Hearing Magic in the Magic Kingdom

"Grammie, I heard magic" was Lauren's response to the familiar chiming sound just as we entered the Magic Kingdom on Saturday. If Disney is even in any small way a part of your life, you know the sound. I don't know why it surprised me that Lauren was already well acquainted with it...maybe it was just the sincere conviction with which she said those words -- "I heard magic" -- never doubting for a moment that 'something' had happened, whether or not she could see it.

We recognize the experience in our own lives, don't we, not doubting something has happened whether or not we see it. We call it grace. It happens invisibly in moments of our lives that feel like gifts. It happens in the sacraments of Baptism and The Lord's Supper. It happens when we ask God's forgiveness and something happens that we cannot see. Grace is ours when life, regardless of its circumstances is good -- is very, very good.

It was this week, last year, that I learned the church I served was rescinding my call and I was to be a pastoral casualty of the faltering economy, bad fiscal planning, greed and all those other words we use to describe the financial meltdown of 2009. But I find myself this second week in June of 2010 grateful - a way of being I couldn't have imagined then. I've had time to hear magic.

This year of unknowing has brought me closer to the contemplative part of myself which before now, I'd only experienced in fits and starts. Silence has always fed my soul, but this past year has given me the opportunity to deepen my spiritual practices of meditation and contemplative prayer--and to seek an internal silence which had been elusive till now.

As I gather with others each Tuesday evening for a brief teaching time, 30 minutes of meditation and the office of Compline... I find a peace that was non-existant as I over-extended and exhausted myself in the congregation. I find I'm less judgmental of those around me. And when I find myself being judged harshly there's a new compassion for those whose life leads them into that darkness. And though I've often felt alone in my pursuit of the contemplative life, I've found traveling companions near and far -- whole groups with names that sound like oxymorons... Presbyterian Benedictines, Contemplative Emergent Church leaders, and a fellow blogger named Mildly Mystical.

For me, this has been a year of hearing magic, in a Magic Kingdom of quite a different sort than the one which sparked something in Lauren on Saturday. It's the magic of the Kingdom which has come, but is not quite yet. It's the magic of the Kingdom that was promised, and comes on the wings of a Dove. It's the magic that is gift, never earned and full of mercy. It feels like just a glimpse into the Kingdom that will never end.

And the magic I've heard, is a release from fear. It's magic which releases me from struggle and pursuit and is showing me instead how to follow the One who is leading the Way -- the One who reveals the Way interiorly.

In this Kingdom, there is no end to hearing magic. There's just the steady call to lay down the seductive strengths which have blinded me with false pride - and to listen for the still small voice. There are the coincidences of thoughts and prayers and circumstances converging, making all of life a liminal space. There are the palpable assurances that contrary to what is popular or expedient... this is The Way. Grace building upon grace. I can hear it.

How is it that you can leave behind the urgent, the pressing, so that you might listen for the magic? Loosing or leaving your day job is not the perfect solution. So, what is one thing you could do differently, or not do, to allow the time and space for God's voice to be louder than your i-phone or planner? I'm hoping for you to hear the magic in the Magic Kingdom soon. PEACE & JOY, THE CELTIC MONK