Wednesday Word from Rev. Roxane: Contemplative Healing Service
As we have shared the first few months of St. Thomas' new Contemplative/ Healing Service, three treasures have, not surprisingly, been gifted to us: the reminder that God loves us, spells of quiet meditation, and healing. It's truly been a time and space to claim and value these and other treasures.
Beloved. Christ, as you know, doesn't wait for us to get our act together. This truth is especially evoked in our Sunday evening services. "Embrace the silence. Bring the longings of your heart. Be loved by God," we hear in the first few moments. It's that simple. In "The Life of the Beloved," Henri Nouwen writes, "Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the Beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply. It is like discovering a well in the desert. Once you have touched wet ground, you want to dig deeper." The intimacy of our Sunday evening times together creates fertile ground for this.
Quiet. Christian contemplative tradition is an opening of our minds, hearts, and souls to God. God has already arrived by the time we gather in the chapel for the service, and is waiting for us to fall into blessed silence and prayer. Fr. Thomas Keating, a modern-day contemplative wrote, “Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation.” Thus we seek to spend an increasing amount of our time together in silence. Past that, music is provided by a single cantor who chants a Psalm and some simple pieces. We are invited to join in and chant as we pray, or to simply listen and pray. Scripture and prayers, including Eucharistic prayers, are brief and quiet.
Healing. Jesus promised us in last Sunday's Gospel from Matthew, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." The opportunity for rest and healing is abundant at our services. Scripture is always a story of Jesus' health-giving acts and his life-giving love. Healing prayers and anointing with oil are open to all; tears have been known to flow. Hope, peace, and joy hover above vulnerability, fear, and pain. We pray not so much for one another as alongside one another as we seek God's healing grace.
All who want to hear God's voice are most welcome to join us once, twice, or all the time for these Contemplative/Healing services. We begin and end in silence, leaving lots of space to enter and depart as you wish. Embrace the silence. Bring the longings of your heart. Be loved by God.
The Contemplative/Healing Service at St. Thomas is offered in the Chapel on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 5:00 pm: July 16, August 20, September 24 (note that this is the 4th Sunday, just for September), October 15, and November 19
