Dryness and Heat (mid-week)

Dryness and Heat

Fr. Tony’s Mid-week Message

July 22, 2015

Whoever trusts in me, as scripture says, shall have rivers of living water spring up from out of the middle of them. (John 7:38)

The weather has been quite warm here in Ashland the last week: sunny, bright, and hot, hot sunlight.  When the clouds come with their shade, they are often great thunderheads, with the threat of violent storm, lightening with little rain, and the risk of wild fires.  The heat can be oppressive, so there is great relief when we get into a cooled room or go swimming.

 

The season for some is a metaphor for the times in life when we feel burdened, worn down, or maybe run over by ongoing annoyances and challenges, whether these are the normal stresses of life with one another or some accident or crisis, or intimidating illness and debilitation.

It is important when we are feeling beaten down or worn down to remind ourselves that beneath all the troubles, there is calm and peace itself.  Beneath the heat, there is gentle refreshment.  Beneath the cloudiness and darkness of storms is gentle goodness and light. 

Trappist monk and mystic Thomas Merton once said this to a group of monastic novices:

“Life is this simple: We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and God is shining through it all the time. This is not just a fable or a nice story. It is true. If we abandon ourselves to God and forget ourselves, we see it sometimes, and we see it maybe frequently. God shows [God’s] self everywhere, in everything - in people and in things and in nature and in events. It becomes very obvious that He is everywhere and in everything and we cannot be without [God].  It's impossible. It's simply impossible. The only thing is that we don't see it.”

God loves you and accepts you.  If you are feeling worn down, it may be that you, like a stone in running water, are actually having parts of you being worn away: the rough parts of you are being knocked off and smoothed. 

If you are oppressed and tired, it is possible to let go and feel rest and relaxation in exhaustion. 

Sometimes the heat of summer and the dryness of the starkly bright day can make us focus only on the complaints in our hearts.  And focusing on complaints feed fears and doubt.  Fear blinds us, makes us crazy, and distorts us.  We become twisted and the world becomes broken. We lose hope and the joy of living. 

One way of getting out of the heat and into a cool room is simply sharing with a friend.  Another is prayer and meditation. 

The hymn by Horatio Bonar says it well: 

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
the living water; thirsty one,
stoop down and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world's light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my Star, my Sun;
and in that light of life I'll walk
till traveling days are done.

Grace and peace,

Fr. Tony+