Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The Guide

One of the most honest prayers I know is found in Mark 9:24. "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief." Some translations will read disbelief or lack of faith, but I am partial to the starkness of the word unbelief. This prayer cuts to the heart of the paradox of trying to live faithfully.  In times of fear, disappoint, or heavy concern, our hearts yearn to cry,  "I believe."  However, our minds dash from one worried thought to another, leading us to the state of unbelief; an unpleasant land, but one that periodically needs to be explored.   Fortunately, this prayer is an able guide. We need not be afraid.    

The attached image I downloaded from a Facebook post. I regret that the artist was not credited. 


Flickering Mind
 
Lord, not you,
it is I who am absent.
At first belief was a joy I kept in secret,
stealing alone
into sacred places:
a quick glance, and away - and back,
circling.
I have long since uttered your name
but now
I elude your presence. 
I stop
to think about you, and my mind at once
like a minnow darts away,
darts
into the shadows, into gleams that fret
unceasing over
the river's purling and passing.
Not for one second
will my self hold still, but wanders
anywhere,
everywhere it can turn.  Not you,
it is I am absent. 
You are the stream, the fish, the light,
the pulsing shadow,
you the unchanging presence, in whom all
moves and changes. 
How can I focus my flickering, perceive
at the fountain's heart
the sapphire I know is there?      
 
Denise Levertov  (1923–1997)
 
 

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