At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. (John 8: 2)
Jesus taught at the temple each day, touching on many subjects and urging the people to be alert and not to allow their minds to be dulled by worldly cares. He urged them to pray at all times for strength, guidance, and to keep their eyes on God. At the end of the day, Jesus would leave the city and spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives.
I suspect that Jesus would spend the night in prayer and communication with God. I imagine that it was a pretty silent night with Jesus listening to what God is saying to him. We tend to have some discomfort with silence. But silence is when God responds to us. And when we take the time to listen to what he is saying, it nourishes us and “fills our buckets” so that we may nourish each other and “fill each other’s buckets.” The hard part of praying is waiting and listening for God’s response. We may hear things we don’t particularly want to hear, but God is with us to help us bear those things. Listening is beautiful! In the third verse of the Christmas hymn, “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear,” the verse ends with the words “O hush the noise and cease the strife, and hear the angels sing.” That is listening to the beauty of God’s loving responses to us.
My prayer this Lent is to love the silence, listen to God, and hear the angels sing.
Kay O’Brien (1941-2016)
(Kay wrote this meditation for our first Lenten booklet in 2010. Thank you, Kay, for teaching us still as you sing with the angels.)
Jesus taught at the temple each day, touching on many subjects and urging the people to be alert and not to allow their minds to be dulled by worldly cares. He urged them to pray at all times for strength, guidance, and to keep their eyes on God. At the end of the day, Jesus would leave the city and spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives.
I suspect that Jesus would spend the night in prayer and communication with God. I imagine that it was a pretty silent night with Jesus listening to what God is saying to him. We tend to have some discomfort with silence. But silence is when God responds to us. And when we take the time to listen to what he is saying, it nourishes us and “fills our buckets” so that we may nourish each other and “fill each other’s buckets.” The hard part of praying is waiting and listening for God’s response. We may hear things we don’t particularly want to hear, but God is with us to help us bear those things. Listening is beautiful! In the third verse of the Christmas hymn, “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear,” the verse ends with the words “O hush the noise and cease the strife, and hear the angels sing.” That is listening to the beauty of God’s loving responses to us.
My prayer this Lent is to love the silence, listen to God, and hear the angels sing.
Kay O’Brien (1941-2016)
(Kay wrote this meditation for our first Lenten booklet in 2010. Thank you, Kay, for teaching us still as you sing with the angels.)
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