Forty Days and Forty Nights: An Invitation
By Rev. Elizabeth Rechter, Executive Director
The first time we hear that something lasted forty days and forty nights in Hebrew Scripture is in the story of the flood in Genesis. In the book of Exodus, Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights, receiving God’s law for the people. Jesus was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights, preparing for his work. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, forty days and forty nights is another way of saying a long time, and almost always is a life altering journey. Forty days is longer than the cycle of the moon, which was the reliable time piece in ancient times. Forty days is out of time: beyond our usual borders, and often what is needed for transformation.
Our pandemic journey has lasted, in the biblical language, forty days and forty nights. And we do not know if we are near the shore yet, although some claim to see it. We do know we are not the same as when we first started.
One of my favorite prayers speaks to the seriousness of such journeys:
Come, Holy Spirit, and kill us, and raise us from the dead.
In your hands we rest,
in the cup of whose hands sailed an ark,
rudderless, without mast.
In your hands we rest,
who was to make of the aimless wandering of the Ark
a new beginning for the world.
In your hands we rest,
ready and content this day.
Old Scottish Prayer
THE INVITATION
As we enter the third year since we were first introduced to COVID 19, Stillpoint invites you on a journey of forty days and forty nights, beginning Wednesday, March 2nd, the start of the Christian season of Lent. OR you could start today. We invite you to the silent meditation practice of Centering Prayer each weekday from 5:30pm - 6:00pm PDT. For these forty days you are invited to take up this spiritual practice for your life, and to hold space with us to prepare for whatever lies ahead.
One of the important aspects of a spiritual practice is the work it does to increase our capacity to hear the Holy within us. Our lives can be filled with so much external noise we have difficulty hearing anything else. Contemplative practices help us slow down and strengthen our listening apparatus within. We also know that practice is best supported in community. We hold the space for others and they hold it for us, even for the times we may need to be absent. You may want to invite a friend to join us on this journey.
THE PRACTICE
From 5:30pm - 6:00pm PDT every weekday, we will gather on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/200779115?pwd=U2pycFltVFNONW9Sa2JnT29YSW5HZz09
You can also dial in from your phone.
You can leave your video off if you desire to remain in your prayer closet in private while being part of a community at prayer together.
Your altar area is in your home, and we gather, each in our own sanctuary, observing this common practice.
*We begin with a grounding chant or breathing exercise.
*A short verse is read on the practice of Centering Prayer.
*20 minutes of silence is kept.
*A closing prayer is said in unison.
Some come every day. Some come once a week.
There is a seat saved for you.
READ MORE - Centering Prayer: https://stillpointca.org/still-points
THE GIFT
We don’t judge centering prayer on the basis of how many thoughts come or how much peace we enjoy. The only way to judge this prayer is by its long-range fruits: whether in daily life you enjoy greater peace, humility and charity. Having come to deep interior silence, you begin to relate to others beyond the superficial aspects of social status, race, nationality, religion, and personal characteristics.
Thomas Keating Open Mind, Open Heart
A good book on the practice of Centering Prayer:
Cynthia Bourgeault, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening
Share this invitation with others:
Blessings for the Journey,
Elizabeth+
