Day 301
Wednesday, June 28, 2023

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Scripture
Draw near to God and God will draw near to you. —James 4:8

Wisdom
In the ancient Christian Celtic tradition, every person was believed to be intrinsically connected to the divine through the Holy Spirit, whether Christian or not. Therefore every person was thought to bear the light of God, if only faintly. Under the influence of the Gospel of John, the ninth-century Celtic saint John Scotus Eriugena contended that God did not create everything out of nothing, but out of God’s own essence. Therefore God’s essence could be detected in all things, human and nonhuman. This understanding rang true with earlier Christians as well, including Saint Augustine who claimed that the path of knowing oneself and the path to knowing God are one and the same path. Augustine did not believe that human beings define God. Rather he believed that God defines human beings. “You have made us for yourself, O Lord,” writes Augustine “and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” Human restlessness is a sign of our connection to the Holy Spirit. Are you restless? —Eric Elnes, Gifts of the Dark Wood

Prayer
Let my restlessness remain until I have found myself at rest in your presence. Amen. —The Reverend Dr. Katie Snipes Lancaster