounts and repot seedlings. Some tasks and activities are more attractive than others! B-u-t- maybe cleaning becomes more attractive when leavened with the remembrance of God’s blessings. Looking after myself and making my surroundings a nice place to be is a way of accepting and expressing God’s love for me as self-love.
In the Turning to the Mystics podcast, Jim Finley often speaks of prayer in which the only agenda is love, responding in love to the God who first loved me.
Part of my recent reflection was turning again to Brother Lawrence. This 17th Century Carmelite brother, serving his order under obedience as a cook, is a pattern for us today:
We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. And it is not necessary to have great things to do. I turn my little omelette in the pan for the love of God… It is enough for me to pick up a straw from the ground for the love of God.
Brother Lawrence The Practice of the Presence of God
We are not required to perform heroic deeds, for all that we might think only a great achievement or sacrifice would be acceptable to God. We are continually seeking ways of learning how to love God. The best way is to see what is right in front of us, and to make use of everything that comes to us… which itself is a kind of heroism.
Practising the presence of God, doing everything for the love of God, praying continuously throughout the day. Amplification came in the form of an interview with Episcopalian priest and author Barbara Brown Taylor: “Sometimes, when people ask me about my prayer life, I describe hanging laundry on the line.”
Hanging laundry on the line, like they’re prayer flags and thinking of the people whose laundry it is, and being grateful to the wind for blowing it around. And then, going from that to filling a horse trough with water so that these great big vegetarians can get something to drink during their days. But thank goodness for people like Brother Lawrence in Christian religious tradition… and others like him who at least carved out a wedge in the Christian pie for those who did the most ordinary things in the world with reverence, or at least with some awareness that reverence was possible in the most ordinary things on earth. That’s where I live.
Barbara Brown Taylor, On Being with Krista Tippett
So these are the things on my To Do list, to remember while going through the day: to value every task, to be present, to perform every action intentionally and with reverence, to recall God’s presence, to do it for the love of God.
* which was actually Monday’s Gospel – you can’t get the staff!
-oOo-
Since April 2020, I have been jointly hosting a shared Lectio Divina group on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. These are my reflections only, during the prayer session and as I wrote them up. Please see my separate commentary and leaflet for more information about shared Lectio.
