Noonday Meditation

Words from Bishop Steven Charleston
Retired Episcopal Bishop, Chocktaw Elder

Receive the light. When the darkness gathers around you, when you grow weary, when your soul aches for the peace of years gone by, when you are afraid we have lost the trail and are walking deeper into the woods: that is exactly the time you need to receive the light. Don’t hesitate. Don’t doubt that it is there for you. Don’t convince yourself that this darkness will be an endless night. It will not. Remember a lesson you learned in your own experience: It is when things are darkest that light shines most brightly. Even an ember at midnight holds the promise of the dawn to come. Receive the light. It will restore you. It will heal you. It will empower you to welcome a new day. And even if that day has its own struggles and tests, it will be lived in the light, where we can see one another, trust one another, and do what must be done to reconcile this moment to the history we are making. Do not be afraid. Receive the light. (9/20)

Receive the light. I want to come back to those words. They came to me five days ago and they are still with me now. When I asked everyone to join me in intentionally opening our hearts and minds to the light of the Spirit, I hoped that it would be a time of healing and strength for us all. I felt the energy of the Spirit rising and I wanted to share it with as many people as possible. I still feel that way. The energy is flowing, the pure energy of love, the concentrated grace that brings life to every soul, without distinction, renewing all that it touches, comforting every life it finds. Receive the light. I stand on the rooftop to proclaim this great mercy: the light of life is within us, within us all, and it is growing stronger every day, one hope at a time. Draw on this energy now, receive it, and let it renew your life where you need it most. (9/23)

Grace. Love. Spirit.

You are the Light of the World. Share it!