Faces in the Crowd, Day 10

Let My Spirit Soar, Bev Doolittle

This post is part of an on-going Lenten series that began Ash Wednesday. 

"Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds.

And after had had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray.    

When evening came, he was there alone," (Matthew 14:22-23)

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"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)

 

Over the course of Lent, I've named some of the faces of the "inner crowd" - the ones I would like to send away - and the ones that Jesus embraces with compassion. Today, the face I see is "the one who  forgets how to dream." Another way to say it might be that there is a part of me that plays life safe and doesn't risk what "might be" without great effort. John Shedd has written, "A ship in the harbor is safe-- but that is not what ships are built for." We are built for dreaming and possibilities. We are not just built, but created for a life that reaches past what we can see and experience in this moment. Yes we forget this, but we also have the capacity to remember. 

In gazing at Bev Doolittle's painting, I see the expansiveness of reflection, remembering and dreaming. All of these occur in a setting of solitude and stillness. 

Today's vista & prayer:

• In what ways do you forget to dream? When are you likely to feel like "the ship in the harbor"? 
• How does Bev Doolittle's painting speak to you?
• We pray: Jesus, long ago you dismissed the crowd to be alone with God. On another occasion you saw the crowd and were moved with compassion. Grant me the gift of dreaming when I forget. In your compassion, draw me into stillness and solitude so I might remember my place in the greater world of what might be. Amen.