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Transformed Imaginations
Imagination (noun): The faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is Read More
Beth A. Richardson | Read Psalm 50:1-2
The opening verses of this psalm paint a picture of God calling to us “from the rising of the sun to its setting.” This transforming God yearns for us to notice that God walks before us, behind us, beside us.
A few years ago I began to learn more about my Celtic heritage and its spirituality. I learned that my Celtic ancestors lived close to the earth and its rhythms. The old ones invoked blessings of the Holy One from the dawning of the day to its close. No activity was too small or mundane to be blessed by the Creator. God’s blessing was asked for the kindling of the fire in the morning and the smooring of the coals at night. There were blessings for the workers, the children, and the livestock; blessings for the beginning of a journey and the safe arrival of travelers. The tools of life were brought before God in gratitude: the loom and the boat, the seeds for planting and the scythe for reaping. All these things were transformed by prayer into connections with the One who created us and gave us life.
As I studied and reclaimed my own Celtic heritage, I began to notice more things around me.
Through these prayers, my heart of fear, obsession, or boredom is transformed into a heart of gratitude.
I have added a blessing practice to my day in the form of a “bless to me” prayer. I encourage you to try this practice today. First, think of something or someone you are grateful for. Then remind yourself of how this person or object brings you joy or gratitude. Finally, write about these things using the form, “Bless to me . . . ”
Bless to me this quiet time, the meeting of hearts and minds in book today. Bless to me all those who read these words. Happy or sad, troubled or joyful, may they know God’s peace. Bless to me this quiet time. Amen.
In the week leading to Transfiguration Sunday, the texts all deal with holy, transforming light; but they also speak to the awkwardness of waiting for and finally experiencing that light. Elisha’s is a stop-and-go pilgrimage before he sees the chariots of fire. The psalmist proclaims the march of the sun across the sky while also waiting for the eschatological arrival of God’s justice for God’s people. Paul empathizes with the believers in Corinth who are having to wait and work to “give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.” Jesus leads Peter, James, and John up a mountain where they wait and are terrified by the cloud of glory that overshadows them.
Read 2 Kings 2:1-12. Think of a time when you waited for a blessing from God. How did the waiting feel? How did you experience the blessing when it came?
Read Psalm 50:1-6. What helps you to be aware of God’s presence with you from “the rising of the sun to its setting” each day?
Read 2 Corinthians 4:3-6. What are the areas of your life where God is shining a light? Are there any areas where you may be blind to the light?
Read Mark 9:2-9. Identify a spiritual “mountaintop experience” you have had. What was the lasting impact of that experience on your life as a follower of Christ?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I join many of those who will pray for you as you seek to discern what you are called to be at this moment. May God grant you the courage to fulfill that calling. May we all open our eyes and see the misery, open our ears and hear the cries of God’s people, and, like God through the Lord Jesus Christ, be incarnate amongst them.”
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