Jeremiah: 31:33b
…[The LORD said:] I will put my law within them,
and I will write it on their hearts;
Reflection from Spiritual Director – Francie Thayer
Spending time with this phrase from our lectio divina scripture from the Well this week, I find myself thinking about God’s law. In the Hebrew Scripture context, my mind is drawn to Leviticus—all those laws!
But I wonder if a different law, one that comes through God’s lens, not a human lens, is a deeper invitation from God through Jeremiah. I wonder if all those laws listed out in Leviticus aren’t human interpretations of God’s law. Simplified, I wonder if God’s law isn’t what Jesus told us: Love God, love your neighbor, love yourself.
And so, I return to the silence deep within my heart and wonder with God: What does Love look like in this moment? In the wake of a shooting in Atlanta, in the wake of jury selection in Minneapolis, in the wake of Vatican decrees; in the wake of Covid deaths, in the wake of inequitable vaccination access, in the wake of continued disagreement over a simple request to wear a mask…what does Love look like?
Oh there are actions to take: A demonstration in an urban setting, a stimulus check deployed to benefit others, phone calls and letters and emails to my elected representatives, a rainbow-colored flag outside my front door… all these are fine options and I will likely engage in some of them.
But I also know how I have been created by the Holy One. The place I will spend more time is in my prayer corner in my prayer chair with a candle, a journal, perhaps a Bible. And there will be silence with God.
We have little cognitive data on the impact of prayer on the one prayed for, but by faith, I believe the Spirit takes the prayer and the love that saturates it and something good happens. Something shifts somewhere. I don’t know what shifts, I don’t know where it shifts, but I believe it does. Sitting in deep listening prayer in solidarity with the families who are grieving their loved ones’ deaths, holding officials making choices and decrees in God’s great Light and Love, something happens. I am ever grateful I don’t have to know what happens. I notice what happens in me and I am confident in the Holy Spirit taking my intention and love and making something happen for others.
What does Love look like? It’s different in each of us, in each different situation. But I do know this: it is written on each one of our hearts.