I look at nature and reflect on the existence in it of a force so silent and invisible that human beings were not aware of it till lately; and yet so mighty that the world is moved by it: the force of gravity.

Because of it the bird flies in the sky,
Mountains are held in place,
Leaves flutter to the ground,
Planets are kept in orbit.

There is no better symbol of God’s power and presence.

Scenes of suffering flash through my mind:
Torture chambers;
Concentration camps;
The ravages of famine;
Scenes of war,
Of hospitals,
And of accidents.
And I see him there as silent and invisible as gravity.

I conjure up a thousand painful scenes
From the history of my life:
Of boredom and frustration;
Of pain, anxiety, rejection;
Of meaninglessness and despair;
And in every scene I sense his silent presence.

I see his power like gravity
In every nook and corner of the world:
No place in space,
No point in time
Escapes, for it is all pervasive.

Then I see his love to be like gravity:
I hear Paul’s cry that nothing in creation
Can wrench us from God’s love (Rom. 8:31-39)

I remember with emotion
The times I fought his love
–in vain, for love is irresistible!

I see that God has never ceased to draw my heart.
The pull, like gravity, could not be felt.
But at some blessed moments
That I now recall with joy
The tug could not be missed.

When was the pull last felt?

Not yesterday? Why not?

I end by letting go,
Succumbing to this power of divinity,
As my body does to gravity.

______________________

From Wellsprings: A Book of Spiritual Exercises

This was shared as part of the sermon, “The Gravity of Love” on 03/01/15.