With the Eyes of Your Heart Enlightened

The Nourishing Vocation Project Near and Now: Embracing Holy Indifference: With the Eyes of your Heart Enlightened Warm-up Question What gives you hope? Sun through Clouds by Ramon Casha is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 Reflection Questions 1. What do you see in this image? 2. What do you feel looking at this image? 3. What stories from your own life does this image bring to mind? 4. What stories of the world does this image bring to mind? 2 With the Eyes of your Heart Enlightened Read Ephesians 1:15-23 Bible Reading Reflection Hope is often intangible, sometimes elusive, and frequently difficult to grasp. Hope by definition points us to the future. It directs us beyond the present into that which is yet to be. Because of that, hope can be tenuous. The experiences of our life and of our world can impact our ability to hope. When tragedy strikes, hope can be challenged. When times are hard, hope can seem more fragile than ever. The Letter to the Ephesians, however, reminds us that the source of our hope as the people of God comes from the outside and is not dependent upon or tied to what happens to us or what we experience. The source of our hope is Christ and Christ alone. Because of that, Christ-centered hope is not only future-tense, but it is present-tense, too. It is rooted in what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do – in us and for us, and in and for the whole creation. Through Christ, the eyes of our hearts can see things differently. We can see Christ, even amid the worst of experiences. We can see Christ even when nothing makes sense. We can see that Christ who abides with us still and in every moment – joyful and sorrowful, challenging and fulfilling – is making all things new. This is a hope that is not a dream or a wish or a “maybe-if-we-get-lucky-it-will-come-true” kind of hope, but this hope is a “Christ-lived-died-and-raised-certainty” kind of hope. Gifted with such hope, we can live in an openness to all that God is calling us to be and do – even when that openness leads us to places that are unexpected, unimagined, or down-right hard. Written by Dr. Rev. Charlene Cox 3 Discussion Questions 1. What makes hope difficult sometimes? 2. What is extraordinary about Christ-centered hope in today’s world? 3. What difference does Christ-centered hope make in your daily life? 4. In what times has Christ-centered hope made a difference in your life? 5. What spiritual practices can help us hold onto hope when times are hard? 6. How can you be the presence of Christ-centered hope for others? 7. Sometimes holding on to hope is hard. What can we do to practice hope for others when hope is elusive for them? 8. How does Christ-centered hope help us live in openness to God’s call upon our lives? Activity Suggestions Put any empty bucket or empty bowl in the middle of the circle. Hand out pieces of paper to each person. Each person writes one word that represents something that gives them hope on as many papers as possible. When the writing is done, take turns reading the words and filling the bucket. Everyone is given a 3 x 5 card. On that card, each person writes one thing in his or her life that is a sorrow or a burden. The things that are written are not intended to be shared out loud. When everyone has completed writing, the 3 x 5 cards are placed in a shoe box, and the shoe box is taped shut. In silence the box is then passed around the circle. Each person holds the box for 30 seconds. Discuss how holding each other’s burdens is an act of extraordinary hope. (After the activity, the contents of the box are destroyed). Spend some time in quiet contemplation, reflecting Ephesians 1:18. “So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.” Read the verse over several times. What word or words jump out at you? What is God speaking to you through those words? What is God calling you to do through those words? Prayer Concerns Those who are despairing, those filled with uncertainty, those facing important decisions Closing Prayer Open the eyes of my heart, O God, that I might be held by the hope to which you have called me. In the name of +Jesus, Amen. Written by Dr. Rev. Charlene Cox