There's a wonderful old prayer, formatted below as
a poem:
O God of peace, you
have taught us
that in returning
and rest
we shall be saved,
in quietness
and confidence
shall be our strength.
By the might
of your Spirit
lift us,
we pray,
into your presence,
where we may be still
and know
that you are God.
If you haven't already, take an unhurried moment
to read, to move with these words at a pace where you neither
get ahead of them or fall behind.
If you find a word or phrase unhelpful do your
best to translate them into something that’s truer for you.
What else might you change to make this prayer a
prayer that describes what takes you into Presence?
I can imagine God might want to make changes too
(though we can never be really sure what changes those might be)!
I experience this as a wonderful prayer. Almost
every time I pray it, it functions for me like an incantation--like Gandalf
chanting "Speak Friend And Open," at the Gates of Moria. If I slow
down and move with these words, literally at the pace of comprehension, doors
open, and I am present for Presence.
Lots of people used to invest lots of time and
effort in order to come into Presence. People made pilgrimages to holy places.
'Holy Place' is how 'Sanctuary' translates. The thing that sanctifies a place is Presence.
Read this snippet from an R S Thomas poem:
In cities that
have outgrown their promise people
are becoming pilgrims
again, if not to this place,
then to the recreation of it
in their own spirits.
have outgrown their promise people
are becoming pilgrims
again, if not to this place,
then to the recreation of it
in their own spirits.
We live at a time when people are becoming
pilgrims to holy places in their own spirits. This doesn't mean we don't also
find Presence in traditional sacred places. It's a both/and thing for many of
us, though for some, for one reason and another, it's often necessary to make
new paths. Both old and new pilgrim paths move people toward Presence.
And both take people into community and adventure.
And both involve inspiration, effort and grace. But neither guarantees Presence—though
it's very rare when Presence is not experienced on the way to and
within the holy places of pilgrimage.
Just slowing down and 'entering' the prayer at the
beginning of this post is a kind of pilgrimage. The 'returning' describes a
path we take and take and take. No guarantee of Presence. And yet....
And yet...it is on journeys like this, short or
long, where we find the quieting and
the stilling and the knowing that something in us is always longing for.
