 I
was at the Illinois football game last Saturday morning and as the
Illini did their best welcome mat impression I wondered to myself,
"why do I show up for this?" I mean, even if the team I was
supporting was winning, why actually go to a game? Think about it. I
could watch the game on TV for free or I could drive to the stadium,
pay for parking, tickets and food. Why not just stay home? The
reason, for me, is that being at the game, with the crowd, feels
different. When my team scores and I celebrate in the quiet of my
own living room amidst the disinterest of my family it feels like
something is missing. But being at the game, with the band and the
crowd and the electricity that goes along with that many people in
one place is an irreplaceable sensation. I can literally feel the
difference.
And it is this feeling that I think many of us seek in the life of
faith. It is one thing to pack our minds full of Bible quotes and
stories and to-do-lists. It is quite another to feel the Holy Spirit
blow through our lives. This feeling, the sensation of the presence
of the living God, is what the Psalmist seeks in today's Psalm. He
or she is seeking the truth and light that is part and parcel of
experiencing God. And we seek the same. The truth is God's presence
is always with us and when we cannot feel it or do not experience it
is our fault, not God's. To experience it we need only quiet all
those other noises and voices around us and place God back at the
center of our lives. From here we can experience once more the
sensation of God's presence, the sensation that comes only from
going to the game, so to speak. |
Prayer: Holy God, may your Spirit descend upon me and may
I know your presence in my life. Help me, O God, to find you in my
life and in this world and, that finding you I might serve you. I
pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
[text from file received by Phil Blackburn, First Presbyterian
Church]
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