Seriously, this sermon, perhaps obfuscated by the title, is one of the most profound works on prayer I have ever read. It emerges out of Bernard of Clairvaux's (1090-1153) wrestling with the Biblical texts of Song of Solomon 3:1 ("All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him") and Psalm 105:4 ("Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always").
Simply put, Bernard surmised that we only seek God because God first sought us! In the same way, we only pray because we are drawn to commune with the God who is seeking us!
Some highlights:
"It is a great good to seek God."
"God is sought, not by the movement of the feet, but by the desires of the heart; and when a soul has been so happy as to find him, that sacred desire is not extinguished, but, on the contrary, is increased."
"...every soul among you that is seeking God should know that it has been anticipated by him, and has been sough by him before it began to seek him."
"You would not seek him at all, O soul, nor love him at all, if you had not been first sought and first loved. you have been anticipated by a twofold benediction, that of love and of seeking. The love is the cause of the seeking; the seeking is the fruit and the clear proof of the love."
"...Just as you were not able to seek him, until you had first been sought, so now that you have been sought, you are not able to do otherwise than seek him."
"Let those fear who have no love; but for the soul that loves there is nothing to be feared."
"Benign and gentle is the Spirit of the Word, and gentle is his greeting to me; he makes me aware of his kindness toward me; he whispers to me and convinces me of the earnest love of the Word for me, which cannot be hidden from him. For he searches the deep things of God, and knows that the divine thoughts are thoughts of peace and not purposes of vengeance."The sermon represents a very fundamental understanding of God: God is seeking us always. The realization that "the God of the universe is seeking me" is a great one indeed! Prayer is thus made easy by God. Since God is seeking to commune with us, we only have to open ourselves up to God. This is done in prayer, but more-so in a life of openness. It is nothing difficult, yet we often make it so. God desires the contact more than we do. Such a realization brings the Biblical message into a new, clear focus. New meaning is given to the Old Testament stories of Abraham, Moses, and all of Israel (as is evident in the prophets, especially Hosea). Perhaps this is best illustrated in the narrative Jesus told about the loving father (or the prodigal son, as it has been misnamed) in Luke 15:1-32.
God is waiting and watching for us to "come home." When we make the slightest movement in that direction, God sees us and runs to meet us. This should be a life transforming realization! This openness to God is not the sole property of moments spent in dedicated, focused prayer. One can learn to live in such openness to the one who is seeking us - thus, the apostle Paul's charge to "pray with out ceasing." We can learn to live in communion with the one who is seeking connection with us!11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Amazing. Simply amazing.
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