God maybe all around us but I have a question… are there places in the world where God is more active and present than others ? If so, where are those places ? Have you ever wondered why we don’t seem to see miracles very often ? I tell you its because we aren’t in the places where God is doing them !
What I love about stories is that can take you to a place and make things very clear.
In Matthew 25 we are given an image of Jesus as the great Son of Man sitting in judgement over all people – like a sorting out a mixture of sheep and goats. The criteria he uses for allowing people to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven is what they have done for others – particularly the poor, the weak, the outsiders and the disempowered. Jesus pronounces, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me…” For me the message is clear - God’s holy habitation – the place where his awesome and terrible presence dwells is among ordinary people. The good news is that God is most present among the most needy people among us & beyond.
The discipline of developing awareness and of increasing sensitivity to the places God is most present, I call the prayer of place. Choosing to go & dwell & immerse yourself in those places is mission. The prayer of place is about discernment, it is about choice & it is most certainly about location. I believe the prayer of place is also a communal prayer – something we sense most effectively together. Participating together in places where God is most present, binds us strongly in genuine community. Yet another quality of the prayer of place is that it challenges different groups and individuals to go & dwell in all kinds of different locations. Some are closer & some are very far away indeed !
Outwards & Downwards.
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