Pay Attention

Read:  Luke 21: 25-36

When I was in Liberia this past February, our group talked constantly about the importance of being "fully present". What we meant was that in order to fully experience what was going on, our focus had to be the moment at hand. If we were worrying about what was going on at home, what would be happening the next day, or even what was going on later that same day, we ran the risk of missing something. More specifically, we ran the risk of missing something that God was doing at that moment in Liberia as a whole, or in the lives of the people with whom we were interacting. As I look back on that trip, there are times on the trip I wish I had been more "fully present". Don't get me wrong...it was an amazing experience; but I wonder if it would have been more amazing if I would have been fully there more often than I was.

We do not have to be in a foreign culture or anywhere away from home in order to be challenged to be fully present. Each moment of each day we live presents us with the opportunity to be fully present. I wonder how often we miss that opportunity. I wonder how often we miss what God is doing right now because we are busy planning for or worrying about what's going to happen tomorrow, next year, or after lunch today. Yesterday (in the post "This City") I wrote how God is ALWAYS at work, trying to establish new relationships, reestablish stale relationshps, and strengthen existing relationships with human beings. The ways God does this are infinite and amazing. God's work in this world, however, is not limited to the grand and spectacular; there are times when we can experience God's work through a simple conversation, a handshake, or the whisper of the wind. But how often do we take notice of what God is doing around us?

Jesus has a word to say about this. He encouraged his followers to "be alert" and "keep awake". We recieve these encouragements within the context of Jesus' discourse on his return to earth. I think Jesus is also encouraging us to take each moment as it comes--to quit worrying about when He is coming back, or to quit worrying about all that is going to happen or could happen. Instead, Jesus exhorts us to be fully present in each moment.  Imagine that...we are invited to be present with God each moment of each day, not just those moments we have set aside for personal or communal worship. It is in this complete presence that we experience the true breadth and depth of God's grace and providence. It is in this complete presence that we can experience how completely God is present with each of us each and every moment of every day. 

As you go about your day, consider how you might be able to be "fully present" in each moment, knowing that God is already there. Consider how you might be able to practice what Jean-Pierre de Caussade, an 18th century French priest, calls "the sacrament of the present moment" (sacrament meaning "gift"), because each moment is God's gift to us; another opportunity to experience first-hand the grace and greatness of God.  It is in the present moment that God, through the Holy Spirit, seeks to reveal to each of us the grace of God; it is in the present moment that God wishes to fulfill the promise of Emmanuel, God with us.  This Advent season, and beyond, I pray that each of us might be fully present in each moment, that we might experience life in communion with God.