An Advent meditation and prayer
God spoke, “Moses! Moses!” and further, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.[1]
O Lord Jesus, in the flesh of your incarnate divinity, you bring God face to face. So, I pray that I, without fear, behold your holy wonder in every face. Of family and friend, stranger and foe. Of culture and clan. Of race and ethnicity. Of gender identity. Of aged and young. Of rich and poor. Of well and infirm. And, at times, perhaps the hardest for me, of the reflection in my mirror. Amen.
© 2022 PRA
Illustration: Moses and the Burning Bush, James Tissot (1836-1902)
[1] Exodus 3.4b-5, 6b
occasional observations of mind and heart, soul and spirit 
Dear Paul,
Such a beautiful and important prayer. It is my prayer as well, as I continue to meet the faces in the world. God’s grace is granting me new eyes and new vision to see beyond the assumptions I was so little aware of until the pain of the times we are living through made them manifest. May the light that reveals the truth of each and every person’s worth and identity shine into our dark world more and more this Advent. May it cause our love for each other to grow and build a world of ever greater justice and peace for all.
Love to you and gratitude, my dear Paul,
Karen
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That’s lovely , Paul. Thank you and God bless this Advent of reflection.
Pat Latin
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Thank you Paul!! I agree with both Karen and Pat!! This is lovely AND EXACTLY what we need in this world today! I’ve been immersed for the past 5 days in the culture of Costa Rica where the saying is Pura Vida – loosely translated as enjoying / living the simple life. Ive always been about living with joy, but don’t always see or feel it in other people. I certainly can see it and feel God and that joy in everyone here. And as Karen said I’m seeing with new eyes! I pray I can hold on to this feeling when I come home later this week AND that I can spread it and that Wonder to others!
Love
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Thank you, Karen, Pat, and Loretta, for your comments. As I reflect on what you have shared, particularly, Karen, your image of our “dark world”, and, Loretta, your Costa Rican experience, it seems to me that, sometimes, we — well, I’ll speak only for myself — I need to focus on the darkness around (and within me) to behold light (perhaps it is that I can see light more readily in the darkness) and, sometimes, I need to travel afar and away from my accustomed environs to become aware of another possibility, the “pura vida.” And, Pat, I am grateful for your blessing.
Thank you, again and always, for granting me the grace of deeper, fresher images that call me to probe more deeply into the essence of this…my existence.
Love,
Paul
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