“The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandal.” (Mark1;1-8l) This is the root of John’s message. He preached about someone else, someone who would come after him. The Baptist was not interested in the limelight. He was not interested in praise or adulation. He was interested in preparing the way!
Though our consumer society bombards us with material goods that will ensure happiness we know that true happiness comes from within, from a sense of wellbeing and self-worth. Our call is to allow ourselves to be consumed by the person of Jesus, the one preached by the Baptist. And in being consumed we will burn.
In Barbara Fiand’s book, “On Becoming Who We Are”, she reflects on a story told by the Persian mystic Rumi about Moses overhearing a shepherd at prayer. The shepherd was willing to help God in any way possible from washing God’s clothes to tending his sheep and goats. As the story goes Moses chastises the shepherd for being so naive about the nature of God. Terrified by Moses’ reaction the shepherd repents and wanders the desert. God intervenes and questions Moses about HIS treatment of the shepherd. God told Moses that phraseology or language are not what is important:
“I want burning, burning. Those who pay attention
to ways of behaving and speaking are one sort.
Lovers who burn are another.”
Moses runs off looking for the shepherd and finds him in the depth of a mystical union - united to the Holy One in deepest love. (pp. 52-53)
Rumi’s story has stayed with me. Especially when a person I am counseling experiences release from some dark personal desert and is led to fuller life we both rejoice and I am so aware of God working in me. It is not about me, it is not rigid teaching, or pious platitudes but as the psalmist says it is an invitation to listen deeply while trusting the intuition of another. “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak". (p. 85)
Peter’s gentle invitation is simply asking us to be at peace while waiting for a new heaven and a new earth. Clearly we are to live these Advent days in joyful anticipation. With Mary may we walk with deep interior peace, and a serenity of spirit knowing that the Almighty is doing great things in us. Mary knew how to receive and how to hold spiritual gifts, and she knew that they had to be given away to be maintained, deepened and understood. For Mary, it was all about the child she was to birth.
Reflection:
- How would I describe BURNING in my heart ?
- How is the manner in which I live each day reflective of Mary’s openness to the unexpected?
Pat Hogan CSJ
