I am reading Jesus, the Teacher Within by Laurence Freeman for the second time. I bought the book used some years ago, and I loved it then, and I am finding it a rich offering now as well. It is interesting to see the highlights and comments left by the first owner, the marks I left from the first reading, and what is catching my attention now.
I do not remember reading these two lines attributed to St. Augustine, but I find myself returning to them, and they showed up in my preaching on Sunday. I feel a soul shift and a clearing. Please excuse the masculine language. Centuries have passed since St. Augustine wrote these lines:
A person first be restored to himself, that making of himself
as it were a stepping stone, he may rise thence to God.
I am finding that thinking of my life as a series of stepping stones to God is both illuminating and encouraging, and is helping me regain some footing as I journey through the last third of my physical life. I think we all go through periods of being repurposed. Such times can bring us unease, even a sense of failure. However, if we think of these times of redirection as stepping stones, hopefully we can then move in the direction where we feel called with confidence, a confidence rooted in the trust that we are being led ever closer to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment