Embracing Mystery
Louita Clothier of Lamoni, IA, USA
“Community of Christ,” your name, given as a divine blessing, is your identity and calling. If you will discern and embrace its full meaning, you will not only discover your future, you will become a blessing to the whole creation. Do not be afraid to go where it beckons you to go. -Doctrine and Covenants 163:1
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic when our congregation had no service or choir practice on Wednesday, I became addicted to the PBS program “NOVA.” After one episode, I said to my husband, “These ‘NOVA’ programs have been like prayer meeting for me.”
One “NOVA” series, “The Planets,” dealt with deep-space exploration. An unforgettable episode took us along with the mission of the spacecraft “Cassini,” traveling across the solar system to orbit Saturn. High-tech cameras sent back hundreds of close-up, breath-taking images of the rings of Saturn, some brilliant colors, some sparkling pure white “diamonds” of frozen particles. I strongly felt there the presence of God, creator of all that beauty.
Then the camera turned toward Earth, a tiny speck in the black void and I felt very small. Yet, as I gaze at the heavens from Earth, my spirit feels warmth and unmistakable assurance that the Divine Artist that painted the rings of Saturn loves and cares for me and is the same Spirit that brings me to my knees in worship.
Who has not grappled with the paradox “God of grace and God of glory”? Even the Psalmist recognized the contrasting attributes of God: Transcendence, the power of infinite greatness and distance, and Immanence, the loving and personal presence in our lives and our world.
God is infinite in largeness and infinite in smallness (as in the tiniest microorganisms). So how can we limit Infinity in any way? I am humbled by the majesty and complexity of creation, yet also feel deeply the indwelling of the same God, who stands ready to guide and to bless. I call it MYSTERY…
Praise Mystery, hidden in galaxies,
Yet near as our own breathing.
Praise Mystery, infinite beyond knowing,
Yet filling our souls with love.
Praise Mystery, source of all being,
Yet weeping over the sorrows of Earth
How marvelous you are!
Prayer Phrase
“Led by the Holy Spirit, we work with God and others to restore peace (shalom) to creation” (https://www.cofchrist.org/enduring-principles).
Spiritual Practice
Embodying God’s Shalom
Find a way to express and embody God’s shalom. Begin by prayerfully listening to your longing for peace and wholeness. Become silent and imagine you can hear the groaning of the Earth’s people, nations, and creatures. Prayerfully open yourself to God’s yearning for peace and the divine vision of shalom.
What images, feelings, and words come to you? What prayer for peace comes to you from your time of listening? Speak or write this prayer. What act of justice, kindness, healing, or peacemaking does God invite you to consider this day?
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
