To encounter? July 30, 2024

To encounter?

In Finger Lakes, NY the weather was hot. A restaurant put out deck chairs and little tables along Seneca Lake for evening relaxation and sunset watching. It was a delightful setting to quietly relax and experience the breeze off the lake. People came to relax, sit, nibble on appetizers and look out over the lake as evening approached.

Americans began talking to one another, then marveling at the beauty and breeze. As the sun slowly inched to the horizon, the sky blazed in orange and red brilliance. The water glistened and eagerly awaited the “dying” sun. People got very excited and talked louder. Pictures clicked. Selfies caused more freedom to laugh and shout and clap as the sun went down.

Did anyone encounter the sunset? Was there no silence, solitude, wonder, awe? Was the natural beauty of the evening lost? What is it to encounter? Did anyone encounter the sunset? Is it possible to let nature speak to us?

Let’s encounter a tree…sit and listen to a tree.

It shows us the larger realm of Spirit by it’s size

It manifests strength as it stands in all weather

It knows how to bend to a greater power - wind

It gives shelter….protection from the heat of the sun.

Is this the Fatherhood of God?

Trees sing to us. Perhaps they sing of Spirit in the wind…

that movement….life…is this really God present?

Trees are silent. They are there, in that silence of the forest

and they speak to us if we are aware.

Trees bear fruit. No matter what the human does to a tree, it

keeps giving, nourishing, helping us to live safer and

better.

So, to encounter is to be with….to connect, not to take pictures…not to marvel, not to analyze. If we cannot relate to a tree that is visible and such a wonder, how can we relate to the invisible realm of Spirit.

Perhaps, in the western world, our glorification of the human mind has blinded us to the immensity and awareness of the Mystery of Spirit dynamically present.

Psalm 1:3

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in its season

and its leaf does not wither;

and in whatever he does, he prospers.

Just pondering…..

Sister Mary Joan Grisez