Friday, 7-21-17 Divine Twilight

Twilight, that moment just before darkness of night covers the earth, seems to hold a mystical and magical beauty. It is exquisite, romantic and full of intrigue. Visions of fireflies, campfires, and sunsets come to my mind. Twilight, that moment when light fades away and night promises to usher in, presents a time of pure potential. What will the night hold? Will our dreams be filled with joy and peace, or will a restless night soon follow.

Twilight is also the moment when the Passover Lamb was slaughtered. This is the moment when everything changed for God’s chosen people. This Lamb, the one whose blood would protect the Jewish people from death, was central to the new life they were about to enter in. Through this lamb God saved his children. Without the protection of this lamb’s blood, God’s chosen people would surely die. With such a death the love relationship God desired to experience with his people would fade away. Yet, through all their oppression God had a plan, a plan that would secure the lives of his chosen people and the lives of the generations to follow.

Why Twilight?

Why did God choose twilight for the slaughter of the Passover Lamb? Why not daybreak? Or midday? The choice of twilight struck me somehow. Then for a fleeting moment I recalled the Twilight series of books and TV shows where vampires come out at twilight. While I don’t watch this series or read books of this nature, I can’t miss observing their popularity in the world. (By the way – I highly recommend you do not fill your subconscious minds with such images. Our subconscious minds are highly susceptible to what we are expose them to. I make it a general practice to be very selective about what I let into my mind.) Anyway, I was struck with God’s choice of twilight so I sat with this in Chapel as I prepared to write today’s reflection.

What I observed initially was the fact that God prepared the Jewish people for the Passover long before twilight came – long before the lamb was slaughtered. Additionally, God also shared with the people the importance of community – “If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.” God knew what his people would need before they did and he was already on the job! They would need food, they would need protection, they would need to mentally prepare for their flight, and they would need each other. God’s plan was already in play long before twilight commenced.

Darkness Will Come

Twilight calls to our attention to the cycles of day and night. The daybreak that awakens us will eventually come to an end and night will follow. And at that critical moment, twilight, God is with us. God has already prepared everything we need so that we can enter into the darkness of night safely by his side. Through God’s continual offering of love we receive all we need to get through the night. God offers this with one goal in mind – that we move into a deeper love relationship with him. He saved the Jewish people because he desired to share in relationship with them, and he holds the same desire for us today.

God is continually calling each of us into a deeper love relationship with himself. After all, he created us in his image, and in doing so, he created us to love and be loved in return. We are all God’s people and we have all been given the lamb of salvation – Jesus Christ. Yet this Lamb is different from the Passover Lamb isn’t he?  His blood was shed for all. Saying yes to the Lamb of God is the key, we must say yes and we must decide follow him before we can receive his full protection and guidance. Once we do this we will receive all the direction, provisions, and protection we need once twilight passes and we enter into the dark of night.

God’s Mercy

God required that the Passover Lamb was to be used up – all of his body. God even went on to describe how to dispose of any remains – they were to be burned up. Nothing was to remain. Again, this portion of scripture spoke to my heart, so I sat in Chapel and meditated on it. Then some dots began connecting. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, must also be used up to the point where nothing is left of him. And this is what he did on the Cross – he emptied himself fully to the entire world. The empty tomb reveals much.

Just as the Passover Lamb was to be shared and its remains burnt up, so too is the Lamb of God to be used and burnt up. Jesus Christ made himself completely and wholly available to us, to be used up so that we can fall deeper and deeper in love with our Triune God. When we share Jesus Christ with the world our actions become reminiscent of the first Passover meal. Darkness approaches, yet, we become nourished and loved in a community of believers. When we share him we use him up and he burns within our hearts. A burning that unites us as we move towards the Alpha and Omega, where we all merge into one with God through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit. A point of divine perfection.

What Binds Us

Merging together calls for a binding substance, something strong that connects all the parts. In today’s Gospel Jesus reveals the binding substance that holds us together – God’s Mercy. His mercy binds us together because mercy is born of love and love is the substance we are created in.  When we love another, you know, really love another, we are naturally inclined to offer mercy.

Through mercy we will accept and love those around us because mercy and love allow us to see one another’s humanity and brokenness with compassion and empathy. Instead of judgement and condemnation, mercy allows an opening of the heart. Once the heart is opened the love held within it is granted permission to flow between persons. When love flows like this we will then experience God and a bit of his eternal love. The Lamb of God, our God who came into the earth in human form, comes alive inside of our human body in a very unique and divine way when the heart is open. He will use the twilight of our lives, that transitional time between light and darkness, to prepare us to love more in the darkness of night.

Tonight’s Twilight

I invite you to observe twilight tonight in a new way. The dark of night is coming, yet, God has already been working for you. He desires sweet dreams for his children, dreams where we draw closer to him. Let tonight’s twilight be magical, beautiful and full of divine potential that leads you into a deeper love relationship with your heavenly Father. Through the Sacrificial Lamb Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit God will comfort you. Breathe in love and mercy this evening and allow it to enter into every one of your cells as you observe twilight. Then breathe out any pain you hold in your heart as you prepare to drift off to sleep my friends. Sweet dreams.

May you and your family be blessed my friends in Christ. – Carolyn


Further Meditation

On my website I share several forms of meditation I use on a regular basis to more fully experience God. I would like to share with you today. I call them Fasting of The Mind. Here is the link my friends – enjoy: Fasting of The Mind

Thank You to Our Readers

I want all of our readers to know that I deeply appreciate the comments you share. I have noticed that many of you offer prayer requests. I invite you to post your prayer requests here today and I then invite our readers to pray for those prayers. Our power is found in our prayers. I am honored to join with all of you in such prayer and I appreciate the sharing of your stories – they are sacred and holy.

I will begin the prayer chain by asking for prayers for my LIVE Retreat – which is being held this weekend. I pray that God’s healing and protection cover each attendee and that they receive God’s love into the hurt and broken spaces in their hearts.


Triune God – help us to sleep in your arms every night of our lives.

Sacred Heart of Jesus – have mercy on us.

Father God – consume us.

Holy Spirit – enter in to us.

Mother Mary – pray for us.

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi– pray for us.

 

Today’s Readings Exodus 11:10 – 12: 14; Psalm 116: 12-13, 15 and 16BC, 17-18;  Alleluia John 10:27; Gospel Matthew 12:1-8

About the Author

Carolyn Berghuis MS, ND, CTN is a best-selling author, inspirational speaker, traditional naturopath, and free-lance Catholic writer. Carolyn is currently pursuing an MA in Pastoral Theology at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. Carolyn also holds a BS in Mathematics, a MS in Holistic Nutrition and a doctoral degree in Naturopathy. www.CarolynBerghuis.com

Author Archive Page

18 Comments

  1. Breathe in love and then breathe out pain. Thanks Carolyn for this wonderful exercise.
    While I wish to pray for more spiritual vocations in the world, I pray to God to choose one of my nine grandchildren to become a priest, a monk or a nun. Thanks be to God forever.

  2. Another wonderful reflection Carolyn. Help us to sleep in you’re arms every night of our lives. Who wouldn’t have Sweet Dreams. Prayers please for all my Family especially my youngest Son battling with an addiction. May God Bless and protect you and all your Family. And all wanting Prayers.

  3. Your reflection is just in time with what im going through.I believe God used you to bring this message to me.

  4. Thanks for the insightful reflections. I will pray for all those who have requested prayers for issues and I request you-all to pray for peace and stability in South Sudan. The common people are suffering too much between war, famine, insecurity, and all it entails.

  5. Thanks for this initiative of a prayer chain.
    As part of this community, I offer my prayers this day to your prayer requests and to the requests posted in this chain. God in His Kindness will answer and give consolation to each of our prayers! God bless everyone!

  6. Thank you for your insightful reflections. I am grateful for the prayer chain, and ask for prayers for healing for my son who suffers from addictions, and serenity for me to accept what I cannot change, courage to change what I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference. Thank you

  7. Thank you for this wonderful reflection. I pray for the intentions of the readers here and for my intention in the safe, timely and uncomplicated birth of our daughter this coming week, as well as good health of mother and daughter-I make this prayer through the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour, Amen.

  8. Thanks Carolyn for your very insightful reflection. Thanks for making us a Small Christian Community of a kind with your wonderful gift from God. My prayer request is for the peace of our Country Kenya as we come close to our General Elections which will take place on 8th August, 2017. Pray for the peace of our Country before, during and after the elections as you also pray for Southern Sudan.
    May God bless you Carolyn and your family and may He continue to provide you with more insightful writings. Amen!

  9. Thanks for this reflection Carolyn. God wants us to be in a loving relationship with Him. Reading the scriptures and your words this morning made that clearer to me.

  10. Carolyn,

    Thanks for today’s reflection. However, today’s first reading from Exodus confused me quite a bit. The opening verses of the reading state in part that “although Moses and Aaron performed various wonders in Pharaoh’s presence, the Lord made Pharaoh
    obstinate”. And so i am thinking that it is actually the Lord who made Pharaoh obstinate! I wonder why! But again He is God.

  11. Dear Carolyn, I offered my prayers to all those in this community you helped bring together here in my morning rosary devotion. Thank you for that invitation.
    Dear Judith, I too, struggle with understanding
    God’s ways but as you also acknowledge: God is God and I am not!
    My little mind is not able to fully understand God’s plan. But, I think, just as God had to harden the Pharaohs heart he had to harden the hearts of all those who were involved in having Jesus crucified. It is so hard for me to shout out ” Crucify Him,Crucify Him!” every year as we read the passion play on Good Friday! But now I know that God had to make all those peoples hearts hard in order that his son be crucified!

  12. I pray for the twilight that we are and will face as a church in my country Belize. May God Nd the spirit guide an protect his people in Belize and all over the world.

  13. As I read your reflection, in my heart it is already a prayer for me. Let our God be God. I am not in control but He hears my cry. God’s peace to everyone.

  14. Hey Carolyn,

    Nice reflection today, but I do have a question.

    One point that seems to be easily overlooked by many readers is what is happening to the Pharaoh’s heart, and more importantly, who is causing it.

    Has free will, one of the foundations of our faith, been taken from the Pharaoh by God?

    Mark

  15. Triune God – help us to sleep in your arms every night of our lives.

    Sacred Heart of Jesus – have mercy on us.

    Father God – consume us.

    Holy Spirit – enter in to us.

    Mother Mary – pray for us.

    Saint Lawrence of Brindisi– pray for us.

  16. So beautiful Carolyn – twilight has a whole new perspective. Thank you for this reflection.

  17. I am blessed to be a part of this community and at such a time that I am asking prayers for my nephew Colton. He has some enlarged lymph glands and is seeing a specialist soon. I pray for all test results to come back with good news and I will post that good news when it comes! Thank you all

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