Embody the Sacred

Christians today talk about showing Christ to the world in the way they live.  They probably have good intentions.  And, to me, it seems that they are somewhat constrained or limited by their perception of God or  Christ.

For me, Rilke gets more to the heart of the matter.

He writes

Go to the Limits of Your Longing

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

From The Book of Hours I, 59

He says "go to the limits of your longing", not "live according to the rules somebody wrote down hundreds of years ago that have been translated many times into something we can maybe understand in a way that makes us comfortable."

What is your longing?  Does your longing have limits?  Will you be satisfied before you reach the limits of your longing?

My longing is for love.  For forgiveness, of myself and of others.  For peace.  For acceptance (of myself and others).  For joy.  For comfort.  For rest.  For health.  For justice.

If I journey openly with integrity on the path of my longing, and while I do it, I try to embody the sacred, am I not sharing that of God with those around me?

hbk