The Hidden Secret of Being Beloved
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
May 16, 2021
Zephaniah 3:17 (The Voice)
17 The Eternal your God is standing right here among you,
and He is the champion who will rescue you.
He will joyfully celebrate over you;
He will rest in His love for you; He will joyfully sing because of you like a new husband.
Good morning Friends, it is so good to join you this morning in the comfort of your own homes. I pray this finds you safe and well.
Last week on Mother’s Day I spoke about the truth that we are special, unique, and original in the eyes of our Divine Mother. But sometimes we forget that truth, and struggle to grasp it or embrace it fully.
Many of today’s modern mystics speak of this in terms of coming to an understanding that we are not just special, unique, and original, but also beloved by God.
The dictionary says that “beloved” means dearly loved or a much-loved person.
The early mystics of the church would describe this in often uncomfortable or awkwardly intimate terms. Some would go as far as using a metaphor of marriage partners and the intimacy between those partners to describe just how beloved one is in God’s eyes.
Here is just one example of this from Teresa of Avila:
Who could explain the benefit that lies in throwing ourselves into the arms of this Lord of ours and making an agreement with His Majesty that I look at my Beloved and my Beloved at me . . . . Let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth, for without You, what am I, Lord? If I am not close to You, what am I worth? If I stray a little from Your Majesty, where will I end up? Oh, my Lord, my Mercy, and my Good! And what greater good could I want in this life than to be so close to You, that there be no division between You and me? With this companionship, what can be difficult? What can one not undertake for You, being so closely joined?
The reason they chose such intimate language is because being the “Beloved of God” is both extremely personal and a part of our inner journeys.
Some mystics describe it as a secret or even a hidden secret between lovers. Whether you read the poetry of the Psalmist in the Bible, Rumi’s Big Red Book, Hafiz’s Drunk on the Wine of the Beloved, or many of the early church writers, you will find them talking about this “hidden secret.”
Even Jesus himself applauds God in Matthew for “hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to the little ones (Matt. 11:25). But what are these hidden secrets that so many mystics and religious seekers are speaking of?
Richard Rohr says,
“The big and hidden secret is this: an infinite God seeks and desires intimacy with the human soul. Once we experience such intimacy, only the intimate language of lovers describes the experience for us: mystery, tenderness, singularity, specialness, changing the rules “for me,” nakedness, risk, ecstasy, incessant longing, and of course also, necessary suffering. This is the mystical vocabulary of the saints.”
Yet, in our world today, we have big issues when it comes to this “vocabulary of the saints”. Many today fear intimacies, many go to counseling for issues relating to intimacy, many reject intimacy because it is too complicated, too personal, and takes too much work.
Also today, there are countless self-help books on increasing or developing our intimacy, retreats couples can go on, even pills they can take, but intimacy doesn’t come from a book, a retreat, or a pill.
Much like the intimacy between lovers, the intimacy with the Divine comes from within ourselves.
Richard Rohr calls it an “inner knowing” and a connecting with the indwelling presence of the Divine. As Quakers we often speak of this inner knowing in connection with our need for discernment. Friend Joycelin Dawes who writes on Quaker Spirituality says,
Discernment is living in accordance with our inner knowing, a stream of wisdom and will-to-good that arises as we are in touch with our deepest inner place or source.
Yet, often, I will be honest, it is hard to make that connection and put our self in a discerning posture. It is not easy getting in touch and staying in touch with that deep inner place where we are able to hear and discern our beloved-ness.
This is probably due to the fact that most of our understanding comes from how often other people fail us or lack an intimate love for us, and how infrequently we center down and connect with the Divine in this deep and meaningful way.
Henri Nouwen testifies to these very feelings and I can identify. In his book, “Home Tonight” he says this…
Personally, as my struggle reveals, I don’t often “feel” like a beloved child of God. But I know that this is my most primal identity and I know that I must choose it above and beyond my hesitations.
Strong emotions, self-rejections, and even self-hatred justifiably toss you about, but you are free to respond as you will. You are not what others, or even you, think about yourself. You are not what you do. You are not what you have. You are a full member of the human family, having been known before you were conceived and molded in your mother’s womb.
In times when you feel bad about yourself, try to choose to remain true to the truth of who you really are. Look in the mirror each day and claim your true identity. Act ahead of your feelings and trust that one day your feeling will match your convictions. Choose now and continue to choose this incredible truth. As a spiritual practice claim and reclaim your primal identity as the beloved daughter or son of a personal Creator.
According to Nouwen, our acceptance of our beloved-ness is part of our individual life journeys. Through centering, meditation, and prayer, entering silence and expectant waiting, we Quakers come to understand that God loves us, as we are, in both our limitations and glory.
Just like I said last week about being special, unique, and original in God’s eyes, by the Divine’s voice calling us his beloved it silences our self-condemnation and our self-rejection; listening to this voice coming from God – as well as through other people who show us love and acceptance – is what enables us to feel at home in the world.
Since we believe each one of us has “that of God” within us, we must ask ourselves,
● Are we getting in the way of someone feeling beloved by God?
● And are we adding to the condemnation and rejection causing people to feel like outsiders and unloved?
Living out the truth of our beloved-ness is one of the greatest ways that the Present Christ is being incarnated in each of us. When through our lives and relationships we help others sense they too are beloved they begin to see both that of God in us and in themselves.
As a way to let this truth sink in, Herni Nouwen developed a spiritual exercise called “The Beloved Prayer,” a three-part prayer that can be done individually or as part of guided meditation in a group.
“The Beloved Prayer” begins with quietly praying the phrase, “Jesus, you are the Beloved,” then moving onto “Jesus, I am the Beloved,” and then concluding with “Jesus, we are all the Beloved.”
Since we are blessed to have this technology to bring you this experience, you can pause or go back later if you want to focus on any specific part of this experience.
But let’s begin by quieting ourselves, centering down and entering this worshipful space this morning.
Begin to breathe slowly and deeply, relaxing your body and clearing your mind.
Expectantly wait for the Spirit to guide your meditation and prayer time.
Now, choose a phrase or mantra that seems to most resonate with you at this moment:
● Jesus, you are the Beloved;
● Jesus, I am the Beloved; or
● Jesus, we are all the Beloved.
Begin by simply saying it to yourself, quietly aloud, or only in your head.
You may choose to close your eyes. Try to gently merge the rhythm of the phrase with the rhythm of your breathing.
Say it slowly, without hurry, until every other thought seems to fall away. As distractions inevitably show up, don’t worry about them. Simply acknowledge them and refocus the words of the mantra or prayer.
At this time, we will stay silent and continue to reflect on these three mantras as our waiting worship.
● Jesus, you are the Beloved;
● Jesus, I am the Beloved; or
● Jesus, we are all the Beloved.
[Add extra 3 minutes for this this slide with the three mantras]
You may find this meditation and prayer time comes to a natural conclusion. Hopefully you feel rested and replete, or you may find a bodily demand can no longer be ignored.
When the time seems right for you, come slowly back to your normal awareness and sit for a moment in silence.
If you feel led to do so, end with a brief prayer of thanksgiving and a request for continued awareness of God’s presence throughout your day.
You may find that one phrase claims your attention for days or weeks, or you may feel drawn to a different phrase each day.
Either way, trust the Spirit to affirm your beloved-ness and bring you back to that place of your core identity as God’s beloved.
I would like to close this time by reciting a poem of Rumi:
Oh Beloved, take me.
Liberate my soul.
Fill me with your love and release me from the two worlds.
If I set my heart on anything but you let fire burn me from inside.
Oh Beloved, take away what I want.
Take away what I do.
Take away what I need.
Take away everything that takes me from you.
Rumi
Amen.