Tag Archives: Majesty

The Grand Canyon

 

Dear Readers,

It happened fifty years ago, as our family of six traveled and camped overnight near the Grand Canyon.  In the darkness of early morning, my father roused us from sleep.  We piled into the car and huddled under blankets, as my dad drove us the short distance to the canyon.  Torn away from my warm sleeping bag, I was hungry, for we left before breakfast.  We parked and hiked to the safety railing of the canyon.  I stood, shivering and yawning, waiting for the sun to rise.

The first rays of sunlight exposed only the rim of the canyon.  But very gradually, the sunlight unveiled the upper walls of the canyon, layer upon stratified layer.  Finally, after a long wait, the sunlight  searched out the lower walls of the canyon and, finally, chased away the shadows from the darkest corners of the canyon bed.   We watched in silence, as the sunlight revealed the glory and majesty of the canyon’s colors, textures, and patterns.

I spied the thin ribbon river, so insignificant, at the bottom of the canyon, a mile below us.  It was this same river, my father told me, that in ancient times was mighty and deep and roared through the landscape to carve out the contours of the canyon.  Incredulous, I surveyed the river and then scanned the walls of the canyon, up to the rim.  What force of nature could be so fearsome and powerful as to carve a canyon a mile high?

I remember that day as one of the best gifts that I have ever received:  A once-in-a-lifetime experience.

And I think about that morning every time I read these words:

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”  

~~~C. S. Lewis, from The Weight of Glory

Coram Deo,

Margot

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Silence

Nokia Ring Tone

[Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Presov Slovakia – Lukáš Kmiť plays the viola – by Milan Ferencik/Greatmilan & Jakub Hasko/CTZ Films]

~~~~~

Dear Family & Friends, 

Try the link above or Google “Nokia Ring Tone” and you can find the link to Youtube.  Please view it, before you read any further:  It will require only one minute of your time!

The musician is most certainly a gentleman.  He extended grace to the person who created the interruption.  Mr. Kmit is brilliant, educated, cultured, and devoted to his art. He has invested decades of his life to the study and mastery of performing beautiful classical music.  Imagine how disappointed Mr. Kmit was, to hear the “ring-tone” disturb the beauty and grandeur of the silence, at the end of the musical offering.  And this was not merely a concert; the setting for the concert was an Orthodox Jewish Synagogue!

Stop and think for a moment:  Are you like the inconsiderate concert-goer?

Before, during, and after Worship, are you the “person-with-the-cell-phone-on,” the one who cannot disengage the culture for even one brief hour?

Are you the undisciplined one, who interrupts the silence of Worship in the Sacred Space, perhaps not with a “ring-tone,” but with ceaseless chatter, yakking, and whispering to his/her neighbor?

Or, do you “turn the cell-phone off” before you enter the Sacred Space?

Better yet, do you disengage from the culture (and technology) and leave the cell-phone and other distractions at home or in your vehicle?

Do you practice the discipline of silence, in order to worship the One True Living Holy Trinity?

The Hebrew Scriptures declare, “The Lord is in His holy temple: Let all keep silent before Him!”

Be awed into silence before his beauty and majesty.

Leave the culture behind, before you step into the Sacred Space.

Walk in slowly, reverently, and silently.  Dip your hand into the Baptismal Font and remember your Baptismal vow.

Bow as you face the Eucharistic Table and the Cross.

Sit in the pew, kneel, pray. Be silent, reverent, and respectful of this holy hour.

You are in the Presence of the King.  He calls us into His Presence, as the Body of Christ, to offer our corporate Worship.

The Holy Trinity calls us to worship, as the Body of Christ, as a people “set apart,” sanctified.

He calls us into the Sacred Space, where heaven and earth intersect.

He calls us to receive this one hour, which is sacred time, and to honor Him with that hour.

Let us practice the discipline of silence:

Come let us enter in silence, as we prepare for the Liturgy and The Mystery of Faith:

We remember his death

We proclaim his resurrection

We await his coming in glory.

Only in silence, will we hear the Music of the Spheres.

Only in awe and reverence, will we Sing with the Angels.

Coram Deo,

Margot

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