The Dwelling Place

 The Spiritual Waiting Room

Scripture:

Psalm 84 (adapted by John McNamara)

How lovely is the dwelling place of our God

My heart yearns for the living God

They are blessed who dwell in the house of the Lord

(photo by Kathy McNamara)

Reflection:

God's dwelling place is found in so many ways. Sometimes it can really surprise us. We can be walking along the street and a cardinal flies down into a tree just ahead of us. We stop in amazement at the beauty of the colors and the gracefulness of the flight. We watch as it flutters around us and we are taken out of ourselves and into another world of Blessing.

Our hearts are hungering for more. We know that God has only good in store for us. We yearn for something deeper. We see problems around us and we know that this is not the way things should be. We know the living God wants us to drink deeply from the cup of life and to feel the warmth of God's Love.

We know the blessing of that Love. We have felt it down deeply within us. We have felt that peace----sometimes we see it when someone reaches out to us when we are in need and sometimes we feel it even more when we reach out to someone who needs our help, our encouragement, a good word from us.

The dwelling place is all around us. And, of course, deep within us!

The Dwelling Place

Dwelling

Shelter    Abode

Residing     Living     Remaining

Heart of His People

PRESENCE

(poem by Kathy McNamara)

For Reflection:

1. Where is your Dwelling Place?

2. Do you make room in your heart for the PRESENCE?

3. Have you ever experienced loving shelter in your Spiritual Waiting Room?

The Remnant

 The Spiritual Waiting Room

Remnant

Faithful Remainder

Restoring Rebuilding Redeeming

Minority Chosen By Grace

Salvation

This photo is a view of the nautical museum in Greenport. It is a remnant of the original railroad station at that site. Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara.

Scripture: Zephaniah 3:11 to 13 (adapted by John McNamara)

"On that day you do not have to be ashamed of your deeds and the times when you turned against me. I will remove the proud and leave a remnant who are humble and who will honor the name of the Lord. They will do no wrong and speak no lies."

The remnant were those in the time of Zephaniah and the prophets who remained faithful in the midst of challenge and controversy. It would have been easy to go along with everyone else but they did not. They stood firm and did not worship at the altars of the false gods that surrounded them. It is hard to remain faithful to God's way when others around you are mocking you and belittling you.

 In our own day we are called to examine the many false gods that surround us. Let us take a moment to get in touch with those false gods in our own lives. Will we follow the teachings of God and always be truthful?

 There are remnants all around us. Think of a time when you saw an old photo and wondered how that history remains in you today. Remnants are important because they remind us of our traditions and they lead us back to our Spiritual Waiting Room when we have strayed.

For Reflection:

1. What is something in your life that causes you to get off track?

2. Why is it important for you to remain faithful to God's Way?

3. Who have been the remnants in your life who have helped you to stay on track in your Spiritual Waiting Room and to remain faithful to the Lord?

Practice: 

Maybe you would like to take some time to take a photo, write a poem or story, or pray about your own experience of being or encountering a "remnant".

 The Spiritual Waiting Room

You are invited to come into this spiritual waiting room. It is an opportunity for you to reflect on your own waiting room---the place where you take some time to reflect on your spiritual journey. Our reflection combines both Visio Divina (encountering God through art, poetry, and photography; finding a spark of the divine in that work of art and praying with it) and Lectio Divina (encountering God through reflecting on Sacred Scripture; finding a "Word" in that scripture passage and praying over it). Our Spiritual Waiting Room combines those two with photography, poetry, a scripture passage, a reflection on that passage, and some questions to ponder and pray. 

Room

Terminus Junction

Waiting Sitting Standing

Hope the timetable is correct

Passageway

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

"On that first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb." John 20: 1

Mary came early to find Jesus. She had been waiting since Friday afternoon for the opportunity to offer Jesus a proper burial according to the Jewish ritual. Think of how difficult it was for Mary to wait so long. Then came the shock of the empty tomb when her waiting was finally over. And then...more waiting. 

For Reflection:

1. For what or for whom have you been waiting for lately?

2. How do you wait for Jesus?

3. How did Mary feel when she found that the tomb was empty?

4. Where do you turn when you feel spiritually empty?

Maybe you would like to take a photo, write a poem, do a journal entry about your own experience of waiting.