I’m a member of a small online WCCM group. We preface our meditations with a short reading. Several of the members take turns to facilitate. A recent choice was some verses from the well-loved hymn, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee,
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity,
Interpreted by love!With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call.
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna downDrop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.
These beautiful, and for many deeply familiar, words have much to offer as a teaching. What is striking is how the active principle comes to us as grace in various forms! Each verse offers a new gift metaphor. Our part is to abide, trust and receive. We await the call, the blessing, the breath of God while heavenly manna and dews of quietness rain on us.
Quietness is a recurring theme: the deep hush, the tender whisper. Jesus shares the silence with us; not the everyday absence of noise, but the silence of eternity found in stillness of body, mind and spirit. This silence is interpreted by love. To me this speaks to the relational aspect of meditation and its fullness. It is replete with love.
The power to set aside all striving, desire and upheaval is simple and incontestable. The hymn ends with the divine usher of peace, love and beauty:
O still, small voice of calm, O still, small voice of calm.
Ana Salote