Monday Meditation

Holy God of endless creativity,
thank you for the gift of curiosity.
What would we be if we didn’t ask questions?
Where would we be if we didn’t wonder?
Who would we be if we didn’t ponder
how we came to be,
where we might be headed,
and the very meaning of existence?
 
Thank You for the gift of curiosity,
for it transforms our souls
and changes our world,
and You are a God of constant transformation!
We love You for imbuing us
with a thirst for knowledge, wisdom and understanding
that ultimately always helps us
know You more intimately.
 
[silent meditation]
 
Praise be to You for this incredible intellect,
a gift we too often neglect,
especially in matters of faithfulness.
We give thanks for every opportunity to learn,
knowing that education provides us
with the foundation we need
to create the books and songs and art
that throughout history, have revealed
a little more of Your love song
to a world desperately in need of more love songs.
 
[silent meditation]
 
How would we have left our caves
and discovered fire,
learned to cook,
created art, math and literature,
had You not bestowed us with
an almost annoying need
to always learn more?
 
How could we have begun to consider Your
infinite beauty,
Your love,
Your creativity,
Your astounding grace,
had you not first given us the desire
to seek answers,
and ultimately provided us
so many ways to find them?
 
We know, Wisdom who flows timelessly throughout the universe,
that our limited time on Earth
will be full of intellectual and spiritual challenges.
Yet, we also understand that there is no change,
no growth,
unless there is first challenge.
 
We need only to look at the life of Jesus Christ
to know this is true.
Jesus challenged the religious and political authorities of his time.
He taught the ancient scripture of his people in new,
and newly meaningful, ways.
He was not afraid to reinterpret everything
through the lens of an undying and unwavering faith to You.
His complete and utter faithfulness to You,
the father/mother of us all,
is our example and our hope
for our own transformation
during this time of trialed learning.
 
[silent meditation]
 
Mold us, shape us, love us into more faithful beings!
We beg You, Lord, touch our souls!
Let us feel Your presence within us,
because it is only through You
that there is any hope for humanity
to continue our movement
from the cave
to the universal,
almost unbearable lightness of being,
yet not being,
of always being loved,
yet so often unable to love.
 
We will always love You,
but we confess, we are also afraid of losing you!
Scholars, pastors, historians, scientists, religious experts—
it seems everyone has new ideas about You.
Can we handle ideas that change
what we’ve thought about You our entire lives?
Can we still grow in faith,
even as we begin to understand the Bible stories
are not Your literal, infallible word,
written by a magical hand,
but are, perhaps even more importantly,
the myths of a people
desperately seeking love in a war-torn
world, oblivious to any higher sense of self?
 
Our world hasn’t changed that much from theirs.
We still need your love,
perhaps now more than ever,
Help us see You with new eyes,
the way Jesus saw You with new eyes.
Help us lose ourselves by knowing You more deeply.
 
[silent meditation]
 
What can we possibly lose
by gaining a deeper understanding
of the people and traditions
that have sought You as deeply and faithfully as we now seek You?
Still, we have known You in a certain way for a lifetime,
and we fear shattered illusions.
We fear hearts broken
into millions of mirrored shards
that reveal the inadequacy of our minds
and the shallowness of our convictions.
 
But as You have made a promise to Your people,
we promise You this: We will not quit!
Our faith in You is endless,
no matter what our concept of You is now,
or may be tomorrow.
We know You are with us,
guiding us,
all the days of our lives.
We trust You, without exception,
as You love us all without exception.
 
The only way we know to repay Your merciful love
is to use the intellect You gave us,
to study, and trust that our studies
will always lead us into deeper relationship with You.
 
This is, after all,
the way of our ancestors,
who, thanks again to Your blessing of curiosity,
first looked out of their caves
at the infinite expanse of glistening stars
in the inky blackness of space,
and simply wondered in amazement
where they came from and where they were going.
 
Just as their questioning
transformed their lives and their world,
we know our questioning
will transform us and our world.
Just as they created music,
and art,
and theory after theory
about life, the universe, and everything,
we know our studies here will help us
create new melodies,
and new art,
and new ideas about You,
and our relationship to You,
and our place in the infinite universal consciousness
that is You, and everything.
 
Open our eyes, our hearts, and our minds,
God who is our universe,
so we constantly seek and learn more about You
through education,
in every ebb tide,
in every birdsong,
in every masterful stroke of
a sunset ablaze with scarlet fires,
in every word of Scripture
and the philosophies of both ancient
and modern intellects.
 
From Wisdom to wisdom,
we commit ourselves to You,
our creator, our sustainer,
our non-being being,
giver of Wisdom and intellect,
revealer of truth to all of us,
Your loyal seekers of truth
and love.
Amen.