Contemplation inspired by Nature
God created all things, and when God looked on his creation, so Genesis tells us, he pronounced it good. The Gospel of John tells us that all things were created through the Word of God and with him was made nothing that was made. When someone creates something original, his or her imprint is found on what is created. God’s imprint is found in Creation.
Scripture tells us even more about God’s creation of humanity. Humans are created in the image and likeness of God. Thus, while God’s imprint is found on all of Creation, it is found in a special way in humans.
There are those who believe that material Creation is evil. Some believe that even if material Creation is not evil in itself, it is a hindrance to a genuinely spiritual life; thus, a person must practice spiritual exercises that allow the soul to free itself from matter in order to ascend into the “pure” spiritual realm where “true” bliss is to be found. If this is, in fact, the case, then God prepared a trap for humans by placing them within the context of a material universe. In effect, God put them in a prison from which they must escape to have any hope at all of coming to know God. The notion that Creation is good and bears the imprint of God does not seem consistent with a view that Creation is evil and is a obstacle that God deliberately placed in our way to thwart our coming to know him.
There are also many Christians who believe that fallen humanity is so corrupt that it is an abomination in the eyes of God and deserves nothing but eternal torment in hell. This view denies the idea that humanity is part of a Creation that God called “good.” Although created in the image of God, humanity is viewed by God in much the same way that God views Satan. This is not my own belief, nor probably the belief of most Christians. If Creation was good once, it is still good. If human beings were created in the image of God, they remain so today. God’s desire is not find a way to condemn us, but to grace us with whatever we need to come to the knowledge of God, to share in God’s own life through love. To believe that God loves us and wants us to love him requires that we believe God wishes to enjoy some form of intimacy with us. If God found humanity abhorrent, why would he want to share himself with us in such an intimate and enduring way, much less assume our nature in Jesus Christ?
If Creation somehow carries the imprint of God and reflects God’s glory, even in a modest and derivative manner, then Creation can serve as the inspiration for active contemplative prayer. Many persons, even those who are not avowedly religious, have looked at a sunset and sensed an awesome beauty and power that they cannot adequately express. New parents look into the face of their child and experience a wonder and joy that cannot be communicated. Others look at the complexity of a living being and see therein a design that leads them from what they see to a hint of a Creator whose intelligence soars far beyond their own. This is the stuff of natural contemplative prayer.
Remember that we are discussing contemplative prayer. A sunset may inspire someone to pour out words of praise to God. A newborn may inspire its parents to prayers of thanksgiving as well as prayers for the well-being of their child. But prayer involving words or song or mental exercises is not contemplation, however appropriate and useful it may be otherwise. Natural contemplation involves using Creation to lead our souls into a quiet resting in God. It is the quiet resting that is essential to contemplative prayer.
But someone may object that when many see a sunset, they are led to sing hymns. That is well and good. Let them sing hymns. Active contemplation is not the only form of prayer, nor, for many, is it the “best” form of prayer. Prayer should be an expression of our acceptance of God’s invitation to come to union with God in love and an opening of ourselves to the transforming work that only God can perform to bring us to that union. Remember that every moment of our lives should be a prayer. Certainly, not every moment of our lives can, or should, be spent in active contemplation. For many devout souls, active contemplative prayer may not be helpful to spiritual growth.
What can we use to “trigger” natural contemplation? Almost any aspect of creation can draw the mind toward God. Here are but a few possibilities:
- A sunset, clouds, a star-filled sky, a stream or body of water, or a scenic view;
- The human hand as a marvel of God’s creative power;
- The sounds of nature;
- The beauty and grace of an animal, perhaps of a pet;
- Any form of life, even the most humble.
A powerful inspiration to active contemplation is the human face. To look into another person’s face with the realization that that person is beloved of God and created in God’s image can arouse awe and wonder. There is an immense power in the human face, so much so that it is often threatening or too evocative to gaze deeply into another’s eyes. There is a saying that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. If we could see the souls of others, we would be dazzled by their radiance.
Once the mind has been directed toward God by whatever inspiration is employed, the mind should be allowed to rest quietly in God. The resting may be coupled with strong emotions such as joy, or happiness, or even sorrow, but we should simply rest with these emotions, neither fostering them nor denying them. Once our attention is directed toward God, we may even want to close our eyes so that the initial inspiration does not then become a distraction from our quiet resting.
Nature, however, is but one possible source of inspiration to active contemplation. We now turn to another.
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