On this weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation (February 2). In ancient times, it was the Jewish custom to present a newborn child in the temple, 40 days after birth. (So, yes - Christmas was 40 days ago!) The gospel for this feast tells this story of Simeon and Anna who have been praying in the temple for years, waiting to meet the Promised One whom - whom they recognize in the Child, Jesus. Having met the One who is to come, Simeon prays that he is now ready to be taken home by God - and Anna, a prophet, proclaims that this is the One who brings redemption to all. We might look to the feast of the Presentation, then, as a day for all who desire, who struggle to find and to meet and know the Lord. For our prayer tonight, I offer my friend John McGinty's prayerful reflection on our desire to meet God...
My desire is to meet you,
the real You.
Not the you my mind creates when I read about you,
even when that reading is Word;
Not the God my emotions conjure
when I am alone and lonely,
or uncertain and afraid,
or unable to see a way ahead.
Not the you that others have told me about.
Not even the you whose voice I believed I heard when
as a young man I committed to follow you
to the Table, to the Tomb,
and to the light beyond the darkness.
Not the God whom well-oiled well-speakers preach
in this grand old republic;
nor the you whose Name is evoked with speed
by bitter opponents of one another,
each apparently certain of your itinerary and intent.
My desire is to meet the real you,
undomesticated and anything-but-housebound;
the terrible You, terrifying in all your attributes:
Louder than a season of tornadoes,
potentially more destructive;
and still as still as deepest space;
More vast than the largest desert on the driest planet,
and yet so slight
that a single grain of sand is your universe;
More complex than all creatures who move and breathe,
but simpler than one iota of one strand of the DNA
of your simplest creation.
It is you I want to meet and hear,
whether you seek me, or I you,
or each in the same everlasting instant.
And in that singular encounter, to be
absolutely ended, and
completely begun.
Come Light of lights
into the shroud of this night, and shine.
I fear you, and I love you.
I have nothing to fear and everything to love.
Come now...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Tonight's song should be comfort to those who desire, who struggle to find and to meet and know the Lord.
Somewhere Along the Road by Emily Smith
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Somewhere along the road
Someone waits for me
Beyond these present storms that blow
Waiting patiently
No secrets held in an open heart
A spirit that soars over mountains
Somewhere along the road
Someone waits for me
Somehow a guiding light
Always shows the way
To those who lose their way by night
Searching for the day
A day away from happiness
Tomorrow will bring a new sunrise
Somewhere along the road
Someone waits for me
Sometime when winds are still
Unexpectedly
Perhaps beyond this silent hill
A voice will call to me
Raise your eyes to see my world
Raise your voice and sing out
Somewhere along the road
Someone waits for me
Someone waits for me
Beyond these present storms that blow
Waiting patiently
No secrets held in an open heart
A spirit that soars over mountains
Somewhere along the road
Someone waits for me
Somehow a guiding light
Always shows the way
To those who lose their way by night
Searching for the day
A day away from happiness
Tomorrow will bring a new sunrise
Somewhere along the road
Someone waits for me
Sometime when winds are still
Unexpectedly
Perhaps beyond this silent hill
A voice will call to me
Raise your eyes to see my world
Raise your voice and sing out
Somewhere along the road
Someone waits for me
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