Reflection Rather Than Reaction

We live in a culture in which Christian discipleship is becoming increasingly difficult. We are treated as consumers whose value is assessed in what we are able to buy. We are marketed to based on age, gender, ethnicity and spending power. We are given very little credit in this culture as rational, thinking, reflecting people. In fact, in the marketing game, the people doing the marketing don’t want us to think; they only want us to react. We are to go on impulse. Don’t think about whether or not you really need a given consumer item…if you want it, buy it.

This philosophy runs across the board. From consumer items to politics we are marketed to not because we have something substantive to add but because we have something that someone else wants…a dollar or a vote. OK…I know that this sounds pretty cynical. I suppose to a certain extent it is. However, I want to elevate the discussion. Each one of us is more, far more, than our spending power, our demographic category or our party affiliation. Each one of us has a life that is a sacred gift from a Creator who loves and values each person. Our life has meaning far beyond our utility. Each one of us is an instrument of grace through whom God works to reveal God’s love, grace and purpose. Through our relationship with Christ we are able to see that purpose and engage that purpose in meaningful ways as we work with Christ to reveal God’s reign in our midst.

To engage this purpose we are called to do more with our life than react to the whims and the fancies of a culture that would strip us of our humanity if we would let it. We are called to a life of faith that is constantly growing and being shaped by the outpouring of God’s grace. This life is a reflective life. For centuries, Christians have engaged in reflective lives where we look at our life in terms of how and where we see God at work. St. Ignatius of Loyola practiced what is known as the Examen. At the end of his day he engaged in a reflection of all that had happened in that day through the eyes of faith and an understanding of how God was at work and where God was present. I’ve come to know the Examen as very valuable discipline in my life. I have not always followed the full pattern of the Ignatian rule, but even a basic pattern of coming to the end of the day and reflecting on the grace of God that I’ve experienced continues to draw me closer to God’s heart. Generally, I combine this reflection with journaling as a way of having a conversation with myself and with God. The times in my life in which I have engaged in this practice more intentionally are the times when I have felt less reactive in my life and more proactive. That is who we are called to be in Christ…proactive to work for and reveal God’s reign through Christ in all that we do.

In a culture where we are expected only to react, the Examen is counter culture. It is a practice of faith that draws us beyond our basest instincts into a life of openness and gratitude where we become more and more able to discern the movement, direction and call of Christ as he travels in our world and bids us to follow. The more effectively we discern God’s movement in our everyday life, the more we understand who we are and who Christ calls us to be. The Examen gives a disciple the opportunity to name the things for which he/she is thankful in the day. It is an opportunity to name the challenges to faith and practicing Christ’s presence that exist in a given day. It is a day to celebrate one of the greatest gifts that God gives us…to recognize that and where God’s grace is poured out. It is the opportunity to encounter the movement of God’s love in ways that we might miss if we spend our day simply reacting to the stimulus of the world.

When we stop at the end of our day, and even periodically during our day, we have the opportunity to see the great wealth and even the unexpected ways that God is present. The more we exercise this vision, the better we see. The better we see, the more we recognize God. The more we recognize God, the stronger our witness to God and the more effectively we reveal the Kingdom.