Before you stone me for Heresy, bear with me a moment…
I caught my own reflection the other night. Sat at my dining table on a zoom adoration hour.
“Can you see me Jesus?” I wondered “is this as good as the real thing?” Virtual is just that. Virtual. Almost or nearly as described, but not completely, the dictionary defines it. This felt like a parody of the real deal.
It was then I caught my own eye. My face reflecting into the glass of the screen, whilst the screen itself displayed Our Lord in the Eucharist. Though a few hundred miles apart it was a keen reminder that I was in Him in a way I perhaps wouldn’t have grasped without the virtual experience.
This though is not a time for a virtual faith. This is a time to dig deep into the reality of a God present within. Us in Him and Him in us.
Perhaps like me that’s been a rather abstract idea for you until now… this is me here … and there you are God right there, in these words, in that Host, in that chalice… and yes In that sunset, in that miracle or that persons self sacrificing deed. Yes even in that idea or thought…but always, separate, and that’s what has been my hurdle to clarity. You see, He doesn’t ask me to relinquish any of my individuality to be filled with him, because if I am filled with His presence I am who He created me to be, in Him. ( still with me?) and If He is present in me, well you can be sure He is present in you and that makes us deeply, deeply connected.
As the deeply connected living stones that make Christ’s body We are bonded in a way that I have only just begun to see the depth of. Whilst I sit in comfort, I still weep for the suffering of a friends daughter. I am able to suffer with her because I live in Him and I am able to love through Him. In the same breath I can rejoice at the birth of a new baby I may never get to meet or fall to my knees in gratitude for the healing of someone I’ve prayed for but have never known. This seems to be so much more evident in these last few weeks. That connectivity.
So perhaps then those ten church WhatsApp groups you’ve been added to in the last few weeks, are a beautiful outward sign of the inward grace of belonging to the body of Christ. Please I’m not saying God has raised WhatsApp to the level of a sacrament, ( put your rocks down) but those of you who are meeting to pray, to support, to help and heal and connect you do bring the grace of God present in you to each other through your desire for communion. Your desire to remain in Him.
Christ present in me today is asking Him present in you to just go all out in thanks today how we have been called to rest our trust on this very present cornerstone and sing the praises of God who calls us out of darkness. Oh my, we will not be disappointed.
