Pondering Emerson
The first day of 2024 arrived sunny and mild and a beautiful day for a walk. As I took my dogs on a much-needed walk through the fields, I thought about a quote I recently read from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What we seek we shall find. What we flee from flees from us.”
Thinking about this quote, I wondered, “What I am seeking this year? What do I want 2024 to hold for me?” I listened and the silence of the field answered. There were no bird songs; the annoying hum of bees or mosquitos was absent, the cricket songs were silent, and the grass did not move with the rhythmic whistle of grasshopper wings. Although the days are indeed getting longer, and the weather calm and mild, the birds know it is winter. It is a season of silence and rest as the land lies dormant quietly waiting for the renewal that is still months away.
A Silent Answer
I think about my question again, “What am I seeking this year?” The silence of the winter afternoon seems a sharp contrast to the eager anticipation and planning that seem to be a part of New Year’s Day. Today is traditionally a day in which people enthusiastically set goals for the coming year. And while I’m a big fan of setting goals and making resolutions, I think about the land silently resting and patiently waiting for renewal.
Once more the words of Emerson come to mind, “What we seek we shall find. What we fee from flees from us.” And as I stand in the silence and watch my dogs enjoying the day, the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:33 – 34 come to mind almost as an unspoken answer to my question, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
This verse is in the same chapter or message in which Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I ponder the words, “Your kingdom come; your will be done.” This has been my prayer all year, and as I think about my question again, I realize the answer hasn’t changed just because the calendar changed.
The Parable of the Great Supper
When I think about God’s kingdom, I think about the parable of the great supper in Luke 14:16-23.
Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. ~Luke 14:16-23
A Prayer for the Day and for the Year
God’s kingdom, a place where the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, the homeless, the mentally handicapped and emotionally broken, are all gathered to the table. And it is here I want to run to the table, and I want to find my own place there. I want to joyfully welcome to the feast all those who stand in the margins and wait for an invitation.
But I don’t do this well. I don’t always have to courage to take my own place, and I struggle to love others with the same love and acceptance for which I also long. So, I find myself praying what might be considered my New Year’s prayer, but honestly it is simply the prayer of my heart for today and hopefully it will be the prayer of my heart tomorrow as well.
Lord, help me to seek you first; to earnestly and eagerly come to your table; to love you first and wholeheartedly; and let that love extend to my neighbor, my family, my friends, and others who cross my path. Help me to love well; to love patiently; and to love deeply. And give me boldness that I will not flee from hard things; that I do not flee from hard conversations and hard relationships; and that I do not flee from new experiences or new relationships that cross my path.
What Are You Seeking?
What we seek we shall find. What we flee from flees from us. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I leave the words of Emerson for you to ponder too. What are you seeking this year? What are you fleeing from? Jesus says in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
I pray this will be a year in which you will ask and receive. I pray it is a year that doors open when you boldly knock. And I pray it is a year of seeking and discovering what you seek is within your grasp.
Blessings to You in 2024!
If you missed my reflections on 2023 and would like to pause a minute to join me in looking back on 2023, click here.