The Contemplative Cottage

In a delightful children’s book called Tales of the Kingdom, Karen Mains tells the story of Hero, a young boy who finds a gateway into Great Park. He has been raised to believe that there is no safe place, that children are not suppose to laugh or play, that the Enchanter’s dominion is absolute, and that the story of a loving King is a fairytale. In Great Park, one of the favorite activities for the children is Sighting Day where they play “seek-the-king.” Hero doesn’t believe in the King, so he doesn’t recognize him in his many different disguises. For Hero, seeing is believing, but in the Kingdom, “believing is seeing.”

The lectionary text for Sunday is Mark 1:4-11, the Baptism of Jesus. We have just celebrated Christmas–the revelation of God in the birth of Christ, a mystery of enormous beauty; then Epiphany, the manifestation and witnessing of this revelation by the wise travelers. Now, the curtain is pulled back further. Jesus is baptized and sees “the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove.” He hears a voice from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” I’d like to think that John saw and heard this exchange as well–that John’s belief allowed him to see into glorious reality.

For Hero and John, each must first be open in order to see something amazing–not foreign or somehow separate from life, but in and through it, when everything becomes more real. Hero ultimately sees the King when he allows himself to let go of fear, and begins to play and laugh. He begins to hope and trust the strange loving people he has met–and the King appears . John actively looks for the one who “will baptize…with the Holy Spirit,” and is primed to see the heavens torn apart, and the second person of the Trinity in human flesh.

(photo: SF)

Woman at Window by Holsoe

Many thanks to Emma at Charming the Birds from the Trees. I wandered onto her blog a few weeks ago and discovered the challenge, A Commitment to Loveliness:

“All you have to do is choose five things that you would like to work on or do during the week that will increase the loveliness in your life!”

My first attempt at completing five things has taken three weeks, but what fun I’ve had!

Roses for my table. Frame and hang art posters. Read one poem. Plan a party. Choose a new fountain pen.

The wonderful aspect of the list is the delightful process involved in completing each and the long-term enjoyment rendered by taking the time. Fresh flowers make me smile. Art on my walls inspires my own creativity. Planning a party and hosting a party for my friends was just plain fun. The fountain pen, a Christmas gift from my parents, will accompany my journaling each morning.

The most surprising was ‘reading one poem.’ I made a cup of tea and selected Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Rather than just read them, I selected a few of my favorites and read aloud, letting the language, cadence, and images work their magic. “Reading one poem” turned into a much deeper sensory experience, a lectio divina.