The Unwalled Presence of God

This edition of the Tao of Christ is a little different. For one thing it is shorter than usual. Also I am taking a break from the Gospel of Thomas. I will get back to it in a week or so. Today I am reading my blog post for today. I have a blog that I publish once or twice a week called Spiritual Reflections by Marshall Davis. Normally it is just in a written format, but today I thought I would record it in an audio format as well. If you are interested in subscribing to my blog you can find my blog here:

https://spiritualreflections.substack.com/

View Marshall's books here:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Marshall-Davis/author/B001K8Y0RU

Transcript

This edition of the Tao of Christ is a little different. For one thing it is shorter than usual. Also I am taking a break from the Gospel of Thomas. I will get back to it in a week or so. Today I am reading my blog post for today. I have a blog that I publish once or twice a week called Spiritual Reflections by Marshall Davis. Normally it is just in a written format, but today I thought I would record it in an audio format as well. If you are interested in subscribing to my blog you can do a search for it on Substack. 

The Unwalled Presence of God 

During the summer I enjoy worshipping outdoors on Sunday mornings. This is not a metaphor for golfing, hiking or fishing. I am talking about worshipping with a community of faith in an outdoor setting. It is when a traditional church moves their worship service outside the four walls of the building and into the unwalled Presence of God.

There is a little Congregational church in a nearby town that takes their worship service outside during the summer months. They worship in a shady area they call “the grove”  every Sunday during July and August, unless it is raining. I enjoy worshipping with them in the summer. (You can glimpse my wife in blue and the top of my blue cap in the top right corner of the photo, which was taken last Sunday.)

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy worshipping inside our home church’s historic clapboard New England  meetinghouse the rest of the year. Yet there is something special about worship in Nature’s cathedral. It is as if the natural setting amplifies the voice of God. As the hymn says, “All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres.” 

This church is being served presently by a “transitional pastor.” Such a position used to be called an “interim pastor.” No matter what you call it, it is ministry during the time between settled pastors. This transitional pastor is a young woman. She does not seem to be ordained yet, but her sermons sound like she is seminary-trained, which is always a good thing.

Like many pastors, she gives a children’s message during the worship service. Last Sunday she led the children in a moment of mindfulness meditation. She prefaced it by asking the children if they have ever heard God. They shook their heads “no.” Then she explained that it is difficult for grownups to hear God too. That led into the mindfulness exercise, which she invited the congregation of thirty people to participate in. 

Like so often happens to me in church, one small comment can capture my attention and set the tone for the rest of the service. This time it was her comment that it is difficult to hear God. When she said that, I looked around at the trees, the sky, the birds, the grass, and the insects, and I thought, “God is speaking so loudly and clearly that it is impossible not to hear God!”

It is not difficult for me to hear God. I have found that everyday awareness of the Divine is not common for most Christians or other religious folks. Yet people want it. Many people are searching for a profound and genuine experiential spirituality. They are trying to hear God’s voice, seeking to discern the presence of God. 

Some search for Divine Presence in ritual and liturgy. Some through art and music. Others do it through private prayer, meditation or other spiritual practices. Each person in their own way is looking for an abiding and permanent experience of the Divine. 

Divine Presence is the background soundtrack of my life. I am not always consciously focused on God, but on a deep level I am always aware of God. It is like being subconsciously aware of the sound of a nearby brook or the feel of a summer breeze. To bring this awareness to the forefront, all I do is direct my attention Godward, and I am immersed in the Kingdom of Heaven. No lotus position necessary. 

Many see this as the purpose of meditation and prayer. One seeks to quiet the inner and outer noise in order to create space to hear the “still, small voice” of God speaking in the soul. It is a noble practice. I practiced various forms of such contemplative prayer and meditation for decades. I led retreats and taught such spiritual practices for years, so I get it. 

But it is different now. Now God is always communicating. It is just a matter of noticing. God is always and everywhere present. Presence is God’s nature. That is what the word “omnipresent” means.  One just needs to be present in this Presence. As Jesus so often said, “They who have ears to hear, let them hear!”

This is not a goal to be achieved by doing some religious exercise. It is not brought about through a worship service or a spiritual practice. It is not about what we do or don’t do. It is about what we are. This presence is what we are. It is our very nature. 

People think they have to do something – or refrain from doing something – in order to hear God. They think it takes months, years or a lifetime of practice. They think they have to change something about themselves.  No! We do not have to change ourselves. We just have to BE ourselves. This is our birthright. There is nothing we have to do to be what we already are!

The problem is that people are not identifying with what we really are. The core of our being is always in the presence of God. Rest in that. Jesus called it abiding in the Father or the Kingdom of Heaven. The Letter to the Ephesians calls it being “seated in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus.”

It is not about doing but about being. It is a matter of identity. If we identify with what seems separate from God, then we experience separation from God. When we identify with our true self, then we are in the presence of God. As Ephesians says, “Christ himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the wall of separation.” This is what we are. In this unwalled Presence we cannot help but hear God.